How The Rambo Movies Changed
Rambo as a series of four films changed a great deal over time, and I’m not just talking about the latest instalment, which occurred twenty years after the previous. Rambo: First Blood is vastly different to the second and third films, and well of course to the fourth film, slightly confusingly just called Rambo.
Despite concentrating on just the films, we need to first start on the book, just called First Blood.
David Morrell started First Blood in 1968. That’s the year the Tet offensive happened, so I guess he was pretty on it. The book was published in 1972, and has the same basic premise as the film - Rambo is hitchhiking into a town, the cops don’t want there, so they try to push him out. He keeps coming back so they arrest him and try to cut his hair, because I guess they’ve got nothing better to do.
Then Rambo, played by Sylvester Stallone, goes on a kind of flashback induced non-killing spree, and is saved only by Colonel Trautman's interference, played by Richard Crenna.
Anyhow, what do you guys think of the Rambo series? Stallone has said there probably won't be another one, but would you like one?
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First Blood is my all time favourite. Especially the scene at the end where Rambo breaks down into a sobbing wreck of a man. It's horribly convincing and you can feel the pain he's been through. A really powerful moment in cinema history.
@lamecasuelas2
3 жыл бұрын
It's a great monologue
@dinogt8477
Жыл бұрын
nope
Rambo 4 may be the first (possibly only) mainstream film I've seen where children are killed/tortured on screen. Most movies cut away from that. Even gory horror films won't show a child's actual death, maybe the aftermath, but never the act itself. That shocked me, as I was expecting a campy OTT action film and got some very graphic imagery instead. I think Stallone should be praised for not shying away from such a harsh reality that is the human cost of war in Rambo 4.
@bofetada6841
5 жыл бұрын
Absolutely
@zeedeejay242
5 жыл бұрын
Children are killed, it was a documentary bout the democrat party in Switzerland
@lesterforney8655
5 жыл бұрын
they did there best to show the world what is happing over there and not to sugar coat it. they didn't want some snowflake to say its not good but it could be worse. this was there way of saying no it is worse.
@m3rdpwr
5 жыл бұрын
I've only seen the TV version, so this was the first time I saw children being killed in the movie.
@AnnabelleTheRose
5 жыл бұрын
I've never seen 4 and after seeing those scenes of children being killed I don't think I could. But respect to Stallone for not sugar coating the horrors of modern day warfare and calling it out.
I still break down into tears when Rambo is spilling his guts out to Troutman at the end of First Blood.... "And he keeps saying I wanna go home, I wanna go home! I wanna go home, Johnny, and I told him "I can't find your legs...I CAN'T FIND YOUR LEGS!!" :'(
@tailedgates9
4 жыл бұрын
@A Warm Gun From how he was telling the story they were blown off, apparently.....
It's really interesting how the Rambo movies (de)volved from part to part. The first one is nothing but a masterpiece in my eyes and probably the most misunderstood movie of all time. Think of how people refer to brainless brutes when they call someone "a Rambo", while Rambo was neither brainless nor a brute. He was simply a victim of a terrible war and of a terrible society at that time. There are many parallels to Frankenstein's monster, actually. It isn't his fault what he has become, and the hatred towards him is unjustified.
@andrewcavenagh2029
3 жыл бұрын
Good as it was, the original film was not as powerful as the novel by David Morrell on which it was based.
@umairashraf5167
3 жыл бұрын
@@andrewcavenagh2029I guess it's opinions
First Blood is easily the best and most rewatchable.
@quadyr213
6 жыл бұрын
malbowz 125 i agree
@Jonaske99
6 жыл бұрын
I agree but I rewatched FB Part 2 for like over a solid 50 times in my life (I'm 24y old btw) ^^ Started watching Rambo 3 as my first ever Rambo movie when I was 8y old in 2003 (mom bought it for (5 euro's back then), then proceeded to FB Part 2 and then First Blood. I loved the action before I realised the 'story' and drama behind John's life.
@calebproductions5970
5 жыл бұрын
First blood was so much better. It's almost like the other movies were talking about another person
@Kloashut
4 жыл бұрын
Still the book beats the movie by miles.
@diemonos2818
4 жыл бұрын
it’s the best but tbh ive watched rambo more than first blood, i dont know why i really enjoy the violent bits so much that i keep wanting to come back to it
I am a veteran Iraq myself and when saw this movie after my experience in Iraq those words that he said hit hard. 'What do I want, what they want, and every other guy who came to this place to spill his guts and for our country to love us a much as we love it." It comes to mind when I had a disagreement with my sister and she called me a baby killer. Honestly, that hurt so much and I still have not forgotten it at all.
@jcast39atmsn
3 жыл бұрын
What of you think of the rhetoric of soldiers as heroes and politicians conflating foreign policy with supporting the troops?
@minigrande1939
6 ай бұрын
I@@jcast39atmsnI have huge respect for any soldier on all sides but in today's geo political stage the military seamed to be used for a politicians gain. The Iraq War was wrong but it's not for a soldier to decide. An attacker will always be portrayed the villain the defender the hero
Man imagine being Rocky Balboa AND Rambo. Sly is insane
@callmetony4399
4 жыл бұрын
BeastMode Doyle and Imagine writing rocky and Rambo
@greatest_bumble_bee_dude
3 жыл бұрын
You had better stop or his mom might seriously consider shooting - lol ☺
I've never fully appreciated how you use jumpcuts on yourself, but leave the lavalamp-footage unaltered.
@noahspencer720
6 жыл бұрын
Woah I never noticed that!
@justinbeath5169
5 жыл бұрын
@Trump Fan Network he probably just cropped it
@hannibalburgers477
4 жыл бұрын
Amazing, it gives the illusion of. I dunno somebody fill here
@TheDruidKing
4 жыл бұрын
Never noticed that myself.
@boblogIIIfan
4 жыл бұрын
Haha i figured it is greenscreened in
Georg Rockall-Schmidt there was one detail yoou left out about the third film. In light of the collective story of all four films, it could be argued that this is one of the most important details of the story. During Rambo (4), John Rambo talked to one of the missionaries, who asked him about where he was from, and how long it had been since he'd been home, to which he replied it had been a long time. This implies he may have never gone home since the first film, implying decades. At the end of Rambo 2008, the final scene is of John Rambo getting off a ride in front of a farm, with the mailbox signed "Rambo", implying he finally returned home to his family after decades of being absent. With what's been established of his mental issues in the first film, his time in prison, then the impliccation that he stayed out of the U.S.A. after First Blood 2, through Rambo 3, then into Rambo 2008....all of that implies that Rambo, even if he'd dealt with his mental stuff enough to somewhat functional, he may have still felt that he could never go home again. At the end of Rambo 2008, he finally does after all this time. The violence of Rambo 2008 was reflective of how John Rambo felt about himself, only good for killing, not being able to function in civilian life, and therefor why ever bother going home? The final scene brings all four movies full circle, in a very creative way. Is this not worth mentioning????
@fattymcfatbags2511
7 жыл бұрын
I had never thought of them all coming full circle like this thanks for the imput i really liked that end scene
@BetweenTheLyons
7 жыл бұрын
Arthur Dotson that's why it is so hilarious to me that Rambo V was going to be about Genetically Enhanced Super-Soldiers and Rambo has to hunt them down
@arthurdotson9579
7 жыл бұрын
OK, now THAT I didn't know. Let's just quietly forget that one detail. I still made a good point. Seriously, that last scene in Rambo 2008 makes a great end to a story about a troubled soldier wanting to find some peace in his life.
@crwydryny
7 жыл бұрын
thesonicnight don't forget that other script proposal with the alien, where a team of special forces go in and get their buts handed to them and lose all their high tech equipment causing rambo to save them using low tech methods (basically a rehash of predator with rambo) there were some crazy script proposals out there to say the least
@BetweenTheLyons
7 жыл бұрын
crwydryny Omg I had almost blissfully forgotten that, lol. But to Arthur Dotson 's credit that is a good point and I agree that the last scene in 4 was a great place to leave things.
Say what you will about the graphic nature of Rambo (4), but coming from the perspective of a veteran and, .50 cal gunner, that's the most accurate representation of actual .50 caliber machine gun damage to people. Also, Stallone was actually fired upon by Burmese military during the making of Rambo.
@cha5
7 жыл бұрын
Although I remember a comedian who was an actual Vietnam vet back in the 1980's (I don't remember his name, sorry) who brought up the scene with the bazooka in the helicopter in Rambo First Blood Part 2 and he mentioned that Rambo firing a bazooka like that with P.O.W.s standing right behind him would most certainly have killed the P.O.W.s due to an explosive discharge blast from the back of that same bazooka. :-) Still a hell of a movie though.
@MisterBones2910
7 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I've seen a video where some irregulars in the middle east executed a man by shooting him in the head with one mounted to the back of a pickup truck. 'Was pretty fuckin' gruesome as you might expect.
@figjam9530
7 жыл бұрын
yes, just yes. war ain't like a movie, and there's precious few movies that try to show us this. a battlefield is not covered in dead bodies, it's covered in the pieces that are left. most of them from inside a person.
@MisterBones2910
7 жыл бұрын
I found the description of the body parts stuck in trees and (I think) powerlines and generally strewn about from _All Quiet on the Western Front_ to be pretty revealing in that regard; being that the author was an actual WW1 veteran.
@figjam9530
7 жыл бұрын
yeah, it's almost like a body being hit with metal traveling at supersonic speeds would make a big fucking mess. whoda thunk it.
The various Rambo films are fun for what they are, and in different ways, but First Blood is on another level entirely.
One thing I’ve always like about the Rambo franchise is that ALL 5 films, regardless of their varying tones and styles, manage to retain one, consistent theme: Rambo is a reluctant warrior who doesn’t like war, but can never escape war.
In regard to the book, more than the film, FIRST BLOOD came about at a time when people were watching Vietnam on television. Morrell thought "how would people feel if that sort of violence was happening in their small town neighborhoods rather than in the Jungle villages of the Vietnamese?"
@stingfan4
6 жыл бұрын
It was a great idea to make Rambo more sympathetic and not die though.
@bobblueford
5 жыл бұрын
It was Stallone's idea to make Rambo a good guy.
First Blood was the best. What I love about it is that there is no “good” side; one side is rotten and corrupt and awful, and the other side mentally and emotionally broken. Traditionally in cinema antagonists are revealed, late in the film, to be the mentally and emotionally broken “Rambo” figure. I find this approach to character development far more interesting than the clean good versus evil narrative.
trained to ignore pain , weather . to live off the land , eat things that would make a billy goat puke ... i´ll never forget that line in 1st Blood LOL
Oddly enough, Rambo 4 was the first one that I saw, and I was pretty shocked at how visceral it was. Years later I saw First Blood, loved it, and then saw 2 and 3. The first two sequels gave me a new appreciation for the way the fourth movie didn't try to glamorize the action. I'm actually kind of excited for Last Blood. Stallone seems to have a good grasp of how to age his characters with grace and not go against their natures
@theauthor6669
Жыл бұрын
what do you think of last blood?
I want to see a retrospective study about the POLICE ACADEMY films
@seamus674
7 жыл бұрын
Reggie Deniro I second your suggestion. ITS A GREAT IDEA.
@Tyranniod
7 жыл бұрын
Reggie Deniro That would be awesome.
@charlesthehandsomeandbrave2956
7 жыл бұрын
Hi-five!
@robinthrush9672
7 жыл бұрын
Yeah! I just re-watched the first and it's still hilarious. Now to find the other 5 or 6 to binge....
@MostlyPennyCat
5 жыл бұрын
Sixthhhthhhd
Vietnam was the turning point in US military history in that the brass hats were forced to conclude that it's impossible to fight a brutal foreign war with a conscript army. One of the shocking statistics which emerged out of the first and second world wars was the number of soldiers who found it impossible to pull the trigger with the enemy stood before them. After extensive post-action debriefings it was discovered that over 90% of the killing was being performed by less than 10% of the soldiers. Guns would mysteriously jam. Bullets whizzed wide of the mark at point blank range. Many soldiers spoke of their trigger finger simply disobeying the order to fire or blanking out completely. The upshot of all these studies was the realisation that human beings are hard-wired against inflicting harm on others. The 10% who did fire were initially labelled sociopaths but after further studies this figure was later split 50-50 into sociopaths and individuals who were able to circumvent their mental programming by rationalising their actions as being in defence of the comrades. Addressing this issue was a difficult task and it involved first doing away with conscription. In order to turn someone into a cold-blooded killer you literally have to keep them isolated from the outside world for a substantial period so that you can - for want of a better word - brainwash them whilst also heightening their dependence and reliance on their comrades. Endless practice drills which simulate reality as closely as possible blur the line between combat and training so that when it comes time to pull the trigger the soldier is working purely on muscle memory with all higher cognitive functions walled off. It's been a long time since I watched any of the First Blood series but I'm pretty sure he was trained at Fort Bragg - which makes him (probably) a Green Beret. The Green Berets were among the very first US special forces units. Very few people know that this elite unit was created largely with the help of two veterans of Hitler's Einsatzgruppen on the Eastern Front, SS-Brigadeführer Dr. Franz Alfred Six and SS-Standartenführer Emil Augsberg. The SS had scientifically analysed how you break the human mind into pieces and reassemble them in such a fashion that killing becomes no more difficult than making a cup of tea. So "successful" has been the process that it's now estimated that less than 15% of soldiers are afflicted with the kinds of problems their WWI & II comrades suffered. The problem with this method is once you fracture the mind - it's *impossible* to put it back together again. Worse still - whilst soldiers are trained to circumvent higher brain functions in order to kill - those functions are still recording. No amount of psychological sophistry can erase the gruesome results. Images of limbs blown off, skulls shattered, parents weeping hysterically over the loss of a child killed accidentally in a fire-fight are seared into the brain. First Blood was the only film in the series which attempted to broach this issue - even if it did tend to relegate its seriousness next to the problems Rambo had integrating himself into a society which had no use for his particular skill-set. Mind you, I guess mentioning the fact that Rambo was essentially part of a death squad (most likely an operative for the notorious "Phoenix Program"), trained by some of the vilest killers in all history, wouldn't have gone down too well with the audience ...
@MrChickennugget360
7 жыл бұрын
those statistics of "90% being unable to pull a trigger" are BS. they come primarily from S.L.A Marshall and many vets who actually fought in World War Two (including Richard Winters) called him a fraud who selectively cherry picked his stats
@TheLAGopher
6 жыл бұрын
The Sheriff was a veteran, I believe in World War Two in the novel and Korea in the movie (You can see a display of military ribbons and medals and a US flag in a display case in his office during the scene in the film when he learns Rambo survived the mine explosion and is on his way to town) and some would label him the villain because he represented the often unspoken breach of faith between the WWII generation (I would include Korean war vets here too) who fought the "good fight" against enemy armies who were clearly the aggressors and the Vietnam generation who went to war with the best intentions but got caught up in fighting a counter-guerrilla war against an enemy who would melt into the civilian population. The breach of faith being that the veterans of early wars didn't welcome the Vietnam vets back as brother veterans, but looked down upon them as "losers" who lost a dirty war that we were better off forgetting about. The Sheriff knew he was a former soldier but he had no way in hell to know Rambo was former Special Forces. The Sheriff didn't see Rambo as a "trained assassin" he saw Rambo as a loser of a war the town (the very heartland, real American community that guys like Rambo went to war to defend) just wanted to put behind. The Sheriff may have wanted to handle Rambo "Peacefully" but he makes no effort to show him any respect and treats Rambo with smug contempt. That's not the actions of a Law Enforcement officer facing a potential expert killer, its a cop dealing with a dirty loser who can't get over losing to guys in black pajamas while the Sheriff faced off against "Real" enemies like Nazis, Japanese or hordes of Red Chinese in Korea. BTW, the solution to the alleged non-shooting problem from WWII was not a matter of soldiers being hardwired to not bring harm to others. It was a matter of maturity. The average WWII American combat soldier was 26 years old which meant that his brain and moral code were fully developed and he likely had a lot of life experience from the depression and raising a family.Long story short, you can teach a mature man how to kill but you couldn't make him like the idea of killing. The only guys who tended to shoot all the time were machine gunners who would be noticed if they failed to fire. The solution was focusing the draft on 18 and 19-year-olds who are still impressionable to strong male authority figures and indoctrinate them in a conditioning program that links killing (an activity with strong social codes against it) with sex (an overwhelming drive for 18-19-year-old men) Teenage youngmen are also much more suspectable to negative social pressure by their peers than a mature man with his own family and fully developed sense of who he is. Boot camp was no longer learning to fire a rifle, it was about defining yourself as a man. Having strong feeling for violence was linked to being a virile heterosexual male. It was in the modern Boot Camp system that started in the 1950's where a recruits sexuality was openly questioned by being referred to as homosexual or as a woman for infractions until he "proved" himself a real man by buying into the training program. Under the new conditioning, soldiers in Vietnam had much higher rates of firing their weapons and it was in that environment of a lust for killing that the "Body count" concept was created where killing, not the taking of territory, became an objective of war in itself.
@deaddropholiday
6 жыл бұрын
Good points. I did zoom in on the medals in his office and I think two of the three were the Silver Star and a Purple Heart. From the shell casing on his desk I think he was probably in the artillery. A lot of the stuff you mention above is covered pretty well by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman in his book, "On Killing". Over the last couple of decades Grossman has become the most visible expert and spokesperson on the science of killing and battlefield stress. The first time I saw him interviewed I was pretty impressed by his knowledge and delivery. But the more I watched Grossman the more I began to feel uneasy. I get the feeling he was involved in a whole lot of other research. The kind which is far too unpleasant for public consumption. To make matters worse - the guy seems to have gone completely bananas in the last few years talking up the threat of ceaseless Terror both at abroad and at home. When he isn't trying to frighten people with the idea of ISIS training camps across the Mexican border he's encouraging cops to carry around more firepower than was carried up the Normandy beaches - or putting guns in the hands of teachers ... because all kids are a mass-shooting waiting to happen, I guess ...
@klausbrinck2137
5 жыл бұрын
@@TheLAGopher USA was in Vietnam just to murder, nothing else, and nothing else they did, till some higher kind of humans (vietnamese) threw them out... NOT to defend USA!!! on the other side, WW2 was a righteous cause, if just USA hadn´t built up Hitler in the first 2-3 WW2-Years... the USA stopped supporting Hitler only after they found out, that he has no more money to buy fuel and weaponry from them... and as we know the USA, a not-potential-client can as well be your enemy...
@tinfoilskullcap7034
5 жыл бұрын
Wish I didn't read that.
Imagine how terrible Rambo would've been if John Travolta played the part. XD
@Moonie95
5 жыл бұрын
Seven Proxies Omg, that would have been awful. Thank god Sylvester got the part.
@neal2399
3 жыл бұрын
"Before you learned how to *SPELL YOUR NAME* I... was being trained to hunt hick cops!"
@valientevaliente9473
3 жыл бұрын
nah, rambo is for sly only
“Don’t push it. Don’t push it or I’ll give you a war you won’t believe.”
From this veteran's perspective, the best scene out of all the Rambo films was at the ending of Rambo (4) The scene where he finally gets home😌
@MichaelDavis-cy4ok
5 жыл бұрын
The hardest part about overcoming PTSD is often learning to stop hating yourself, and to start valuing yourself. Rambo finally learned to love himself in the end.
@leonel1982
5 жыл бұрын
Shit that gets me tearing up
@BaronNate
5 жыл бұрын
Agreed brother. 101st Air Assault here. I was near tears when he got to that mailbox. I remember coming home in secret to surprise my folks. When he was standing there, I kept saying in my head, "go home, go home John" I'm glad he did and didn't walk away on down the road. Imagine if he had, and how that ending would have went. whew.
@jamessantos9861
5 жыл бұрын
That’s not his home, that’s his dads home and he end that’s movie by seeing him and ending the bad blood. But I guess technically he’s home because he’s in America.
@rooroo8767
4 жыл бұрын
Roger that mucker. This vet agrees and we are brothers. Nulli Secundus
In the german dubbing, Rambo in that scene says something along the line of "...or you'll find yourself in war, you can't understand..." That one fit thematically very well, too, imo.
"We already had our Vietnam, now you can have yours!"....Annnnnnd, here we are 19 years later fighting the same Afghanis that broke the back of the Russian economy...Funny how that worked out., we learned NOTHING
@BennettsShed
3 жыл бұрын
It’s called “The Great Game” and has been played for well over a century.
@jedrayne3636
3 жыл бұрын
The Major difference between the Russian invasion and the Americans coming in was that Russia had a strict ideology that they were trying to subject onto all of the people of Afghanistan, Imperialism if you will. However when The US Came to Iraq and Afghanistan it was less about political motive and more so of retribution against the realistic Militant forces responsible for world wide terrorism and 9/11. We lost in Vietnam because we tried to subject American Capatalism on it's people just like russia with afghanistan, However the War in Afghanistan is more so about the eradication of Islamic terrorism, they look similar due to the fact that all three are insurgency based wars.
@TobyJames000
3 жыл бұрын
Those that control the drugs, control the world.
@quarterburnt
2 жыл бұрын
@@jedrayne3636 Holy cow this comment aged badly. Now there's zero difference between the Russian and American invasion besides the 100,000 lives and trillions of dollars lost.
@minigrande1939
6 ай бұрын
Turned out the same for the USA
I really like your reviews. Seeing movies from my childhood from a different perspective is entertaining. It usually makes me want to go back and rewatch some of them. Carry on mate!
Don't forget First Blood had an awesome soundtrack by Goldsmith and a song by the legend Dan Hill. :) I still remember running around the house with a red torn piece of cloth around my head as a kid. Some how putting that head band on made you feel bad ass. ha ha. :) Great video.
@Jonaske99
6 жыл бұрын
The first 3 movies' soundtracks were epic to say the least. I always use them as my gym playlist. Imo 'It's a Long Road', the Rambo original theme and the soundtrack of FB Part 2 are the best soundtracks in movie history.
@Papa_Mendes
5 жыл бұрын
How is it that no one else has mentioned that awesome soundtrack?!
I think your comparison to the Terminator franchise is spot-on. I consider First Blood a Horror movie along with Terminator and we might as well throw Alien into this discussion. Hollywood has a way of taking Horror movies and turning them into action films, sometimes a good film emerges, but something is lost in the process. I think sometimes the originals present ideas to us, that there are things in the world that can change you forever, and not for the better, just by seeing them. Such as Rambo's Vietnam, the Alien itself, or Sara Connor's gazing into the abyssal paradox of time travel alone. When good Horror films touch on ideas we're not prepared to discuss, we turn them into action flicks and turn our brains off.
@ThreadBomb
7 жыл бұрын
The action take is usually more popular than the more thoughtful original.
@VanityVania1
7 жыл бұрын
Capitalism 101 though. In Hollywood, it's less about making something that generates thought and discussion, but more or less to generate a product to appeal to the largest pool of potential buyers. Make it entertaining. Make it a spectacle, but never make the viewer think. While the 80s were not shy of making franchise driven action films like Hollywood of today, most films just never touch the originals in tone because in order for a production company to make a sequel, the lore of the sequel must build further upon that original. Where to go from there? You could do another psychological thriller piece but ultimately the merit of that won't leave the same impact as the original....so trumpet in bland action films to help build upon the lore. It's effective enough for a casual movie goer. But for anyone looking for a more nuanced film...not happening.
@Zeithri
6 жыл бұрын
It's all about the " _Whales_ " & the " _Dolphins_ ".
@DenSvartaStjarnan
6 жыл бұрын
I don't see how The Terminator is more thoughtful than Terminator 2, and with Alien, it's just lore. It doesn't provoke discussions about anything other than the Alien's origins, which is very interesting, but meaningless.
16:09 - "He was going to die by falling.......then he broke his neck......then he exploded."
For a Rambo 5, I always thought it would have been a good idea to bring back the Cop from the first film, where they're forced to work together in order to survive. They would start off holding onto old grudges, but gradually grow to understand and maybe even respect one another. By the end, they would part on equal terms, but not as friends.
@RatatRatR
5 жыл бұрын
That is interesting, but it does follow from the initial assumption that endless remakes, retreads, and re-spins are a good thing, rather than it maybe being better sometimes to just let old stories be.
@jimbomchooch6007
3 жыл бұрын
Or maybe they fall in love
First Blood was by far the best film of the series, it's the most artistic with its writing and development
I love your videos. Honestly this is TV quality
@GeorgRockallSchmidt
7 жыл бұрын
Thank you John, that's extremely kind of you.
@sulrich70
7 жыл бұрын
John Miller agree. It's very well done, spoken and planned.
@sulrich70
7 жыл бұрын
John Miller I have to say this is better than almost everything on tv.
@thegoldencaulk2742
7 жыл бұрын
Wait, isn't "TV quality" technically an insult since TV is down the shitter?
@OTElron
7 жыл бұрын
I really like your content and the overall style of presentation (just subbed because of this), but there's on thing that bothers me: The editing turing the "desk segments". I get that it's not practical to film 10 minute long, flawless takes, but those little cuts throw me off all the time, especially since you're establishing direct eye contact to the audience. Maybe always switch from desk to footage and back on a cut, or make the cuts more drastic (like switching position with the lamp), so the cuts don't feel as much like you're trying to hide them, while they're are unfortunatly obvious enough to somewhat feel to me like you're trying to hide the (understandable) inability to film lenghty flawless segments. Don't try to cover what may seam like a weakness, make the editing a strength of those segments. I'm not a filmmaker myself and you're certainly already doing way better than I could, but I hope some constructive criticism can help you to improve.
"You just don't turn the lava lamp off."
@hellasowb3036
6 жыл бұрын
I can't watch another video because of that Lave lamp..Too annoyying
@supernerdy9354
6 жыл бұрын
josh bentley83 I always have a hard time not watching the lava lamp
@fgdj2000
5 жыл бұрын
It’s hypnotic
@Tigerblade2002
5 жыл бұрын
@@supernerdy9354 it's distracting as hell...
This guy looks like Quentin Tarantino with a beard
@rafaelalodio5116
6 жыл бұрын
He kinda does.
@tinfoilskullcap7034
5 жыл бұрын
He's not that ugly.
@maxfieldnuckels9075
4 жыл бұрын
Glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks so. I was looking for this comment before I would say the same thing
@philipthomas6808
4 жыл бұрын
It's his English doppelganger...
@2prize
4 жыл бұрын
Does he like feet?
Anyone else who can't stop watching the lava lamp?
@LibraGamesUnlimited
7 жыл бұрын
It's hypnotic. I was spent the whole video watching just the lamp, then next thing I knew it was a week later and I was in Vegas without any clothing and covered in marmalade.
@crwydryny
7 жыл бұрын
you mean there was something else in the video? I thought it was just a video of a lava lamp
@LibraGamesUnlimited
7 жыл бұрын
It's all about the lamp. The rest is just window dressing to draw people in.
@leonard247popper
7 жыл бұрын
orange. orange bubbles
@anothergol
7 жыл бұрын
I think the lava lamp is there to make you forget the amount of cuts
Colonel - RAMBO!!! the Russians have kidnapped your wife! Rambo - but I don't have a wife?... Colonel - course you do John, and her name is AMERICA!!! Rambo - NNOoooooooooo!!!!! *shoots M60E into the air*... The end.
@xlixity
7 жыл бұрын
Someone remembers the "Exploder: Evacuator Part 2" parody from GTA Vice CIty...
@erikosilacius
7 жыл бұрын
... Maybe
@Stunlokked
7 жыл бұрын
BUT IM NOT MARRIED! YOU ARE NOW! TO AMERICA!
@xlixity
7 жыл бұрын
_"I'm a man of peace. I'm done killing."_ _" He would've been a fine American.... I'll cry when I'm done killing."_ *Rated PG; may include Patriotic Garbage*
@Warhero1171
7 жыл бұрын
Eric Coltrane NOTHING IS OVER!!!!
Rambo: First Blood Part 2 became a pop culture phenomenon when it was released in 1985. It is the movie that made Rambo a world famous character and a part of our lexicon. It is also one of the greatest action movies ever made. It's sad to see this movie is not getting it's fair due.
your critics, reviews and explanations are really great. i like that you dont use much comedy and more like explaining things like a teacher. this is really rare in times of youtube and refreshing and relaxing to listen to.
...there are no friendly civilians.... "J. Rambo"
@DeadgrinCustoms
6 жыл бұрын
Georgios Papadopoulos easily one if the best lines
At the end when he said, "....it's a war you won't believe." I'm pretty sure he stared into my soul and I thought he was going to kill me!
I remember enjoying Rambo 2. This was at a time when the stories of the returning Viet Nam vets, as well as the POWs who didn't come back, was still an important part of American culture and consciousness. And also it was easy to villify North Vietnamese, Chinese, and Russians in the movies.
Closest movie to novel First Blood is film called The Hunted with Benicio Del Toro, setting was changed and few details.
First Blood is a great movie, about a mentally damaged Vietnam veteran. the other films, while often entertaining, completely miss the point of the character,
@Elementa2006
7 жыл бұрын
ZygmaExperiment although the 4th film combines elements of Rambo's personal drama from the first film and the supersoldier aspect of the later films.
@kyriss12
7 жыл бұрын
And to think the original ending would have left no room for a sequel, but test audiences thought it was to depressing.
@johncrafton8319
7 жыл бұрын
Which kills me. There's nothing wrong with a movie like that making you feel depressed after watching it. Isn't that the whole point of the story? To make the audience feel bad for the character and for not only what he's done but also what's been done to him? If you leave the theater feeling happy, then they made the wrong movie. White Goodman was right. The average moviegoer can't handle complexity in tone and theme.
@johncrafton8319
7 жыл бұрын
I'm an American, and I disagree with you. Americans are quite varied in how they see things. If filmmakers only want to cater to what they know works, then they can play it safe. If the filmmaker trusted their art enough, they'd risk it. People don't know what the average American moviegoer likes because they keep playing things safe. That's usually the fault of the studios, unwilling to pay to make a movie that takes risks. Notice that it's the risk-takers that become remembered as classics.
@johncrafton8319
7 жыл бұрын
Test screenings have ruined movies. Seriously. A test audience won't often encapsulate a true movie-going audience. Ever. I've actually been to a couple, and they're rubbish. The studio tends to want to get a flavor of every demographic, and those different demographics see things quite differently. When they change a movie based on a couple test screenings, they often change them to reach a demographic that really wouldn't like the movie anyway. Basing major artistic decisions on what a few dozen people thought in a test-screening panel is ludicrous. A good movie that's true to its story and doesn't betray the audience will find that audience. A movie that pulls its punches won't be remembered nearly as well.
Great video! I agree, we don't need any more Rambo sequels. But, if they're going to do anything... How about a Rambo PREQUEL?? Tell the story of 18 year old John Rambo in Vietnam with a young, kickass Trautman, on their first mission!
@eachday9538
7 жыл бұрын
yes, this
@patrickilmoni9380
7 жыл бұрын
Yes ! A Prequel. That sounds as a really good but a truly Challenging idea, which could, and should be done in my opinion. If such a movie is made some day, I hope it will be done with true care, and also in a manner true to the story in the book, and naturally to The "First Blood". The problem with the making of such a movie is in todays world. And it could easily backfire when everything has to be so PC nowadays and what not. However, after seeing Rambo 4, I am still optimistic about what can be done.
@eachday9538
7 жыл бұрын
Patrick Ilmoni They'll go and make it G rated!
@robinthrush9672
7 жыл бұрын
Sometimes knowing what happened lessens the importance. A prequel for Rambo would have to mostly be the torture scenes from #2 and the gore from #4 with a character similar to Steve Rogers in the first Captain America film. I don't think we'd appreciate it as much as our minds fill it in now.
@samizaynislife6471
7 жыл бұрын
The Star Trek prequels were really good. Prometheus was better than AVP and Resurrection but yeah I agree with Terminator.
I lol'd at that facial expression @15:29 ... I was thinking "hmmm this is ironic" all the way through that monologue
Thanks for your in-depth look into Rambo.. I’ve been a student of sly Stallone since my teens.. First Blood is my favorite. I think worth mentioning is a personal observation.. VCR’s had come way down in price people were getting them and video rental places were popping up.. Folks were hesitant.. First blood didn’t do well in the box office but it blew-up in the rental, that’s when my parents got theirs and I had to figure out how to work it and program it for them...
First Blood is one of my favourite movies of all time and I was always disappointed by the follow ups. Everything you've said was spot on. It was a review of university standards ...and yes, I am the person who gets to make that call.
First Blood, for me, will always be the superior movie. It's more a thriller with action scenes, whilst the sequels are primarily action films. The 4th tries to recapture the tone of the first, and to its credit, successfully brings closure to the character John Rambo. I would like to think John finally found piece with his family back in the US.
One of my favorite things about Rambo (the fourth one) is how realistically powerful the .50 cal is shown to be. Just easily blowing limbs off and shit, epic stuff.
The chemistry between John and Trautman was just on a level I've never seen. They gelled so well. I loved their unbreakable bond in the first 3 movies. Rambo will always be my favorite movie franchise ever. They're just the best original action movies of all-time. Too bad the action movie genre of the 80's and 90's just stopped being. The best eras of movies of all-time.
excellent analysis.
I have to agree with you on pretty much all your points! This video, and all your videos are well made, well written and well edited. I really hope your channel blows up soon, because you deserve far more subscribers then you have!As to answer your question, First Blood is indeed my favorite, in many of the same ways you describe. RAMBO (4), is my second, in many of the ways that you describe as well. Even though it is extremely realistic in its violence and gore, there is a part of me that is glad of this. Because much like many war & action movies, then and now, it glamorizes war, and I think 08 Rambo, showed the violence and atrocity that really happens in all wars, just not aired to the public. I could say more, but, that's enough for now. again love your content!
@GeorgRockallSchmidt
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks for you comments! You make a really good point about Rambo 4 not skipping the nasty, bloody bits war - it really feels like Stallone went out of his way to do that, and it does feel more similar to First Blood because of its tone. Even though Rambo 2 and 3 are graphic, First Blood and 4 are the only films of the series I personally would describe as upsetting.
@PointlessSillyName
7 жыл бұрын
Just to chip in - I remember reading an interview with Stallone when Rambo was about to be released in the UK. He was asked why it was so gory, and his reply was along the lines of; because war is brutal - especially civil war - and he wanted to convey the realistic horrors of it to audiences who'd got used to sanitised Hollywood depictions. That's why they show babies and children being killed, because it actually happens. And that he'd left out a lot of footage of the Burmese war from the beginning of the film because it was far worse than the footage he'd put in, and the public wouldn't have been able to cope with it. Something like that anyway...
@chrisofnottingham
7 жыл бұрын
I haven't seen R4 but just from what I've heard and the clips here, it seems possible that Stallone used the franchise as a plausible vehicle for saying what he wanted to about the Burmese war, rather than the usual other way round of using the war as a plot device to extend the franchise.
@kiamvp1874
6 жыл бұрын
Georg Rockall-Schmidt Verrry true, the ending speech in First Blood usually has me in tears. Did you know that Rambo 4 actually gave the real Karen Rebels a morale boost?
"I guess Rambo is a fairly easy Halloween costume -you just take your top off ,unless you spent the previous year getting ripped". LOL 😁
Talks of Rambo: 'Extra Last Blood' and Rambo: 'First Last Super Blood' in the works. Can't wait !!
FIRST BLOOD is both the best of the four films and still one of the best action films ever made. My least favorite of the 4 is RAMBO III. Your videos are extremely well made.
@GeorgRockallSchmidt
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks Mark. I agree, First Blood is sublime!
@Dan.50
6 жыл бұрын
I agree. The third movie could have been great, but they just couldn't seem to get it on track.
@CapitanJusticia
6 жыл бұрын
But Rambo 2 had a lot more action.
@kiamvp1874
6 жыл бұрын
CapitanJusticia But First Blood is a classic, the reality of what Vietnam vets had to experience when they came back. The action doesn't matter, part 2 was a silly film where nothing can hurt Rambo but everything he does hurts the enemies. It's silly
@CapitanJusticia
6 жыл бұрын
+Slaughter House Rambo 2 may have been sillier, but it was very entertaining to an 8 year old kid in 1985.
That's the thing about Rambo which has been confused over time: in the first film (which is definitely the only one worth repeated viewings) he doesn't directly kill anyone. The thrown stone only causes the helicopter to pitch the cop; he kills the dogs (and the wild pig); he wounds a whole lot of people; and he likely critically wounds the sheriff. But there was none of the explosive violence which is now associated with character. I still can't believe they went ahead and made a cartoon about a character who is a Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD.
@NodDisciple1
6 жыл бұрын
I'd trust him to watch my back. He's one man you don't want to mess with.
Yeah, I just rewatched First Blood for the first time in a few years. Spot on analysis, it's the PTSD, the war inside his head that we the audience are imagining.
Definitely the original First Blood for me, I watched it back in '82 or '83 when it reached the UK on video. The arm stitching scene alone was a talking point with my friends, the others had a totally different tone. I think the original film feels more like the gritty war dramas popular in the '70s and the sequels were very much '80s action blockbusters.
I love the series, and even find myself watching part IV every time it's on tv. The best part for me is the flashback during the rainstorm. Beautiful/horrifying. As someone who sees these movies as inexorably tied to the Metal Gear series and Solid Snake character, I take as much away from it as with those in terms of how much I can immerse myself in this character's world and worldview. Which is interesting and odd, because I have no personal experiences relating to anything they've been through. It's like being drawn to music from before you were born, drawn to the haunting darkness living inside someone else that has lived long before you or in another reality.
Colonel Trautman is the Dr. Loomis role as it would be in Halloween. His job is to build Rambo up just as Loomis's job was to build Michael Myers up.
@mudbutt234
7 жыл бұрын
Rambo looks like Jason Voorhies when he's running around with that machete cutting down fools in Rambo4
@sharkymcshark3392
7 жыл бұрын
FX Lord So what you're saying is that dr. Loomis is Michael Myers' hype-man?
@FrancisXLord
7 жыл бұрын
Precisely, a role fulfilled later by Trautmann in the Rambo movies. Co-incidence or plagiarism? You decide.
@jasonvoorheesthethird
5 жыл бұрын
Armando Batista “Jason Voorhees” ;)
18:54 Not gonna lie that almost made me spit out my drink. Perfect delivery.
Superb analysis. Don’t think I didn’t notice your choice of shirt.
My gramps was a medic in Vietnam. To this day he still had night terrors War ain't funny
@AgentFlea
7 жыл бұрын
Have you see Tropic Thunder?
@samizaynislife6471
7 жыл бұрын
has he ever seen Rambo?
@6282makepeace
6 жыл бұрын
Respect to your gramps
@rooroo8767
4 жыл бұрын
Sorry matey. Vet here. War can be kinda funny. Disclaimer: Individual circumstances may vary
@R3___114
4 жыл бұрын
Very true
Travolta as Rambo??? What was he gonna do? Dance them to death LOL. My favourite may actually be First Blood Part II
@Dmiller7239
6 жыл бұрын
ah ah ah staying alive staying alive
@JunayedMahin
6 жыл бұрын
hes an great actor though but hes no Rambo hes more like Vince
@jayeisenhardt1337
5 жыл бұрын
Was that where all you could see was eyes in the mud then he came outta the walls like Aliens? Good stuff.
@whitedevil4122
5 жыл бұрын
Throw his wig at them
@gamesincharacter5106
5 жыл бұрын
SHADOWWOLF77 all except Rambo 3 is great
I didn't know First Blood was a book. When you told the original story, I could almost savour the tragedy of poor Rambo dying in the woods, betrayed by the establishment.
Rambo 4 had shown stuff that made Rambo from First Blood to snap like he did. Made the first one even more relatable, to my eyes...
First blood. All the way. Way deeper than the rest.
@Papa_Mendes
5 жыл бұрын
David Morell is a criminally underrated fucking genius
I just watched ‘First blood’ for the first time (part of my growing digitized Blu-ray collection) and it’s actually a deep, exploratory film, with good implicative character dialogue and even if it may or may not purposely convey a message it brings out sore but important issues many may not want to contend with. I’ve yet to watch the sequels but they seem to be superficial in comparison so far. -why did the U.S. go to war for really? -PTSD, the real value we put on those who served during and after war and it’s totals costs both for U.S. AND foreign service people -civil liberties being violated by law enforcement (the water hosing, arrest and booking with unjustified charges...if any) -how this discarded war hero by the government ends up a discarded vagrant by the government “I could operate sophisticated multi-million dollar military equipment, but back at home I’m nothing!” John Rambo is not innocent, but as brought up time and again in the film by his Colonel he is the product of the U.S.’s war machine and unsurprisingly would operate expectedly in a hostile system and environment, just that hostile system and environment is not North Vietnam but home at “backwaterville” heartland USA.
I was 8 years old when Part 2 came out. The movie was a little over the top. BUT...My Father was in the Army. He has many friends who are Veitnon Vets. The line at the end where RAMBO says" I want what they want"...My Dad and his friends had tears in their eye's. And it wasn't till I was older that I understood why.
1, 4, and 5 are my favorites. Love your analysis of 1, very thoughtful.
As a Australian veteran i loved first blood.
I love the "How have the X movies changed" vids. Keep them coming! Would love to see the predator series or even star trek
I enjoyed your video. I'm a huge fan of the entire run of Rambo movies just because they came out as i was growing into my teen years and what a run. Keep up your good work.
I remember, we watched Rambo 2, 3 on VHS almost as comedy. I saw First Blood much later, and I was shocked how different film it is!
The order is easily... First Blood Rambo First Blood: Part II Rambo III Rambo: Last Blood
@invisiblehand13
4 жыл бұрын
I couldn't disagree more. The order is: Last Blood First Blood First Blood pt II John Rambo Rambo III This is correct.
This guy deserves more clout
You talked about how a sequel to Rambo 4 was cancelled just then last blood steps out and folds it's arms and says oh I guess I'm just chopped liver over here.
Great video man, The sound effects from the first 3 movies stick with you forever They used rambo sounds in every war movie since
it portrays War as how it really is. hell
Rambo first blood is the best out of all, no contest! Thank you for making this review, much appreciated!
@zafar2073
5 жыл бұрын
This is because first blood is the book!
Your lava lamp was a great touch!!! You used something that people cant stop watching to keep People listening to you … Nice touch..
I just realized that's David Caruso in those scenes!!!! *Plays CSI music in head and moodily pulls off sunglasses*
So Rambo fought with al queda in the 80's.
@rjcme
7 жыл бұрын
Actually, I think those afghans were rather based in Massoud, from the Northern Alliance who fought Al-Qaida. However, in the film they do mention they are doing Jihad, so I guess the filmmakers really couldn´t tell the difference.
@Elementa2006
7 жыл бұрын
Justin Sidious that's kind of a misconception, they were supposed to be based on the same group who would later fight Al Qada and the Taliban
@HoldenNY22
7 жыл бұрын
Interesting Comment, but True!
@RuiLuz
7 жыл бұрын
Rambo is the secret weapon even at 70 something.
@rjcme
7 жыл бұрын
That´s why the movie theater is a bad place to learn History
Lions Gate announced Rambo: Last Blood for a 2019 release.
@zetetick395
4 жыл бұрын
Good grief.
@compphysgeek
4 жыл бұрын
I thought it was a joke about Last Blood. Then I looked to the right and there it actually was, to rent or buy
@zetetick395
4 жыл бұрын
Aye, it's 'free' on Amazon Prime now... ...Think I'm gonna wait for the next one: RAMBO: Geriatric blood transfusion.
@wellwhatevernevamind7109
4 жыл бұрын
It was awful
@ricogomez4020
3 жыл бұрын
@@wellwhatevernevamind7109 Why cause he kills Mexicans?
Bro from the names of these mans titles which i would suggest watching, this dude knows what hes talking abt, good topics are discussed and i like it, keep it up georg
Fantastic essay and delivery, sir. Nice job.
There was no "Rambo: First Blood". It was simply "First Blood". The second film was "Rambo: First Blood Part II".
@BuckandOden
4 жыл бұрын
Rambo III was actually Rambo II: First Blood III.
@jonahfalcon1970
4 жыл бұрын
@@BuckandOden No, it was just Rambo III. (laugh)
@MasterYoshidino
4 жыл бұрын
I was going to say the same thing...
#3 is the only one I don't remember much of. I often think the 2 scenes I do remember (stick fight and the wound cauterization) actually happened in #2. #2 is my favorite from my childhood, but I think #1 is a far better film now.
I would love to watch a Rambo prequel showing how he inlisted/got drafted to how he got his PTSD during Vietnam
Really enjoying your channel after stumbling onto it. Like the no-nonsense delivery and the detail you go into 👍🏼
Of course, First blood is the best Rambo film. But I would argue that the thrid one is the worst, and most ironic, seing how the political landscape shifted over the next ten years. Rambo (2008) was sadly misinterpreted by many as glorifying violence, when in reality (and as you stateed in the video) it wants to raise awareness to a horrific genocide that very few even knew was going on. Great video, as always
@oneandonlysound3453
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah, 3 to me feels like a TV movie from the time, like the franchise had failed (obviously it didn't) but could keep going. It feels on auto-pilot in basically every scene unless it directly involves the only real plot of the movie-Rambo gets involved because the colonel is captured. Those scenes with both of them, or actions directly attached to both of them, are great. Heck I was 100% on board with the kid helping too-it's not indiana jones 2 cheesy, it's actualy real for someone young to be involved in there. 1 and 2 to me are Alien/Aliens or Terminator/T2-Judgement Day type differences in style/direction, 3 is the one nobody asked for, Rambo 4 is the real ending to the series. Not last blood, that's trash.
I'd always dismissed the Rambo movies as stupid action flicks. After watching this, I'll have to actually give them all a chance - cartoonish violence in 2/3 notwithstanding. Thanks for the overview.
@skoomajoe6205
7 жыл бұрын
Runicen The first one is a legit great film.
@Zero_Ninety
6 жыл бұрын
Watch the first one but don't bother with the rest.
@VandergriftMoefies
6 жыл бұрын
Rambo 4 is awesome!
Thanks for the recap. I watched First Blood the other day for the first time in ages. What an outstanding film- IMO. To me it ranks as one of the best iconic movies of the 80's.
I saw Rambo 3 when I was 17.. in an Ottawa theater with a buddy. Great times
Rambo does actually kill a cop during the escape, I think the one leaning out of the helicopter with the sniper rifle counts. Anyway, loving the reviews. Have just subbed!
@RomanSionis85
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah because the cop kept shooting at him as he was trying to settle an old score with Rambo. Even the Sheriff said he wanted Rambo alive and the deputy wasn't wearing a seat belt so he got himself killed.
@christopherdean1326
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah, Rambo doesn't really kill Art Galt, he got himself killed because the vengeance blinded him to safety.
First Blood and Rambo are the best, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III are schlocky popcorn movies for boring nights...
@trevorcoakley3760
6 жыл бұрын
bullshit
My dad was a Marine that came back from Vietnam and when he stepped off the plane was called a baby-killer. Well, my dad was not in the mood for such chat and ended the conversation by breaking the guys' jaw. My dad had to pay for the guys' medical bills.
Parts of this were really haunting, mate - well done
16:44 Don't forget Hamburger Hill.
i always thought of first blood as a drama. it's intimate. most of the action is one on one conversation, not so much combat. the score was mostly strings. the sequel saw them kick up the horns and was obviously an 80's action film with a big budget, a thin plot, inserted eye candy, a revenge trope, and more explosions. it was the cold war, and bleeding edge warfare tech was all the rage. the film was just a platform to show off the large-caliber weaponry, the exploding arrows, steroid muscles, gunship helicopters- the 80's audience WANTED that bruised and conflicted introvert to stop examining things and snap out of it. it was a decade of excess and we only wanted good news. we were the best, but somehow the underdog, and we crane kicked those commies because Murka!
I've been binge-ing on this channel. It's so good. I usually don't really like movie review channels because most just make it about themselves and produce these overly happy-fake, upbeat videos lacking any substance (well, this seems to be the case for majority of KZread videos). The only channel I liked is RedLetterMedia and now this one.
First Blood is a masterpiece and one of my favourite ever movies, it's gritty and realistic with some great set-pieces, music and cinematography, plus that landscape. The rest can't really compare, different tone, different feel, they turned a realistic character into a cartoon, indestructible like the Hulk