Judge Dredd (1995) and the Comics

[Silver Nemesis]

The 1995 Judge Dredd movie gets a lot of hate these days. The online consensus seems to be that it's a terrible film with little connection to the comics on which it's supposedly based. But is the Stallone movie really so far removed from the source material?

Judge Dredd was created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra for the British science fiction comic 2000 AD, and many of the characters and storylines featured in the 1995 movie are lifted directly from the source material. The storyline about Rico Dredd returning to Mega-City One to take revenge against his brother is adapted from 'The Return of Rico!' (2000 AD Prog #30, September 1977).

The storyline about Dredd being framed for murder and having to clear his name is adapted from 'The Day the Law Died' (2000 AD Prog #89-108, November 1978-April 1979). The plot about Dredd teaming up with Fergee to regain control of Mega-City One from a corrupt Judge is also adapted from this arc.

There are many other comic stories referenced throughout the film, so let's break the movie down and see just how closely it adheres to the source material.

Like the comics, the movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of the United States where most of the human population is crammed into vast Mega Cities that offer sanctuary from the irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed Earth. Mega-City One is the city state covering the east coast of America. The version presented in the movie is visually faithful to the comics.

The citizens of Mega-City One are shown to live in huge blocks serviced by robot custodians. This is also accurate to the source material.

The first major character we meet in the film is Fergee (spelled 'Fergie' in the film's credits) played by Rob Schneider. In the movie his full name is given as Herman Ferguson, while in the comics he was simply known as Fergee. In the comics Fergee was an insane halfwit who inhabited the Undercity and played a significant role in 'The Day the Law Died'. In the movie he's a small-time crook who serves as the comic relief.

Both versions of Fergee forge an alliance with Dredd while the latter has been exiled from Mega-City One. In the comics they teamed-up in the Undercity beneath Mega-City One, while in the movie they are forced to work together after their prison transport crashes in the Cursed Earth. In both stories Fergee helps Dredd sneak back into Mega-City One and dethrone the insane Judge who is ruling the metropolis (Cal in the comic, Rico in the film).

When Fergee arrives at his new apartment he finds a block war is in progress. Block wars are a common occurrence in the comics.

The Judges' uniforms in the movie are mostly faithful to Ezquerra's design, except they're not made of leather and feature codpieces. Aside from those two deviations, they're accurate to the comics.

It's during the block war that we see Dredd himself for the first time, played by Sylvester Stallone. Judge Joe Dredd debuted in 'Judge Whitey' (2000 AD Prog #2, March 1977) and has remained a standard fixture in 2000 AD ever since. The Dredd of the comics is a fascist authoritarian bully and the most feared enforcer of Mega-City One's totalitarian judiciary. He is known for dispensing extremely harsh punishments for the most trivial of offences (e.g. blowing off a citizen's leg for ignoring a 'WALK DON'T RUN' sign). The Dredd in the film initially appears the equal of his comic book counterpart in both temperament and methodology, but gradually mellows into a more humanised characterisation as the story progresses.

Stallone's distinctive scowl recalls Ezquerra's original design for the character, while his muscular physique evokes the way artists were portraying Dredd in the eighties and nineties comics. Although Stallone's eyes are brown in real life, he wore blue contact lenses for the film. This was likely a nod to the cover of 2000 AD Prog #661 (January 1990), which depicts Dredd with blue eyes.

Perhaps the single biggest criticism of the movie is that Dredd removes his helmet to reveal his face. The Dredd in the comics has never shown his true features, and any time his helmet is removed there is always some obstruction to prevent his countenance from being clearly seen (e.g. bandages, the shadow beneath the brim of his hat, steam, etc). However in both the comic and the movie it is revealed that Dredd was cloned from Judge Fargo, and Fargo's facial features were shown in 'Dredd Angel' (2000 AD Prog #377, August 1984). This story predated the revelation that Dredd was Fargo's clone, which is why they allowed his features to be shown. And as you can see from the image below, Fargo's appearance was not unlike Stallone's.

Dredd's first line of dialogue in the film is his catchphrase from the comics: "I am the law!" This line is repeated several times throughout the movie.

Dredd's 'Lawgiver Two' in the film is a modified version of the Lawgiver Mk II from the comics. The movie Lawgiver shares several special functions with the comic version, including standard fire, rapid-fire mode, grenade shots, signal flare (called 'incendiary' in the comics) and armour-piercing rounds. The 'double whammy' function was created for the movie and does not feature in the comics.

In the comics the Lawgivers are booby trapped to self-destruct if anyone other than their rightful owner tries using them. They feature a similar security system in the movie, except instead of exploding they electrocute the person wielding them.

Dredd's Lawmaster motorcycle is visually faithful to the version in the comics.

Also present at the block war is Judge Hershey, played by Diane Lane. Judge Barbara Hershey first appeared in 'The Judge Child Quest Part VII' (2000 AD Prog #162, April 1980). In both the comics and the movie, she is one of the few people Dredd seems to like and respect. The movie suggests they have romantic feelings for each other, while in the source material their relationship remains purely professional.

In the comics the citizens of Mega-City One use a special dialect known as Mega-Speak. Examples of this, such as the expletive 'Drokk!', can be heard throughout the movie.

The film's depiction of the Grand Hall of Justice incorporates the eagle-motif from the comic book version.

It's at the Grand Hall of Justice that we are introduced to Chief Judge Fargo, played by Max von Sydow. Eustace Fargo was the first Chief Judge in the comics, as well as the source of the DNA code from which Dredd was cloned. He first appeared in the aforementioned 'Dredd Angel'.

As Chief Judge, Fargo leads the Council of Five. Also on the council is Judge Griffin, played by Jürgen Prochnow. In the comics Judge Griffin was the principal of the Academy of Law and was one of Dredd's allies during the war against Judge Cal. He was portrayed as an honest lawman and succeeded Cal as Chief Judge. In the movie he's portrayed as a villain and tries to take over Mega-City One with Rico's help. The Griffin in the comics did eventually become a villain during 'The Apocalypse War' storyline (2000 AD Prog #245–267 & #269–270, January-July 1982), but only because he had been brainwashed by the Soviet forces of East-Meg One. Ultimately he was executed by Dredd. His role in the film incorporates elements of Judge Cal's storyline from the comics. Griffin first appeared in 2000 AD Prog #27 (August 1977).

The main antagonist in the film is Rico Dredd (played by Armand Assante), who first appeared in 2000 AD Prog #30. In both the comics and the movie, Rico was once Dredd's closest friend and a fellow Judge. But then Dredd caught Rico in the act of a crime and was forced to pass judgement on him. In the movie Dredd didn't know Rico was his brother when he judged him, but in the comics he knew all along.

In the comics Rico was sentenced to a penal colony on Titan where he had his mouth and nose surgically sealed as part of a procedure to allow him and the other prisoners to work in a vacuum. When he returned to Earth, he still bore the facial scars of this procedure. In the film he bears no such disfigurements and was instead imprisoned at a penal facility in Aspen.

In both stories he escapes from prison and journeys to Mega-City One with the aim of taking revenge against his brother.

Like the movie version of Judge Griffin, much of Rico's storyline in the film is taken from the comic book character Judge Cal. The movie version of Rico also has parallels with the comic character Judge Judd, but I'll say more about that later.

Upon returning to Earth in the movie, Rico promptly acquires the instruments he will need to exact his revenge. This includes a Judge's uniform, a Lawgiver pistol and an ABC robot. The ABC Warriors is another popular series published in 2000 AD, beginning back in Prog #119 (June 1979). The leader of the team in the comics is a robot called Hammerstein, who had actually debuted a year earlier than Prog 119 in the 2000 AD sister publication Starlord: specifically in 'The Day of the Robot' (Starlord #1, May 1978). Although the robot in the movie is never referred to as Hammerstein (except in the acknowledgements on the end credits), he is clearly modelled on the same visual design. Hammerstein is a good guy in the comics, while the ABC Warrior in the movie is portrayed as a villain.

The sequence where Dredd is framed for murder, put on trial and found guilty by the Council of Five is adapted from 'The Day the Law Died'. In both the comic and the film Dredd seemingly murders a journalist who has portrayed him in an unflattering light.

In the comic the murder was committed by a robot doppelganger created by Judge Cal, while in the movie it is Rico himself disguised as Dredd. In both stories the real Dredd is arrested by the Special Judicial Squad.

[Silver Nemesis]

He is brought before the judgement of the Council of Five. Judge Cal speaks out against him in the comic, while Judge Griffin and Judge McGruder do so in the movie.

Judge McGruder first appeared in the comics in 'Block War' (2000 AD Prog #182, October 1980). In the comics she later became Chief Judge, while in the movie she is murdered by Rico along with the other members of the Council of Five.

The evidence against Dredd is presented during the trial.

The Chief Judge (Goodman in the comic, Fargo in the movie) speaks in Dredd's defence, but has no choice but to side with his fellow members of the council. Dredd is found guilty.

The disgraced Judge is taken away.

In the comic Dredd is sentenced to imprisonment. In the movie he is sentenced to death, but has his sentence commuted to imprisonment at the request of outgoing Chief Judge Fargo. In the comics retiring Judges have the option of teaching at the Academy of Law or venturing into the Cursed Earth to "take law to the lawless". This latter retirement option is known as the Long Walk and was first depicted in the comics in 'Judge Minty' (2000 AD Prog #147, January 1980). Judge Fargo takes the Long Walk upon retiring in the movie. The portrayal of the ceremony is faithful to the comics.

In both the movie and 'The Day the Law Died', Dredd is placed on a transport which subsequently crashes en route to the prison. In the comic Dredd forces the pilot to crash-land the ship, while in the film it is shot down by the Angel Gang. In both stories Dredd breaks free of his chains and escapes.

The Angel Gang rank amongst Dredd's most popular villains in the comics. They first appeared during 'The Judge Child' storyline (2000 AD Prog #156-181, March-October 1980) in which they were all slaughtered by Dredd. Dredd also kills them during their first encounter in the movie. However the popularity of the Angel Gang led to their deaths in the comics being retconned in later issues. Mean Machine in particular went on to become one of Dredd's most iconic adversaries.

The film presents us with four members of the Angel Gang: Elmer 'Pa', Junior, Link and Mean Machine. These were the original four members who appeared during 'The Judge Child' arc, though a fifth gang member – Fink – was added in later stories. A major deviation from the comics is the portrayal of the Angel Gang as cannibalistic religious fanatics. In the comics they are simply a family of sadistic marauding outlaws.

Having said that, the cinematic version of Mean Machine is more or less identical to the comic version in both appearance and personality. Like his comic book counterpart, he has a dial on his forehead that controls his level of aggression, and his preferred method of attack is to head butt his victims to death.

With Dredd out of the way, Rico and Griffin set into motion their plan to take control of Mega-City One by creating an army of clone Judges. This recalls a scheme proposed by Judge Judd during the 'Oz' storyline (2000 AD Prog #545-570, October 1987-April 1988). Judd's plan entailed creating clone citizens using the same cloning techniques that birthed Dredd and Rico, but his idea was rejected by the Council of Five on ethical grounds. Judd then turned rogue and created his own army of Judges cloned from Fargo's DNA. Judd used these clone Judges, known as the Judda, to try to take over the city. Rico attempts a similar plan in the movie and creates his own army of clone 'Janus Judges' for a similar purpose.

During 'The Day the Law Died' Fergee helped Dredd sneak back into Mega-City One from the Undercity using an old sewer tunnel. In the movie Dredd leads Fergee into Mega-City One from the Cursed Earth using an exhaust vent in the city's outer wall.

At one point Dredd pretends he is escorting Fergee as his prisoner.

Later, another Judge recognises Dredd and the latter promptly knocks him unconscious.

One of the movie's most spectacular action sequences sees Dredd and Fergee escape on a flying Lawmaster while being pursued by the Special Judicial Squad. The flying Lawmasters were probably inspired by the Zipper Bikes ridden by the Justice Department flying squad in the comics.

After returning to the city in 'The Day the Law Died', Dredd and Fergee then made their way to Dredd's apartment to get help from Walter, Dredd's loyal robot. Walter does not appear in the film, and instead it is Hershey's apartment they go to. In both stories they find an ally who sets out to expose the machinations of the corrupt judiciary. In the comic Dredd sends Walter to find tapes proving Cal has been hypnotising the other Judges, while in the film Hershey gathers data to expose the truth about the Janus Project.

In the comic Dredd eventually takes the battle to Cal, prompting the deranged Chief Judge to seek refuge inside the Statue of Justice. In the movie Dredd confronts Rico at a gene lab located within the Statue of Liberty. In the comics the Statue of Liberty is situated next to the Statue of Justice.

The gene lab in the movie visually resembles Judd's cloning facility in the 'Oz' storyline.

Dredd pursues Cal/Rico to the very top of the statue. In both stories Fergee is shot (by Cal in the comic, by the ABC Warrior in the film).

'The Return of Rico!' ends with Dredd shooting his brother to death. In the film Dredd throws Rico from the top of the Statue of Liberty. This recalls Cal's death at the end of 'The Day the Law Died', where Fergee tackled him so that they both fell from the head of the Statue of Justice.

Needless to say Fergee died in the comic, while in the film he survives his injuries.

Evidence is brought to light to exonerate Dredd of the false charges against him. In 'The Day the Law Died' Dredd tracked down the robot doppelganger Cal had created and presented its head to the Council of Five. In the movie the Central computer broadcasts the Janus plan across the city, proving Rico's guilt and vindicating Dredd.

Now that the danger has passed, the other Judges nominate Dredd for the position of Chief Judge. But he declines the post.

Instead he returns to where he's needed the most – the streets of Mega-City One.

One last thing to mention is the scene where Hershey kisses Dredd at the end of the film. In the comics Judges are forbidden from engaging in romantic or sexual relations. The comic book Dredd, being the humourless fascist monster that he is, would have arrested Hershey for kissing him. But in the movie he just smiles and rides off on his Lawmaster.

Court adjourned.

[Azrael]

I could go on for hours about how nostalgic value this movie has to me, even though (or because of?) my exposure to Dredd comics has always been limited. I think it holds up well visually, love the production design, the sets, costumes, and Silvestri's score. I always thought it was more of a Sly action vehicle set in Dredd's universe, a bit like Demolition Man Mk.2, I never knew that it drew so much from the comics.

[Silver Nemesis]

Sorry it took so long to get posted. I meant to get it done last year, but other things came up. If there's enough interest in the subject, I might create a similar thread for the 2012 film at some point. Though that one will likely be a lot smaller than this.

One thing I didn't mention is Dredd's age. Unlike most comic book characters, Dredd ages in real time. So in the current comics he's in his seventies. Stallone was about 48 when he shot the film, and I think Dredd was also approximately that same age in the comics back in 1995.

I suspect many people like this movie more than they're willing to admit. It's a fun mid-nineties sci-fi shoot-em-up, made at a time when the old school Arnold/Sly actioners were just going out of fashion. Here are ten things I like about the film:

1.   Classic Stallone, still just about in his prime
2.   The special effects, costumes and sets are all great
3.   Diane Lane as Judge Martha, aka Judge Bitch
4.   Memorable villains; especially Mean Machine and the ABC Warrior
5.   Closer to the comics than many people realise (hence this thread)
6.   Mega-City One brought to life, similar to how Batman 89 brought Gotham to life
7.   Impressive supporting cast: James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Jürgen Prochnow
8.   Whether intentionally funny or unintentionally funny, it's still pretty funny
9.   The scene where Dredd fires a grenades into the guy's car for parking incorrectly
10.   The Cure song

I always thought it was more of a Sly action vehicle set in Dredd's universe, a bit like Demolition Man Mk.2,

The satirical humour in Demolition Man is actually a lot closer to the humour in the Dredd comics than what we got in the 1995 film. In some ways, Demolition Man does a better job of capturing the 2000 AD atmosphere. But if someone was looking for the perfect 2000 AD/Judge Dredd movie, there's really only one film that truly delivers.

[Azrael]

Sorry it took so long to get posted. I meant to get it done last year, but other things came up. If there's enough interest in the subject, I might create a similar thread for the 2012 film at some point. Though that one will likely be a lot smaller than this.

If what you posted in this very forum during the last year (only) was collected, it could easily fill a book of scholarly analysis on films and comics (like that brilliant visual analysis of BR) - an article on the 2012 film is definitely worth doing.

I suspect many people like this movie more than they're willing to admit. It's a fun mid-nineties sci-fi shoot-em-up, made at a time when the old school Arnold/Sly actioners were just going out of fashion. Here are ten things I like about the film:

1.   Classic Stallone, still just about in his prime
2.   The special effects, costumes and sets are all great
3.   Diane Lane as Judge Martha, aka Judge Bitch
4.   Memorable villains; especially Mean Machine and the ABC Warrior
5.   Closer to the comics than many people realise (hence this thread)
6.   Mega-City One brought to life, similar to how Batman 89 brought Gotham to life
7.   Impressive supporting cast: James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Jürgen Prochnow
8.   Whether intentionally funny or unintentionally funny, it's still pretty funny
9.   The scene where Dredd fires a grenades into the guy's car for parking incorrectly
10.   The Cure song

Agreed 100%

Oh yes, the Cure song. I always tend to forget about it because I mainly associate them with their contribution for The Crow, their overall sound/image always seemed more fitting to The Crow (or works by Neil Gaiman, for that matter) but, yes, it's great, as is most of what The Cure has done (It's too bad their music was never used in Burton's movies, he always was a big fan and some of their songs that would be right at home in some of his movies e.g. Cold from 1982).

I always thought it was more of a Sly action vehicle set in Dredd's universe, a bit like Demolition Man Mk.2,

The satirical humour in Demolition Man is actually a lot closer to the humour in the Dredd comics than what we got in the 1995 film. In some ways, Demolition Man does a better job of capturing the 2000 AD atmosphere.

Yeah, the difference being that it's the reverse - an ultra-peaceful dystopia where political correctness is THE LAW

But if someone was looking for the perfect 2000 AD/Judge Dredd movie, there's really only one film that truly delivers.

Oh yes, it's like an 2000 AD-inspired movie, isn't it? As is arguably Starship Troopers (even if it's based on a book). I might be wrong, it's been years, but I think there are official interview quotes plus pics of early sculpts made for RoboCop (from the "Making of"?) which prove that this dystopian classic was very much influenced by Dredd.

[Silver Nemesis]

Oh yes, the Cure song. I always tend to forget about it because I mainly associate them with their contribution for The Crow, their overall sound/image always seemed more fitting to The Crow (or works by Neil Gaiman, for that matter) but, yes, it's great, as is most of what The Cure has done (It's too bad their music was never used in Burton's movies, he always was a big fan and some of their songs that would be right at home in some of his movies e.g. Cold from 1982).

Yeah, The Cure's music is definitely better suited to The Crow. Dredd '95 is a fun guilty pleasure, but The Crow is a legitimately good film. I'd rank it amongst the top three superhero movies of the nineties, along with Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Returns. I'm surprised it doesn't have more fans on this site considering how heavily it was influenced by Burton's Batman films.

Excellent call about 'Cold', btw. The opening notes are practically identical to Elfman's Batman theme.

And they're both reminiscent of the score for The Wolf Man (1941). Check out the music in this scene, particularly from the 20 second mark onwards.

Oh yes, it's like an 2000 AD-inspired movie, isn't it? As is arguably Starship Troopers (even if it's based on a book). I might be wrong, it's been years, but I think there are official interview quotes plus pics of early sculpts made for RoboCop (from the "Making of"?) which prove that this dystopian classic was very much influenced by Dredd.

You're correct. The original RoboCop costume design was a flagrant rip-off of Dredd's uniform.

There's a bit in the documentary Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD (2014) where some of the Dredd comic creators discuss the similarities with RoboCop. They almost view it as an unofficial adaptation of the Dredd comics, but I'd say there are enough unique qualities in RoboCop to separate the two. Verhoeven's film is true in spirit to 2000 AD – as is Starship Troopers – but the specifics of plot and character are sufficiently different from the Dredd stories.

Here's something I was thinking about the other day – can anyone suggest any reason why the Karl Urban Dredd couldn't be a slightly younger version of the Sylvester Stallone Dredd? Obviously the 2012 Dredd is not meant to be a prequel to the 1995 film, but is there any reason why it wouldn't work as one?

One problem would be the visual differences. The costumes and Lawmasters look grittier and less flamboyant in the 2012 movie, and Mega-City One looks like Johannesburg with a few tower blocks added in postproduction.

But what if the economy improved following the events of the 2012 movie, and as a result of this the city spent the next ten years investing in large-scale real estate developments.

The Judges could have built themselves a new Grand Hall of Justice (perhaps the old one was destroyed during Rico's 'revolution') and developed snazzier new uniforms and Lawmaster motorcycles. Rico might have been connected with the corrupt Judges on Ma-Ma's payroll, and Dredd could have exposed this fact and judged him accordingly.

As for Judge Anderson's absence from the 1995 film, that could be explained if she and Dredd had faced Judge Death sometime after the Peach Trees incident.

Anderson could have trapped Death in her own body, like she did in the comics, and would consequently have been in suspended animation during the time of the 1995 film.

Of course we'd still have to explain why Dredd's personality had softened between the two movies. But other than that, they could theoretically take place in the same universe. Though I'm not sure many fans would want them to.

[Azrael]

Oh yes, the Cure song. I always tend to forget about it because I mainly associate them with their contribution for The Crow, their overall sound/image always seemed more fitting to The Crow (or works by Neil Gaiman, for that matter) but, yes, it's great, as is most of what The Cure has done (It's too bad their music was never used in Burton's movies, he always was a big fan and some of their songs that would be right at home in some of his movies e.g. Cold from 1982).

Yeah, The Cure's music is definitely better suited to The Crow. Dredd '95 is a fun guilty pleasure, but The Crow is a legitimately good film. I'd rank it amongst the top three superhero movies of the nineties, along with Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Returns. I'm surprised it doesn't have more fans on this site considering how heavily it was influenced by Burton's Batman films.

Agreed with the list. I'm also surprised it doesn't have more fans here, it's obviously infuenced by Burton's Batman, and also possibly influenced Nolan's Dark Knight (Heath Ledger's Joker looks a lot like Brandon Lee as Eric).

Excellent call about 'Cold', btw. The opening notes are practically identical to Elfman's Batman theme.

My thoughts exactly!

And they're both reminiscent of the score for The Wolf Man (1941). Check out the music in this scene, particularly from the 20 second mark onwards.

Yeah, and to be more specific, it sounds a lot like the part when Batman departs Axis chemicals. I remember also another forum member, THE BATMAN, mentioning it in some music-related threads.

Oh yes, it's like an 2000 AD-inspired movie, isn't it? As is arguably Starship Troopers (even if it's based on a book). I might be wrong, it's been years, but I think there are official interview quotes plus pics of early sculpts made for RoboCop (from the "Making of"?) which prove that this dystopian classic was very much influenced by Dredd.

You're correct. The original RoboCop costume design was a flagrant rip-off of Dredd's uniform.

Yeah, this is the picture. I couldn't remember where I had seen it.

There's a bit in the documentary Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD (2014) where some of the Dredd comic creators discuss the similarities with RoboCop. They almost view it as an unofficial adaptation of the Dredd comics, but I'd say there are enough unique qualities in RoboCop to separate the two. Verhoeven's film is true in spirit to 2000 AD – as is Starship Troopers – but the specifics of plot and character are sufficiently different from the Dredd stories.

Alread in my "watchlist". Yes, agreed. It's heavily influenced, but it's its own thing, this is why it became such a classic and a cult favourite and one of the films that will never be surpassed. Honorary mention to The Running Man too, another dystopian sci-fi with a sense of dark humor that reminds me of Dredd and RoboCop.

Here's something I was thinking about the other day – can anyone suggest any reason why the Karl Urban Dredd couldn't be a slightly younger version of the Sylvester Stallone Dredd? Obviously the 2012 Dredd is not meant to be a prequel to the 1995 film, but is there any reason why it wouldn't work as one?

One problem would be the visual differences. The costumes and Lawmasters look grittier and less flamboyant in the 2012 movie, and Mega-City One looks like Johannesburg with a few tower blocks added in postproduction.

But what if the economy improved following the events of the 2012 movie, and as a result of this the city spent the next ten years investing in large-scale real estate developments.

The Judges could have built themselves a new Grand Hall of Justice (perhaps the old one was destroyed during Rico's 'revolution') and developed snazzier new uniforms and Lawmaster motorcycles. Rico might have been connected with the corrupt Judges on Ma-Ma's payroll, and Dredd could have exposed this fact and judged him accordingly.

As for Judge Anderson's absence from the 1995 film, that could be explained if she and Dredd had faced Judge Death sometime after the Peach Trees incident.

Anderson could have trapped Death in her own body, like she did in the comics, and would consequently have been in suspended animation during the time of the 1995 film.

Of course we'd still have to explain why Dredd's personality had softened between the two movies. But other than that, they could theoretically take place in the same universe. Though I'm not sure many fans would want them to.

Thinking up of such theories is always fun, but this also reminds me that I really prefer the look of Mega City in the 1995 film.

[Silver Nemesis]

Agreed with the list. I'm also surprised it doesn't have more fans here, it's obviously infuenced by Burton's Batman, and also possibly influenced Nolan's Dark Knight (Heath Ledger's Joker looks a lot like Brandon Lee as Eric).

The villains in both Batman '89 and The Crow say "Nice outfit" the first time they see the hero.

Both villain death scenes involve a gargoyle: the Joker gets dragged down to the street by one, and Top Dollar gets impaled on one.

Then there are all the obvious visual similarities.

I'll leave it there for now, but this is another one of those topics that should probably have its own thread.

Honorary mention to The Running Man too, another dystopian sci-fi with a sense of dark humor that reminds me of Dredd and RoboCop.

Running Man contains a lot of the over-the-top ultraviolent satire that characterises 2000 AD. Other films with the 2000 AD vibe would include Death Race 2000 (1975) – which partly inspired Judge Dredd – the Mad Max movies and District 9 (2009).

Then of course there's Hardware (1990), which was the first 2000 AD movie ever made. And since the original comic it was based on took place in the Dredd universe, that means it's technically the first Dredd movie.

I remember back in the summer of 1995 seeing several magazines with both Dredd and Batman on the cover. I don't know if there was ever any real competition between them, what with one being PG-13 and the other R-rated.

Batman was clearly better known than Dredd, but Dredd had Stallone's star power behind it. I didn't know much about Dredd at the time, so obviously I was rooting for Batman Forever to win at the box office. Which it did.

Apparently there was a comic book adaptation of the Dredd movie with art by Carlos Ezquerra.

There was also a newspaper strip adaptation written by John Wagner.

I hadn't heard of either of these until now.

[Azrael]

Glad you once again did a juxtaposition, Silver Nemesis. As always, spot on

The final confrontation in a cathedral. Pure Metropolis (as I remember you mentioning in a different "influences" article, I think Batman 1989). I first watched Metropolis several years after Batman (they showed it to us at school, believe it or not, and it was a version with pipe organ as background music) and the final confrontation atop a Gothic/Romanesque/Medieval Europe-looking Cathedral always reminded me of both The Crow and Batman.

I have memories of reading in magazines (e.g. GamePro and Wizard) of DC bying the rights to Dredd for publication in the US, DC possibly hoped they could turn Judge Dredd into a lucrative Batman-like comic. A "masked" hero who fights crime, a fantastical city, the whole deal (this is a superficial reading of what Judge Dredd is about, sure, like the movie). This is maybe why there were magazine covers with Dredd and Kilmer's Batman edited together (I have "Summer Movie Superheroes", and I think I had "Film Review"). They were technically both "DC", for a limited time. I also was a Batman guy when these two were coming out. I always have been, forever will be.

As for Death Race, the original with Sly, is a permanent fixture in my "guilty favourites" list. Carradine's "Frankenstein" looks a bit like Batman without ears. (Or Black Bat). Hardware, I need to give a rewatch. And the Mad Max series are pure movies.

I think the prime legacy of this film is the great production art. If they had made an actual adaptation of the tone of 2000 AD comics, with these visuals and Silvestri's thundering score, which I like almost as much as I do Basil Poledouris's RoboCop (well, not quite, but I think Poledouris inspired Silvestri a bit in this one), it would have been a classic.

It's still a part of childhood, so I still like it. A guilty pleasure, but why feel guilty about something which is well made, just not really true to the intent of the original (despite the influences you mentioned in the article). Back in the day, I also played to death the video game made by Probe (which is very similar to Alien 3 - the player has to fullfil certain "missions" before opening up the level "exit", which makes it tedious compared to a standard run'n'gun game). The SNES version is the definitive one (not only visually/aurally, they totally messed up the run/jump kick mechanic in the Mega Drive, which made some levels in SNES really quick).

[Silver Nemesis]

The final confrontation in a cathedral. Pure Metropolis (as I remember you mentioning in a different "influences" article, I think Batman 1989). I first watched Metropolis several years after Batman (they showed it to us at school, believe it or not, and it was a version with pipe organ as background music) and the final confrontation atop a Gothic/Romanesque/Medieval Europe-looking Cathedral always reminded me of both The Crow and Batman.

I love all three of those movies. Metropolis in particular is one of my top ten favourite films of all time. Lang was a superb filmmaker.

I have memories of reading in magazines (e.g. GamePro and Wizard) of DC bying the rights to Dredd for publication in the US, DC possibly hoped they could turn Judge Dredd into a lucrative Batman-like comic. A "masked" hero who fights crime, a fantastical city, the whole deal (this is a superficial reading of what Judge Dredd is about, sure, like the movie). This is maybe why there were magazine covers with Dredd and Kilmer's Batman edited together (I have "Summer Movie Superheroes", and I think I had "Film Review"). They were technically both "DC", for a limited time. I also was a Batman guy when these two were coming out. I always have been, forever will be.

There was a definite attempt on DC's part to forge closer ties with 2000 AD. Many of the comic creators who were part of the so-called 'British invasion' had cut their teeth working on 2000 AD, including Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison. There was some resentment on the part of the 2000 AD editors that so much British talent left 'The Galaxy's Greatest Comic' to go work for US publishers. But when you look at the financial and proprietary incentives offered by the US publishers, you can hardly blame them. I imagine DC was hoping to bring Dredd under their own banner, at least in terms of American distribution. Hence all those Batman/Dredd crossovers in the nineties.

From 2000 AD's perspective, closer ties with DC helped them get greater exposure Stateside and introduce their characters to a wider readership.

It's still a part of childhood, so I still like it. A guilty pleasure, but why feel guilty about something which is well made, just not really true to the intent of the original (despite the influences you mentioned in the article).

I happen to think the 2012 movie is slightly overrated. It's good, and I do like it more than the 1995 film, but at the end of the day both movies are flawed and neither gets the full potential out of the character. That said, I consider both of them to be perfectly legitimate adaptations of the comics. No one should feel bad about liking the 1995 film more than the 2012 film, any more than they should feel bad about preferring Batman Forever over Batman Begins.

Stallone was pretty much perfect for the first 15 minutes of the 1995 movie. If he'd kept the helmet on for the whole film and continued playing it like he did during the block war scene, and if they'd cut out some of the cheesy Rob Schneider humour, then I don't think the movie would be quite so universally hated as it currently is. There are certain things I'd argue the 1995 film did better than the 2012 film:

•   The depiction of Mega-City One
•   The villains (they're hammy and over-the-top, but at least they're villains from the comics and are more memorable than Ma-Ma)
•   The action (I'd rate the action as more or less equal in both films, however for me the 1995 film has a slight edge thanks to the flying Lawmaster chase and the fact the action in the 2012 movie compares so poorly to the superior action scenes in The Raid: Redemption)
•   Bigger budget, more impressive special effects and production design
•   Diane Lane > Olivia Thirlby (Anderson has a richer character arc and more emotional depth than Hershey, but I find Lane a more charismatic actress than Thirlby)
•   Stallone's costume (the helmet on Urban's costume was too big)

Apparently there was a hard-R cut of Dredd 1995 which featured a more graphic version of Judge Griffin's death scene and a brutal sequence where Stallone massacres the Janus clones. I'd love to see a director's cut where they restored those scenes. Also cut out some of the cheesy humour, add in some deleted scenes where Stallone's wearing the helmet to increase the overall amount of screen time where he's in costume, and restore Mean Machine's head butts to the UK version. This is one of those films that could benefit enormously from a director's cut.

Back in the day, I also played to death the video game made by Probe (which is very similar to Alien 3 - the player has to fullfil certain "missions" before opening up the level "exit", which makes it tedious compared to a standard run'n'gun game). The SNES version is the definitive one (not only visually/aurally, they totally messed up the run/jump kick mechanic in the Mega Drive, which made some levels in SNES really quick).

I never played the SNES game (I'd like to), but I do recollect a PS1 light gun game. I never owned a copy, but I read the tie-in comic and played a demo I got with a Playstation Magazine. It got terrible reviews, but was noteworthy for featuring live action cut scenes.

Aside from the demo, I never played that one. But I did play Dredd vs. Death for the PS2. That was probably my favourite version of Dredd outside of the comics. It was compared unfavourably to TimeSplitters, which was the dominant PS2 FPS at the time. But I liked it. It was funny, it used the same voice actors from the Big Finnish Audio dramas, and it featured a solid two-player co-op mode. Certainly not as good as TimeSplitters, but still a fun game.

It's strange that there haven't been more 2000 AD videogames. I remember back when Rebellion (which is a game developer as well as a publisher) bought 2000 AD, it was announced they had done so in order to develop games based on all the characters. But so far they've only released two games: Dredd vs. Death and Rogue Trooper.

Incidentally, director Duncan Jones recently announced he's making a movie based on Rogue Trooper.

Rogue Trooper is an awesome comic and Jones is a solid director, so I'm hoping this film pans out. But more than any other 2000 AD series, I'd love to see a movie based on Strontium Dog: the adventures of time travelling mutant bounty hunter Johnny Alpha. A straight-up adaption of Portrait of a Mutant by Alan Grant and John Wagner would be perfect.