Rambo - The Complete Collection (1-4 Box Set) [1982]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk

Rambo: First Blood [1982]

It's easy to forget that this Spartan, violent film, which begat the Rambo series, was such a big hit in 1982 because it was a good movie. Green Beret vet John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) wanders into the wrong small town to find a fellow 'Nam buddy and gets the living heck kicked out of him by the local law enforcement (led by Brian Dennehy). The vet strikes back the only way he knows how, leading to a visceral, if unrealistic, flight and fight through the local mountains. Based on the 1972 novel by David Morrell, this film saved Stallone's then-foundering career and the Rambo character became the inspiration for countless political cartoons. But this film is Deliverance without the moral ambiguity. --Keith Simanton

Rambo: First Blood Part II [1985]

After Rocky and its sequels, Sylvester Stallone cast about for another character that would bring him the same kind of box-office hit--and found it in disillusioned Vietnam vet John Rambo in First Blood, a solid little action thriller. So when all else failed, Stallone went back to the same well in hopes of recapturing the same commercial success. Which this film did. But where First Blood was a no-nonsense thriller that pitted Stallone against a worthy (and not necessarily bad) Brian Dennehy, this one is a sadistic chest-thumper in which Rambo gets to go back to Vietnam: ostensibly, he is there to rescue missing POWs, but in fact the movie was a lame excuse for him to refight the Vietnam War--and win. Audiences ate up the cruel Vietcong (and their Russian manipulators) and Stallone's bogus heroics, but it was strictly by-the-numbers action. --Marshall Fine

Rambo III [1988]

And the hits just keep on coming. Sylvester Stallone, who can't seem to draw flies unless he's playing Rocky Balboa or John Rambo, went back to the Rambo well (or septic system, as it were) to show his well-known solidarity with the Afghan freedom fighters who battled the Soviet army in the 1980s. This time it's personal: his handler, Richard Crenna, is captured by the Evil Empire and so it is up to Rambo to leave his work in a monastery in Southeast Asia (no, seriously) in order to rescue him from the Ruskies. Ever wonder why the Russians had such a miserable time in Afghanistan? It was because Rambo took them on single-handed and sent them packing with hammer-and-sickle all the way back to Moscow. Cartoonish action, taken ever so seriously by Stallone, who was working desperately to scrape away the unsightly wax build up from his reputation. --Marshall Fine

Rambo [2008]

Twenty years after the last film in the series, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has retreated to northern Thailand, where he's running a longboat on the Salween River. On the nearby Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, the world's longest-running civil war, the Burmese-Karen conflict, rages into its 60th year. But Rambo, who lives a solitary, simple life in the mountains and jungles fishing and catching poisonous snakes to sell, has long given up fighting, even as medics, mercenaries, rebels and peace workers pass by on their way to the war-torn region. That all changes when a group of human rights missionaries search out the "American river guide" John Rambo.

When Sarah (Julie Benz) and Michael Bennett (Paul Schulze) approach him, they explain that since last year's trek to the refugee camps, the Burmese military has laid landmines along the road, making it too dangerous for overland travel. They ask Rambo to guide them up the Salween and drop them off in order to deliver medical supplies and food to the Karen tribe. After refusing to cross into Burma, Rambo changes his mind and takes them, dropping them close to one of the Karen villages.

Less than two weeks later, he receives a visit from a pastor tellng him the aid workers did not return and the embassies have not helped locate them. The pastor has mortgaged his home and raised money from his congregation to hire mercenaries to free the missionaries, who are being held captive by the Burmese army. Although the United States military trained him to be a lethal super soldier in Vietnam, decades later Rambo's reluctance for violence and conflict are palpable. However, the lone warrior knows what he must do...

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Special Features

Rambo: First Blood

2 Feature Trailers

First Blood : A Look Back - featurette

Drawing First Blood - featurette

Interviews with Sylvester Stallone

Director's Commentary with David Morrell

Commentary with Sylvester Stallone

Rambo: First Blood Part II

2 Feature Trailers

2 TV Spots

Rambo : Action in the Jungle - featurette

We Get to Win this time - featurette

Director's Commentary with George P Cosmatos

Rambo III

Feature Trailers

Making of Rambo 3 - featurette

"Scope" - Behind the Scenes - featurette

"Friendship" - Behind the Scenes - featurette

Photo Gallery

Rambo

Commentary with Sylvester Stallone

Deleted Scenes

It's a Long Road: Resurrection of an Icon - featurette

The Art of War (Part I) - featurette

The Art of War (Part II) - featurette

A Hero's Welcome: Release & Reaction - featurette

The Weaponry of Rambo - featurette

Legacy of Despair: The Struggle in Burma – featurette

4 collector's cards (with images from each film)

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Synopsis
John Rambo takes out his enemies with extreme prejudice in First Blood, Rambo - First Blood Part 2 , Rambo 3, and Rambo.
In First Blood, a police chief arrests and harasses a vagrant, former Vietnam war hero John Rambo. Rambo escapes his captors and wages a one man war against the corrupt police force in nearby mountains.
In Rambo - First Blood Part 2, John Rambo's mission is to locate American P.O.W's in Vietnam. His orders: do not engage the enemy. But double-crossed and behind enemy lines he must get out any way he can. No man, no law, no war can stop him.
In Rambo 3, John Rambo has gone to live a life of seclusion in an old Buddhist monastery, searching for inner peace. When friend and mentor Col. Trautman visits to ask for his help in a secret mission in Afghanistan, Rambo declines, preferring a life of serenity. Trautman goes it alone and is captured by the enemy. Rambo must now set out to bring his old friend back to safety.
Rambo sees John Rambo living like a hermit and wrangling rattlesnakes in Thailand. He's drawn back into the action by a group of missionaries who want the Vietnam vet to ferry them upriver into Burma. But when the group of idealists gets captured by the Burmese army, it's up to Rambo and a team of multinational mercenaries to save the day.

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Customer reviews

review by: Do we get to win this time? date: 2008-07-08 rating:
WARNING!! READ BEFORE YOU BUY!!
Once again sony pictures have released another mess. they have mislabelled the set, rambo 3 is NOT 5.1, it is in fact the same disc that appeared in a previous set that i also own. first set i bought had a faulty rambo 2 disc so i took it back and now i find that the 3rd film is NOT what it is claimed to be. Be totally aware of what you are buying.

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review by: Symphonic Metal Fan date: 2008-06-28 rating:
A GOOD DOSE OF ACTION! AND ESSENTIALS FOR THE SELF RESPECTING MAN!
If you haven't got theses movies already, then this set is a good buy and good value! Unlike many boxsets where the movies are usually devoid of extras, each film has a reasonable amount of special features (more than the Rocky boxsets!). I've actually got the box set with Rambo 1-3, and Rambo 4 as a separate DVD - this set is basically the same as the set I have with the new film added to complete the series (that is until Rambo 5 is released, seriously look it up on Wikipedia - it's coming!).
A quick run down of the films:
First Blood (1982); Set in the US, the most realistic of the series and more down to earth action than what followed. Often reminiscent of the likes of Deliverance and Southern Comfort, in it's forest settings as Rambo relies more on self made traps & hand to hand combat to evade capture from the authorities before finally laying hands on the beloved M60 Machine Gun in a scene that would inspire countless 80's action flicks! The violence is far less cartoonish here, and the use of wooden spikes, spears and THAT knife will often make you WINCE!

Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985); A complete change of pace and perhaps the best known of the series. Shifted to Vietnam, with a storyline identical to Chuck Norris'(earlier) Missing In Action series, this is where character & plot now took second place to BIG action setpieces. Helicopter gunship battles, huge explosions, and the M60 again - but even more OTT! Stallone by now at the peak of physical shape, and the Rambo character every inch a Force Of Nature. Rambo 2 also saw the first appearance of the infamous compound bow, and the explosive tipped arrows, as effective against Russians as against the Vietcong, the two enemy forces at foul play here.
Stallone would reunite with director, George. P. Cosmatos, the following year for the excellent Cobra.

Rambo 3 (1988); seemingly the most criticised, I actually preferred it to
Rambo 2. I found the action setpieces to be better orchestrated (although by now even more OTT). Now set in Afghanistan, the movie in the past 20 years has shifted from dated to now sadly relevant! As with Rambo 2, the Soviets are a major adversary for Stallone, and the sheer amount of firepower unleashed on screen is incredible! I understand that this was the most expensive movie ever made in it's day, and say what you like about it, but every dollar is on the screen! This film looks the most epic, with the most spectacular action setpieces. The film was cut for theatrical release in 1988 but is restored uncut for this DVD, and it is second only to Rambo 4 in it's levels of violence.

Rambo 4 (2007); I wont bang on too much about this as I've reviewed it separateley in more depth. Suffice to say, It's a return to the jungle warfare of Part 2, this time in Burma. Stallone is WELL up to it, and the action scenes are easily the bloodiest ever put on film! It's an absolute bloodbath - the earlier films showed a lot of kills but the actual detail of the casualties here is almost pornographic!

In conclusion, a great set of films, all different in ways & classics of the time! They aren't rocket science and they don't pretend (with the exception of First Blood) to be serious studies of War!
I certainly prefer them to much of todays sub-Matrix style rubbish.....

Richard Crenna (Colonel Trautman) RIP.


review by: entertainment lover date: 2008-06-21 rating:
Legendary- heroes never die...
This set contains all four Rambo movies a saga spanning twenty-six years

Rambo First blood (1982) - when for no apparent reason, a small town police chief arrests a vagrant hitch-hiker, little does he realise that he has set in motion a catastrophic series of events. the vagrant in question is in fact John Rambo congressional medal of honour winner and Vietnam war hero. responding to the harassment of his captors with sudden ferociousness Rambo makes a daring escape from the small town jail, and heads for the shelter of the nearby mountains as the manhunt begins Rambo prepares himself for a one man war.

The first and undoubtedly the best of the series with combined action with the sensitive political issue of the treatment of Vietnam veterans. the action sequences stand up still to the likes of today's Hollywood blockbuster edited well an a powerhouse performance from Stallone makes this a winner which unlike a lot of action films from the eighties has not become cheesy with age. Rating 10/10

Rambo First blood part 2 (1985) - Rambo is released from prison and is sent back to Vietnam on a secret mission to track down American soldiers MIA. Rambo parachutes into the foreboding jungle with nothing but a hunting knife and a bow and arrow, he is ordered not to engage the enemy just to take reconnaissance pictures but betrayed by his own Rambo struggles against deadly odds and vows to get revenge on his betrays and lead the POWS to safety.

Part 2, penned by Stallone and James Cameron, ups the action ante , its still took a hard jab against American foreign policy regarding Vietnam soldiers but the political dealings generally took a back seat droned out by the sound of endless gunfire, the action sequences are frantic and enjoyable giving Schwarzenegger's eighties flicks a run for there money in terms of body count, Part 2 has aged not so well but its well worth watching and will satisfy any action junkies needing a fix. Rating 8/10

Rambo III (1988) - when Rambo refuses the request of his old platoon leader Colonel Trautman for a new mission he chooses to continue with his new Buddhist beliefs. However, when the colonel is kidnapped by the soviets at the Afghanistan border and the American government are unable to take official action. Rambo goes in to rescue his friend.

Rambo III proves to be the worst in the franchise, while it quiet happily fills the required action quota and then some, the script feels dulled and the film drags in places and it shows the most signs of it age out of all the films, regardless of this its till worth a watch for its well orchestrated sequences of over the top action just don't be expecting action classic. Rating 7/10

Rambo (2008)- Rambo has been leading a quiet life in Thailand until he is asked to ferry a group of missionaries into war-torn Burma. When they are captured, Rambo teams up with a rag tag regiment of mercenaries and heads back into the jungle on a rescue mission that will force him to return to the battlefield with explosively violent consequences. The one man killing machine is back with a vengeance.

Heroes don't die they just reload, twenty years it took for the fourth instalment and Rambo has changed, very much a old hero revamped for a new generation, Stallone shifts the political angle away from Vietnam veterans and shines the spotlight on the raging civil wars in Burma. Because of this Rambo seems to somewhat loose some personal connection with the war he finds himself involved in as later in the film character development gives way for the relentlessly violent action scenes.

This is where the fourth films strengths lie. The action is ferocious, bloody and chaotic, I've seen a lot of action films and final sequence just blew me away a visceral experience that grabs you and doesn't let go and Rambo proves to hold some of the most exciting action sequences ever committed to film however this film is not for the faint of heart infinitely more gruesome than the previous three entries the violence portrayed in no holds barred. Stallone succeeds in pumping new life into the franchise with one of the greatest action movies ever made even if the hero isn't quite how you remember him. Rating 9/10

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