Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12539 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-12-06
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Judge Dredd is one of those movies that doesn't have a brain of its own, so it can only rip off a lot of ingredients from other, better movies. It's a mishmash of Blade Runner, Total Recall, and The Road Warrior, with a dash of Star Wars tossed in for good measure. As if that weren't enough, it's got Sylvester Stallone, who seems to be the only one in the movie who's in on the game and knows it's all a sci-fi scam. Like The Fifth Element a few years later, Judge Dredd depicts a futuristic megalopolis packed with crowded vertical overgrowth and rampant commerce, where anarchy reigns supreme. Violent "block wars" are fought by lawless citizens with machine guns, and Judge Dredd (Stallone) is one of the city's heavily armed policemen, given free rein to judge and execute the perpetrators of violence. But Dredd himself is subjected to judgement and swift justice when his own gun is identified in the murder of a prominent TV reporter, forcing him to do whatever he can to clear his name. Diane Lane plays his partner in crime-fighting and romance, and Rob Schneider provides juvenile comic relief as Dredd's streetwise sidekick. Impressive special effects are on vivid display, and the movie's fun for what it's worth. Lower your expectations and you just might enjoy it. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.co.uk Review
Judge Dredd is one of those movies that doesn't have a brain of its own, so it can only rip off a lot of ingredients from other, better movies. It's a mishmash of Blade Runner, Total Recall, and The Road Warrior, with a dash of Star Wars tossed in for good measure. As if that weren't enough, it's got Sylvester Stallone, who seems to be the only one in the movie who's in on the game and knows it's all a sci-fi scam. Like The Fifth Element a few years later, Judge Dredd depicts a futuristic megalopolis packed with crowded vertical overgrowth and rampant commerce, where anarchy reigns supreme. Violent "block wars" are fought by lawless citizens with machine guns, and Judge Dredd (Stallone) is one of the city's heavily armed policemen, given free rein to judge and execute the perpetrators of violence. But Dredd himself is subjected to judgement and swift justice when his own gun is identified in the murder of a prominent TV reporter, forcing him to do whatever he can to clear his name. Diane Lane plays his partner in crime-fighting and romance, and Rob Schneider provides juvenile comic relief as Dredd's streetwise sidekick. Impressive special effects are on vivid display, and the movie's fun for what it's worth. Lower your expectations and you just might enjoy it. --Jeff Shannon

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Original Theatrical Trailer
The Making Of
Cast And Crew Biographies
Interactive Moving Menus

Customer Reviews

Better than I expected
This film was almost universally hated, by critics and Dredd fans alike, so I didn't get round to watching it for a long time. Dredd is one of my all time favourite comics and I didn't want to see it ruined by a bad film.

WHAT'S GOOD. Sylvester Stallone is the perfect man to play Dredd. I know not everyone agrees, but just scroll up and look at the picture. The first half hour or so of the film captures the atmoshere of the comics and MegaCity 1 perfectly, and gives anyone a good idea of what the comics are like.

WHAT'S BAD. The story. In short the story was not right for the character. I can understand that the film makers wanted Rico as the villain because it gives a lot of the back story as to where Dredd came from, but the way in which it was done had too many holes in it. Like the fact that Dredd has identical DNA to Fargo as well as Rico, was completely ignored. Dredd shouldn't have been sent to prison in the first place, he should have been chasing Rico round MegaCity 1. Diane Lane was very pretty, but essentially mis-cast as Judge Hershey (who's older in the comics and Dredd's superior) .As for Dredd's comedy sidekick bloke... He really DID deserve to go to prison! He was totally unneccesary - less said about him the better.

The other thing that needs to be mentioned is that in the film Dredd takes his helmet off! This upset many a Dreddhead, since he NEVER takes his helmet off in the comics - even when he's standing around in his underpants. I concede this probably couldn't be easily avoided on film, and it wasn't totally gratuitous but still, on screen Stallone was Dredd until he took off the helmet. Then he was just Stallone.

Overall as a film it isn't bad, it's an entertaining piece of sci-fi. If you like the film, you'll like the comics more. If you like the comics the film will leave you cold.

decent enough film, poor quality edition
This is decent enough film, and I have nothing to add to the other comments about acting, storyline, or relationship to the comic.

However, people should be aware that the DVD edition is letterboxed, and seems to be a pretty poor quality version at that. So bear that in mind when considering this movie.

One man is Judge, Jury, AND Executioner
Being a long time reader of Marvel and DC Comics, I found this movie a lifeless, shambolic attempt. To my mind, Dredd is as strong a character as Batman,Spiderman, Superman or Robocop, all of whom have had decent movies. Instead of exploring Dredd's world, its politics, and the almost fascist judges and the like, what we have here is a watered down standard action flick with some reasonable visuals. Perhaps there will be a sequel that will do the character some justice (no pun intended). If so, I hope it's a hell of a lot better than this...