Having read the Dredd comics for over four decades now I feel I have a good take on this character. Firstly, Judges aren't programmed, lol, at least not in the literal sense. They spend 15 years at the Academy of Law, starting from age 5. They tend to graduate at 20 (although exceptional Cadets can graduate sooner as Dredd did) when they go on their Street Test with a full senior Judge. If they pass a day on the streets they get their full Eagle and become street Judges. Dredd, among all Judges, is by far the strictest, but he does have emotions and as he gets older he realises that the system needs to change. In the comics Judge Fargo, on his death bed, tells Dredd that they were never supposed to have power for so long, that it was never meant to be this way. The Judges were given power because of the out of control lawlessness of the Mega Cities. Millions of people crammed into a huge city stretching from Boston to Florida and 99% of them out of work with nothing to do all day. The court system and law enforcement of the time couldn't handle it so the Judges were created and it worked. As time went on they took on more control of civil powers as well as law enforcement until they ruled the city with the law their guiding light. Dredd is not above the law and is as strict upon himself as he is with everyone else. Several times in the comics he has tried to turn on his badge because of something he felt he did wrong only for the Chief Judge to talk him out of it. Even the criminals realise this. In one story the Hunters Club try to kill him and one member decides the best way to do it is to force him to break the law which would destroy him. One thing they try is to make him drive the wrong way down a one way road to catch a perp, instead he shoots the perp in the leg and drives around the block to pick him up, lol.
Dredd has on occasion reviewed and supported changes to the Law when unique or what he sees as unfair situations to citizens have occurred, even rewriting and making new ones when able to do so. I remember when a guy was going to be deported from megacity for being a mutant covered in hair, he was killed before Dredd got the assassin, after Dredd said " it's a pity give him a trim and a shave and I think he could have made it "
@@thanqualthehighseer The whole mutant rights thing in more recent comics and graphic novels was a big deal to Dredd. He thought to change the law banishing them to the Cursed Earth. They even set up mutant camps out there that grew crops for the city to give them a better life.
@Darth Wheazius A Rogue Trooper series would be epic considering the CGI tech available these days. Back in 2018 Rebellion Developments said they were setting up a studio to make 2000AD movies and tv shows and Rogue was on the list. So I guess it's watch this space
@@StarlasAiko op made a reference to how both judge dredd fans and 40k fans often joke or comment about how well dredd would fit into 40k or how 2000ad could serve as a prequel setting/story to 40k
@@markusmellert5421 Which is understandable. GW hold the rights to 2000ad for a while, before Rebellion Games acquired them. And the Arbites are painfully obvious Street Judges.
Since this was about Judge Dredd, I figured I'd talk about his dramatically sophisticated movie here instead. Obligatory spoiler warning, but if you're here, you've probably already watched that movie more often than this one. In some ways, in that movie, Dredd was someone who understands that flexibility is called for but the law still stands as a basis, whether it is good or not. You see that he is still a brutal enforcer from the beginning of that movie, but he is not ruthless - he still saves a human shield. When he is then called back to HQ to take on a rookie, where he learns that said rookie kept failing the qualification, he initially believes should not be a judge but still obeys his superior's orders, after which he makes clear that he does not really believe that things can get better. With the first judgment he has the rookie do, he shows that he does value flexibility, and when asking the rookie's motivation for the judge and getting the answer, he does kind of hint that he can still respect someone who does try to make things better. Throughout that movie, you get the sense that it ultimately does not matter whether or not the rookie makes a mistake, but that any judge should display adaptability, especially on the fly, while still adhering to core protocol. He maintains his brutality throughout the movie, but there are points where he shows that he is not heartless. When two teens try to get him, he threatens them with "body bags or juvi-cubes," but when things unexpectedly take a turn, he does shoot the teens...with stun shots. So while he is brutal to pretty much any criminal he comes across, he understands that the are circumstances where brutality is not called for (this is still rare in his universe, but it still exists in it). And especially near the end, you get the sense that by that movie, he has already seen - and likely experienced - just about everything he possibly could as an LEO, including corrupt judges (in more ways than one, apparently), so he already knows to never hesitate on anything. Then when the rookie spares a criminal who does not deny his involvement at all - and they were already becomimg as brutal as Dredd (even approaching being ruthless), the same criminal ends up preventing the rookie from going down that path. Then when Dredd gets the reason as to why the rookie did not punish the criminal, you can tell that he recognizes it and the confidence (or more accurately, the complete lack of hesitation) behind it. So by the time he gives his final brutal punishment for the head criminal in the movie, while the rookie believes that they would not be a judge (which Dredd made clear in the beginning), he deems them fit for the job, meaning that while he still does not exactly believe that things can get better, he is not going to stop someone from trying to, especially when they have demonstrated that they will not hesitate, much like him, an acknowledgememt that maybe, now is the time for such a person (even though he knows it can and will never be him - he's an enforcer, not a healer). And let's face it, Urban is the Dredd you sh^t yourself over learning that he is coming after you.
@@CybinTalus Dredd has officially invented the - symbol into law it means taking a second to take a breath. It is required - by law to submit to a search when a judge required! - You have been chosen for a random search.
Blind justice is fair, albeit sometimes cruel. It aims to achieve balance between the interests of individuals and society, considering the totality of facts and circumstances.
Single-minded "justice" is entirely up to the arbiter, imposing one view, one doctrine on everyone. It substitutes indiscriminate cruelty for fairness, obedience for order, punishment for restitution.
@@DJosAmmel Justice by itself can be very interpretive. Justice to you might not be Justice to me. It requires a foundation (religion, culture, the like), something to look at to know what is 'just'. Something most people would agree is 'just', and even then you run the risk of them agreeing that something heinous is really just.
I feel the line about Justice meant something along the lines of the judges are judge jury and executioner and judge Fargo meant that in the days of Blind Justice Justice was done by a separate entity. An entity that was not involved in the emotion of the moment
I heard conflicting things about that. I heard that Stallone wanted to keep the helmet on but the studio wanted it off because "they paid for his face".
I am really enjoying the Libertarian slant to these videos. The fact that you can present a cogent and well thought out thesis about these topics and still manage to be entertaining is impressive. It has kind of a subversive feel, like sneaking vitamins into the cake. Great work.
Eat recycled food for a happier healthier life, be kind and peaceful to each other, eat recycled food. Recycled food is good for the environment, and ok for you.
I gotta say, as someone who knows nothing of the source material, I kind of agree, well, I don't know about never but he hardly wore it after the beginning of the film!
@@aztecklover69 Nah as a lifelong Dredd fan in my 40's Dredd was far closer to the source material. Stallones take was painful like a pantomime character. Mega city one looked nice tho.
True. It should've been taken off him by someone else while he was being sentenced...but his face is never shown. Two things: 1. When are convicted Judges allowed to keep their gear after being convicted of crimes? 2. Have you read The Day The Law Died?
This movie gets shit on a lot but I always thought it was good. I took my mum to see it and she liked it, therefore it retains a special place in my heart. Ben, I could watch you talk about movies all day.
From Boston to Florida actually, until after the Apocalypse War when they had to pull back due to loss of life and a lot of the outlying city became ruins.
You really should do the good Dredd with Karl Urban. I see the theme that you are going for here but maybe you could do it as a separate thing, not part of this series. There is no way you are not a fan of it. Or, at least, I don’t think there is. That movie just does not get enough love. Also, you guys should do a video on Helsreach. It’s probably hard to find 2.5 hours to watch a movie that is not part of your regular content but I think you guys could get some great content out of it. If you have already seen it then I don’t know what you are waiting for.
This movie was my first exposure to judge Dredd and IMO enjoy both movies. I also want to say keep these up. It's interesting to see how these movies have underlying messages that I may not have noticed or appreciated as kid.
Your analysis has given me a much broader appreciation of this film's depiction of the lore and character. You've managed to make it much deeper than the silly presentation it once had.
Love how he tries to make sense out of the ramblings of a madman. Rico was an interesting villain because he had conviction. Some of the best villains have or believe they have conviction like Joker or Thanos. 👍
Interesting analysis American Ben! I *hated* this film when it came out, I watched this in the cinema when it came out back in '95. I hated Stallone's interpretation of the character, I hated he took his helmet off in the film. I had been reading the comics since the early '80's and these twice factors rubbed me up the wrong way real quick. Otherwise, it was a reasonable interpretation of Mega City One and the Cursed Earth and I thought visually it was pleasing to the eye. And Stallone withstanding, there were some great actors and actresses in this film. Much prefer the 2012 Karl Urban version!
All the Judge Dredd storlines have a lot more to deal with in terms of themes than even this video gives them credit for. Please do more Dredd videos. I would love one on the 2017 Dredd. I love how rather than going more campy than the original as is the trend recently, they committed to going darker in the 2017 version and really always left me wondering Dredd was a hypocrite or not. There are some throwbacks to Stalone's Dredd that suggest Dredd's strict adherance to the law such as when he tells the vagrant "If you are still here when I get back, you are going in the cubes," possibly as a humorous threat he doesn't intend to carry out, or when he asks "Why is she here then?" when he finds out his new partner missed a passing score just by 3 marginal points. But at other times he displays no problem blowing away people without warning for things that might be less than capital offenses, including his own fellow judges who he seems to suspect before he even sees. He does take a black gangster prisoner rather than kill him, but only after his partner convinces him not to illegally beat the shit out of him himself. He also threatens the medic with criminal punishment just for not opening the door, and he spares 2 kids near the end of the movie but has no problem throughout killing mostly first-time, highly intimidated 3rd parties just because they currently possess a firearm. Nor does he seem to once car about the lives or property of people whom he even knows to be innocent. The movie telegraphs this about him in the opening scene and it remains true throughout. Both Stalone's and Carl's Dredds seem to be self-aware that they have hyper-strict personal interpretations of the law and environmentally aware that this quality distinguishes them from even other judges, some of whom may in fact be criminals themselves, but whereas Stalone's Dredd's strictness is untenable once it is pointed out to him because he wants to be loved and do good, Carl's Dredd seems to have long ago abandoned the untenable philosophy of strict adherance to [often] contradictory laws in all circumstances a longtime ago without any need whatsoever to be loved or even liked by anyone. One Dredd believes in the law and wants to live up to it and do good and be liked in return, the darker Dredd believes in his own code, which is equally likely to follow the law or his own moral compass, which is largely unknown to us, even with the close of the movie. For Stalone's Dredd, the audience doesn't know if their protagonist made the right choices in his life and the move. For Carl's Dredd, the audience doesn't know if Dredd is the protagonist. Sure he killed an abused, drug-dealing prostitute, but he could have blown up the whole building by doing so and he didn't have to; he could have just arrested her. Sure he was right about the fellow judges he killed being corrupt, but he basically killed them before he had definitive evidence, and we are left doubting that had he been wrong, he would have felt very sorry about it. When asked about his society that he protects, he says, "It's all a deep end," and this mirrors what the judge that he kills says about society being "a meat grinder and I just turn the handle." I guess here the only difference between the good judge Dredd and the bad judge is the money. Dredd says "Was it enough to betray the law?" And this is probably the only glimpse into Carl's Dredd's psyche in the whole movie. Stalone's Dredd believes he IS the law and it just must be interpreted by himself and other judges. It's a person or a book, but a thing, arbitrary and obscure, flawed even [rarely, begrudgingly], but knowable and interpretable. Carl's Dredd sees the law as divine. This means he doesn't perceive himself as crossing it when he beats a prisoner or threatens an innocent, because one must prepare the sacrifice at the temple by slaughtering. The gods will like the result so the means is appropriate, even lawful. When his superior assigns him a recruit he doesn't think followed the rules to pass, he does not directly contradict her, only ask her intentions. Stalone's Dredd insists the means are justified by the ends when he says the law can't make a mistake, but Carl's Dredd replaces that clarity of faith with a clarity of mission. I know what the law wants so the means are justified. In fact, he seems to hate his fellow judges, not because they are greedy and corrupt, but because they have a differing interpretation of his mission than him, and Carl's Dredd seems be more worried when he loses connection "to control" than he does at any other time in the movie, including when the entire building is rigged to explode, 3 50 caliber machine guns are ripping into everything around him, or his new partner is captured. The difference seems obscure and academic, but has deep, fundamental character and resolution results in the movie. Stalone's Dredd get's even more fame and glory at the end, he wants to be loved, and is loved by the girl. Carl's Dredd wants to be left alone to his own mission to worship quietly in...er..."peace?" He doesn't look at the Judge Tower as the light in the darkness, he doesn't think of the goal of judges to carry its word to those who have it not. He knows the judges are THE MOST likely to be corrupt. He presumes his own chain of command has alterior motives. And he hates both the idea of having a partner and receiving recognition. Gosh I want to watch that movie again.
If you’d like to continue this theme of exploring dystopian sci-fi civilizations with unchecked governments and police, I’d recommend watching Psycho-Pass. Think of it like a more reasonable and fleshed-out version of Minority Report. And for those of you that can’t read, it has a decent dub.
I hate to be a lawyer for 90s Judge Dredd, but hear me out. Out-of movie, sure, it's Stallone's ego that made his character take helmet off. In movie, it's justified story-wise. It would make no sense for Dredd to school cadets with helmet on, or to defend himself before High Justice, while staying in helmet. And of course, once falsely accused, how you expect him to be transported to 'cubes with helmet on? And later on he was on the run and trying to clear his name. So helmetlesness of Dredd makes sense in-movie to a degree.
There's also the reality that a movie with this kind of budget needs to appeal to the masses, not just the comic book fans. And I was part of the masses. I didn't even know there was a Judge Dread comic book. I went to see this in theaters because it was a Stallone movie. But I can understand the frustration of old time fans watching something they love changed for the mass market. I liked Star Trek, but the Trekkies and sci-fi nerds wasn't enough for the studio, so now we have loud and dumb "Murder Trek."
@@GenerationFilms thank you good sirs. Have you guys heard the that casper van dien want to make a series in the style of the mandalorian. With a Robert Rodriguez and quinten tarantino as preferred directors?
Guilt and innocence is a matter of timing speaks to the fact that everyone breaks law, several times a day in most cases. Not knowing doesn’t absolve guilt, not getting caught “does.” It’s the primary reason behind dude getting busted for saving his own life.
The stereotype of Justice being blind comes from a caricature of Justice from the late 1800's where Justice was blinded by legalism, in reality Justice is meant to see all.
Though as a long-time fan of the character I was as annoyed as the rest with the whole helmet thing, it did lead to some interesting stuff. The sudden break Dredd goes through in the court is pretty powerful- he goes in knowing he's done nothing wrong (according to The Law at least) and therefore confident of acquittal because The Law is flawless. When it then fails him, his entire world collapses in seconds and Stallone sells it pretty well.
Loved the video! To me, the line about taking justice out of Lady Justice's hands refers to taking the unattainable perfection of the CONCEPT of "law" that exists in the symbol of Lady Justice (an ideal for which humans will always strive, yet never 100% attain) and assigning the concept of law to human judges--thereby merging human and symbol together, as if humans could now embody the perfection of justice 100%--simply because the state says so. If the state now EMBODIES the law--instead of it being something that the state STRIVES toward--checks and balances on the judges would become irrelevant, because the state is now perfect.
if you really think about it, dredd HAD to convict fergi for the story to work the way it did. without fergi, dredd probably would not have survived to get back to the city. dredd needed a side kick and yes even a comedy relief to balance out dredd's lack of a sense of humor. fergi had such an effect on dredd, at the end of the movie, he smiled for probably the first time in his whole life.
Uninhabitable due to a nuclear war started by US president Robert 'Bad Bob' Booth... Its clear that you only know the film not the backstory which is a shame, as its a realy good story which over more than 30 years created a whole world. The tragedy of this film was (aside form Stalone) was that the hacks that wrote the scripts had clearly never read the comics.
@@ukmediawarrior Idiot, Trump did more to defuse the possibility of a nuclear war or major global conflict then any President in recent years. He also didn't start a single new war, contrast that with 'Sleepy, creepy Joe's' who's brought us to the brink of war with Russia in less then a hundred days. 'Sleepy, creepy Joe" being in office and an old school establishment demonrat who never met a war he didn't like(Probably cuz of all the kickbacks he and his family get from the MIC) and the chances of a nuclear war are greater now than at ANY point during the cold war.
@@AGTheOSHAViolationsCounter Wow, let me guess, you voted for Trump right? This isn't a political forum, I was simply remarking on the similarities between Bob Booth in the Dredd comic and Trump. Both turned America into a xenophobic society, distrusting, angering and alienating their allies while buddying up to despotic countries like Russia and North Korea.
When I first saw this movie when I was a teenager, I questioned why Dredd was put on trial for the murder of that news reporter because the Judges were free to do anything.
Apart from The Avengers (THE Avengers, Not MCU: look it up ) the only movie I ever watched that made me ANGRY!!!! Nothing to do with Dredd, never mind him taking his Helmet off. No social commentry, no nihilism, no emotional dichotomy of siding with a quasi-fascist... HEY! IT'S SLY..! He CAN'T BE A VILLIAN!! (And he HAS to show his Face) Dredd is NOT AND NEVER the Story: he is the individual that the STORY flows through!
Okay but no one would believe judge dredd was a criminal. He not only shows leniency in sentencing but always follows through the the letter of the law. One time when follow judges paid a ransom for him he arrested the judges
The second Judge Dredd is better. In this Dredd movie he kills the Angel gang too easily. In the comic the Angel gang were a recurring group of baddies.
Can someone please explain the moral theory behind the morality of laws changing over time, as opposed to the definitions changing? A crime is something that is and was always wrong but the conditions for guilt change, or so my thinking goes. Can someone help me out?
I know he's a clone, but wouldn't Rico look like him? Also, corrupt judges weren't sent to Aspen, they were sent to Titan, one of Jupiter's moons, and their faces were modified.
As someone who has read a fair amount of Judge Dredd there are things I like and dislike about this movie. The as mentioned removal of Dredds helmet being one example. However another one but less talked about is the reason for the judges themselves including the number of judges when compared to rest of the population. I can't recall the exact number as I can't seem to recall a figure being mentioned but 1 Judge per 10 thousand people comes to mind. This version of the movie portrays the judges like an army which is not true in the comics at all. It is even possible for people to be born, live and die and NEVER see a judge in their lives in the comics. Mentioned in the Urban version. Another part which was over looked in the Stallone version but given some degree of scope was the blocks and block war in Urban version. The Stallone version did show some of the Cursed Earth and added the Family into the story which was a positive for the movie. However these were like the rest of the movie this was rushed over and their back stories attempted to be explained fully in one or two lines. It is a bit hard to fully grasp the depth and motivations of the Dredd universe in a single movie as even the comics build and add to it much in the same way Star Trek or Star Wars and Doctor Who does their universes with each episode, movie etc. With that in mind unless you have read the comics Dredd's motivations and actions are not quite as clean cut as this movie presents so your conclusions are not as accurate either.
You mean Dredd? The film that went into production five months before The Raid started filming? The film that was based on a comic story from the 1980's?
The Idea of justice being blind is (I my opinion) meant to mean that she's a good listener and contemplative in seeking a truly righteous judgment, often by the wisdom that a blind person can be a better judge of character and truth than a person with working normal vision.
When the government continually makes new laws, regulations, and rules then eventually every "innocent" person will be incapable of living their lives without violating the law every day. That way the government will always have the possibility of charging you with some crime from the most minor to the most major. The government could easily nickle and dime people to death with a continuous stream of minor charges.
Yeah, I always thought the movie was crap but it had a good meaning in it. Mega City one isn't a law & order paradise - it's a dictatorship & the judges are the ruling class.
I dont know about more of a comedy, the starship troopers movie was literally made by a guy who couldnt be bothered to read the source material. At least the judge dredd movies seem to have made some attempt at reading the material, even if they didnt understand that it was intentionally over the top (much the same reason i fear a real warhammer 40k movie)... And oh my God i just realized how big of a nerd i am.
Always started the Judge Dredd movie with Stallone and it be more of a parody of the Judge Dredd story because it was done more Kathy and tongue and cheek no it definitely had a fair look to it
Having read 2000AD over a 15+ year period that encompassed this film's cinematic release, I feel you give Danny Cannon far too much credit. Whatever subtleties you attribute to this film seem to be largely viewer-derived; compared to the actual character that was featured week in, week out in 2000AD, this is a shallow and horribly, horribly clumsy attempt to bring an established world with its own lore and judicial system to the big screen, and to see this watered-down version presented as what is moreorless a vehicle for a big name star who doesn't understand the character being analysed as if it's meaningful is, frankly, misjudged (no pun intended). 2017 Dredd lacks characters from the comic being shoehorned in in a way that offends fans of the comic, but it remains much closer to the feel of the comic and is, to my mind, the one that you should have been looking at.
One point not covered. This was a created world, and that was created, or altered for a reason. John Wagner created Dredd for 2000AD and it was a huge success. BUT the magazine was getting terrifying fan male from young people who thought Dredd was right, the judges were right and a we need a police state (the UK at the time were dealing with domestic terrorism and strikes). Pat Mills took the decision to not cancel or alter the characters but instead to show how dystopian the world would become under this regime. Mega City one is a result of Judge Law, not the other way around
ahhh they say it form the start the judges are the cops judge and executioner. As for the brother the statement isnt lazy. Its letting you know right off the bat he is crazy and not to expect rational thought from him.
Having read the Dredd comics for over four decades now I feel I have a good take on this character. Firstly, Judges aren't programmed, lol, at least not in the literal sense. They spend 15 years at the Academy of Law, starting from age 5. They tend to graduate at 20 (although exceptional Cadets can graduate sooner as Dredd did) when they go on their Street Test with a full senior Judge. If they pass a day on the streets they get their full Eagle and become street Judges. Dredd, among all Judges, is by far the strictest, but he does have emotions and as he gets older he realises that the system needs to change. In the comics Judge Fargo, on his death bed, tells Dredd that they were never supposed to have power for so long, that it was never meant to be this way.
The Judges were given power because of the out of control lawlessness of the Mega Cities. Millions of people crammed into a huge city stretching from Boston to Florida and 99% of them out of work with nothing to do all day. The court system and law enforcement of the time couldn't handle it so the Judges were created and it worked. As time went on they took on more control of civil powers as well as law enforcement until they ruled the city with the law their guiding light.
Dredd is not above the law and is as strict upon himself as he is with everyone else. Several times in the comics he has tried to turn on his badge because of something he felt he did wrong only for the Chief Judge to talk him out of it. Even the criminals realise this. In one story the Hunters Club try to kill him and one member decides the best way to do it is to force him to break the law which would destroy him. One thing they try is to make him drive the wrong way down a one way road to catch a perp, instead he shoots the perp in the leg and drives around the block to pick him up, lol.
Dredd has on occasion reviewed and supported changes to the Law when unique or what he sees as unfair situations to citizens have occurred, even rewriting and making new ones when able to do so.
I remember when a guy was going to be deported from megacity for being a mutant covered in hair, he was killed before Dredd got the assassin, after Dredd said " it's a pity give him a trim and a shave and I think he could have made it "
@@thanqualthehighseer The whole mutant rights thing in more recent comics and graphic novels was a big deal to Dredd. He thought to change the law banishing them to the Cursed Earth. They even set up mutant camps out there that grew crops for the city to give them a better life.
@Darth Wheazius That was a great story line :) Cry of the Werewolf I think it was called. A wolf with a badge, lol.
It’s been a decade or two since I saw this movie last, but didn’t it make it a plot point that this Dredd and his brother were in fact programmed?
@Darth Wheazius A Rogue Trooper series would be epic considering the CGI tech available these days. Back in 2018 Rebellion Developments said they were setting up a studio to make 2000AD movies and tv shows and Rogue was on the list. So I guess it's watch this space
Judge Dredd is my favorite 40k Character
He isn't a 40k character, he is a 2000AD character
@@StarlasAiko op made a reference to how both judge dredd fans and 40k fans often joke or comment about how well dredd would fit into 40k or how 2000ad could serve as a prequel setting/story to 40k
in a simpler term:
"Wooooosh!"
@@acetrigger1337 didn't want to be rude but yeah. That really went over his head lul
@@markusmellert5421 Which is understandable. GW hold the rights to 2000ad for a while, before Rebellion Games acquired them. And the Arbites are painfully obvious Street Judges.
My favoirte line form the Judge Dredd comics is
"Everyone is guilty, the judges are there to determine the Level of your guilt"
Sounds pretty just to me :)
Lmao
Since this was about Judge Dredd, I figured I'd talk about his dramatically sophisticated movie here instead. Obligatory spoiler warning, but if you're here, you've probably already watched that movie more often than this one.
In some ways, in that movie, Dredd was someone who understands that flexibility is called for but the law still stands as a basis, whether it is good or not. You see that he is still a brutal enforcer from the beginning of that movie, but he is not ruthless - he still saves a human shield. When he is then called back to HQ to take on a rookie, where he learns that said rookie kept failing the qualification, he initially believes should not be a judge but still obeys his superior's orders, after which he makes clear that he does not really believe that things can get better. With the first judgment he has the rookie do, he shows that he does value flexibility, and when asking the rookie's motivation for the judge and getting the answer, he does kind of hint that he can still respect someone who does try to make things better.
Throughout that movie, you get the sense that it ultimately does not matter whether or not the rookie makes a mistake, but that any judge should display adaptability, especially on the fly, while still adhering to core protocol. He maintains his brutality throughout the movie, but there are points where he shows that he is not heartless. When two teens try to get him, he threatens them with "body bags or juvi-cubes," but when things unexpectedly take a turn, he does shoot the teens...with stun shots. So while he is brutal to pretty much any criminal he comes across, he understands that the are circumstances where brutality is not called for (this is still rare in his universe, but it still exists in it).
And especially near the end, you get the sense that by that movie, he has already seen - and likely experienced - just about everything he possibly could as an LEO, including corrupt judges (in more ways than one, apparently), so he already knows to never hesitate on anything. Then when the rookie spares a criminal who does not deny his involvement at all - and they were already becomimg as brutal as Dredd (even approaching being ruthless), the same criminal ends up preventing the rookie from going down that path. Then when Dredd gets the reason as to why the rookie did not punish the criminal, you can tell that he recognizes it and the confidence (or more accurately, the complete lack of hesitation) behind it. So by the time he gives his final brutal punishment for the head criminal in the movie, while the rookie believes that they would not be a judge (which Dredd made clear in the beginning), he deems them fit for the job, meaning that while he still does not exactly believe that things can get better, he is not going to stop someone from trying to, especially when they have demonstrated that they will not hesitate, much like him, an acknowledgememt that maybe, now is the time for such a person (even though he knows it can and will never be him - he's an enforcer, not a healer).
And let's face it, Urban is the Dredd you sh^t yourself over learning that he is coming after you.
oh shit we're dead WE'RE FUCKIN' DEAD!!!
(Great comment, by the way.)
A shot every time the word LAW is said. Good luck.
Justice restored, it is literally said twice per kill or once or more per arrest...
Shot of water
Stay hydrated
It is the law
-Judge dredd (getting dehydrated)
@@CybinTalus Dredd has officially invented the - symbol into law it means taking a second to take a breath.
It is required - by law to submit to a search when a judge required! - You have been chosen for a random search.
Justice isn't blind in Dredd, it is single minded. There is a difference.
Hm, interesting, could you elaborate?
Blind justice is fair, albeit sometimes cruel. It aims to achieve balance between the interests of individuals and society, considering the totality of facts and circumstances.
Single-minded "justice" is entirely up to the arbiter, imposing one view, one doctrine on everyone. It substitutes indiscriminate cruelty for fairness, obedience for order, punishment for restitution.
@@DJosAmmel Justice by itself can be very interpretive. Justice to you might not be Justice to me. It requires a foundation (religion, culture, the like), something to look at to know what is 'just'. Something most people would agree is 'just', and even then you run the risk of them agreeing that something heinous is really just.
I feel the line about Justice meant something along the lines of the judges are judge jury and executioner and judge Fargo meant that in the days of Blind Justice Justice was done by a separate entity. An entity that was not involved in the emotion of the moment
The whole point of dredd was that he didn't remove his helmet. Stallone just had to show off his mug I suppose.
That’s not what ruined the movie
I heard conflicting things about that. I heard that Stallone wanted to keep the helmet on but the studio wanted it off because "they paid for his face".
say what you say; still I enjoyed the stallone dreed alot more^^
In the comics he did remove his helmet but u never saw his face
It's a Stallone production, not the least a Dredd project
I am really enjoying the Libertarian slant to these videos. The fact that you can present a cogent and well thought out thesis about these topics and still manage to be entertaining is impressive. It has kind of a subversive feel, like sneaking vitamins into the cake. Great work.
Thx man!
Eat recycled food for a happier healthier life, be kind and peaceful to each other, eat recycled food. Recycled food is good for the environment, and ok for you.
Dredd should never have taken off his helmet
I gotta say, as someone who knows nothing of the source material, I kind of agree, well, I don't know about never but he hardly wore it after the beginning of the film!
agreed!! but!! you know creative liverties that all actors have; the stallone dredd Is my favorite dredd movie.
@@aztecklover69 Nah as a lifelong Dredd fan in my 40's Dredd was far closer to the source material. Stallones take was painful like a pantomime character. Mega city one looked nice tho.
True. It should've been taken off him by someone else while he was being sentenced...but his face is never shown.
Two things: 1. When are convicted Judges allowed to keep their gear after being convicted of crimes?
2. Have you read The Day The Law Died?
This movie gets shit on a lot but I always thought it was good. I took my mum to see it and she liked it, therefore it retains a special place in my heart.
Ben, I could watch you talk about movies all day.
Thx man, always good to see your comments.
In the comics, Mega City 1 stretched from Boston to Washington, DC.
From Boston to Florida actually, until after the Apocalypse War when they had to pull back due to loss of life and a lot of the outlying city became ruins.
You really should do the good Dredd with Karl Urban. I see the theme that you are going for here but maybe you could do it as a separate thing, not part of this series. There is no way you are not a fan of it. Or, at least, I don’t think there is. That movie just does not get enough love.
Also, you guys should do a video on Helsreach. It’s probably hard to find 2.5 hours to watch a movie that is not part of your regular content but I think you guys could get some great content out of it. If you have already seen it then I don’t know what you are waiting for.
I also say the newer judge dredd with Karl urban is highly underrated
That being said, I absolutely loved what you said about "blind justice" and how that actually plays out in Dredd's world--spot on!
This movie was my first exposure to judge Dredd and IMO enjoy both movies. I also want to say keep these up. It's interesting to see how these movies have underlying messages that I may not have noticed or appreciated as kid.
Will do! Thx for the comment.
Your analysis has given me a much broader appreciation of this film's depiction of the lore and character. You've managed to make it much deeper than the silly presentation it once had.
Love how he tries to make sense out of the ramblings of a madman. Rico was an interesting villain because he had conviction. Some of the best villains have or believe they have conviction like Joker or Thanos. 👍
Rico also had an alpha charisma.
Interesting analysis American Ben!
I *hated* this film when it came out, I watched this in the cinema when it came out back in '95. I hated Stallone's interpretation of the character, I hated he took his helmet off in the film. I had been reading the comics since the early '80's and these twice factors rubbed me up the wrong way real quick.
Otherwise, it was a reasonable interpretation of Mega City One and the Cursed Earth and I thought visually it was pleasing to the eye. And Stallone withstanding, there were some great actors and actresses in this film.
Much prefer the 2012 Karl Urban version!
All the Judge Dredd storlines have a lot more to deal with in terms of themes than even this video gives them credit for. Please do more Dredd videos. I would love one on the 2017 Dredd. I love how rather than going more campy than the original as is the trend recently, they committed to going darker in the 2017 version and really always left me wondering Dredd was a hypocrite or not. There are some throwbacks to Stalone's Dredd that suggest Dredd's strict adherance to the law such as when he tells the vagrant "If you are still here when I get back, you are going in the cubes," possibly as a humorous threat he doesn't intend to carry out, or when he asks "Why is she here then?" when he finds out his new partner missed a passing score just by 3 marginal points. But at other times he displays no problem blowing away people without warning for things that might be less than capital offenses, including his own fellow judges who he seems to suspect before he even sees. He does take a black gangster prisoner rather than kill him, but only after his partner convinces him not to illegally beat the shit out of him himself. He also threatens the medic with criminal punishment just for not opening the door, and he spares 2 kids near the end of the movie but has no problem throughout killing mostly first-time, highly intimidated 3rd parties just because they currently possess a firearm. Nor does he seem to once car about the lives or property of people whom he even knows to be innocent. The movie telegraphs this about him in the opening scene and it remains true throughout. Both Stalone's and Carl's Dredds seem to be self-aware that they have hyper-strict personal interpretations of the law and environmentally aware that this quality distinguishes them from even other judges, some of whom may in fact be criminals themselves, but whereas Stalone's Dredd's strictness is untenable once it is pointed out to him because he wants to be loved and do good, Carl's Dredd seems to have long ago abandoned the untenable philosophy of strict adherance to [often] contradictory laws in all circumstances a longtime ago without any need whatsoever to be loved or even liked by anyone. One Dredd believes in the law and wants to live up to it and do good and be liked in return, the darker Dredd believes in his own code, which is equally likely to follow the law or his own moral compass, which is largely unknown to us, even with the close of the movie. For Stalone's Dredd, the audience doesn't know if their protagonist made the right choices in his life and the move. For Carl's Dredd, the audience doesn't know if Dredd is the protagonist. Sure he killed an abused, drug-dealing prostitute, but he could have blown up the whole building by doing so and he didn't have to; he could have just arrested her. Sure he was right about the fellow judges he killed being corrupt, but he basically killed them before he had definitive evidence, and we are left doubting that had he been wrong, he would have felt very sorry about it. When asked about his society that he protects, he says, "It's all a deep end," and this mirrors what the judge that he kills says about society being "a meat grinder and I just turn the handle." I guess here the only difference between the good judge Dredd and the bad judge is the money. Dredd says "Was it enough to betray the law?" And this is probably the only glimpse into Carl's Dredd's psyche in the whole movie. Stalone's Dredd believes he IS the law and it just must be interpreted by himself and other judges. It's a person or a book, but a thing, arbitrary and obscure, flawed even [rarely, begrudgingly], but knowable and interpretable. Carl's Dredd sees the law as divine. This means he doesn't perceive himself as crossing it when he beats a prisoner or threatens an innocent, because one must prepare the sacrifice at the temple by slaughtering. The gods will like the result so the means is appropriate, even lawful. When his superior assigns him a recruit he doesn't think followed the rules to pass, he does not directly contradict her, only ask her intentions. Stalone's Dredd insists the means are justified by the ends when he says the law can't make a mistake, but Carl's Dredd replaces that clarity of faith with a clarity of mission. I know what the law wants so the means are justified. In fact, he seems to hate his fellow judges, not because they are greedy and corrupt, but because they have a differing interpretation of his mission than him, and Carl's Dredd seems be more worried when he loses connection "to control" than he does at any other time in the movie, including when the entire building is rigged to explode, 3 50 caliber machine guns are ripping into everything around him, or his new partner is captured. The difference seems obscure and academic, but has deep, fundamental character and resolution results in the movie. Stalone's Dredd get's even more fame and glory at the end, he wants to be loved, and is loved by the girl. Carl's Dredd wants to be left alone to his own mission to worship quietly in...er..."peace?" He doesn't look at the Judge Tower as the light in the darkness, he doesn't think of the goal of judges to carry its word to those who have it not. He knows the judges are THE MOST likely to be corrupt. He presumes his own chain of command has alterior motives. And he hates both the idea of having a partner and receiving recognition. Gosh I want to watch that movie again.
SECRET: acting!
What's his secret?
*HE IS THE LAAAW!*
AmBen!💖✌🖖
This one made it to some unexpected playlists! Good job! 🤔😎
✌️✌️❤️
If you’d like to continue this theme of exploring dystopian sci-fi civilizations with unchecked governments and police, I’d recommend watching Psycho-Pass. Think of it like a more reasonable and fleshed-out version of Minority Report.
And for those of you that can’t read, it has a decent dub.
I watch a lot of generation files. This is probably the most thought provoking piece I can recall.
Even the good go bad in an injust society....damn man that hits hard
This is more intellectual than every news source in the past 20 years
What if night city is a megacity mod with judge dredd
Dredd is not human he is a clone please read the comics
It depends on what being human means, but in a purely biological sense a clone of a human is still a human...
"Give us a like and comment"
......I knew you'd say that 😎
It's the law
One of the best channels on the internet
I hate to be a lawyer for 90s Judge Dredd, but hear me out. Out-of movie, sure, it's Stallone's ego that made his character take helmet off. In movie, it's justified story-wise. It would make no sense for Dredd to school cadets with helmet on, or to defend himself before High Justice, while staying in helmet. And of course, once falsely accused, how you expect him to be transported to 'cubes with helmet on? And later on he was on the run and trying to clear his name. So helmetlesness of Dredd makes sense in-movie to a degree.
There's also the reality that a movie with this kind of budget needs to appeal to the masses, not just the comic book fans. And I was part of the masses. I didn't even know there was a Judge Dread comic book. I went to see this in theaters because it was a Stallone movie. But I can understand the frustration of old time fans watching something they love changed for the mass market. I liked Star Trek, but the Trekkies and sci-fi nerds wasn't enough for the studio, so now we have loud and dumb "Murder Trek."
plz do starship troopers to in this series. i know you already did alot of it but still...
😂😂Lmao, this man thinks we're tired of Starship Troopers. Oh you're getting the damn video... eventually. 😁❤️
@@GenerationFilms thank you good sirs. Have you guys heard the that casper van dien want to make a series in the style of the mandalorian. With a Robert Rodriguez and quinten tarantino as preferred directors?
@@franskamstra2728 That'd be rad; I hope it happens.
Guilt and innocence is a matter of timing speaks to the fact that everyone breaks law, several times a day in most cases. Not knowing doesn’t absolve guilt, not getting caught “does.” It’s the primary reason behind dude getting busted for saving his own life.
No, no, not the sophisticated one, the fun one! I knew you would say that!
The stereotype of Justice being blind comes from a caricature of Justice from the late 1800's where Justice was blinded by legalism, in reality Justice is meant to see all.
Ty for movies to add to the watch list
Love the thought processes and ideas you always present
Though as a long-time fan of the character I was as annoyed as the rest with the whole helmet thing, it did lead to some interesting stuff. The sudden break Dredd goes through in the court is pretty powerful- he goes in knowing he's done nothing wrong (according to The Law at least) and therefore confident of acquittal because The Law is flawless. When it then fails him, his entire world collapses in seconds and Stallone sells it pretty well.
Loved the video! To me, the line about taking justice out of Lady Justice's hands refers to taking the unattainable perfection of the CONCEPT of "law" that exists in the symbol of Lady Justice (an ideal for which humans will always strive, yet never 100% attain) and assigning the concept of law to human judges--thereby merging human and symbol together, as if humans could now embody the perfection of justice 100%--simply because the state says so. If the state now EMBODIES the law--instead of it being something that the state STRIVES toward--checks and balances on the judges would become irrelevant, because the state is now perfect.
if you really think about it, dredd HAD to convict fergi for the story to work the way it did. without fergi, dredd probably would not have survived to get back to the city. dredd needed a side kick and yes even a comedy relief to balance out dredd's lack of a sense of humor. fergi had such an effect on dredd, at the end of the movie, he smiled for probably the first time in his whole life.
I swear you always look like you're about to sneeze in the first frame of the videos you do
Did you just solve the problem of modern policing in the US? Wait, now I only have more questions... 🤔🤔🤔🤔
Looking sharp!
Hair is looking very good.
to sum up: dredd follows the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law
Uninhabitable due to a nuclear war started by US president Robert 'Bad Bob' Booth... Its clear that you only know the film not the backstory which is a shame, as its a realy good story which over more than 30 years created a whole world. The tragedy of this film was (aside form Stalone) was that the hacks that wrote the scripts had clearly never read the comics.
Was it just me or during Trumps presidency didn't he remind you of Bob Booth, lol? I could imagine him itching to push that nuclear missile button.
@@ukmediawarrior Idiot, Trump did more to defuse the possibility of a nuclear war or major global conflict then any President in recent years. He also didn't start a single new war, contrast that with 'Sleepy, creepy Joe's' who's brought us to the brink of war with Russia in less then a hundred days. 'Sleepy, creepy Joe" being in office and an old school establishment demonrat who never met a war he didn't like(Probably cuz of all the kickbacks he and his family get from the MIC) and the chances of a nuclear war are greater now than at ANY point during the cold war.
@@AGTheOSHAViolationsCounter Wow, let me guess, you voted for Trump right? This isn't a political forum, I was simply remarking on the similarities between Bob Booth in the Dredd comic and Trump. Both turned America into a xenophobic society, distrusting, angering and alienating their allies while buddying up to despotic countries like Russia and North Korea.
Do an episode on Equilibrium. A mega-city where emotions are illegal.
I am the law.. -suit...
I think you are right on all counts. Perhaps if finished or at least continued the story in a sequel, it would have cleared up a few things.
stallons german voice acter made a great job. judge dredd sounds soooo much more angry and agressive than stallone
This just jumped to my que, so I will have to look. But I hope you do a review of Dredd with Karl Urban for comparison.
When I first saw this movie when I was a teenager, I questioned why Dredd was put on trial for the murder of that news reporter because the Judges were free to do anything.
i watched judge dredd 1995 in Cinema and loved it. i had no clue about the Charakter or universe tho
Apart from The Avengers (THE Avengers, Not MCU: look it up ) the only movie I ever watched that made me ANGRY!!!!
Nothing to do with Dredd, never mind him taking his Helmet off.
No social commentry, no nihilism, no emotional dichotomy of siding with a quasi-fascist...
HEY! IT'S SLY..! He CAN'T BE A VILLIAN!! (And he HAS to show his Face)
Dredd is NOT AND NEVER the Story: he is the individual that the STORY flows through!
I always get this movie mixed up with robo cop.
Okay but no one would believe judge dredd was a criminal. He not only shows leniency in sentencing but always follows through the the letter of the law. One time when follow judges paid a ransom for him he arrested the judges
You betrayed the Law.
Lawgghhh...
The second Judge Dredd is better. In this Dredd movie he kills the Angel gang too easily. In the comic the Angel gang were a recurring group of baddies.
Fergie wanted to destroy the Janus experiment along with saving Dredd and Hershey's lives
Can someone please explain the moral theory behind the morality of laws changing over time, as opposed to the definitions changing? A crime is something that is and was always wrong but the conditions for guilt change, or so my thinking goes. Can someone help me out?
Dredd isn't a robot, he's a clone.
I know he's a clone, but wouldn't Rico look like him? Also, corrupt judges weren't sent to Aspen, they were sent to Titan, one of Jupiter's moons, and their faces were modified.
As someone who has read a fair amount of Judge Dredd there are things I like and dislike about this movie. The as mentioned removal of Dredds helmet being one example.
However another one but less talked about is the reason for the judges themselves including the number of judges when compared to rest of the population. I can't recall the exact number as I can't seem to recall a figure being mentioned but 1 Judge per 10 thousand people comes to mind. This version of the movie portrays the judges like an army which is not true in the comics at all.
It is even possible for people to be born, live and die and NEVER see a judge in their lives in the comics. Mentioned in the Urban version.
Another part which was over looked in the Stallone version but given some degree of scope was the blocks and block war in Urban version.
The Stallone version did show some of the Cursed Earth and added the Family into the story which was a positive for the movie. However these were like the rest of the movie this was rushed over and their back stories attempted to be explained fully in one or two lines.
It is a bit hard to fully grasp the depth and motivations of the Dredd universe in a single movie as even the comics build and add to it much in the same way Star Trek or Star Wars and Doctor Who does their universes with each episode, movie etc.
With that in mind unless you have read the comics Dredd's motivations and actions are not quite as clean cut as this movie presents so your conclusions are not as accurate either.
The dramatically sophisticated one? You mean The Raid cover?
You mean Dredd? The film that went into production five months before The Raid started filming? The film that was based on a comic story from the 1980's?
The Idea of justice being blind is (I my opinion) meant to mean that she's a good listener and contemplative in seeking a truly righteous judgment, often by the wisdom that a blind person can be a better judge of character and truth than a person with working normal vision.
Great take!
I just noticed some similarities to Minority Report. 🤔
When the government continually makes new laws, regulations, and rules then eventually every "innocent" person will be incapable of living their lives without violating the law every day. That way the government will always have the possibility of charging you with some crime from the most minor to the most major. The government could easily nickle and dime people to death with a continuous stream of minor charges.
I thought this was a Carl Urban movie
well, now you have to do the other one
Woohoo!
"He doesn't take into account anyone's race, sex, class, etc..."
I'm starting to sense a real liberal bent in American Ben. Cringy. Need more Allen.
American Ben shaved for a robot
Karl urban is Dredd ☠️👍🏻
Robocop vs dredd who would win
No hate to Dredd, but Robocop wins all day!
Poor Murphy would be scrap metal.
Yeah, I always thought the movie was crap but it had a good meaning in it. Mega City one isn't a law & order paradise - it's a dictatorship & the judges are the ruling class.
Oh and this version of Dread is more comedy than Starship Troopers movie was.
I dont know about more of a comedy, the starship troopers movie was literally made by a guy who couldnt be bothered to read the source material. At least the judge dredd movies seem to have made some attempt at reading the material, even if they didnt understand that it was intentionally over the top (much the same reason i fear a real warhammer 40k movie)...
And oh my God i just realized how big of a nerd i am.
Nice.
At least you know where you stand.
the media being a check on on goverment is laughable
Give us a few months, maybe a year or two and will have “judges” patrolling the streets.
Always started the Judge Dredd movie with Stallone and it be more of a parody of the Judge Dredd story because it was done more Kathy and tongue and cheek no it definitely had a fair look to it
Whoa this is deep.
Great video, but far too many ads to make it fun to watch
Having read 2000AD over a 15+ year period that encompassed this film's cinematic release, I feel you give Danny Cannon far too much credit. Whatever subtleties you attribute to this film seem to be largely viewer-derived; compared to the actual character that was featured week in, week out in 2000AD, this is a shallow and horribly, horribly clumsy attempt to bring an established world with its own lore and judicial system to the big screen, and to see this watered-down version presented as what is moreorless a vehicle for a big name star who doesn't understand the character being analysed as if it's meaningful is, frankly, misjudged (no pun intended). 2017 Dredd lacks characters from the comic being shoehorned in in a way that offends fans of the comic, but it remains much closer to the feel of the comic and is, to my mind, the one that you should have been looking at.
Everyone is legally guilty of something. EVERYONE. The issue is that you aren't always caught. Hence, timing is indeed everything.
"Innocence proves nothing"
Stalone dredd isn't dredd!
Hair...check, stubble...check. Just need some glasses. Out of curiosity, is the camera relatively close to you or are you slightly cross eyed?
😮Probably slightly cross-eyed. 🤷🏼♂️
Octopus Fred
The Beast Mothership from Homeworld Cataclysm
Theeeeee crimeee issssssss lifeeeeee. ........Theeeeee ssssssentance issssssss deathhhh
Watch the movie again
The law rolls over the guilty and innocent alike.
It is a mechanism of politics, not morals.
👍
One point not covered. This was a created world, and that was created, or altered for a reason. John Wagner created Dredd for 2000AD and it was a huge success. BUT the magazine was getting terrifying fan male from young people who thought Dredd was right, the judges were right and a we need a police state (the UK at the time were dealing with domestic terrorism and strikes). Pat Mills took the decision to not cancel or alter the characters but instead to show how dystopian the world would become under this regime. Mega City one is a result of Judge Law, not the other way around
How can you talk about checks and balances in government and ignore the dolphin threat? I ask again have you been bought off by big dolphin?
ahhh they say it form the start the judges are the cops judge and executioner. As for the brother the statement isnt lazy. Its letting you know right off the bat he is crazy and not to expect rational thought from him.
Media is never good
I could never defile the law I am the law!!!!!
I am...........THE LAW!
I AM. THE LAAAW