Customer Reviews

Rambo Trilogy: Special Edition (Widescreen/Full Screen) [4 Discs]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This a great package overall, much better than what is availible here in Australia but the dts/5.1 mix on the first two movies is non existent everything comes through the center channel you get more out of the channels on your surround system by watching them in two channel mix the third movies fine.

I love this movies. It rocks my house up big time. I recommend for soldiers who wants a piece of the action. Watch them in widescreen. Is much better to watch. Enjoy.

I really used to like the rambo movie's but was never what you'd call a HUGE fan.The first one was the best then i think they basically should have laid it to rest,cause it was a good classic.And no one really cared what happened to rambo after that.They just new he was upset and needed to start a new life,which would have been better.But all in all the other to movie's were'nt all that bad.The bone i have to pick is with some of the special feature's on the disc,there is to much Documentury material,about Vietnam,Afghanistan,etc.And also some lame elements about how they used mythological stories and images to come up with the charactar's and the movies.This is Rambo people,an X veteran of NAM,not Hercule's or Zeus,he seeks out and destroys enemies plain and simple.Just kinda ridiculous if you ask me.But not a bad box set if you just like the movie's,although interesting you can watch the History channel to hear about the Story's of war.

The "Rambo Trilogy" is a great series of movies for those guys who like explosions but not much substance. Rambo 1 (or "First Blood") has Vietnam vet and former POW John Rambo looking for an old war buddy, but gets hassled by the cops instead. Then he wages his one man war against the cops. "Part II" takes Rambo back to Vietnam to look for other POWs. "Rambo III" has Rambo going to Afganistan to find his old war commander, Col. Trautman. Sylvester Stallone carved out his second most famous charactor here, after Rocky, and proves he can say fewer lines than his competitor at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The first movie is the only one with any real message, but it is obscure at least. The real star here is the explosions and the enormous body count. Stallone himself keeps getting a little bigger biceps and torso each movie, but he has less lines in each progressive film. All the preaching is left up to his father figure commander Col. Samual Trautman, played by Richard Crenna. With all the gloom and doom of this Armageddon on two legs, there are some bits of humor that crack through every now and then. This should be a requirment for anyone who loves full speed action flicks.

These three movies are truly a part of American action cinema, these three star "John Rambo" ( Sylvester Stallone) as a former Vietnam Beret who kicks hard Butt everywhere from Oregon to Vietnam to Afghanastain.

The DVD Set is excellent with truly striking sound and picture quality including great extras, so if your into action buy this set.

I'll admit it, I've got a soft spot for Sly Stallone. More than just a talented actor, I would call him a talented filmmaker since he has written or co-written so many of his films in addition to directing some.

The Rambo series is Stallone's second best (can't top Rocky!). Let me take a brief look at the films that comprise this trilogy.

First Blood: An all-time action classic, somehow underrated these days. This is a relentless piece of non-stop action that has served as a model for many other action pics. Some call John Rambo's "breakdown" scene laughable; I call it one of Stallone's finest acting moments. 5 Stars

Rambo: First Blood Part II: Totally different from the first one, this film was highly immitated due to it's overwhelming box-office success. Not nearly as effective as the first, it is more of a "guilty pleasure" as it consists primarily of Rambo blowing stuff up. 3 Stars

Rambo III: As Stallone's physique hardened, Rambo's personality softened. Sly has never been more chiseled, but he has turned Rambo into a nice guy who tosses off one-liners whenever given the chance. Still, there is more story here than in Part II (even if the topical story lost a lot of edge by the time the film hit theaters, as the Russians had pulled out of Afghanistan in real life). I prefer this to Part II, this movie went way over budget but the money is on the screen: the action sequences will leave you breathless. 3 1/2 Stars

This set is a bargain, and if special features are important to you (they aren't to me) you'll be pleased to have the 4th bonus disc which is exclusive to this set.

One important side note, unlike the previous DVD release, Rambo III does NOT include English subtitles for the Russian language that is spoken in some scenes. This is a significant error on Artisan's part, so consider yourself warned.

If there's an action movie series that's a big ol' honkin' slice of Americana, the RAMBO saga is it! This is where the unstoppable-one-man-army action flick trend got its start! Sly finally finds another role to fall back on besides Rocky, and he even gets the opportunity to co-write the scripts to all three movies!

'First Blood' features some of the greatest moments of action-movie overacting ever caught on celluloid! The tense verbal sparring between Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) and Sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy) regarding their efforts to capture Rambo are just plain dripping with hammy machismo! And Sly displays his acting range as Rambo reveals his softer side to the Colonel... it's so touching! It *sniff* gets me *sob* right here, y'know?

'First Blood' novelist David Morrell's commentary track features plenty of anecdotes regarding the production of the flick, and the notion of the RAMBO saga as a modern myth, a distinction that the STAR WARS trilogy's been credited with as well. But his main focus is on the differences between his novel and the movie, and other changes that were made. Probably the most notable change was making our lovable one-man army a more sympathetic character! Many of Morrell's bits of commentary are expanded upon in the documentary feature that's included with this disc.

Now on to 'First Blood Part II', featuring Johnny's return to Vietnam to pick up a few American POWs. This time he's been double-crossed, and he's going up against hundreds of Charlies and several Soviet troops with a super-sized winged doom-chopper and his only weaponry is a big knife, and a bow with explosive-tipped arrows. Needless to say, those Charlies & Soviets don't stand a chance! With the help of legendary writer/director James Cameron, Sly manages to script one of The Gipper's all-time movie faves!

Director George Cosmatos' commentary track is full of his memories of the making of part II, with quite a few anecdotes & behind-the-scenes comments. He really goes into detail for the first half of the movie, then kind of trails off and adds only a few things here & there in the second half. Also thrown onto this platter is a doc discussing how the second Rambo™ flick became a big sensation and lest its mark on American pop culture.

Then there's 'Rambo III'. If you thought our hero's previous hell-raisings were ridiculously implausible, you ain't seen nothin' yet! Speaking of raising hell, this particular outing reflected a happier era when the US was helping Afghanistan fight a war, instead of fighting against them (this matter is discussed further in the doc included on this particular disc). It's amazing the difference several years makes, hmm? Anyway, Johnny's out to rescue his mentor Col. Trautman from a Soviet stronghold in Afghanistan. With the aid of a few of the natives, Rambo manages to rescue the Colonel & then proceeds to take out the entire Soviet occupation force single-handedly. The climactic tank-versus-Doom-Chopper game of chicken is easily one of action cinema's most unbelievable scenes. It's a moment that's so incredibly over-the-top, I'm pretty sure it's the main reason there's never been any subsequent RAMBO flicks. I mean, how do you top the hero surviving a head-on tank/chopper collision? Simple answer: you can't!

Director Peter MacDonald's commentary track, much like Cosmatos' in II, features plenty of behind-the-scenes anecdotes and great & not-so-great memories. He also kinda trails off in the second half, with only the occasional thought here & there.

Also thrown in for good measure (and to grab a few more shekels from the fanboys) is a bonus disc sporting several featurettes and documentaries. The First Blood™: A Look Back and Rambo™ III: Full Circle featurettes are basically just glorified music videos; needless to say, I wasn't all that impressed with them. The Selling of a Hero mini-movie is pretty silly: the entire line of Rambo action figures from the late 80s makes up the cast, with the price of each bit o' plastic "rung up" as it makes its grand entrance. For you economics- and marketing-majors, the Rambo™-nomics short featuring all sorts'a charts and graphs tracking the financial success of each movie ought'a get ya excited.

And what's a special features platter for the Rambo™ trilogy without a few documentaries that relate to the movies' subject matter? You have your weapons manual (Suiting Up: Rambo™'s Survival Hardware), a behind-the-scenes look at special forces training (The Forging of Heroes), and the memoirs of a few Vietnam veterans (Voices From Within) to give the viewer a real-life look at the people and events that inspired the creation and evolution of our man Johnny. The saga is also given in-depth analysis-- some might say TOO in-depth-- with Guts and Glory (various pundits' musings on what made Rambo™ such a big 80s icon and how it influenced American pop culture), and An American Hero's Journey (expands upon First Blood™ author's feature commentary about Rambo™ as a modern-day mythological hero).

I found the sound and picture quality of the Special Edition discs to be pretty good; four out of five stars all around. I was kinda disappointed that the clarity and sound crispness didn't improve all that much from the regular-edition platters, but at least it didn't get worse. And to keep both sides of the Widescreen-versus-Pan-&-Scan debate pacified, all three movies are available in both their original aspect ratio AND the full-screen format. Can't we all just... get along?

'Late

The all time best action movies that Sylvester Stallone made
are in Widescreen & finally in dts 5.1 sound now you can see & hear the movies more clearly than old Rambo dolby surround versions that you own
this is an amazing box set that contains a load of features
buy it now

Chances are you've heard of John Rambo. But, if you were living under a rock or born in the past couple years, you might not be aware of him. Rambo was an action adventure character that made his first appearance in this film, FIRST BLOOD and made two subsequent appearances in the RAMBO films. But, beyond his screen appearances, Rambo has become a part of the world's pop culture. From cartoons to video games or from playground activity to Presidential speeches, John is there.

The film FIRST BLOOD introduces John as a Viet Nam vet who has outlived everyone from his battalion. And after another empty reunion in the Pacific Northwest, Sherrif Will Teasle mistreats him. He is hassled and arrested by Teasle's men but when they unintentionally dig out Viet Nam memories, John escapes to the mountains. Everyone, including the National Guard pursues him but now they are on John's territory, all of his guerrilla warfare training is put to use. The only hope for the town comes with the arrival of Rambo's commanding officer, Colonel Samuel Trautman. What was once a peaceful little town quickly becomes a war zone. At the finale, John is taken off to high-security prison.

RAMBO FIRST BLOOD PART 2 opens with John serving his time as a high-risk prisoner. That is until Col Trautman offers him freedom in exchange for participation in a dangerous mission involving American POWs in Nam. He accepts and heads out with a cutting edge arsenal of personal destruction. And where he travels, destruction is nearby as John battles Vietcong soldiers, a Soviet commander and even US government bureaucracy. As the film ends, we see Rambo walking off to find himself in the Far East, turning his back on his commanding officer Trautman.

Years later, RAMBO III opens with Trautman finding John doing some handyman work at a Buddhist temple. The Colonel asks John to help him on a final mission to rescue some Afghani's held by the mean old Soviets. Rambo turns it down but when Trautman himself is captured during the attempt, John tells the monks he's gotta go. He teams with an Afghani tribe to free his friend and help the helpless.

The Special Edition DVD's included in this four disc set are filled with amazing transfers. The DTS can challenge even the best sound systems! Also, the widescreen video transfer is crisp and beautiful, capturing the Pacific Northwest, Vietnamese Jungles and Afghani Mountains. For those who cannot stand the "black bars" of widescreen films, a standard version is available on each disc as well. Each film has a new documentary looking at the Creation of Rambo, the Rambo Phenomenon and the Afghani conflict as well as running commentaries. Each disc is nicely loaded but the films are the obvious draw. A fourth disc is included in the box set that is filled with featurettes and other value added attractions. This Box set even makes the inferior third film a wise purchase as a workshop curiosity.

If the rumor mill is correct, we'll be seeing Rambo again.

No matter how many times i watch these movies, it just seems that i would never get bored of them. Rambo is going to always be a meomorable character. The good work came from the People who made this astonishing action hero especially David Morrel, for he is the one who had written the first story "First Blodd".