Rambo III (1988)

Rambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

Director:

Peter MacDonald

Writers:

David Morrell (characters), Sylvester Stallone

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Rambo
Richard Crenna	...	Trautman
Marc de Jonge	...	Zaysen
Kurtwood Smith	...	Griggs
Spyros Fokas	...	Masoud (as Spiros Focas)
Sasson Gabai	...	Mousa
Doudi Shoua	...	Hamid
Randy Raney	...	Kourov
Marcus Gilbert	...	Tomask
Alon Aboutboul	...	Nissem (as Alon Abutbul)
Mahmoud Assadollahi	...	Rahim
Joseph Shiloach	...	Khalid (as Yosef Shiloah)
Harold Diamond	...	Stick Fighter
Mati Seri	...	Gun Dealer (as Seri Mati)
Hany Said El Deen	...	Gun Dealer

Storyline

Weary of the horrors of war, the expert in guerrilla tactics, John Rambo, has settled in exotic Thailand since the suicide rescue mission in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). However, John will return to action, when his grizzled mentor, Colonel Sam Trautman, gets trapped behind the enemy lines in Soviet-infested Afghanistan, after a botched attempt to aid the remaining rebel pockets. Now, there's no turning back--and as each minute counts--John must act fast before it's too late. Once more, the government will deny John's existence if the men of the ruthless Soviet Colonel, Zaysen, capture him. But, John shows no mercy, and, this time, he fights for his friend. Can Rambo save the only man who ever stood by him?

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Plot Keywords:

navajo indian | reference to arizona | reference to bowie arizona | bowie arizona | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

God would have mercy John Rambo won't!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

25 May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rambo III

Filming Locations:

Yuma Territorial Prison State Park - 206 N. Fourth Avenue, Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$63,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,034,238, 29 May 1988

Gross USA:

$53,715,611

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$189,015,611

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 87 min (1988) (heavily cut) (VHS)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The problems that the Russian forces faced with American Stinger missiles supplied to the mujaheddin fighters, as described in this movie, were very real, and accounted for the downing and destruction of hundreds of Russian helicopters during the real war. The missile was used again by Pakistan against better-flown Indian aircraft and gunships in the 1999 Kargil War but only accounted for 1 kill out of several hundred launches.

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Goofs

Zaysen's rank is a Colonel, but he wears a kind of mixture between Senior Lieutenant (3 small stars and 1 stripe) and Colonel (3 big stars and 2 stripes - he has 3 small stars and 2 stripes). His army coat is also obsolete.

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Quotes

Mousa: Well, I do not know who you really are. But by the way you look, I can see you have no experience in war, do you? C'mon, do you?
Rambo: [sarcastically] I've fired a few shots.
Mousa: [laughing at Rambo] A few shots? Come on! Maybe you should go back home and think it all over again. For a very long time!
Rambo: [Turns to face Mousa and gives him a dirty look] I did think it over.
Mousa: You did? Well... This is your choice. But let me tell you, you cannot get this American alone. If you fail, do not blame me. I will accept ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The Film is dedicated to the Gallant People of Afghanistan

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Alternate Versions

A new British video version, released in June 2000, restores all the violence previously cut from UK versions, but is still missing a 2 second scene in which a horse fall was achieved using a tripwire.

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Connections

Referenced in Broken Age (2014)

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Soundtracks

THE BRIDGE
Produced by Giorgio Moroder
Written by Tom Whitlock
Performed by Giorgio Moroder featuring Joe Pizzulo

User Reviews

Better Than The Second But Very Uneven

Believe me RAMBO FIRST BLOOD PART 2 took some swallowing but the opening ten minutes of RAMBO 3 caused me to fall out of my chair in shock . John Rambo does prize fighting to earn his keep in a Buddhist commune ! I mean that`s a bit like having a film where the hero`s an environmentalist who goes around blowing oil rigs to save the Alaskan wilderness . Oh wait a minute didn`t Steven Seagal ....

Despite this incredible and vain attempt at character development there follows much dialogue that accurately reflects what is going on in Afghanistan in the mid 1980s . The Soviet - Afghan war actually intensified when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and by that time over one million Afghans had died in the conflict while as many as five million had been forced over the border into Iran and Pakistan as what analysts at the time called " Migratory genocide " , a euphemism that people nowadays would describe as " Ethnic cleansing " . There`s other parts of the film that points out that screenwriter Sheldon Lettich has done his homework on the conflict with factual things like Soviet conscripts defecting to the Mujahedeen , of the red army planting mines and booby traps disguised as toys to blow off the limbs of children and of the Soviets use of chemical weapons which almost certainly proves that the sloppy script of FIRST BLOOD PART 2 was mainly down to James Cameron than Stallone , but as you`d expect in this type of action adventure movie the script rapidly degenerates into a series of set pieces of an all American superman blowing up a bunch of nasty commies who can`t shoot straight . Ah well at least the main commie isn`t played by a British actor unlike in the last film . Oh and congratulations to Peter McDonald for at least trying to make a Puma helicopter look like a Soviet helicopter gunship . The previous director was under the impression that the Soviets and Viet Cong use American Hueys

Setting the record straight : A lot of people prove how ignorant they are of the Soviet - Afghan war by confusing the Mujahedeen with the Taliban . The Mujahedeen ( Translated " The soldiers of God " ) and the Taliban ( Translated " The students of God " ) are entirely seperate things . The Taliban were created in Pakistan in the early 1990s , took over Afghanistan in 1995 and were led by Mullah Omar . The Mujahedeen were split into several different groups and were led by different leaders ( None of them called Bin Laden ) most of them forming a coalition against the Taliban called the Northern Alliance in 1995/96 . Their overall leader was the legendary guerilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud who was murdered in a suicide bombing by Al Qai`da terrorists in September 2001 . It was the Northern Alliance who fought side by side with the Western coalition during their campaign to overthrow the Taliban government in 2001 to the present day