Disc Details
Special Features:	Embossed tin collector case. Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats. Chapter selection. "First Blood" commentary track by writer David Morrell. "Rambo: First Blood Part II" commentary by director George Cosmatos. "Rambo III" commentary by director Peter MacDonald Production notes on all three movie discs. Cast and crew bios and filmography on all three movie disks. Theatrical trailers on all three movie disks. New Documentary: "Drawing First Blood: Creating John Rambo - 20 Years Later" on "First Blood" DVD. New Documentary: "We Get to Win This Time: The Rambo Phenomenon" on the "Rambo: First Blood Part II" DVD. New Documentary: "Afghanistan: Land In Crisis: An In-depth Look" on the "Rambo III" DVD. 12 page booklet. Bonus Disc: Documentaries: "The Real Nam: Voices From Within." "Guts and Glory." "An American Heroes Journey: The Rambo Trilogy." Featurettes: "The Forging of American Heroes: American's Green Berets." "Rambo-Nomics." "Suiting Up: Rambo's Survival Hardware." "Selling a Hero." "First Blood: A Look Back." "Rambo III: Full Circle." "Those That Wanted More. Rambo Trivia Game. Sneak peaks.
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) and Full Frame formats [DS-RSDL]
Languages:	English (DTS) English (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
Subtitles:	Spanish.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	4-Disc Collector's Case

The 1980s began with the election of Ronald Reagan. His campaign and the prosperity that followed seemed to bring a new pride to the nation. It was OK to be patriotic again. There were still many unresolved issues from the previous two decades. Against this background in 1982 David Morrell's book "First Blood" was brought to the screen. "First Blood" brought a new hero on the cinematic scene. John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) was a Green Beret, Congressional Medal of Honor winner who's soul had been destroyed in the jungles of Vietnam. "First Blood" became a phenomenal box-office success and spawned two sequels, a ton of merchandise and a voice for closet patriots all over the country. The second film was famous for the catch phrase "This time we get to win." President Reagan used that quote several times himself. "First Blood" also set a new standard for action films. While the three films dealt with serious issues, the draw was Stallone's portrayal of the wounded loner John Rambo and the incredible action sequences.

"First Blood" has John Rambo hitch-hiking through a small northwest town. The town's sheriff (Brian Dennehy) refuses to let Rambo even stop for a meal in the town. When Rambo persists in his attempt to walk into town, he finds himself in the local jail. He is beaten by a particularly nasty deputy. Pushed to his limit, Rambo escapes and leads a posse into the mountain. What follows is a war that the local yokels didn't count on. US Army Colonial Trautman (Richard Crenna) is brought in to try and bring Rambo in.

The film is full of spectacular stunts and implausible actions sequences. Stallone did most of his own stunts. He broke several ribs in the process. The success of this film led to "Rambo: First Blood Part II." In the first sequel, Rambo is given a chance to redeem himself after all the destruction he caused in the first film. Rambo is sent to Vietnam to find evidence of American POWs still being held in that country. He is only supposed to bring back photographic evidence. OF course, as a Vet, there is no way he is going to take pictures and not rescue his forgotten colleagues. He starts a one-man war against the Vietnamese communists and their Russian sponsors.

The final film of the series was "Rambo III." In light of the events of 9/11, this film is the most ironic and prophetic. Rambo goes to Afghanistan to rescue his mentor Col. Trautman. Trautman was over there giving technical aide to the Afghan rebels in their was against Russia. The third film was successful, but didn't garner the returns of the second film and so no more films were made.

The Rambo films hold a place of almost reverential awe in the hearts of many Americans. To some folks, the films are just great, mindless fun. Either way, John Rambo became a powerful icon for the 80s. The films are pure adrenaline.

Picture Quality: 10/10
Fully remastered picture. Excellent colors. No pixillation or artifacts. No delineation problems. I expected problems on "First Blood" during the cavern scene with all the rats. No problems. Great flesh tones on all disks. Brilliant yellows and oranges during the many pyrotechnic effects. I had all of these films on VHS at one time or another. They never looked this good before.

Sound Quality: 10/10
Both the DTS and 5.1 tracks are awesome. The 2.0 track is also quite good, but I prefer the way the other tracks separate the sound and fill the room with the sounds of rockets flying over your head or bullets whizzing by. These films cry out for excellent sound and Artisan delivered on this one.

Menu: 10/10
Nice tough guy design. Good use of images and sounds from the movies. The menu on the bonus disk is lame compared to the others, but what the heck. Easy to navigate.

Extra Features: 10/10
Artisan cut no corners on this one. Each of the three movie disks includes all of the usual: trailers, cast bios and production notes. In addition, each individual movie disk includes a new hour long documentary about the particular film. Each documentary includes interviews with cast members, crew and critics or social commentators. Very well done. Full of interesting trivia. For example, Kirk Douglas was cast to play Col. Trautman in "First Blood." He quit when his rewrites were rejected. He wanted to have Rambo killed at the end of the movie like he was in the book. There is a cool poster shown with Douglas as Trautman.

The bonus disk is packed with tons of cool stuff. There are three short documentaries that run about 26 minutes each.

"The Real Nam: Voices From Within" includes interviews with folks from both sides of the conflict. There are war protesters, super patriots, ARVN veterans and run of the mill ground troops. Interviewees include former senator Robert Dornan, Tom Hayden, Le Khac Le, Hal Bell and Mike McDonnell. Each man has a valid view-point and deeply held beliefs.

"Guts and Glory" deals with the social phenomena caused by the Rambo films. It examines the myth of Rambo and its effects on white males as well as the rest of society. Interviews include cast members, social commentators, newsmen and political wags.

I found the third documentary, "American Heroes Journey: The Rambo Trilogy" to be the most interesting. It is a 26 minute essay on the trials of a Vietnam Vet readjusting to society and hero myth-building. Very interesting short film.

There are a bunch of featurettes that run from 3 minutes to 10 minutes.

"Forging of Heroes: American Green Berets" runs 10 minutes and includes interviews with Green Berets who served in Vietnam or who are presently enlisted. It gives some insights into the training these men go through.

"Rambo-Nomics" is a box-office prognosticators wet dream. (I think we have a few of those who read EI!) This short 3 minute film goes into great detail about the financing and returns the films garnered. It is informative and short.

"Selling a Hero" is a 4 minute toy commercial showcasing all of the Rambo toys which came out. It is fun.

For the survivalist, there is "Suiting Up: Rambo's Survival Hardware." This 8 minute bit identifies and gives you the technical specs for all of the weapons used by Rambo in all three films. It doesn't tell you where to but them though!

There are several other featurettes, but I'll leave those to you to discover.

The Final Word:
OK guys, this one is for you. This one is more than worth the price of admission. For those who don't want to shell out the bucks for the Boxed set, Artisan will be releasing each movie individually. This one is a keeper.

Rusty White