Rambo: First Blood Part II

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Wikipedia article {{Infobox film \| name = Rambo: First Blood Part II \| image = Rambo first blood part ii.jpg \| alt = \| caption = Theatrical release poster \| director = George P. Cosmatos \| producer = Buzz Feitshans \| writer = \| screenplay = Sylvester Stallone James Cameron \| story = Kevin Jarre \| based_on = \| starring = \| music = Jerry Goldsmith \| cinematography = Jack Cardiff \| editing = \| studio = \| distributor = Tri-Star Pictures \| released = \| runtime = 96 minutes \| country = United States \| language = English \| budget = $25.5 million \| gross = $300.4 million }} 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' is a 1985 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to 'First Blood' (1982), it is the second installment in the 'Rambo' franchise, followed by 'Rambo III'. It co-stars Richard Crenna, who reprises his role as Colonel Sam Trautman, with Charles Napier, Julia Nickson, and Steven Berkoff. The film's plot is inspired by the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. In the film, Rambo gets released from prison in a deal with the U.S. government to document the possible existence of missing POWs in Vietnam, but with strict orders not to rescue them. When Rambo defies his orders, he is abandoned and forced to rely once more on his own brutal combat skills to save the POWs. Despite mixed reviews, 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' was a major worldwide box office blockbuster, with an estimated 42 million tickets sold in the US. It has become one of the most recognized and memorable installments in the series, having inspired countless rip-offs, parodies, video games, and imitations. 'Entertainment Weekly' ranked the movie number 23 on its list of "The Best Rock-'em, Sock-'em Movies of the Past 25 Years". Plot Three years after the incident in Hope, Washington, former US Army Green Beret John Rambo receives a visit from his former mission commander and old friend, Col. Sam Trautman, at a rural labor work prison. With the Vietnam War now officially over, the public has become increasingly concerned over news that a small group of US POWs have been left in enemy custody in Vietnam. To placate their demands for action, the US government has authorized a solo infiltration mission to confirm the reports. Rambo agrees to undertake the operation in exchange for a pardon. In Thailand, he is taken to meet Marshall Murdock, the bureaucrat overseeing the operation. Rambo is temporarily reinstated into the US Army and instructed only to take pictures of the suspected POW camp and not to rescue any prisoners or engage enemy personnel, as they will be retrieved by a better equipped extraction team upon his return. During his insertion, Rambo's parachute becomes tangled and breaks, causing him to lose his guns and most of his equipment, leaving him with only his knife, his bow, and his arrows. He meets his assigned contact, a young female Vietnamese intelligence agent named Co Bao, who arranges for a local band of river pirates to take them upriver. Reaching the camp, Rambo spots one of the prisoners tied to a cross-shaped post, left to suffer from exposure, and rescues him against orders. During their escape, they are discovered by Vietnamese troops and attacked by an armored gunboat; causing the pirates to betray them, revealing they swapped allegiance to the Vietnamese and intend to hand them over for a reward. Rambo kills the pirates and destroys the gunboat with an RPG while the POW and Co Bao swim to safety. Rambo asks Co to stay behind shortly before they reach the extraction point. The rescue helicopter is ordered by Murdock to abort the rescue, saying Rambo has violated his orders. Co Bao watches as Rambo and the POW are recaptured and returned to the camp. When Trautman confronts him, Murdock reveals that he never intended to save the POWs, explaining that Congress expected Rambo to find nothing, and that even if he did, Murdock would simply leave him to die to avoid having to deal with the issue any further. Trautman is then told he will be removed from the mission to keep him from trying to help Rambo on his own. Rambo learns that Soviet troops are working with the Vietnamese army. He is interrogated by the local liaison, Lieutenant Col. Podovsky, and his right-hand man, Sgt. Yushin. Upon learning of Rambo's mission from intercepted missives, Podovsky demands that Rambo should broadcast a message to Murdock warning against any further rescue missions for the POWs. Meanwhile, Co infiltrates the camp disguised as a prostitute and hides under the hut where Rambo is being brutally tortured with electric shocks. Rambo refuses to cooperate, but relents when the prisoner he tried to save is threatened. As he begins to read the scripted comments, Rambo directly threatens Murdock, overpowers the Soviets, and escapes the camp with Co's help. Rambo agrees to take Co to the United States, and they kiss. As they start moving again, a small Vietnamese force attacks the pair and Co is killed during the assault. An enraged Rambo guns down the soldiers and buries Co in the mud. Rambo snaps and, with the use of his knife and bow, he systematically dispatches the numerous Soviet and Vietnamese soldiers sent after him one after the other - even blowing up the Vietnamese officer who killed Co with an explosive arrow. After surviving a barrel bomb dropped by Yushin's helicopter, Rambo climbs on board and throws Yushin out of the cabin to his death. The pilot is forced out at knifepoint, and Rambo takes control. He lays waste to the prison camp and wipes out the rest of the enemy forces before extracting the POWs and heading towards friendly territory in Thailand. Podovsky, pursuing them in a helicopter gunship, seemingly shoots the chopper down and moves in for the kill. Having faked the crash, Rambo uses a rocket launcher to destroy the aircraft; killing Podovsky. As he returns to base with the POWs, Rambo (after using the helicopter's machine gun to destroy Murdock's office) confronts the terrified Marshall with his knife; demanding that Murdock rescue the remaining POWs. Trautman tries to convince Rambo to return home now that he has been pardoned. When Rambo refuses, Trautman asks what he wants. An irate Rambo responds that he only wants his country to love its soldiers as much as its soldiers love it. Trautman asks Rambo how he will live now, to which Rambo tersely says, "Day by day". With that, the film credits roll as Rambo walks off into the distance. Cast * Sylvester Stallone as John J. Rambo * Richard Crenna as Colonel Sam Trautman * Charles Napier as Major Marshall Roger T. Murdock * Steven Berkoff as Lieutenant Colonel Sergei T. Podovsky * Julia Nickson as Agent Co Phuong Bao * Martin Kove as Michael Reed Ericson * George Cheung as Lieutenant Tay * Andy Wood as Banks * William Ghent as Captain Vinh * Voyo Goric as Sergeant Yushin * Dana Lee as Captain Trong Kinh * Steve Williams as Lifer Production Development and writing Development of a sequel to 'First Blood' began when Carolco Pictures sold foreign distribution rights to distributors in Europe and Japan in 1983, initially scheduling the film for a December 1984 release. It was later rescheduled for August 1, 1985. Producers considered that Rambo would have a partner in the rescue mission of POWs. The producers allegedly wanted John Travolta to play Rambo's sidekick, but Stallone vetoed the idea.'We Get to Win This Time', 2002, Artisan Entertainment Lee Marvin (who was considered to play Colonel Trautman in the first film) was offered the role of Marshall Murdock, but declined, leading to the role being played by Charles Napier. Then up-and-coming screenwriter Kevin Jarre had written a story treatment that was liked by both the producers and Stallone, as Jarre later recalled in an interview in the documentary 'Tinsel - The Lost Movie About Hollywood': "I wrote the first draft of "Rambo". And I just did it, I was living on dog food at the time and I, you know, I needed a gig and I wanted to finish a spec script I was writing. And you know, they called, Stallone called me in and they had this idea about what they should do in the sequel to "First Blood" and I said, "Well, how about if maybe he searches for POWs in Southeast Asia and back in Vietnam? He said "Great, lets do it" James Cameron was then hired to pen a first draft of the screenplay (Cameron had been recommended by David Giler who did some uncredited script work on the first film) which he was concurrently writing along with 'The Terminator' and 'Aliens', both of which he would go on to direct. Cameron's first draft was titled 'First Blood II: The Mission'. According to Cameron, his script had the same basic structure of the first film, but was more violent than its predecessor. Cameron was quoted in a October 1986 issue of 'Monsterland' magazine: "It was quite a different film from FIRST BLOOD, apart from the continuation of the Rambo character. The first one was set in a small town, it had a different social consciousness from the second one, which was a very broad, stylized adventure. It was a little more violent in its execution than I had in mind in the writing" Following Camerons initial draft, Stallone would take over scriptwriting duties, creating a final draft which differed from previous versions. Jarre would receive sole story credit, while Stallone and Cameron would get credited for the screenplay in the final film. Stallone later recalled: I think that James Cameron is a brilliant talent, but I thought the politics were important, such as a right-wing stance coming from Trautman and his nemesis, Murdock, contrasted by Rambo's obvious neutrality, which I believe is explained in Rambo's final speech. I realize his speech at the end may have caused millions of viewers to burst veins in their eyeballs by rolling them excessively, but the sentiment stated was conveyed to me by many veterans. ... [Also] in his original draft it took nearly 30-40 pages to have any action initiated and Rambo was partnered with a tech-y sidekick. So it was more than just politics that were put into the script. There was also a simpler story line. If James Cameron says anything more than that, then he realizes he's now doing the backstroke badly in a pool of lies. Before filming started, Stallone went through torturous trainings to build the perfect musculature. Writer David J. Moore said in the 2019 documentary film 'In Search of the Last Action Heroes': "Here's a guy who went against the grain in everything that he ever did. Here's a guy who transformed himself, literally he chiseled his own body into this statuesque, muscular specimen."'In Search of the Last Action Heroes'. Gravitas Ventures. 2019. Filming The film was shot between June and August 1984, and was shot on location in the State of Guerrero, Mexico, and Thailand. During filming, special effects man Clifford P Wenger, Jr. was accidentally killed by one of the film's explosions. Music The musical score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra, although, Goldsmith uses heavily on electronic synthesized elements in the film score. The main song is sung by Stallone's brother, singer/songwriter Frank Stallone. Varse Sarabande issued the original soundtrack album. # Main Title (2:12) # Preparations (1:16) # The Jump (3:18) # The Snake (1:48) # Stories (3:26) # The Cage (3:55) # Betrayed (4:22) # Escape from Torture (3:39) # Ambush (2:45) # Revenge (6:14) # Bowed Down (1:04) # Pilot Over (1:52) # Home Flight (3:01) # Day by Day (2:06) # Peace in Our Life music by Frank Stallone, Peter Schless, and Jerry Goldsmith; lyrics by Frank Stallone; performed by Frank Stallone (3:18) Note: As released in the United Kingdom by That's Entertainment Records (the British licensee for Varse Sarabande at the time), the UK version placed "Peace in Our Life" between "Betrayed" and "Escape from Torture", thus making "Day by Day" the final track. In 1999, Silva America released an expanded edition with the cues in film order. Previously unreleased music is in bold. # Main Title (2:14) # The Map (1:09) # Preparations (1:18) # The Jump (3:19) # The Snake (1:49) # The Pirates (1:29) # Stories (3:27) # The Camp/Forced Entry (2:24) # The Cage (3:57) # River Crash/The Gunboat (3:37) # Betrayed (4:24) # Bring Him Up/The Eyes (2:06) # Escape from Torture (3:41) # Ambush (2:47) # Revenge (6:16) # Bowed Down (1:06) # Pilot Over (1:54) # Village Raid/Helicopter Flight (4:55) # Home Flight (3:02) # Day By Day (2:08) # Peace in Our Life (3:19) Frank Stallone Release Marketing Unusually for the time, a teaser trailer for the filmthen titled 'First Blood Part II: The Mission'was released in 3,000 theaters in the summer of 1984, over a year before its scheduled release date of August 1, 1985, and several months before any footage for the film was completed. Mario Kassar arranged this in order to capitalize off the popularity of the first film."US News: BRIEFLY - 'First Blood II' Trailers Filmed." 'Screen International', no. 451, Jun 23, 1984, pp. 6'.' The film was also marketed through merchandising, with posters of Rambo selling rapidly. Although the film was rated R and directed at adults, tie-in toys were created for it. Home media The video sold 425,000 units, a record for a tape with a retail price of $79.95. 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' was released on DVD on November 23, 2004, and a Blu-Ray release followed on May 23, 2008. 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on November 13, 2018. Reception Box office 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' opened in the US on May 22, 1985, in a then-record 2,074 theaters, becoming the first film to be released to over 2,000 theaters in the United States, and was the number one film that weekend, grossing $20,176,217 . Overall, the film grossed $150,415,432 in the US and Canada and $149,985,000 internationally, for a worldwide total of $300,400,432. The movie broke various international box office records. In France the film had a record opening day with 269,564 admissions. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on 45 reviews. The site's consensus is "'First Blood Part II' offers enough mayhem to satisfy genre fans, but remains a regressive sequel that turns its once-compelling protagonist into just another muscled action berserker." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews. Vincent Canby of 'The New York Times' called the film "almost as opportunistic as the Congressman it pretends to abhor. In spite of everything it says, it's much less interested in the M.I.A. question than it is in finding a topical frame for the kind of action-adventure film in which Mr. Stallone his torso and his vacant stare can do what his fans like best. That is, fight, outwit and kill, usually all by himself, dozens of far better armed but lesser mortals."Canby, Vincent (May 26, 1985). [https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/26/movies/film-view-rambo-delivers-a-revenge-fantasy.html "'Rambo' Delivers A Revenge Fantasy".] 'The New York Times'. H11. 'Variety' wrote, "The charade on the screen, which is not pulled off, is to accept that the underdog Rambo character, albeit with the machine-gun wielding help of an attractive Vietnamese girl, can waste hordes of Viet Cong and Red Army contingents enroute to hauling POWs to a Thai air base in a smoking Russian chopper with only a facial scar (from a branding iron-knifepoint) marring his tough figure. You never even see him eating in this fantasy, as if his body feeds on itself.""Film Reviews: Rambo: First Blood Part II". 'Variety'. May 22, 1985. 14. Gene Siskel of the 'Chicago Tribune' gave the film three stars out of four and called it "very good at what it does, but what it does isn't always that good", referring to the depiction of the enemy as going "back to the image of the Yellow Peril, to the notion that white is right and other colors are wrong."Siskel, Gene (May 22, 1985). "'Rambo': Cinematic soldiering whitewashes Vietnam". 'Chicago Tribune'. Section 5, p. 1, 3. Michael Wilmington of the 'Los Angeles Times' wrote, "If a character can seemingly do anything, it's hard to feel tension or concern about his fate. (At least, Superman had kryptonite.) We are left with nothing but detached aesthetic appreciation: watching Rambo race through several million dollars worth of explosions and aerial attacks, coruscant fireballs billowing everywhere and bodies flying hither and yon. Except for anyone irretrievably into violent power fantasies, this will probably soon pall."Wilmington, Michael (May 22, 1985). [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-22-ca-16965-story.html "Why a 'Rambo II'? For Muddiest of Reasons".] 'Los Angeles Times'. Part VI, p. 1, 6. Pauline Kael commented in 'The New Yorker', "The director, George P. Costmatos, gives this near-psychotic materiala mixture of Catholic iconography and 'Soldier of Fortune' pulpa veneer of professionalism, but the looniness is always there."Kael, Pauline (June 17, 1985). "The Current Cinema". 'The New Yorker'. 117. Paul Attanasio of 'The Washington Post' wrote, "At best, 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' is a crudely effective right-wing rabble-rouser, the artistic equivalent of carpet bombingyou don't know whether to cheer or run for cover. At worst, it's a tribute to Sylvester Stallone, by Sylvester Stallone, starring Sylvester Stallone."Attansasio, Paul (May 22, 1985). "'Rambo': New Blood, Old Moves". 'The Washington Post'. F1. The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book 'The Official Razzie Movie Guide' as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. Accolades Legacy The film was referenced in the 1985 episode of 'The Golden Girls', titled "On Golden Girls". Female characters seem to be aroused by John Rambo's muscular physique, and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) says: "I sat through it twice. You'll love it! He sweats like a pig and he doesn't put his shirt on!" Other media Sequel A sequel titled 'Rambo III', was released in 1988. Novelization David Morrell, author of 'First Blood', the novel the first 'Rambo' film is based on, wrote a novelization called 'Rambo: First Blood Part II'. Video games A tie-in video game was produced for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 called 'Rambo'. There was also 'Rambo' for NES as well as a 'Rambo: First Blood Part II', for Sega. MSX and DOS games based on the film. Sega later adapted some of the battle scenes in the film for the 2008 arcade game 'Rambo'. In 2014 was released 'Rambo: The Video Game', based on the first three 'Rambo' films. The 1986 run-and-gun shooter arcade hit 'Ikari Warriors' was originally intended by its developer SNK to be an official licensed adaptation of 'Rambo'. However, they were initially unable to acquire the rights to the film. This resulted in the game's title being changed to 'Ikari', referencing part of the film's Japanese title, 'Rambo: Ikari no Dasshutsu' ("Rambo: The Furious Escape"). After the game made its North American debut at an arcade game expo, they managed to get in touch with Sylvester Stallone about acquiring the rights to the film. However, it was too late by that point, as the game had already become popularly known by its Japanese title 'Ikari' among arcade players in Japan and North America, leading to the game being officially released as 'Ikari Warriors' in North America. Stallone was friends with SNK's president at the time, and owned an 'Ikari Warriors' arcade cabinet. In popular culture * 'Missing in Action', an American film inspired by 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' * 'Strike Commando', an Italian film described as an imitator of 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' * 'Hot Shots! Part Deux', an American parody film of 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' and 'Rambo III' with colonel role reprised by Richard Crenna * 'Second Blood', a Kuwaiti action film inspired by 'Rambo: First Blood Part II'[http://kulturistika.ronnie.cz/c-23651-kuvajtsky-profesional-abdulhadi-al-khayat-fotografovani-v-posilovne.html "Kuvajtsk profesionl Abdulhadi Al-Khayat: fotografovn v posilovn"][http://moviesroom.pl/z-ostatniej-chwili/filmy/2229-kuwejcki-film-inspirowany-seria-rambo-zyskuje-date-premiery "Kuwejcki film inspirowany seri 'Rambo' zyskuje dat premiery"] * 'UHF' is a 1989 comedy-parody film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic as a low-budget television station manager. Late in the film, Yankovic's character, George Newman, has a fantasy in which he envisions himself as a Rambo-type soldier on mission to rescue Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards) from a rival station owner's goons, during which Yankovic wears a muscular body suit to imitate Stallone's physique. The fantasy sequence is a parody exaggeration of the action sequences in about the last third of 'Rambo: First Blood Part II'. Stallone himself had initially agreed to make a cameo appearance in the sequence, but ultimately declined to do so. References
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