A great movie, one that really speaks to me
Added 10/6/2009
It's been a long, hard road for John Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) - the last surviving member of an American special forces unit in Vietnam, who now finds it impossible to integrate back into civilian society. When he wanders into the poorly named Hope, Washington, he is arrested for vagrancy by the sheriff (Brian Dennehy), and abused by the deputies. But then something in Rambo snaps, and he escapes, and makes the sheriff and his men pay when they come looking for him. American society has pushed Rambo too far, and now he is pushing back!
This is a great movie, one that really speaks to me. I was very close to a Vietnam War survivor (his entire unit was wiped out while he was in the hospital with malaria) who also had trouble reintegrating after the war, and I saw how hard and confusing it was for him. Sylvester Stallone does a great job in this movie in giving Rambo a hard edge, while in the end making him the hero (or perhaps antihero) of the story.
So, let's just say this: if you like guy-movies with lots of explosions and gunfire, then you will like this movie. And, if you know any Vietnam vets, then you will have a special connection to this movie, like me. I highly recommend this great movie!
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Looks great on Blue Ray
Added 9/30/2009
What more can I say about this class movie. I remember watching this back in the day as a rerun on a local channel with the rabbit antenna, it did the movie no justice. Now with Blue Ray you really get to admire the scenery and the action of this classic. Great buy and great price. BTW I have 720 I bet its going to look a lot better on 1080p but it still looks great on 720.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Like the movie, but the transfer...
Added 9/23/2009
This comment is for the Blu-ray copy. I was hoping for more from the audio/video presentation. The image at the very beginning is awful, but it soon shapes up to be mostly pleasing as long as I lower the black level and up the contrast on my calibrated display. The sound is an improvement over the DVD, but not by much. At least I can hear the dialogue clearly now, but the sound effects of the guns and explosions and thunder could have been updated. With the filmmakers still being alive, I would think that they'd be interested in advancing the presentation by updating the sound design a bit. I know if I had made this film and I had newer and better resources at my disposal today, I would certainly take advantage of the current technology and up the ante on this baby. An extreme, but perfect example is the recent Criterion release of Chungking Express. What Wong Kar Wai did was take a lackluster mono sound design and create an entirely new soundfield mix that really elevates the viewing experience. It's important to enhance the viewing experience when possible, especially since the way we watch films today has changed so drastically from the days of VHS, and I've no doubt that it will continue to advance in ways we may not envision at this time. There is no harm in giving films like this a boost, as long as it doesn't stray from the original intent of the sound's design.
Considering how cheap this film is on blu-ray, I would say it is worth the dough.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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FIRST BLOOD
Added 9/12/2009
Great acting on everybody's part. All characters were true to life. The story seemed like it could actually happen.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Before The Action movies, there was a serious Drama.
Added 8/12/2009
The name Rambo brings to mind wild action as a one man army takes on 100's if not thousands of the enemy. Blood, guts, and a high body count.
First Blood is before that nonsense. Before the action movie hype. It has a story that really has not played out in other movies as much. We see a lot of movies like Full metal Jacket and Platoon but how about a serious movie about what happens to our boys once they come home? Flags of our Fathers attempted this but not like the First Blood.
The plot is the core of this movie. Rambo returns from Nam to find a world different than the one he left behind. Almost everyone he cared about has died and he caries a huge mental and physical burden from his service in Asia. Without giving too much away Rambo must trys to comform back into the world but can not adapt. He is still haunted by the ghosts of his past and when a arrogant jerk of a Sheriff and one of his henchmen abuse Rambo then he snaps back into the jungle mentality.
This movie has a little bit of action but not much. In fact the 'body count' is very very small. Rambo does not want a fight, he just wants to surive and does his best to do so without hurting the people he was fighting for and sacrificed so much.
The Blu Ray looks amazing and gives incredible detail. There were a lot of dark sceens which made the old VHS and DVD harder to see certain parts like at night or in the caves but here it comes out much better.
If you want some a solid story about a topic we do not hear much about, then Rambo is your movie. Do not over look it due to the later action movies as they are not similar at all. I highly recomend this movie to anyone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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A great movie, one that really speaks to me
Added 10/6/2009
It's been a long, hard road for John Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) - the last surviving member of an American special forces unit in Vietnam, who now finds it impossible to integrate back into civilian society. When he wanders into the poorly named Hope, Washington, he is arrested for vagrancy by the sheriff (Brian Dennehy), and abused by the deputies. But then something in Rambo snaps, and he escapes, and makes the sheriff and his men pay when they come looking for him. American society has pushed Rambo too far, and now he is pushing back!
This is a great movie, one that really speaks to me. I was very close to a Vietnam War survivor (his entire unit was wiped out while he was in the hospital with malaria) who also had trouble reintegrating after the war, and I saw how hard and confusing it was for him. Sylvester Stallone does a great job in this movie in giving Rambo a hard edge, while in the end making him the hero (or perhaps antihero) of the story.
So, let's just say this: if you like guy-movies with lots of explosions and gunfire, then you will like this movie. And, if you know any Vietnam vets, then you will have a special connection to this movie, like me. I highly recommend this great movie!
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
Looks great on Blue Ray
Added 9/30/2009
What more can I say about this class movie. I remember watching this back in the day as a rerun on a local channel with the rabbit antenna, it did the movie no justice. Now with Blue Ray you really get to admire the scenery and the action of this classic. Great buy and great price. BTW I have 720 I bet its going to look a lot better on 1080p but it still looks great on 720.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Like the movie, but the transfer...
Added 9/23/2009
This comment is for the Blu-ray copy. I was hoping for more from the audio/video presentation. The image at the very beginning is awful, but it soon shapes up to be mostly pleasing as long as I lower the black level and up the contrast on my calibrated display. The sound is an improvement over the DVD, but not by much. At least I can hear the dialogue clearly now, but the sound effects of the guns and explosions and thunder could have been updated. With the filmmakers still being alive, I would think that they'd be interested in advancing the presentation by updating the sound design a bit. I know if I had made this film and I had newer and better resources at my disposal today, I would certainly take advantage of the current technology and up the ante on this baby. An extreme, but perfect example is the recent Criterion release of Chungking Express. What Wong Kar Wai did was take a lackluster mono sound design and create an entirely new soundfield mix that really elevates the viewing experience. It's important to enhance the viewing experience when possible, especially since the way we watch films today has changed so drastically from the days of VHS, and I've no doubt that it will continue to advance in ways we may not envision at this time. There is no harm in giving films like this a boost, as long as it doesn't stray from the original intent of the sound's design.
Considering how cheap this film is on blu-ray, I would say it is worth the dough.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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