Rambo 4K UHD (2008)

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by ROSS.T.G.

Yes I watched it a few months back. Still holds up, a little flat looking though. I’m curious what the foliage looks like, definitely lacked vibrancy. But that’s my major complaint with all SDR content now.

It's very much a look unto itself in SDR though. I'm usually the first weenie complaining about bleh SDR looks these days but despite its handicap I still liked what I was seeing, it's got a 'humid' look that really works for the material.

[MattGuyOR]

Do most prefer the extended? I’ve never seen it and it arrives tomorrow.

[brainofj72]

I tried watching the extended cut last night. I absolutely loved the added character scenes; at least one classic Sly monologue was cut from the TC. His performance feels deeper and more poignant now, and the character and his internal conflict are much fuller and more realized.

That said, I simply cannot accept how much he toned down the violence. He seriously took it from a 10 to like a 6 or a 7. In the 40 minutes or so I watched, all of the most memorable, shocking moments of brutality that make this movie so impactful were gone. I just couldn’t keep going with it in that form; it wasn’t the same film.

Wish like hell there were a composite cut that added in the character stuff but left the violence untouched.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by MattGuyOR

Do most prefer the extended?

I love it, but opinions on it are pretty mixed.

[NDcowboy]

Originally Posted by MattGuyOR

Do most prefer the extended? I’ve never seen it and it arrives tomorrow.

Watch the theatrical cut first and enjoy the ride!

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by MattGuyOR

Do most prefer the extended?

No. And I can't follow the usual arguments against it. I'm also not interested in what Sly is not interested in in this case, I'm afraid. The EC changes the tone of the movie and it isn't to my liking, plus I think it lost its balls/"went soft" (and no, it's not because of the gore). But people have different opinions. I'd watch the TC first at any rate.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by MattGuyOR

Do most prefer the extended? I’ve never seen it and it arrives tomorrow.

Theatrical all the way for me, I'll never bother with the "extended" cut again.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by brainofj72

I tried watching the extended cut last night. I absolutely loved the added character scenes; at least one classic Sly monologue was cut from the TC. His performance feels deeper and more poignant now, and the character and his internal conflict are much fuller and more realized.

That said, I simply cannot accept how much he toned down the violence. He seriously took it from a 10 to like a 6 or a 7. In the 40 minutes or so I watched, all of the most memorable, shocking moments of brutality that make this movie so impactful were gone. I just couldn’t keep going with it in that form; it wasn’t the same film.

Wish like hell there were a composite cut that added in the character stuff but left the violence untouched.

This sums it up pretty good.

[Fat Phil]

My copy from wowHD reached me in the UK this morning. Alas, I am at work all day. I am the Boat Man......and must stay with the boat.

[DR Herbert West]

Out for delivery. Only two days late.

[Jb162009]

Got mine from wowhd this morning to. Slip I'd so shiny, can't wait to watch it.

[gemcgee64]

Ugh!! This 4K transfer is bad. NO improvement in detail over the standard bluray at all. It is a darker transfer so the background scenes in the sun are not blown out but with no increase in detail, only a slight contrast boost and no HDR pop, this is one I should have skipped.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

".... are the timing discrepancies there on both cuts of the film? You don't say which version you watched..."

I only had time to watch and compare one version, and I chose the extended cut on the 4k, since the extended cut blu ray was handy right there in the 4k pack.

I agree that the old 1080p blu ray actually does hold up pretty well despite its age. I remembered it being a bit uglier than it really is, and perhaps due to the hazy, frantic combat footage and pervasive, steamy, smoky jungle scenes, I underappreciated how much excellent detail it actually presents in light of the photographic content it has to deal with.

I forgot to mention in the good points of the 4k, that the night scenes really do benefit greatly on the new 4k uhd, pretty much across the board. As I had suspected, the revised contrast and decent blacks make night shots look much more natural and a bit more realistic. The blu ray, with its hyped contrast and heavy blue filtering of several night scenes, always exposed the strong artifical, directional lighting they were filmed under, and things were just too bright for anything that would have been thrown off by the small, dim outdoor lamps of the enemy encampment, for one example.


When I mention the unnatural look of the foliage on the new 4k, where the colors have been knocked down with a dull, olive-brown cast, I'm also taking into consideration the fact that the film is set in the tropics. I live in South Florida and have spent many years in tropical and subtropical climates. The Burmese inland swamp's palmetto scrub and acacia trees simply shouldn't be the same color as a cluster of Ohio maples in the spring....In this regard, I think the 1080p blu ray presents a color palette of green foliage and harsh, hazy yellowish sunlight conditions, that is actually more consistent with the look of an actual humid, hazy, tropical/subtropical jungle. We're not in Kansas anymore....Yet some of the jungle scenery on the 4k disc now looks like it was shot in the woods in Brandywine, Pennsylvania....

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by gemcgee64

Ugh!! This 4K transfer is bad. NO improvement in detail over the standard bluray at all. It is a darker transfer so the background scenes in the sun are not blown out but with no increase in detail, only a slight contrast boost and no HDR pop, this is one I should have skipped.

I completely understand this reaction. The 4k disc in this case is contrary to what you'd generally expect. While some of the best applications of hdr actually do tone down some excessively garish color palettes, such as the excellent 4k presentation of 13 Hours......in this case I feel the revisionism has gone too far in mellowing out the hyped, war-torn, sun-drenched tropical look of the film. My equipment doesn't exactly make the 4k look darker, per se, such as with Annihilation on 4k, but it's certainly much less contrasted, and all the tones are quite dulled-down. Folks are either going to love or hate the revised color timing on the 4k disc.

And I can't even speak to the disappointing (actual and/or perceived) lack of detail compared to the prior 1080p release(s)....It's not nearly as bad as something like 3:10 to Yuma on 4k, but that does come to mind...

[Geoff D]

Thanks Daylight, I aksed which cut you watched because it makes sense that the extended would have such squinky timing if they're just cutting the existing EC footage into the scan of the filmout for the theatrical version.

[RedHarvest]

Watched the John Rambo cut last night and enjoyed it immensely. Looked amazing on my setup. Going back to Rambo: First Blood Part 2 4K tonight.

[Geoff D]

Mine's just arrived.

[mackguyver]

Amazon wouldn't let me cancel and finally shipped...but not 2 day...it won't be here until Monday...so much for Prime and pre-ordering...

[dcx4610]

Originally Posted by brainofj72

I tried watching the extended cut last night. I absolutely loved the added character scenes; at least one classic Sly monologue was cut from the TC. His performance feels deeper and more poignant now, and the character and his internal conflict are much fuller and more realized.

That said, I simply cannot accept how much he toned down the violence. He seriously took it from a 10 to like a 6 or a 7. In the 40 minutes or so I watched, all of the most memorable, shocking moments of brutality that make this movie so impactful were gone. I just couldn’t keep going with it in that form; it wasn’t the same film.

Wish like hell there were a composite cut that added in the character stuff but left the violence untouched.

Agreed.

Usually Director's Cuts just add deleted scenes back in. This is bizarre where he cuts stuff out while adding additional scenes. I'm not a gore hound but it's central to the movie and shows how desensitized to killing that Rambo is. Cutting numerous scenes takes away the brutality that made the theatrical cut so interesting.

I like the additional scenes but I feel like they were cut for a reason. I think they are better left as deleted scenes. I'm sticking with the theatrical.

[postmodel]

Not being terribly familiar with the different cuts, it almost sounds like the extended would be like a extended TV cut found in the 80s...tone down the stuff that needs censoring and add some scenes in to pad out the runtime.