First Blood / Rambo: First Blood Part II / Rambo III 4K UHDs (1982-1988)

[Bigwayne]

So a friend gave me his digital copies, any reason that 1 & 2 redeemed as UHD and Part 3 redeemed as HD?

[Pieter V]

Better than the current Steelbook with stacked discs.

[DenOfEarth]

I hope part 4 comes out this year to cash in on the new movie.

I enjoy this franchise for a long time since i saw part 1 on NBC 34 years ago at age 4 and it with the first 3 Rockys even seeing Rocky IV in theaters that year made me a fan of Stallone. I saw part 2 on HBO at age 5 as i had a couple of toys even the cartoon in the morning and i saw Rambo III in theaters when i was turning 7.

First 2 movies look fantastic on 4K and part 3 looks great as well! now bring on part 4.

[oilers73]

Based on the previous titles, shouldn't the third film be called Rambo II: First Blood Part III?

[Coligion]

Are the included remastered Blu-rays an improvement on the 2011 international (German/Canadian/Italian, etc) releases, or is it more of a wash in terms of picture quality (excluding 4k talk here)? Thinking about grabbing these for posterity if they are a small step up or at least even in that regard. Thanks!

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Coligion

Are the included remastered Blu-rays an improvement on the 2011 international (German/Canadian/Italian, etc) releases

They look a lot better.

[DenOfEarth]

Originally Posted by Matt89

I actually think First Blood really works as a dramatic film and it’s one of Stallone’s best performances. His monologue about Vietnam at the end of the film is heartbreaking. The sequels are another beast entirely and lack the depth that the first film had.

~Matt

I enjoy the sequels as badass actioners and Rambo II is one of the quintessential action films of the 80s.

[The Great Owl]

After finding out that a close friend from his old military unit has died from cancer due to Agent Orange exposure, John Rambo, a traumatized Vietnam veteran played by Sylvester Stallone, wanders on foot into a small mountain town in Washington. When Sheriff Teasle, played by Brian Dennehy, sees this longhaired and unkempt man walking down the street, he picks him up and drives him past the city limits, telling him that drifters are not welcome in his town, not even for a meal at a local restaurant. After Rambo defiantly starts to walk back into the town, he is arrested for vagrancy and taken to jail, where he is roughed up by the deputies and told that he is in the right place if he is looking for trouble. These lawmen will soon learn that their prisoner, a Green Beret who received the Congressional Medal of Honor, has been trained in the art of killing and that, in the surrounding wilderness, he is the only law that matters. After Rambo's violent escape, Colonel Trautman, played by Richard Crenna, arrives on the scene to deescalate the situation, but even he may not be able to stop this ex-soldier's one-man war against the community.

The action-packed 1982 thriller, First Blood, which was directed by Ted Kotcheff (Wake in Fright, Uncommon Valor) and based on the 1972 novel of the same name by David Morrell, introduced one of the most iconic pop culture phenomenons of the 1980s, in the form of John Rambo, to the world and led to a string of explosive sequels. On its own terms, however, it is a haunting mediation on post-traumatic stress and on society's treatment of those who returned from Vietnam. The British Columbia film location is a character in its own right, but its rugged terrain is no match for the devastated psychologically landscapes of its lead antihero character. Despite its association with everything over the top during the decade of its release, this movie has a distinctly gritty 1970s hicksploitation feel to it, especially during its first hour.

Since I was only 10 years old when First Blood was released in theaters, I was not allowed to see the film. Funnily enough, however, I was permitted to read the source novel, which is considerably darker and more violent. In Morrell's original story, the town's lawmen are not vilified, and Rambo is portrayed in a more menacing light as he snaps and leaves a trail of corpses during his escape from the police station and during the ensuing manhunt. The literary incarnation of Sheriff Teasle is emphasized as a Korean War veteran, so the difference between his generation and those who came home from Vietnam is one of the book's most prominent themes, but this angle of the story is not overtly addressed on the screen.

Sylvester Stallone, who was seeking a dramatic challenge after the production of Rocky III, contributed to the screenplay by showcasing Rambo from a sympathetic angle, starting with the opening scene as the character locates the home of his old friend. The body count in the movie adaptation is also considerably lower, since the only death at the hands of Rambo is an accidental killing when he causes a deputy to fall from a helicopter. More importantly, however, Stallone excels at conveying his taciturn character's nervous vulnerability by way of his eyes.

Stallone is often dismissed as an untalented movie star, but I believe that the final sequence, where Rambo's facade crumbles and he breaks down into blubbering sobs, is one of the actor's masterful career highlights. I have always loved how this lightning-paced and relentless action adventure ultimately culminates with an emotionally tender dialogue between Rambo and Trautman, despite the fact that an entire town has just been leveled. The conclusion of First Blood initially included a bleaker finale more in keeping with Morrell's novel, but the filmmakers wisely tailored it so that Rambo could live on and so that a hope for healing with regard to the Vietnam soldiers who deserved more respect could be given a humane screen treatment. This was not the first movie to examine the plight of Vietnam veterans, but, more so than The Deer Hunter and other such works, it effectively condenses the sociopolitical nuances of that era into the soul of one likable character whom we want to survive.

Those who simply crave gunfights, explosions, and stunts will not be disappointed, of course. First Blood was one of the early 1980s action films that raised the bar in terms of redefining the genre's potential to display spectacular events on the screen. We've got Rambo's escape from the police station, where the camera follows him knocking everyone out of his way, we've got a motorcycle chase, we've got a harrowing cliff sequence where Rambo evades a helicopter gunman, we've got a cheer-worthy moment where a truck driven by the lead character crashes through a police barricade, and, finally, we get to see buildings being blown to pieces. Through it all, this movie exudes a tangible verisimilitude that allows us to sense the inhospitality of the outdoors settings, with characters shivering and breathing in foggy gasps out in the cold.

On the Blu-ray commentary track from Sylvester Stallone, he discusses one scene in an evergreen forest where Rambo sets traps for Dennehy's sheriff and the deputies, played by the likes of David Caruso (NYPD Blue), Michael Talbott (Miami Vice), and Chris Mulkey (Cloverfield), before wounding them one by one. Since this forest landscape looked so uniform, with identical trees, moss, rocks, and ferns everywhere with no standout landmarks, cast and crew were instructed never to go more than a few yards away from one another, so that none of them would become confused or lost.

During today's viewing of First Blood, after having seen it dozens of times over the decades, I am more cognizant of the tonal change in the film halfway through. There are quite a few unintentionally comedic moments when scrutinized by my adult self, especially during the National Guardsman interactions near an abandoned mine. Crenna's Trautman's description of Rambo to the unprepared local cops elicits some laughter from me now. “I didn't come to rescue Rambo from you. I came here to rescue you from him.” “You send that many, don't forget one thing... A good supply of body bags.” At the same time, however, these remarks work wonders to establish the character of Rambo by way of others talking about him when he is offscreen.

This is a tremendous movie.

My review comes off of watching the standard Blu-ray included in this 4K+Blu-ray combo, since this is a future-proof purchase so that I will have it on hand when I upgrade my home setup, but even the standard Blu-ray is a notable improvement over the first high definition edition of this movie that I owned. Everything looks and sounds great.

The special features, especially the commentary tracks by Stallone and Morrell, are essential.

[Rzzzz]

Great review and could not agree more. First Blood belongs in that small group of one of the greatest films ever made. It is my favorite Sylvester Stallone film....

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

This is a tremendous movie.

It really is. Takes the best of that kind of action and combines it with true heart, drama and a great script. A rare 5 out of 5 from me.

[DR Herbert West]

Andy Vajna, ‘Rambo’ Producer, Dies at 74:

Andy Vajna, executive producer of several “Rambo” films as well as “Total Recall” and several “Terminator” movies, has died at 74.

The Hungarian National Film Fund confirmed his death, calling him a “dominant figure in the Hungarian and international film industry” who was responsible for the development of the fund.

With partner Mario Kassar, Vajna founded the indie powerhouse Carolco, which produced blockbusters including “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” the first three “Rambo” films and “Basic Instinct.” Carolco was one of the most successful companies in the foreign pre-sales business, and a mainstay at the world’s film markets. He was a founder and president of the American Film Marketing Assn., which launched the American Film Market.

Vajna served as producer or executive producer on films including “Evita,” starring Madonna, Oliver Stone’s “Nixon,” “Judge Dredd,” “Die Hard With a Vengeance” and “Angel Heart.”

He left Carolco in 1989 to form Cinergi Productions and InterCom

[ROSS.T.G.]

I just watched these end of November and I already want to watch them again.

[The Great Owl]

Years after being imprisoned for waging a brutal one-man war against law enforcement in a small mountain town, John Rambo, a traumatized veteran played by Sylvester Stallone, is offered a chance at redemption. In exchange for a Presidential pardon, he embarks on a top secret reconnaissance mission to locate American prisoners of war who are still being held in Vietnam. While Colonel Trautman, played by Richard Crenna, and a small military unit led by Murdock, a smarmy CIA official played by Charles Napier, stand by at the base of operations, Rambo parachutes into enemy territory and is guided by his intelligence contact, played by Julia Nickson, to a prison camp, where he rescues one American. After a narrow escape, he carries the prisoner to the extraction point, only to be abandoned at the last minute as the unwitting participant of a bureaucratic scam and left to the mercy of his Vietnamese and Soviet captors. Unfortunately for everyone, enemy troops and corrupt countrymen alike, Rambo is still intent on accomplishing his mission.

The 1985 action sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II, which was directed with the utmost extravagant enthusiasm by George P. Cosmatos (Cobra, Tombstone), was the first R-rated film that I saw in a theater during my early adolescence, since my father, who shared my affinity for the 1982 predecessor, First Blood, agreed to accompany me. Although 34 years have passed, I still remember this trip as clear as day. The trailer for the sci-fi horror movie, Lifeforce, which was not shy about showcasing the unclothed lead female character, was one of the previews, and the experience of watching that trailer while sitting next to my father was comically awkward, to say the least. While the main feature played out, in all its over-the-top glory, my father flinched a few times and expressed regret for taking me to see such a violent film, but my 13 year-old self was on cloud nine. With rapt attention, I marveled at the fiery fight scenes, the immense body count, the unbelievably cool weapons, the explosive-tipped arrows, the obnoxiously massive Soviet helicopter gunship, and the nonstop scenes of the seemingly invincible title character emerging from underwater hiding places or mud walls at just the right time to stab or machine gun his opponents.

Even at my young middle school age during that first viewing, my rational intellect told me that Rambo: First Blood Part II was a bad movie. I was aware that the hauntingly tragic emotional resonance of the character of Rambo, as defined by First Blood and its 1972 source novel by David Morrell, was nowhere in sight and that it had been replaced by a larger-than-life figure who seemed emboldened by the bloodshed that his incarnation in that first film had been so desperate to forget. I was aware that the notion of sending a severely post-traumatic-stress-afflicted veteran on a single-handed mission back to Vietnam was the worst idea in the entire history of bad ideas. I was aware that the endlessly quotable dialogue scenes seemed clumsily assembled, as though separate camera angles of characters talking to one another in the same scene were filmed months apart. I was aware that the film's subject matter concerning the serious issue of soldiers who were still missing in action was diluted in order to generate a grandiose cinematic catharsis for Americans who yearned for closure with regard to the question of the POWs. I was aware that the Singapore-born actress, Nickson, with whom I was instantly infatuated, would not endure jungle gunfights with a flawlessly glowing sheen, as though she were stepping out of a Cosmopolitan magazine photo shoot. Most importantly, I was aware that the cast, with the possible exception of Stallone, seemed to be playing their roles with a barely-concealed knowing wink because they fully realized the sheer absurdity of the script at hand.

My eyes, however, told me during that first viewing that Rambo: First Blood Part II was a brilliant movie. Even today, when revisited through my adult perspective, this film is a visually stunning work of cinema that spared no expense during the pre-computer-effects era. I am still in awe that the insanely destructive action sequences were completed without harming anyone on the set. Every time I sit through these scenes, I have a mental image of multiple mass graves at the Mexico filming locations that hide the bodies of undocumented background extras who were blown up or shot to bits inside the straw village huts.

Despite their better judgment, the esteemed movie critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, gave favorable reviews to this film during their television show on the basis that it delivered in spades with regard to entertainment. I fully concur with this assessment, even with the cognizance of the story's logical shortcomings. I love the epic helicopter showdown. I love the sight of Rambo jumping into the air just as a keg of napalm is dropped on his location, and I love how the napalm simultaneously explodes in a million spots at once. I love the enemy sergeant being blow to pieces by an explosive-tipped arrow. I love the, “Rambo, you're not expendable.”, line. I love how, when Rambo stands up and stares intensely toward the camera after burying Nickson's character and putting on her necklace, we know that it's about to get real. I love how Napier's Murdock captures the essence of every shady car salesman in the world. I love how Steven Berkoff, who was the face of the Soviet Union for us 1980s moviegoers because of his villainous roles in this movie and the James Bond 007 film, Octopussy, is so gleefully sinister during the prison camp torture scene. Finally, I love the invaluable life lesson that, if you are firing a machine gun at something, then it does not count unless you point the gun at the sky and yell in anger.

Rambo: First Blood Part II, God bless it, does have faint traces of thematic earnestness. I am amused that the title character is constantly hyped in pop culture as a jingoistic American fixture, although he is actually the polar opposite, since he despises war, he resents his military participation, and since he has no desire to return to his U.S. homeland. Stallone should be credited for his ability to convey these nuances while still portraying Rambo totally off the chain and unleashed in a situation where the character is finally doing what he was born to do. For this reason, among others, this movie struck a chord with oppressed people and enjoyed an unlikely popularity upon its release in areas like Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.

For the most part, though, this movie soars into the stratosphere and triggers my nostalgic leanings simply because it is a gloriously in-your-face fast food display of explosions, guns, torture porn, jungle warfare, and rocket launchers. I find it odd that First Blood, an evocative antiwar film, was followed up by a sequel that makes war and violence look like fun, but I roll with it just the same.

I am giving this movie five stars. How will I live with that? Day by day.

As with its predecessor, my review comes off of watching the standard Blu-ray included in this 4K+Blu-ray combo, since this is a future-proof purchase so that I will have it on hand when I upgrade my home setup.

The images on the standard Blu-ray seem somewhat vertically-stretched to me in a way that I cannot quite put my finger on, so I'll be interested to see what my 4K disc looks like someday.

[DenOfEarth]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

Andy Vajna, ‘Rambo’ Producer, Dies at 74:

RIP fine producer.

[The Great Owl]

John Rambo, a Vietnam veteran and one-man killing machine played by Sylvester Stallone, is living in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand when he is called back to action in order to rescue his former commander, Colonel Trautman, played by Richard Crenna, who has been captured by the Soviets while helping freedom fighters in Afghanistan. After befriending Mujahedeen rebels in a remote village, only to see several of them massacred by Soviet gunships, he covertly enters the heavily fortressed prison base and retrieves his friend, but miles of desert mountain territory and multitudes of enemy commandos stand between them and freedom.

The 1988 sequel, Rambo III, which was directed by Peter MacDonald, largely jettisons the darker psychological subtleties of its title character that were explored in the original film, First Blood, and, to a lesser extent, in Rambo: First Blood Part II, in favor of more conventional story that segues into a buddy-action movie during its final half hour, when Rambo and Trautman are shown fighting alongside each other at long last. There's still a fair amount of pathos in Stallone's portrayal of the seemingly invincible hero, especially during the scenes where he relates to the Afghanistan freedom fighters and their resilient way of life, but the main attractions here are the spectacular action sequences. In terms of character nuances, Stallone simply lets his appearance do the work here. As with the previous films, the juxtaposition of a military expert who sports long hippie hair, a headband, and an unkempt outfit makes for a universally relatable fictional entity.

Rambo III, with its body count of over 108, was once ranked by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most violent movie in existence. I was a sophomore in high school when this film was released, and I remember the news stories about people picketing outside of theaters in protest of the its relentless bloodshed. To my eyes, this third outing is less visceral and gritty than Rambo: First Blood Part II, but it still packs quite a punch. One particular kill scene, where, during a hand-to-hand combat fight, Rambo pulls the pins out of the grenades strapped to a commando's uniform and throws him down a cavern, where the man explodes in mid-air, calls for the rewind button every time I revisit the film. Another wince-worthy moment, where our protagonist uses gunpowder to cauterize himself while treating a puncture wound, has to be seen to be believed.

At the time of its 63 million dollar production, this was also the most expensive movie ever made. Everything is bigger here. Rambo's muscles are bigger. Rambo's survival knife is bigger. The explosions are bigger. Finally, for those of us who saw Rambo II: First Blood Part II during its theatrical release while we were adolescents and daydreamed endlessly about someday owning one of those fantastically big Soviet helicopter gunships, even those are featured more prominently in this film. One can easily envision studio executives saying, “This one needs more cowbell...and more Soviet Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters!”

Despite its oft-maligned tonal differences with the previous films in the franchise, I love the final half hour of Rambo III, where the title character trades wisecracks with Trautman as they gun down one Russian after another. There's a refreshingly fun-spirited aesthetic here that comes across like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the larger-than-life gravitas of what has come before.

This may be the least effective entry in the 1980s Rambo trilogy, but it is still a blast. In fact, it is a gloriously fiery practical effects blast.

I really miss the good old days when action films wrapped up their stories just after the hour-and-a-half mark.

The standard Blu-ray in this 4K combo pack looks great, and I can imagine that the 4K disc will be amazing. Soon...

Now...onward to my new Shout Factory Cobra disc and to my new Cliffhanger disc.

[LexInHD]

It's a shame that Rambo 3 had to leave Israel and finish shooting in Murica. Apparently, the Israeli's were accommodating initially and went all out in providing manpower and actual Soviet weapons to achieve the authenticity and scale that the production sought, but then the government became increasingly hostile as production went on and finally curtailed the location shoots that doubled for Afghanistan, before throwing the production out of the country. No explanation was ever given for their change in attitude and behavior.

[rwc]

So let me get this straight. The Lionsgate US discs do not have Dolby Vision, despite there being some mention of DV in Studio Canal’s promotions, as confirmed in Jeffrey Kauffman’s reviews on this site.

I have in front of me Studio Canal’s European 4K releases (the French 4K Trilogy Steelbook with French/German/British discs), and it clearly states Dolby Vision on the back slip. It has the Dolby Vision logo (next to the Ultra HD Premium logo). It also has a sentence saying (in French) “Discover the films in Dolby Vision XDR, the new technology that guarantees contrast, colour and light as never seen before”. I notice the Lionsgate releases do not have these DV references on the slipbacks.
Unfortunately I am not DV compatible yet, but by the looks of it, Studio Canal’s European 4K discs include it and Lionsgate’s US releases do not.

[StingingVelvet]

Everyone before you said they were the same, so maybe it's a misprint? Or they were all wrong. I dunno.

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by rwc

So let me get this straight. The Lionsgate US discs do not have Dolby Vision, despite there being some mention of DV in Studio Canal’s promotions, as confirmed in Jeffrey Kauffman’s reviews on this site.

I have in front of me Studio Canal’s European 4K releases (the French 4K Trilogy Steelbook with French/German/British discs), and it clearly states Dolby Vision on the back slip. It has the Dolby Vision logo (next to the Ultra HD Premium logo). It also has a sentence saying (in French) “Discover the films in Dolby Vision XDR, the new technology that guarantees contrast, colour and light as never seen before”. I notice the Lionsgate releases do not have these DV references on the slipbacks.
Unfortunately I am not DV compatible yet, but by the looks of it, Studio Canal’s European 4K discs include it and Lionsgate’s US releases do not.

Nope. It's a packaging screw up:
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/...091270-60.html

Translated from First Blood review:

Originating from a 4K scan of the original negative, this UHD transfer with firm compression has a new clarity, new information in dark scenes (underground), more obvious details (see forest sequences), more nuanced colors and a bit colder (the forest is less free green), a rather exceptional brightness (the cold light of the day) with often powerful lighting (explosions, flames at the end of the barrel), and a silver texture present but discreet. And if the gray scale is remarkable, I would have however preferred that the under-lit passages are more plunged in the penumbra.PS: Contrary to the indications of the jacket, this presentation is not encoded in Dolby Vision but "only" in HDR10.

First Blood Part II review:

Same qualities and defects as Rambo UHD transferfor a serious upgrade compared to Blu-ray. The compression is solid even when the mist is inviting, the resolution of the grain is superbly restored (it is never invasive), the details are more clarity even if intentionally turbid plans remain, the color palette is more saturated (especially blue and red) and a chouïa less hot, the contrasts are more harmonious with the key to dark scenes that are no longer clogged, and the light sources are presented with a chandelier they had not before. As for the previous part, some under-lit scenes would have deserved blacks a little deeper. PS: Contrary to the indications of the jacket, this presentation is not encoded in Dolby Vision"

[rwc]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Nope. It's a packaging screw up:
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/...091270-60.html

That’s definitely the word for it. Dolby Vision is literally advertised in three different ways on the slipback. Going to complain to Studio Canal Customer Service... oh wait, they don’t have a customer service

Meanwhile, Universal France release Gladiator and Blackkklansman in 4K Dolby Vision but fail to advertise this on the packaging...