Wing Commander Movie Night: Judge Dredd

The Wing Commander movie club has successfully ended the beginning with a pretty uneventful watch of Battle of Britain; maybe have some characters next time, movie! And that next time will be 1995's Judge Dredd, a fun action sci-fi movie with a slight technical connection to Wing Commander. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Judge Dredd is a British comic book antihero whose stories have appeared in 2000 A.D. since the late 1970s. He's an ultra-powered police officer in a dystopian world where the police are judge, jury and executioner. The 1995 film adaptation is a big, brassy action movie that trades some of the satire of the source material for Jean-Claude Van Damme and a big '90s action movie production. No one thinks Judge Dredd is the best movie in the world (or even the best Judge Dredd movie) but it's certainly a mood!

The big Wing Commander connection to Judge Dredd is another technical one: two of the deck vehicles that appear on the Tiger Claw's flight deck originated as troop transpots in Judge Dredd. So be on the lookout for converted military transports while we watch! Judge Dredd was not shot in Luxembourg, so these APCs made their way from Shepperton Studios in England for Wing Commander. Here's a bit from Wing Commander's production notes that mention the vehicles:

Among other impressive transformations from real-world finds are a kind of space bulldozer, and a refueling unit that [Producer] Todd [Moyer] calls the fuel "tanker." Both, previously used on the set of JUDGE DREDD, are converted troop transport vehicles. After several attempts, a trucker fuels the "tanker," and it fills the set with diesel fumes. Moyer half-jokingly, half-derisively refers to the device as "the most expensive tanker I've ever had on a set."

And here's the same mention from a tour given to GMovie magazine:

Other interesting space vehicles include a "space nulldozer" and a tanker, both recycled from the movie "Judge Dredd". The tour continues and [Producer Todd] Moyer points out a storage room which is full of containers and piles of boxes. The walls are covered with monitors, cables and other wires - all very realistic looking. All of it came from the mind of the Oscar nominated ("Titanic") production designer Peter Lamont and his colleagues. "The small and confined areas on board of the "Tiger Claw" remind me of 'Das Boot in Space'" says Peter Lamont.

The vehicles used in these film were Alvis FV603 Saracens, a type of armed personnel carrier manufactured from 1952 to 1976. They are largely retired today but were a familiar sight for generations around the world, particularly in conflicts involving commonwealth countries. While the descriptions refer to the fuel tanker and the bulldozer, Wing Commander ultimately used its Saracens as the tanker and the repair truck. The bulldozer appeared only in CG!

It appears that at least one of Judge Dredd's Saracens retained its original deco and was auctioned off as memorabilia some years back... sadly, it looks like no one wanted it!

One other slight connection is that Judge Dredd also stars Jürgen Prochnow as another Judge. Looking forward to seeing Commander Gerald show up, though we already saw a lot of him in Das Boot!

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Judge Dredd is currently available for rent or purchase on all the standard services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on BluRay in 2012 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!