Robot Jox Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Robot Jox Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 22, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams set.

The vagaries of fame and/or fortune can often be positively confounding, and in that regard it's maybe just a little odd that Charles Band has never seemed to have quite risen to the "immediate name recognition" factor of people like, say, Roger Corman. This may seem especially strange in that Band not only has tended to work in the same kind of less fulsomely budgeted B movie environment that Corman often has, with both sharing a penchant for somewhat sly, winking horror films, but also because Band founded not one but two "studios", Empire Pictures (the "subject" of this collection) and, after the demise of that enterprise, Full Moon Pictures, which continues to release Blu-rays to this day. When you add in the fact that Band hails from a really rather notable family which includes an at least somewhat famous grandfather, father, and various offspring and/or other relatives, the lack of general renown for Band becomes even more inexplicable. Arrow Video is coming to the rescue of this conundrum, however, with this elaborately packaged collection of several Band productions for Empire Pictures which should be of interest to genre aficionados, even if this set can't quite match the extravagance of Band's own Empire Pictures Collection release from several years ago, an immense offering which included all of these films on Blu-ray, save Arena, which was on DVD in that set. As fans will know (or can find out by clicking on links provided in individual reviews), the Empire set was not the only time some of these films have had prior releases on Blu-ray.

This is another film in Arrow's set which has had a previous release on Blu-ray, in this case one from Shout! Factory that I reviewed many years ago. Those wanting a plot recap are encouraged to visit my Robot Jox Blu-ray review of that version.

Robot Jox Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Robot Jox is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's perfect bound booklet included with this set offers the following information on the restoration:

Robot Jox is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo sound. The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K resolution at Company 3. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at R3Store Studios.

I found the Shout! release to be quite robust in the palette department, but one of the more interesting things about this release is that while the palette is still incredibly well suffused, clear color timing differences can be seen between the two presentations by looking at screenshots side by side (as always with cases like this, I've tried to come close to duplicating some of the frames I captured for my original review). Take a look, for example, at the almost Mondrian-esque backdrop walls in screenshot 2 of this review and then glance over at screenshot 2 of my original review and you'll have just one of many examples. Overall this new transfer struck me as somewhat darker than the older Shout! release, but despite that difference I found grain to be better resolved and more organically apparent on this version. Now there are still undeniable variances on display with regard to grain and detail due to everything from old style opticals and compositing to stop motion, and so proper contextual expectations should probably be set.

Robot Jox Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This version of Robot Jox features an LPCM 2.0 track that to my ears sounded virtually interchangeable with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the old Shout! disc. As with that original release, this one capably supports the film's sometimes silly dialogue as well as the glut of effects during the mecha battles. An above average score by Frédéric Talgorn is also rendered without any issues and provides a nice boost to several key sequences. I have to say in revisiting this film after several years I was even more struck by how much I appreciated Talgorn's contributions to the film. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range wide in this problem free track. Optional English subtitles are available.

Robot Jox Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries

  Director Commentary is with Stuart Gordon, ported over from the Shout! release.

  
  

  Special Effects Commentary is another archival piece with associate effects director Paul Gentry, mechanical effects artist Mark Rappaport and stop motion animator Paul Jessell, which was also on the older Shout! disc.

• Crash and Burn (HD; 17:09) is an interview with Gary Graham.


• Her Name is Athena (HD; 13:25) is an interview with Anne-Marie Johnson.


• The Scale of Battle: David Allen and the FX of Robot Jox (HD; 26:35) is a rather sweet and dare I say even heartwarming tribute to one of the unsung heroes of stop motion animation.


• Looking Back (HD; 10:24) is an archival interview with Paul Koslo, which was also on the older Shout! disc.


• Salvaged from the Wreckage (HD; 8:19) offers behind the scenes photos courtesy of associate effects director Paul Gentry.


• Trailer (HD; 1:25)


• Image Galleries

  Behind the Scenes (HD; 9:14)

  
  

  Posters and Stills (HD)

• Original Sales Sheet (HD)


• Original Production Notes (HD)

Additionally the keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and houses a folded mini poster and art cards.

Robot Jox Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robot Jox is just good, old fashioned, lo-fi fun and should be enjoyed by kids of all ages who like basic storylines featuring good versus evil, not to mention outsized rock 'em sock 'em robots battling to the death. The film is undeniably silly some (most?) of the time, but that's part of its retro allure. I'd suggest those interested to compare screenshots between the two versions, but I found this transfer to boast a more generally suffused palette and better overall grain resolution, along with audio that is virtually identical to the original release. While you don't get all of the supplements the Shout! disc offered, you do get two fun new interviews with the principal stars and an especially worthwhile homage to David Allen. Recommended.