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Lionsgate Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of Rambo: The Complete Collector’s Set on 27th May 2008 priced at $54.98 SRP. # Actors: Rambo Complete Collectors Set # Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC # Language: English # Subtitles: English, Spanish # Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) # Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 # Number of discs: 6 # Rating: # Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment # DVD Release Date: May 27, 2008 # Run Time: 386 minutes Arriving alongside the DVD debut of Sylvester Stallone’s 2008 Rambo outing, this six-disc collection includes all four films in the series - First Blood: Ultimate Edition, Rambo First Blood Part II: Ultimate Edition, Rambo III: Ultimate Edition and Rambo: 2-Disc Special Edition - encased in limited edition, collectible metal tin packaging. Along with the bonus material found on each film the set also includes a special bonus disc with 10 featurettes and the theatrical trailers for all 4 films. First Blood (1982) First Blood is about a Vietnam vet named John Rambo who comes to a small Washington state town (actually British Columbia) to find the last surviving comrade from his elite Green Beret unit. When he discovers that he too is dead, Rambo makes his way into town for a bite to eat and instead winds up being arrested by the hick local sheriff (Brian Dennehy). While in custody, Rambo is abused by the locals but manages to escape sparking an all out manhunt. This film has 55 minutes of action out of 96 total highlighted by the jail escape and subsequent chase. Jack Starrett is great as the cop that does most of the abusing while Davis Caruso is fine as the only deputy (among the surprisingly large local force) that seems to have a conscience. Dennehy is good as always and makes a worthy opponent for Rambo. Richard Crenna is great as Rambo"s former CO and he and Dennehy play off one another quite well. Even though he has limited speaking parts, this is probably one of Stallone"s best performances highlighted by the "Vietnam speech" near the end of the film. The film is presented in digitally remastered widescreen 16:9, and is without a doubt the best video presentation of First Blood to date. The movie was shot in the temperate rain forest of BC and is quite dark at times. However, the darkest scenes have been enhanced here and are much improved over the various VHS versions some of which are terrible. Sound is Dolby 2.0 only but not bad considering. Also included are a cute trivia game (get all 10 right without a mistake to see a Rambo cartoon), production notes, and a teaser and trailer. The "featurette" is nothing more than a glorified trailer. Now on to the best feature of this DVD, one that is worth the price of admission all by itself. If you are at all interested in how films are made and the behind the scenes tidbits about Hollywood, then RUN do not walk (or let your fingers do the walking online) to your local video store and get this disc. Why? For the outstanding commentary of writer David Morrell. This talented man begins to speak before the opening credits and does not stop for 96 minutes. When he does you will wish he could have continued for 96 more. You will find yourself listening again and again and picking up something new each time. This is without a doubt far and away the best commentary on any DVD. Here is just a partial list of the things Morrell covers: 1. The many differences between his novel and the film-very fascinating stuff. 2. His experience when seeing First Blood the very first time. 3. The three act structure of films. 4. How he chose the name Rambo and other character names. 5. How First Blood set a number of precedents for the industry. 6. Why films were kept to 90 minutes in length for so long a time. 7. A touching story about his son and Stallone. 8. The story of how Kirk Douglas was scheduled to play Troutman and why Richard Crenna ended up with the role. And that is only scratching the surface. In conclusion, First Blood was a precedent setting film featuring top-flight actors and some of the best believable screen action. The wonderful commentary of David Morrell caps off a great experience. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) "The war and all this may be wrong, but, dammit don"t hate your country for it." "Hey..., I"d die for it." "Then what do you want?" "I want..., what they want. And every other guy that came over here & gave everything he had & spilled his guts, wants. For our country to love us, as much as we love it. That is what I want." - Rambo speaks, to his Colonel, as the voice of every American Veteran, (past, present, & future) & reminds Americans & the world over that freedom has a price thats worth fighting for, but, sometimes the simple personal rewards are elusive in "Rambo: First Blood Part II" Thanks to the big screen & video success of "First Blood", Rambo lives on this second installment, thats just as good as the previous film, but, tends to get quite cartoonish towards the films end. Serving a five year plus jail sentence for the trashing of the town in "First Blood", "Rambo" opens with the former Green Beret hammering rocks in the local prison. That doesn"t last long as Colonel Sam Trautman, Rambo"s former CO in the military, pays him a visit & offering him a sweet deal. Satelite recon had picked up some unexpected movement in the P.O.W. camp that Rambo escaped from in "71. The camp is supposed to be abandoned, but, may still be holding some of Rambo"s former P.O.W."s. Rambo"s mission is to sneak into the camp and take pictures & document actions of the camp"s activities and report back to base. Trautman & American Forces would step in and invade the camp reclaiming & bringing home the P.O.W."s. This would also lead to Rambo being reinstated in the special forces and, if the mission is a success, a Presidential Pardon on his prison record, with Rambo walking away a free man. Rambo reluctantly accepts the challenge, but, upon sneaking into the camp he does indeed find many American Troops still being held hostage beaten, malnutritioned, and one breath away from death. Rambo screws his Kodak moment, taking matters into his own hands. If you"ve watched "First Blood" you know what happens next. Filmed entirely in Mexico, "Rambo" is a different film than the first, but retains and expands the violence quotient. Stallone exchanged working in weather that was ten to fifteen below zero & wading in water thats 39 degrees farenheit (remember the scene in "First Blood" where the National Guard is out looking for Rambo who was all along hiding amongst the rocks of the river? Yeah, that water was 39 degrees farenheit. Thats cold ass water to be hiding in). Instead, for "Rambo", Sly worked in weather that reached 110 degrees and, in one scene where Rambo is captured by the Viet Cong, is dipped, from the neck down, in pig slop complete with real live leeches (the Russian General uses Rambo"s knife to pick one off his chest. Gross). The helicopter battle at the end of the film was pretty dangerous. The helicopters flew so low, that in one quick shot of the Russian copter flying over one of the huts, the copter takes the roof off! Director George P. Cosmatos left the scene in to show the danger & peril of the battle. Stallone"s daily schedule was getting up and working out for two to three hours in the early morning, a ten to twelve hour shooting day, & a two to three hour workout at night. All told, Stallone"s average work week with the workouts included was approx. 80 to 90 hours a week. Its also said that Stallone was at his leanest, practically resculpturing his body for this movie, as well as, for "Rocky IV". "Rambo: First Blood Part II" was released for the Memorial Day weekend of 1985, and proceeded to punch a hole in American pop-culture. Everything from toys, bubble gum cards, & a cartoon series were produced to cash in on the success of the film. As for the S.E. DVD, this is definitely the definitive edition of the film (the recent Ultimate Edition is a dissapointment). Features include a retrospective of the film from Cosmatos, Stallone, Richard Crenna & others, to trailers, an audio commentary from the director, DTS audio soundtrack with Dolby Digital & surround. Rambo is not expendable and neither is this DVD. Rambo III (1988) Whatever credibility Rambo once had in First Blood is totally gone in this film that is more like Cold War propaganda than anything else, which is probably why they chopped First Blood off the title and we"re simply left with the Rambo bit. As a character he"s a bit more talkative but still has the same sadness in his eyes. And Stallone is absolutely HUGE. Yes, he"s always been big but his figure in Rambo III is probably the biggest I"ve seen him. He could probably rip Arnie"s head off. Since walking off into the sunset in Part II, Rambo is now living in a monastery in Thailand and has found inner peace. But he still takes time out to batter people with sticks in cage fights to raise money for the Buddists. But the no-good Red Ruskie Soviets are causing havoc in Afghanistan and one particular Colonel is taking great pleasure in massacring whole villages. Colonel Trautman and Robert Griggs (the ever-brilliant Kurtwood Smith) try to convince Rambo to come help them sort the Ruskies out. But Rambo is having done of it. He"s done killing! He wants to raise a family. So Trautman is left to go it alone and is captured. Griggs delivers this bad news to Rambo who makes up his mind to go on another killing spree. Which is entirely okay as long as he only kills the Ruskies right? Once in Afghanistan, Rambo teams up the Muhujideen, learns of their many woes and agrees to fight the Ruskies with all his might. Even though he was going to do that anyway, but it"s nice to have friends. The rest of the film is no more than a succession of comic-book action scenes and shoot-em-up set pieces. It"s brilliantly shot, seriously, it"s some of the best cinematography I"ve seen in an action film. I never expected Rambo III to look so good! It"s a shame that Peter MacDonald (who was actually the second unit director shunted into 1st place after Russell Mulcahy left) doesn"t stage the action with any sense of fluency. Yes, it all looks big and bold, but it"s kinda clumsy and cumbersome. At the time, it was the most expensive movie ever made (even at a mere $65 million) and while it may be grand, it sure ain"t graceful. Jerry Goldsmith"s score is once again brilliant. But quite a lot of his original material was left out and old tracks from Part II spliced in. So as long as your prepared for sudden jump cuts in the music, you should really get a kick out of it. When it originally came out, Rambo III was kinda disregarded as a totally unnecessary sequel but in recent years the film has gained a political subtext and can actually be viewed in quite a few subversive ways. While I understand that the makers wanted to give the film a serious point of view regarding the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, I feel that integrity that the film has in modern politics should be disregarded. This is a RAMBO movie for Christ sake. The logic is shoot now, ask questions never. America did do the right thing by helping the Afghans fight off the Ruskies. But they did they wrong thing leaving the country to crumble afterwards (just like Rambo does). The rest is history. But I don"t think a review of Rambo III is the best place to discuss this. It"s a flawed sequel, but I like it better than Part II. There are some seriously misjudged moments but it"s still a fun ride. I"m not sure a fourth is necessary since Jerry Goldsmith and Richard Crenna have since died, but I can"t judge until I see it, huh. Rambo: 2-Disc Special Edition Audio commentary by Sylvester Stallone Deleted Scenes “Legacy of Despair: The Struggle in Burma” featurette “It’s a Long Road: Resurrection of an Icon” featurette “A Score to Settle: The Music of Rambo” featurette ”The Art of War: Completing Rambo” featurette “The Weaponry of Rambo” featurette “A Hero"s Welcome: Release & Reaction” featurette Digital Copy of the feature film Bonus Disc “The Real Nam: Voices from Within” featurette “Guts and Glory” featurette “The Forging of Heroes: America’s Green Berets” featurette “Rambo-nomics” featurette “Selling a Hero” featurette “Suiting Up” featurette “An American Hero’s Journey: The Rambo Trilogy” featurette ”Drawing First Blood” featurette “We Get to Win This Time” featurette “Afghanistan: Land in Crisis” featurette Theatrical Trailers for all 4 Films Comments Please login to post comments or replies.