So....when is "Son of Rambo" set?

Last week we completed watching the "Rambo" DVD box set, and thoroughly enjoyable that was too! The new film was pretty good (if short) but very brutal in it's depiction of death (arms and legs fly everywhere, people get blown to bits in glorious hollywood gore etc.) Great to see Stallone do a new one, as I'm a big fan of the character. The DVD of number 4 also included some interesting 'making off's' as well.

Anway, to round off the week, Carla rented "Son of Rambo", a comedy set in the early 80's which tells the tale of two school boys who become friends as they make a film based on their experience of watching "First Blood". We both enjoyed it. Certainly had great moments of both comedy and drama. I liked the characters - they seemed to be well written.

However, I was a little annoyed with the mish-mash of 1980's details. The film-makers could have cleared that up by putting a date at the start of the film, and trying to be as accurate with those details as possible. When exactly was this film set? "First Blood" started playing in UK cinemas from the tail end of 1982 or early 1983 (I'm not sure, but the BBFC website states that it was classified as a "15" certificate in November of 1982 so the release would be shortly after.) Anyway, the next film we see at that cinema in the film a couple of weeks later is "Yentl", which wasn't released until the end of 1983/early 1984. So...as the film is set in early summer, is it set in the summer of 1984? Ok, if that is the case, why then in one scene do we hear "I Can't Wait" by the group Nu Shooz playing on the radio, when that song was actually released in May/June 1986? A date of summer 1986 would better suit the car/mobile phone the older brother has. But that seems a little late for either film to be showing at the cinema, even a provincial one, unless they were both on re-issue? "First Blood" was released sometime in 1983 on video rental (in pre BBFC certificate form) and then again around Xmas 1986 with proper BBFC approved certification, so if the film is set in the summer of 1984 or after, there would be no point in pirating the film from a cinema screening. Also, I seem to recall that school kids didn't really get into the whole 'Rambo' thing until 1985, the time when “Rambo: First Blood Part 2” was released to huge success - certainly that's when the media started to show kids putting their school ties around their heads. Of course, many of those kids would have seen "First Blood" on video by then anyway.

I wish film makers would get things right!

Rambo DVD

Carla kindly bought me the "Ultimate Rambo Collection" DVD box set, as it was cheap in HMV. I've been meaning to pick this set up for some time, as I've been a fan of the films for many years and look forward to seeing Stallone in action again in the new one. We just watched "First Blood", the first film originally relased in October 1982. This feature is still a powerful and exciting action film that doesn't let up for it's 90 minute run time. Good performances from Stallone as John Rambo, the crazed Vietnam war veteran, Richard Crenna (a late replacment for Kirk Douglas) in the role of Col. Trautman, and Brian Dennehey as the small town sherrif. There is a little documentary on the DVD covering the making and release of the film, and quite a few of the people involved with the production are interviewed, such as director Ted Kotcheff and the producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna. The documentary also includes photos of the cut John Rambo 'death' scene.

We'll watch the rest of the box set this week. Nice set....wierd packaging though!

An interesting article about the films is located here.

Shogun DVD

The Mrs. bought "Shogun" on DVD (from play) and it arrived today. We started watching the series this evening, and have just finished the first two-hour episode. Wow, its good!
"Shogun" is an all-star cast mini series, based on the novel by James Cavell, and first shown on US TV in September 1980. The 80's was the time for the high budget mini series: "The Winds of War" is another great example. Anyhoo, "Shogun" follows the story of a English sailor, Pilot-Major John Blackthorne (played by Richard Chamberlain) who is shipwrecked on the Japanese coast in 1600. The series follows his adventures in this new land, as he tries to survive death by the hands of the samurai, meglomaniac warlords, and scheming jesuit priests. We also see him becoming to understand the japanese culture and way of life. Cracking stuff! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series over the next few days.

This disc set is really good. Looks as if they have included a 'making of' disc as well, which we'll get to eventually!
Oh, we had a japanese style dinner as well, to eat as we watched the DVD. :)