Customer Reviews

Rambo Trilogy: Ultimate Edition (First Blood/Rambo: First Blood Part II/Rambo III)

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When I heard they were releasing these on Blu-Ray I wasn't exactly thrilled to be buying them again. I had bought First Blood on Blu-Ray when it first came out after I had rented it at a Blockbuster and was so impressed by the picture I had to buy it. I had seen First Blood in so many different versions including most of the standard DVD releases that I didn't think it possbile to look as good as it does on Blu-Ray. After that I decided I really wanted them all on High Definition but they hadn't announced plans to release the other 2 on Blu-Ray. So I bought the others on HD-DVD (french versions). Again the picture was quite a bit better than any standard DVD previously released but not quite as good as First Blood on Blu-Ray. When the trilogy was finally released on Blu-Ray I admit I was a little mad, I wished they had just released them all together in the first place and now buying the trilogy yet again on Blu-Ray would also mean I would have 2 versions of the same First Blood movie.
I found this set at Best Buy for $29.99 (someone had accidently put them in the wrong area but they honored the price). This was cheaper than buying Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III individually so I bought the whole set.

I am very glad I did though, the picture on the other 2 movies are just as good as on First Blood, and better than the HD-DVD versions I had bought. The sound is also much better than any other version I had. I would strongly suggest that if you are skeptical to just buy these, there is not a better version out there and believe me I know. I watched these with my girlfriend and even she was amazed at how good they looked and she is not picky about picture quality. The movies look like they were just filmed yesterday and not back in the 80's. There is very little grain or film artifacts in these either. One review I read said he didn't realize how much sweating there was in the Rambo: First Blood Part II until he actually saw it in High Definiton and I have to agree, it is so clear everything shows up and looks amazing. If you own a Blu-Ray player and love the Rambo series you owe it to yourself to buy these.

When Rambo first released on DVD, it wasn't even in a complete set. Each film came out individually, First Blood part 2 had some special features, but than the other two had nothing more than trailers. Than they released a special edition, which I thought was neccesary because it was given a good round of features. Now they release it again, so you would expect even more features right? Wrong! First Blood and Rambo III have some decent extras, but why First Blood part II hasn't evolved from the previous edition is anyones guess. The special edition set that was released prior to this one, had more documentaries, so is it really worth buying the ultra-edition just for the sake of a few minor changes. Since First Blood part II hasn't got any extras, I reccomend buying First Blood and Rambo III ultra-editions individually only if you'd a die hard fan. Who knows maybe in 5 years time, they will release a Super special edition, than another 5 years after that a Super duper special edition. Why didn't Artisan include all the features on the ultra-edition with the special? the reason is obvious, they just want to milk as much money out of the fans as possible by re-releasing the set. They did the same with Rocky and Terminator and a string of other movies. There is no respect for fans anymore, film merchandising is clearly based on profit than value for money for the consumer. Mark my words, next on the list is Batman and Titanic, which will be given the special edition treatment, forcing fans to keep returning to the shop over and over.

Meanwhile I love Rambo the films with passion, but the marketing of the movies is ridiculous.

and they mean Ultimate when they say so.

I had recently learned of the redicuolous marketing for these movies, and that's the typical DVD company for you. But because of the bad reviews, is only the die hard fan's problems, not yours. This is only because die hard fans had obviously bought the first box set released, then companys decided to make another for the sake of better special features, and other suspicious reasons. This gave fans who had the older set the urge to buy the next one, and probably sell off the other. But this is when the companys have the chance to release one more on the fans and new comers alike. This enables them to make money off of people buying and rebuying these DVD sets, and it works. Their loyalty isn't to you, THEY'RE A BUSINESS, they are there to get paid like everyone else wants to.


What my real point is however, is that this is a no problemo situation for ones that have not wasted their time with the older sets at their release dates. The other sets are good, and have their pros and cons. But to me, the Ultimate edition packs the least amount of cons, and is for a fact, THEE Ultimate collection. Why? Here is why I think so.

Special Features:

Aspect Ratio: Letter box 2:35 (Perfect widescreen)
Special commentary by Sylvester Stallone on First Blood only, other Rambo sequels have commentaries by the Directors (YES!)
First Blood, Rambo III, Deleted scenes (Very good)
First Blood, features alternate suicide ending (What a find!)
And a Meta vision: So called to expand your viewing capability of the films (Interesting)

And more!

Overall: I love the final Rambo collection. I shall continue to be entertained and blown away by these films, as they will remain a remarkable franchise.

(Thank you, to Sylvester Stallone)

and remember fans, Rambo 4 is coming this year 2006

What a great Blu Ray 3 disc set!!! This includes all 3 movies of the original Rambo Trilogy(That's First Blood,Rambo II,and Rambo III) They look and sound awseome,so much better than standard DVD,and I got this at a great price from right here at Amazon.com baby,this is the place to do ALL your Blu Ray shopping,the prices just cant be beat!!! If your a fan of the original Rambo trilogy and have a Blu Ray Disc player than this is great box set at a great price,I got this blu ray set on sale cheaper than the standard DVD set,just can't beat that!!! And it comes on a nice collector's case taht looks great on the shelf to boot!!! Recommended! A+

What a waste! How else can I say it? The Special Editions had trailers, great documentaries, and informative production notes on top of that. Why didn't they include the deleted scenes?! That's the only thing of value on these new Ultimate Editions, because all the rest is missing. If it really was an "ultimate" set, they would have included all the previously released great extras. (For those with the far-superior Special Editions, don't bother replacing yours with these; even the deleted scenes aren't anything to get worked up about, with possible exception of First Blood's alternate ending.) And those nonsense "Meta" features are a pathetic insult to serious collectors. Can't comment on audio commentaries. I gave up wasting my time on those things years ago, having OD'd on them back in the days of laserdisc!

I love every Rambo movie, I own First Blood on VHS, and the following two on DVD, so, naturally, when I got a Blu-Ray player, I made this my first Blu-Ray experience. These are great, highly recommended if you already like the movies. I only wish they included more special features with the extra disc space they got. Rambo 1-3 Boxset [Blu-ray]

As a fan of the movies, I was geeked to get this box set. The movies look great! My only let down was the lack of blu-ray extras. Blu-ray has been touted as this medium that can hold so much info...yet there seems to be not too many blu-rays with loads of features. Anyhow, if you are a fan of the series, pick it up. The price is right.

This review is based wholly on the Blu-Ray box set. There are many Rambo box sets out there and rest assured there will be more. I chose to upgrade to this set because the collection with all 4 movies does not contain the new Rambo Extended Cut. If you don't know Rambo's story than you are either A. a tree hugging hippie, B. a monk, or C. born within the last 10 years!

First Blood is a 5 star movie based on the book by David Morrell. It tells the story of a Vietnam vet looking to find a place in America. Unable to hold a steady job and tormented by POW nightmares, Rambo moves from place to place. When he finds himself in a nowheresville USA, he quickly catches the eye of the town sheriff. Told that his kind isn't wanted there, he is taken out of the town limits and told not to return. Rambo defies the order and is arrested. Rambo is then beaten by the local police while in holding which triggers his instincts to fight back. What happens next is the start of a film icon!

First Blood Part II is a 5 star action movie! I would say this may be the first Blockbuster Action Film ever made. Now in prison for his town romp, Col. Trautman returns to give Rambo an out. A mission to go back to 'Nam and confirm the possible existence of POW's. Rambo accepts and utters these words "Do we get to win this time?" Ordered only to take pictures, Rambo defies orders (see a trend here) and saves one of them instead. The backstabbing politician running the whole thing freaks and aborts the mission leaving Rambo stranded and now a POW. Alas, held by his captors and tortured by the Russians running the camp, Rambo endures more punishment that only fuels his rage. What happens next is probably the greatest one man army display ever filmed! From the jungles scenes to the finale, you will feel the rush and cheer!

First Blood Part III is a 3.5 star action movie. This time Rambo is living a peaceful life in Thailand. Col. Trautman finds him and asks for his help on a mission he is leading in Afghanistan. Rambo claims his war is over but that all changes once his only ally becomes a POW. Rambo asks to go in and save his friend. What happens next is he finds himself drawn to the Afghan freedom fighters and decides to pick up their plight against the Russians. This is by far the weakest of all the films but still ranks better than most action movies today.

BLU RAY THOUGHTS: I wasn't expecting much but all 3 films looked amazing. No this isn't like Avatar amazing but these films are over 20 years old and they looked brand new. Sound was excellent as well. SPECIAL FEATURES: Everything from the previous releases are here. Including the alt ending where Rambo kills himself as in the book. FINAL THOUGHTS: THIS IS A MUST UPGRADE!

Hardly "ultimate"! Despite a couple nice features (unused footage and alternate endings plus a commentary by Stallone for FIRST BLOOD) the "extras" in this set are mostly a farce. The so-called META features are gimmicks that turn the movies into poor video games and make the films unwatchable. The previous Rambo Trilogy Special Edition (out-of-print but available used) had tons of worthwhile extras this set doesn't include. In short, this set is an ultimate waste of money.

I have to admit that I was thoroughly surprised on how good of quality First Blood is. So far I have only watched the first movie, but judging that it is the oldest, the others will probably be just as good of picture quality. I was kind of hesitant in buying these because of prior disappointments with older movies on blu ray, but these are very good. There is very little grain, except in dark parts of the film. Much better 1080p quality than Predator or Terminator on blu ray. Stay away from those. The Dvd version of those are just as good. Anyway, these were a great deal getting them for $21 gold box deal. I would highly recommend these to Rambo fans.