Title: Rambo III: Special Edition
Stars:
Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, and Kurtwood Smith
Writers:
Sylvester Stallone and Sheldon Lettich
Based
On Characters Created By: David Morrell
Director:
Peter MacDonald
Feature
length: 101 minutes
Extras:
Feature Length Audio Commentary By Director Peter MacDonald, “Afghanistan:
Land In Crisis” Documentary, Production Notes, Cast And Crew Information,
Theatrical Trailer, and Teaser Trailer
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound, and English Dolby Surround Sound 2.0
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and Spanish Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case (If Bought Separately)/Book Case Style Packaging For The Four-Disc Set
Chapter
Stops: 30
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and
Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1988/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: TriStar Pictures & Carolco Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Artisan Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
By
the time “Rambo III” was released theatrically the Soviets were already
pulling out of Afghanistan and the winds of “The Cold War” appeared to be
dieing down. At this point I think people had a different reaction to Stallone
as “Rambo” then they had in the previous films. He had become a pop culture
icon and even an image used by both right and left wing politicians for various
reasons. Those expecting the comic book like action in “Rambo: First Blood
Part II,” might have been put off by the more sensitive performance Stallone
gives to his character.
In
“Rambo III” we find Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) once again seeking
Rambo out to accompany him on a covert mission into then Soviet occupied
Afghanistan. It appears that since
the events in the previous film, “Rambo” stayed in Thailand and has been
living in monastery where in return for his assistance with the construction of
their temple, he has been allowed to stay with them and he feels a sense of
belonging as a result. They also accept him, which has allowed him to mellow out
somewhat since his days as a drifter in the United States as seen in the
original film. Occasionally he earns some money on the side participating in
stick fighting tournaments, but he appears to donate much if not all to those
who have granted him sanctuary in the years since he freed the POWs in Vietnam.
When Trautman and an American embassy field rep, played by Kurtwood Smith
long before his association with “That 70’s Show,” offer Rambo the
opportunity to participate in a covert mission in Afghanistan, Rambo wants
nothing more to do with wars and killing, but when he learns later on that
Trautman was captured by the Soviets, Rambo goes into Afghanistan and with the
help of resistance fighters, frees his former commander and defeats a ruthless
Soviet Colonel.
My
favorite sequence in “Rambo III” is the opening stick fighting scene. It is
shot, cut, and choreographed beautifully. The film gives Richard Crenna’s
Trautman character more to do than in the previous film and in a way we get an
idea for how “Rambo” learned to deal with interrogation and torture, by
witnessing Trautman undergo terrible torture not unlike what we have seen Rambo
suffer in the previous films and at the end the opportunity to see both Rambo
and Trautman together kicking some butt is pretty cool too. The film is a bit
slower than the previous films in terms of pacing and it is also the longest
film in the trilogy as well. “Rambo III” earned over $200 million in
combined domestic and International box office receipts.
Artisan
Home Entertainment is releasing “Rambo III: Special Edition” as a part of
the “Rambo Trilogy: Special Edition DVD Collection Box Set” and will also be
made available separately along with “First Blood” and “Rambo: First Blood
Part II.” The DVD box set contains the three films packaged in a silver
bookcase like packaging within a metal slipcase. It is a beautiful looking set,
though it is very easy to scratch up the case artwork within. The set includes
an exclusive bonus DVD with more extra features and an insert with liner notes
written by Author David Morrell.
To
do the set justice, I am reviewing each film on disc individually since the
three films will also be available for sale outside of the set as well and when
combined with a review of the exclusive bonus disc that will be reviewed
separately too collectively will serve as both a review of the box set and the
three individual films on disc that will be available day and date with the box
set.
Artisan
Home Entertainment presents “Rambo III: Special Edition” on DVD with a brand
new anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer on the dual layered side of the
DVD-14 and a full-framed (1.33:1) presentation of the film on the single layered
side of the DVD. The picture on the widescreen transfer is free of grain and of
all of the films, “Rambo III” is the sharpest looking though ironically I
did notice a slight fleck or two once in awhile that appears to have been from
the source print used for the transfer. The full-framed transfer is very good as
well and there appear to be a few flecks present as well, which I attribute to
the source film itself and not the transfer. Like the others, “Rambo III”
looks great on DVD.
The
widescreen version features a great English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround
Soundtrack has higher volume and a more aggressive quality to the mix than the
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack included on the disc. Both are
great mixes that use the rear and channels more and have a more discrete feel to
them than the other soundtracks for the other films in the series. An English
Dolby Surround Soundtrack is also included along with optional English Closed
Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles. The DTS
Soundtrack and the extra features are only available on the widescreen dual
layered side of the DVD. Director Peter Macdonald provides a feature length
screen specific audio commentary track, which covers the vigorous challenges
faced by the cast and crew who filmed for over six months on location in Israel,
Thailand, and in the California desert near Yuma, Arizona. He also mentions how
Stallone did much of his own stunt work for the film and almost suffered a
terrible accident had a helicopter traveling too low for a scene not miss him by
mere inches.
The
DVD features “Afghanistan: Land In Crisis,” which is a documentary featuring
brand new videotaped interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Producers Andrew Vajna
and Mario Kassar among others. The documentary covers some of the backlash the
film received upon its theatrical release as events in the world effected how
the character was viewed in certain circles. The documentary has an approximate
running length of 29-minutes.
A
full-framed theatrical teaser and theatrical trailer along with production notes
and cast and crew information wrap up the extra features in this third disc of
the “Rambo Trilogy: Special Edition DVD Collection Box Set.” The menus
feature animated transitions and full motion scene selections and are easy to
navigate.
As
a whole and in part, “Rambo III: Special Edition” is as good a DVD edition
as we are likely to ever get and is also a part of an excellent collector’s
set. “Rambo III: Special Edition” carries a suggested retail price of $19.98
while the “Rambo Trilogy: Special Edition DVD Collection Box Set” has a
suggested retail price of $59.98, which means you can preorder now or buy it
when they street day and date with each other for a lower sales price at
retailers on and offline. They both debut on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 from Artisan
Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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