Rambo (film)

Rambo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sylvester Stallone
Produced by	Avi Lerner Kevin King Templeton John Thompson
Written by	Screenplay: Art Monterastelli Sylvester Stallone Characters: David Morrell
Starring	Sylvester Stallone Julie Benz Matthew Marsden Graham McTavish Reynaldo Gallegos Jake La Botz Tim Kang Paul Schulze Muang Muang Khin
Music by	Brian Tyler Jerry Goldsmith
Studio	Millennium Films Nu Image Films
Distributed by	Lionsgate (in co-operation with The Weinstein Company)
Release date(s)	January 25, 2008 (2008-01-25)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Burmese Thai
Budget	$50 million[1]
Gross revenue	$154,611,774 (worldwide)
Preceded by	Rambo III (1988)

Rambo (also known as Rambo IV or John Rambo) is a 2008 American action/war film starring Sylvester Stallone returning and reprising his famous role as legendary Cold War/Vietnam veteran John Rambo. Stallone also co-wrote and directed the film. It is the fourth installment in the Rambo franchise, twenty years since the last film Rambo III. This film is dedicated to the memory of Richard Crenna, who played Col. Sam Trautman in the first three films, who died in 2003.

The film is about a former U.S. 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 kills^[2]. In the film, 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 who he shoots with a 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 Burma.

Including the intake of $41,368,619 in DVD sales, the film's total gross revenue is $154,611,774.^[3] The film had its cable television premiere on Spike TV on July 11, 2010. However, it was the extended cut that was broadcasted not the theatrical version. The extended cut was later released on Blu-ray two weeks after its cable TV premiere.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Filming 4 Alternative titles 5 Music 6 Box office 7 Critical reception 7.1 Reception in Burma 8 Home video release 8.1 Extended cut 9 References 10 External links

Plot

The film opens with newsreels of the crisis in Burma. Burma is under the iron-fisted rule of Than Shwe and takes harsh stances against the nation's pro-democracy movement. Rebels are thrown into a mine-infested marsh and then gunned down by the Tatmadaw, while the cigarette-smoking Burmese military officer Major Pa Tee Tint gazes grimly at the scene.

Former U.S. soldier John Rambo still lives in Thailand and now resides in a village near the Burmese border. He makes a living capturing snakes and selling them in a nearby village. He also transports roamers in his boat. A missionary, Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze), asks Rambo to take him and his associates up the Salween River to Burma on a humanitarian mission to give aid to Karen tribespeople. Rambo refuses but is convinced by Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) to take them.

The boat is stopped by pirates who demand Sarah in exchange for passage, which Rambo knows will lead to her repeated rape, torture and most likely death. After negotiations fail, Rambo draws although his actions save the missionaries, it greatly disturbs Michael. Upon arrival, Michael says that they will travel by road and will not need Rambo's help for the return trip. The mission goes well until the Tatmadaw, led by Major Tint, attack. They slaughter most of the villagers and two missionaries and kidnap the rest, including Michael and Sarah. When the missionaries fail to come back after ten days, their pastor (Ken Howard) comes to ask Rambo's help in guiding hired mercenaries to the village where the missionaries were last seen.

Rambo agrees to accompany the militia. After seeing the destroyed village filled with mutilated human and animal corpses, they plan to avenge the massacre and save the hostages at a gulag type P.O.W. camp. While exploring the village, however, the team is discovered and pinned down by a squad of Tatmadaw on patrol. Having disregarded Rambo as a simple boatman and ordered him to stay with the boat, the mercenaries are shocked when he appears and single-handedly wipes out the entire squad of enemy soldiers. Agreeing to join forces, Rambo and the men successfully find and rescue Sarah and the others. The Tatmadaw unit quickly finds the hostages missing and organizes a massive manhunt. Everyone except for Rambo, Sarah, and the mercenary "School Boy" is captured by Tint's army. Just as the group is to be executed, Rambo hijacks a jeep-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and open fires on the Burmese army. Karen rebels join the fight, turning the tide of the battle. Major Tint, realizing his defeat, attempts to get away, but is personally disemboweled by Rambo.

Encouraged by Sarah's words, Rambo returns to the United States. When previously asked if he had any living family, Rambo said his father might still be alive. A silent last scene shows him walking along a rural highway, past a horse farm and a rusted mailbox bearing the name "R. Rambo" as he makes his way down the gravel driveway, and the credits roll.

Cast

• 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
• Rey 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
• Shaliew "Lek" Bamrungbun 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.

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."^[4]

Alternative titles

The most recent installment of the Rambo franchise had undergone many name changes during pre-release, and has been known as the following:

• Rambo IV - The title used in Brazil and Russia (Russian: Рэмбо 4), due to the fact that First Blood was originally released as simply Rambo (or as Rambo: First Blood in Russia (Russian: Рэмбо: Первая кровь)) in those countries and also this is how the film is completely known and referred to as by fans and the public.

• John Rambo - This was the original working title for the film but was changed because Stallone thought that audiences might think that this is the final film in the Rambo series. In many other countries, the title John Rambo is kept because the first Rambo movie, First Blood, was released as Rambo in many foreign territories. The film premiered on television as Rambo, but the title sequence referred to it as John Rambo.
• Rambo: Regreso al Infierno - (Rambo: Return to Hell in Spanish) - The name of the film in Mexico and Latin America, and In other Latin countries, the film was re-titled from Rambo: Regreso al Infierno to John Rambo: Vuelta al Infierno (John Rambo: Back to Hell in Spanish) and in some other Latin regions, the film's original title John Rambo still remains.
• Rambo: El Regreso - (Rambo: The Return) in Chile, as First Blood was also known as Rambo in those territories.
• Rambo 4: John Rambo - Back to Hell - Singapore title
• Rambo: The Final Battlefield - Japanese title.

On October 12, 2007, Lionsgate announced that the film title was being changed to Rambo: To Hell and Back. After some negative feedback from the online community, Stallone spoke with AICN's Harry Knowles^[5] and said:

"Lionsgate jumped the gun on this. I just was thinking that the title John Rambo was derivative of Rocky Balboa and might give people the idea that this is the last Rambo film, and I don't necessarily feel that it will be. He's definitely a superb athlete, there's no reason he can't continue onto another adventure. Like John Wayne with The Searchers."

Music

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.^[6] Brian Tyler also composed the soundtrack to The Hunted in 2003, a film with striking similarities to the first Rambo film, First Blood.

1. Rambo Theme 3:34^[6]
2. No Rules of Engagement 7:09
3. Conscription 2:55
4. The Rescue 4:04
5. Aftermath 2:33
6. Searching for Missionaries 7:07
7. Hunting Mercenaries 2:44
8. Crossing into Burma 6:59
9. The Village 1:44
10. Rambo Returns 2:44
11. When You Are Pushed 2:26
12. The Call to War 2:52
13. Atrocities 1:40
14. Prison Camp 4:42
15. Attack on the Village 3:01
16. Rambo Takes Charge 2:23
17. The Compound 7:48
18. Battle Adagio 3:10
19. Rambo Main Title 3:30
20. Rambo End Title 2:59

Box office

Rambo opened in 2,751 North American theaters on January 25, 2008 and grossed $6,490,000 on its opening day,^[7] and $18,200,000 over its opening weekend. It was the second highest grossing movie for the weekend in the U.S. and Canada behind Meet the Spartans.^[8] The film has a box office gross of $42,754,105 in the United States and in Canada and a gross of $70,489,050 in other territories, giving it a worldwide total of $113,543,155.^[9]

The film has grossed $42,368,619 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $155,209,706.^{[3][10][11][12]}

In an unprecedented move, Europe's biggest cinema chain (and the third biggest in the world), Odeon, controversially refused to show the film on any of its screens in the United Kingdom, blaming "commercial differences".^[13] UCI followed suit in its Republic of Ireland cinemas, which were managed by Odeon.^[14] The film was, however, shown in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland by other theater chains such as Empire Cinemas, Vue, Cineworld and Ward Anderson. The film was not shown in the French-speaking part of Switzerland due to legal and commercial problems with the distributor, even if it was available on screens of France and the Swiss German-speaking part.^[15]

The film was rated R by the MPAA for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language.

Critical reception

Critical reaction towards the film has been generally mixed; it earned a 37% rating on movie review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.^[16] In his review for the New York Times, A.O. Scott wrote, "Mr. Stallone is smart enough — or maybe dumb enough, though I tend to think not — to present the mythic dimensions of the character without apology or irony. His face looks like a misshapen chunk of granite, and his acting is only slightly more expressive, but the man gets the job done. Welcome back."^[17] Michael H. Price of Fort Worth Business Press wrote, "Stallone invests the role with a realistic acceptance of the aging process, and with traces reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart in 1951’s The African Queen and Clint Eastwood in 1992’s Unforgiven — to say nothing of the influences that the original First Blood had absorbed from Marlon Brando in 1953’s The Wild One and Tom Laughlin in 1971’s Billy Jack."^[18] Jonathan Garret (a former writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution) said in an interview: "Rambo is the most violent movie I have ever seen. The last 11 minutes of the film are so violent, it makes We Were Soldiers look like Sesame Street".

When asked what his take on the film was, First Blood writer David Morrell said:

I'm happy to report that overall I’m pleased. The level of violence might not be for everyone, but it has a serious intent. This is the first time that the tone of my novel First Blood has been used in any of the movies. It's spot-on in terms of how I imagined the character — angry, burned-out, and filled with self-disgust because Rambo hates what he is and yet knows it's the only thing he does well. ... I think some elements could have been done better, [but] I think this film deserves a solid three stars.^[19][20]

Reception in Burma

The film is currently banned by the Burmese government. The Burmese military junta has ordered DVD vendors in Burma not to distribute the film due to the movie's content.^[21] Despite having never gotten a theatrical or DVD release, Rambo is available on bootlegs however, and despite it being unpopular among most of the populace because of the negative portrayal of the Burmese army, the film is a great hit amongst the Karen Freedom Fighters and Burmese exiles critical of the Burmese military dictatorship. According to Karen Freedom Fighters, the movie gave them a great boost of morale. Burmese Freedom Fighters have even adopted dialogue from the movie (most notably "Live for nothing, or die for something") as rallying points and battle cries. "That, to me," said Sylvester Stallone, "is one of the proudest moments I've ever had in film."^[22] Also, overseas Burmese have praised the movie for its vivid portrayal of the Burmese military's oppression of the Karen people.^[23]

Home video release

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.^[24][25][26]

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.^[3]

Extended cut

When asked about the moral of the film in a Daily Yomiuri Online interview, Sylvester Stallone mentioned that he will be doing an Extended Cut of the film, which will go by the original title of John Rambo.^[27] Nevertheless, the news became most well known after a May 2008 interview with Jay Leno when he announced the work of a director's cut, and that the proceeds would go to Burma. On top of this, an online petition appeared shortly after the announcement in order to "motivate" Stallone in completing this new cut. At the 2008 Comic-Con, it was vaguely announced that the director's cut (or as they labeled it, "extended cut") would be released in 2009, though no other specifics were given.^[28] Additionally, the director's cut premiered at the 2008 Zurich Film Festival.^[29] DVD Active announced it would premiere only on Blu-ray Disc in Canada and the United States on July 27, 2010. The cover art does not say John Rambo, but simply its current title.^[30] However, in the opening credits, it goes by the name of John Rambo. The "new" scenes in the film are none other than the deleted scenes from the Rambo 2-disc DVD reinstated back in. There is no new action sequences other than the said deleted scenes that were made available on the previous Rambo 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray. The extended cut premiered on cable television (VIA Spike TV) on July 11, 2010, two weeks before its Blu-ray release. It then had its encore presentation on August 8th and August 9th, 2010, promoting Stallone's latest film The Expendables with special sneak peeks.

References

External links

• Official website
• Rambo at the Internet Movie Database
• Rambo at Rotten Tomatoes
• Rambo at Metacritic
• Rambo at Box Office Mojo
• Rambo at Allmovie
• Rambo on Myspace

Rambo Films First Blood • Rambo: First Blood Part II • Rambo III • Rambo Video games Rambo • Rambo: First Blood Part II (Master System) • Rambo (NES) • Rambo III • Rambo on Fire Other First Blood (novel) • David Morrell • Rambo and the Forces of Freedom • The Intruder • Son of Rambow Characters John Rambo • Sam Trautman

Works of Sylvester Stallone Director Paradise Alley (1978) · Rocky II (1979) · Rocky III (1982) · Staying Alive (1983) · Rocky IV (1985) · Rocky Balboa (2006) · Rambo (2008) · The Expendables (2010) · The Expendables II (2012) Writer The Lords of Flatbush (1974) · Rocky (1976) · F.I.S.T. (1978) · Paradise Alley (1978) · Rocky II (1979) · Rocky III (1982) · First Blood (1982) · Staying Alive (1983) · Rhinestone (1984) · Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) · Rocky IV (1985) · Cobra (1986) · Over the Top (1987) · Rambo III (1988) · Rocky V (1990) · Cliffhanger (1993) · Driven (2001) · Rocky Balboa (2006) · Rambo (2008) · The Expendables (2010) Producer Staying Alive (1983) · Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story (1985) · Driven (2001) · The Contender (2005–present) Soundtrack Paradise Alley (1978) · Rhinestone (1984) Related articles Filmography