Judge Dredd (1995)
Judge Dredd is a 1995 American science fiction action film based on the 2000 AD comics character of the same name. It is directed by Danny Cannon and stars Sylvester Stallone in the title role, a law enforcement officer in the crime-ridden futuristic metropolis of Mega-City One. The film co-stars Armand Assante, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Joan Chen, Jürgen Prochnow, and Max von Sydow. It was filmed entirely at Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom, and released by Buena Vista Pictures on June 30, 1995. The film takes place in the year 2080 and depicts a dystopian world. Following an unspecified disaster that turned Earth into a “cursed” wasteland, the survivors established a corps of Judges whose role combines
that of police, judge, jury and executioner. In Judge Dredd, Dredd, one of the most dedicated Street Judges, has been framed for murder by his own half-brother — the psychotic Rico, who plots to take over Mega-City One with an army of superhuman clones. The film was produced by Charles Lippincott and Beau E. L. Marks, with a screenplay by William Wisher Jr. and Steven E. de Souza.
Its visual style, effects, music score, stunts and action sequences were praised, and the film was nominated for four Saturn Awards. A reboot film, entitled Dredd, was released in 2012.
Plot:
By the 2080s, much of Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland. While some humans manage to survive in the barren “Cursed Earth”, the majority of humanity resides in huge Mega-Cities with populations of tens of millions. To combat crime, the traditional justice system has been replaced by a corps of Judges whose role combines those of police officer, judge, jury, and executioner. In Mega-City One, 2139, Joseph Dredd, one of the most dedicated “Street Judges”, assists first-year Judge Barbara Hershey in ending a block war. Herman “Fergee” Ferguson, a hacker just released from prison, is caught in the firefight and hides inside a food dispensing robot.RELATED:
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Dredd arrests Herman for destruction of property, and sentences him to five years’ imprisonment. Rico, a former Judge, escapes from prison and returns to Mega-City One to reclaim his uniform and “Lawgiver” gun. He also finds and reactivates a decommissioned ABC Warrior combat robot.
Vartis Hammond, a news reporter critical of Dredd, is murdered, and Dredd becomes the chief suspect. Dredd is taken to a trial before a tribunal of Council Judges including Griffin and Chief Justice Fargo, his mentor. Dredd is found guilty as his DNA is found on the bullets used to kill Hammond (a feature of the Lawgiver is imprinting the user’s DNA on each bullet, a fact apparently unknown by most Judges).
Casting:
Early in development, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for title role, before Sylvester Stallone was cast, even though Stallone had never heard of the character when he was cast. Cannon initially pursued Joe Pesci for the part of Fergie, but the actor turned it down. Stallone and his co-star Armand Assante wore blue contact lenses to match von Sydow who plays their genetic ‘father’. Assante deliberately mimicked Stallone’s speech patterns to better reflect their characters’ relationship as siblings. Jürgen Prochnow, who played Judge Griffin, was coincidentally the longtime German-language dub actor for Stallone.