Starship Troopers [DVD] [1998]

Starship Troopers is a work of genius.Taken at face value it’s a B movie in the style of Robot Jox. But, in reality, director Paul Verhoeven pulled the ultimate parlour trick: He made us all think it was a ‘normal’ blockbuster movie.In many ways, the biggest victims of Verhoeven’s genius prank were the cast. Casper van Diem probably thinks to this day that he was cast as the square-jawed hero of a big-budget movie on merit. Nothing could be further from the truth! In reality he was the ‘Ken’ in a fictional propaganda movie that put all of the stars’ physical features ahead of any actual acting talent.Starship Troopers is not really an action movie, although it can be viewed that way. What it most definitely is, is the ultimate skewering of the American way, unwittingly paid for by the biggest propaganda machine in the USA, and naively acted out by its beautiful people.Hats off to Verhoeven. To insult one’s host is a dangerous game, but to do it so brilliantly, and for it to take at least 10 years for them to catch on, is total and utter genius. Well done to you sir, and thank you for a movie that has very little to do with what we see, and is all the better for it.

I am going to assume that most of you who are reading this want to know about this blueray's contents and technical merits.There are at the time of writing this 4 ways of obtaining this movie on blueray here on Amazon:- the one I own and am reviewing here, call it the "Three Heads" version, apparently produced in 2008, the main feature starts up with the "Tristar"-logo. Starship Troopers [Blu-ray] [1997] [US Import]- the version seen about most often, call it the "Ochre" edition, I own it too and my copy does not have a product date on it, the main feature starts up with the "Buena Vista International"-logo. Starship Troopers [Blu-ray]- the steelbook limited collectors' edition, I have no further info on it. Starship Troopers - Limited Edition Steelbook- the "triple box set" of the three live-action movies in the franchise, which I also do not own. Starship Troopers 1-3 [DVD] [2008]Note that in the Amazon description of the Three Heads version there is talk of it being a DVD. It is NOT a DVD, it is a BlueRay disk.I am going to talk about the Three Heads version and how it differs from the Ochre version.TLDR; if you want to own the movie for the extra's, get the Three Heads, if you don't care about extra's and want a version with more audio and subtitle-options, get the Ochre. The Three heads differs mainly from the Ochre in that it has great menu's, the documentary 'Death from Above', FX- and Storyboard-comparisons and most importantly 2 commentary tracks that are simply a must for anyone who likes this movie.Extra's:The BlueRay features an interactive game which is reasonably fun. There is also a "Fed-Net Mode" where you are presented, during the movie, with a small Picture-in-Picture image of behind the scenes footage and interviews with cast & crew. And although at least a good part of this info is reiterated from some of the other extra's, they are presented here at their relevant moments during the main feature.Aside from the Fed-Net mode there is also the Blu-Wizard mode, where you can select which of the special features footage you want to start running automatically at their respective moments during playback of the main feature. I guess it's similar to the Fed Net mode, but it's presented in full screen, plus you cannot as far I can see watch the Fed Net mode material outside of the Fed Net mode, if that makes sense.Death from above is a pretty exhaustive 30-minute mini-doc on conception, production and all that jazz with interviews with cast and crew. The model-shop is visited, as well as the practical effects shop where the life-sized bugs and gore were created. There are even a few minutes with Denise Richards which is nice, since she's semi-privately stated she did not like the production or the final product.The FX-comparisons are a blast, where you are presented with full screen "raw-footage" of 9 different scenes with a small picture-in-picture bottom-right displaying the final scene as it is in the movie, all synced up.The StoryBoard-comparisons are done in the exact same vein and very nice too, although I would like to know if the SB-drawings we see in the main screen are by the designated SB-artist or buy Mr. Verhoeven himself, who reportedly story-boarded the movie as well, sometimes while on the set.The "scene-deconstruction with Paul Verhoeven" is also done in the same vein, although this time unshaded pre-viz animation replaces the storyboards.Where the extra features shine most however, are in the commentary-tracks. The actors and director track was recorded, if I deduced correctly, in the year 2007. It is clear that all participants are having a blast while sitting in the same room reminiscing anecdotes, jesting with each other and occasionally calling each other out on some event that happened during the shoot. Great stuff for lovers of the story and the characters, though I'd have loved Mr. Busey to have been present as well. The commentary track by Mssrs. Verhoeven & Neumeier caters more to those interested in the backgrounds of the production itself, but lacks not in the fun-department. There are no subtitles for either of the commentary tracksLastly: the often maligned BD-Live functions that were more prevalent in the early days of the medium than they are now. Short story: they don't function for my hardware at least. My guess is that this service has been withdrawn from the servers.Presentation:The menu is simply gorgeous, with a hilarious animation of a warrior bug loosing it's front-palps between sliding doors shutting. The chapter selection menu offers custom bookmarks for your convenience. There is an in-movie menu-bar that lets you jump directly to the special features menu, unlike in the "Ochre" blueray which has atrocious navigation. The chapters are lain out differently between the two versions, so I guess that these were chosen somewhat arbitrarily during the mastering process. I give the Ochre versions a point for putting the credit-roll in a chapter of its own.Technical:Whereas this disk only has Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (tm), I suppose that's the best version to have for those who have a compatible system. I do not have such a system, but never noticed anything wrong or missing with the sound playing through my TV's speakers. The Ochre disk has more sound-options, but lacks TrueHD.Picture-wise both versions feel identical. Subjectively, I had a slightly more "cinematic" feeling with the Three Heads disk, whereas the Ochre one felt a bit more "crispy", if that makes any sense. Again, I think this was subjective. They are fine transfers and the actors even comment on this during the commentary track.Packaging:The version I got from a vendor in Canada has a bilingual front- and back cover and is in a slimline case with a latch for secure closing. As said: the artwork is horrible and seems Photoshopped by a very incompetent 10-year old (at no point in the movie does Carmen Ibanez wear infantry armor). What it does have however is decent art on the reverse side of the cover insert, visible through the translucent blue plastic case when in place.The Ochre Edition only differs positively with:- Movie Showcase: direct links to 3 of the movies most iconic scenes,- end credits have a separate chapter,- Teaser Trailer included (Three Heads has no Starship Troopers trailers at all, why?)- extra audio language: Spanish- extra audio options: 5.1 dolby & 5.1 DTS for all three audio languages- extra subtitles Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Denmark, Finland, IcelandConclusion:If you want an as complete an experience as possible but only want to buy the movie once, get this one, the "three heads" bad photoshop cover, as contradictory as that sounds. If you are a true fan, get both the Three Heads and the Ochre, buy an empty dual disk BR case and insert the Ochre artwork over the three heads artwork. There: your personal "Ultimate Edition", at least until the the 25 or 30 year anniversary edition comes out :) (please Denise, give this movie some love when that time comes!)

The acting is so bad as to be funny and the storyline is easy to follow. A real fun naff movie.

I was staggered to realise that this move is relatively recent – I remember it coming out at the cinema and garnering terrible reviews – which is probably why I never went to see it at the time, but although in my mind it came out just after Paul Verhoeven’s twin masterpieces Robocop, and Total Recall, it was actually seven years later! It’s absolutely a 1990s Verheoven movie – from the faux-cheesy casting, to the macabre violence; it even features Michael Ironside (although this time in a much more sympathetic role). The biting satire and black humour are also fully evident, and these elements are for me what lifts the movie from simply being another Sci-fi flick, to a brilliantly subversive and maverick action movie – they really don’t make ‘em like this any more.

Only commenting on 4K attributes,the film speaks for itself.Picture is a subtle improvement over blu-ray , especially with the hdr improvements and felt the benefits more in the second half of the film when the action ramps up.Audio is excellent and a definite improvement over previous versions.

Es una película con mucha acción y excelentes efectos especiales.Me hubiera gustado que viniera doblada al español latino, solo viene doblada al español de España.

Perfeito

version Française import. Introuvable en france comme dabUn conseil courez l'acheter

Mehr als 25 Jahre nach seiner Kinopremiere darf man feststellen: die anfangs von der Kritik zerrissene STARSHIP TROOPERS Verfilmung von Paul Verhoeven hat ohne Diskussion den berühmten "Test Of Time" bestanden. Der Film ist immer noch populär und hat eine treue Fangemeinde, und er hat eine Menge anderer Werke inspiriert - dies zeigt auch aktuell der Erfolg eines sehr klar vom Film beeinflussten Spiels "Helldivers 2".Man hat STARSHIP TROOPERS meistens zweierlei vorgeworfen: zum einen, mit Richard Heinleins gleichnamigem Roman von 1959 nicht viel gemeinsam zu haben, und zum anderen, ein mau gespieltes Action-Epos mit faschistoiden Zügen zu sein.Zum ersten Kritikpunkt ist zu sagen, dass dies fraglos zutrifft. Der umstrittene Roman ist deutlich anders, sowohl hinsichtlich seiner Handlung wie auch seiner Atmosphäre. Die hier rezensierte Verfilmung von STARSHIP TROOPERS spielt allenfalls in einer ähnlichen Gesellschaft wie der Roman, sie greift aber einige der im Roman aufgeworfenen Fragen geschickt auf - und zieht sie mitunter gekonnt ins Lächerliche und ins Abstruse. Im Prinzip könnte man sich vorstellen, dass STARSHIP TROOPERS eine Gesellschaft portraitiert, die so sein möchte wie die, welche Heinlein im Roman geschildert hat... und dabei natürlich scheitert.Zum zweiten Kritikpunkt ist zu sagen, dass er meiner Meinung nach an der Sache vorbeigeht. STARSHIP TROOPERS nimmt sich überhaupt nicht ernst, und natürlich werden Protagonisten wie Johnny Rico oder Carmen Ibanez wie gut aussehende Dumpfbacken dargestellt, die den Faschismus in ihrer Denkweise überhaupt nicht erkennen. Spätestens in den immer wieder "Would You Like To Know More" Sequenzen und natürlich dem Finale mit dem Brain Bug, der zur großen Freude der anwesenden Soldaten Angst empfindet, ist zu erkennen, wie sehr sich der Film selbst auf die Schippe nimmt... denn an anstatt hier zu realisieren, dass beide Seiten vermutlich koexistieren können, sehen die Menschen in der Angst des Brain Bugs nur einen Anlass zum Jubeln. STARSHIP TROOPERS ist von Verhoeven fraglos als zynischer und bisweilen regelrecht bissiger Kommentar auf Hurra-Patriotismus und Militarismus konzipiert worden, und dies sieht man dem Film auch deutlich an.Ansonsten ist festzustellen, dass dieser Film auch nach über 25 Jahren noch mächtig Spaß macht und technisch gut gealtert ist - die CGI Bugs und sonstige Effekte sehen gut aus, die Designs wirken recht glaubhaft, und gerade die Nebenrollen (MIchael Ironside und Clancy Brown sind einmal mehr spitze!) geben dem Film jede Menge denkwürdige Moment... und die Sprüche sind sowieso zum Teil in den Kanon der SF-Fans übergegangen.Alles in allem: ein Film, der auch heute noch Spaß macht und auf mehreren Ebenen gut funktioniert - und ein Film, der deutlich cleverer ist als sein Ruf.Ich komme auf knappe, aber verdiente 5 Sterne.

Film ingiustamente criticato alla sua uscita, merita di sicuro una riscoperta. Ottimo esempio di un film di fantascienza pensato per le masse, ma che anche in grado di far riflettere sui rischi di una società interamente militarizzata. Edizione BD tedesca, ma con audio disponibile anche in inglese e italiano.