Rambo (film)
This article is about the 2008 film. For the first film of the Rambo series sometimes called "Rambo"
 Rambo | |
| | |
| Directed by | |
| Produced by | |
| Written by | |
| Based on | Characters by David Morrell |
| Starring | Sylvester Stallone Julie Benz Matthew Marsden Graham McTavish Reynaldo Gallegos Jake La Botz Tim Kang Paul Schulze Maung Maung Khin |
| Music by | Brian Tyler Jerry Goldsmith (Themes) |
| Cinematography | Glen MacPherson |
| Editing by | |
| Studio | Millennium Films Nu Image Films for Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH |
| Distributed by | |
| Release date(s) | January 25, 2008 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | |
| Language | |
| Budget | $50 million |
| Box office | $113,244,290 |
The film is about a former United States Army Special Forces soldier, John Rambo, who is hired by a church pastor to help rescue a group of missionaries who were kidnapped by men from a brutal Burmese military regime. Rambo holds the record with the most kills out of the entire Rambo series, with 236. In the film, Rambo kills a group of pirates, an entire squad of Burmese soldiers, and then, at the climax of the film, a huge number of Burmese army soldiers whom he shoots with a jeep-mounted .50-caliber machine gun. Stallone justified this in a press conference by saying the violence in the film was to draw attention to the ongoing problems in Myanmar.
Including the intake of $41,368,619 in DVD sales, the film's total gross revenue is $154,611,774. The film had its cable television premiere on Spike TV on July 11, 2010. However, it was the extended cut that was broadcast not the theatrical version. The extended cut was later released on Blu-ray two weeks after its cable TV premiere.
Plot
Rambo agrees and accompanies the mercenaries to the drop-off. He offers to help but is refused by the team's leader Lewis Reese (Graham McTavish), an ex-Special Air Service operative, who demands he stay at the boat. As the mercenary team arrives at the village, a squad of Tatmadaw soldiers show up with a group of hostages. The soldiers are playing a game of sorts with their prisoners, which goes as follows: Several land mines are tossed into a rice paddy through which the prisoners are forced to run. The soldiers place bets on which person will step on a hidden mine. The team takes cover, planning to standby and (seemingly reluctantly) simply let the hostages be killed in order to avoid provoking a response from a much larger group of hostiles. Having disregarded Rambo as a simple boatman, the mercenaries are shocked when he appears and single-handedly wipes out the entire squad of Tatmadaw soldiers with his bow, allowing the hostages to escape unscathed.
Rambo convinces the team to avenge the massacre and save the hostages at the gulag type P.O.W. camp after he witnesses the destroyed village filled with mutilated human and animal corpses. Rambo and the mercenaries stealthily infiltrate the camp and successfully locate and rescue Sarah and the other prisoners and flee with them. Tint quickly learns of the situation and ruthlessly investigates with the help of his army. The Tatmadaw manage to capture everyone except for Rambo, Sarah, and a mercenary known as "School Boy" the group's sniper (Matthew Marsden). Just as the captured mercenaries and hostages are to be executed, Rambo hijacks a jeep-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and engages the Tatmadaw, killing dozens in the process. Tint hides as the slaughter happens and kills one of the missionaries, after this one of the mercenaries is killed by an M2 frag grenade. The Tatmadaw, having a large numerical advantage, come close to victory but the Karen rebels show up and join the fight, turning the tide of the battle. Tint, realizing his defeat, attempts to escape the area, but Rambo intercepts and disembowels him.
Encouraged by Sarah's words, Rambo travels to the United States and returns home, walking along a rural highway past a horse farm and a rusted mailbox bearing the name "R. Rambo.
Cast
Main article: List of Rambo characters
- Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo
- Julie Benz as Sarah Miller
- Matthew Marsden as School Boy, a young British sniper
- Graham McTavish as Lewis
- Tim Kang as En-Joo
- Reynaldo Gallegos as Diaz
- Jake La Botz as Reese
- Maung Maung Khin as Tint
- Paul Schulze as Michael Burnett
- Cameron Pearson as Jeff - Missionary #4
- Thomas Peterson as Dentist - Missionary #2
- Tony Skarberg as Videographer - Missionary #3
- James Wearing Smith as Preacher - Missionary #5
- Kasikorn Niyompattana as Snake Hunter #2
- Jordan T as Snake Hunter #1
- Supakorn "Tok" Kitsuwon as Myint
- Aung Aay Noi as Lt. Aye
- Ken Howard as Rev. Arthur Marsh
- Aung Theng as Pirate Leader
- Pornpop "Tor" Kampusiri as Snake Village Owner
- Wasawat Panyarat as Snake Village MC
- Kammul Kawtep as Snake Village Young Charmer
Filming
Filming started on February 23, 2007 and ended on May 4, 2007. The movie was shot at Chiang Mai, Thailand as well as in Mexico and the United States in Arizona and California.While filming near Burma, Stallone and the rest of the crew narrowly avoided being shot by the Burmese military. Stallone described Burma as a "hellhole". He said "we had shots fired above our heads" and that he "witnessed survivors with legs cut off and all kinds of land-mine injuries, maggot-infested wounds and ears cut off."
Soundtrack
Brian Tyler composed the original score for the film. Stallone wanted Tyler to incorporate Jerry Goldsmith's original themes into the movie. He did not rely on Goldsmith's actual theme, though he used it enough to tie this film to the others, musically, and also based his own theme and orchestrations on the style of the original to maintain the musical series. The soundtrack includes 20 tracks. Brian Tyler also composed the soundtrack to The Hunted in 2003, a film with striking similarities to the first Rambo film, First Blood.- Rambo Theme 3:34
- No Rules of Engagement 7:09
- Conscription 2:55
- The Rescue 4:04
- Aftermath 2:33
- Searching for Missionaries 7:07
- Hunting Mercenaries 2:44
- Crossing into Burma 6:59
- The Village 1:44
- Rambo Returns 2:44
- When You Are Pushed 2:26
- The Call to War 2:52
- Atrocities 1:40
- Prison Camp 4:42
- Attack on the Village 3:01
- Rambo Takes Charge 2:23
- The Compound 7:48
- Battle Adagio 3:10
- Rambo Main Title 3:30
Home video
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions were released in the U.S. on May 27, 2008. The DVD is in 1 and 2 disc editions. The Special edition has a 2.40 anamorphic widescreen presentation and a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track. The single editions have a standard 5.1 Dolby Digital track. The Blu-ray Disc has Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS HD 7.1 Tracks. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc on disc one have the film, deleted scenes, 6 featurettes, and commentary by Sylvester Stallone. The Blu-ray Disc also has 2 extra special features, that includes a trailer gallery.The 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions have a digital copy of the film. There is also a 6 disc DVD set of all four Rambo films, packaged in a limited edition tin case with over 20 bonus features. A Blu-ray Disc set with Rambo 1-3 was also released.
The DVD was released in the UK on June 23, 2008.
Despite its average sales at the box office, the DVD version of Rambo sold considerably well. As of now it stands 19th place of the top selling DVDs of 2008 with 1.7m units sold and an overall gross of $37m. Since the intake of $42,368,619 in DVD sales, the film's total film gross is raised to $154,611,774.
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