Post by Jay Rambo on Feb 8, 2008 19:25:00 GMT -5
Burma junta takes aim at latest Rambo movie.
Posted Sat Feb 2, 2008 1:24am AEDT
Police in Burma have given DVD hawkers strict orders not to stock the new Rambo movie, which features the Vietnam War veteran taking on the former Burma's ruling military junta, a Rangoon resident said.
Despite the prohibition, pirated copies of the movie are widely available on the streets of the former capital, where it is fast becoming a talking point among a population eager to shake off 45 years of military rule.
"People are going crazy with the quote 'Live for nothing, die for something'," one resident said, referring to the tagline of the fourth Rambo instalment, which opened in the United States this week.
Even though it received lukewarm reviews, it is likely to be a sure-fire hit with opponents of the junta, with some even hoping it could spur a change of regime in the impoverished south-east Asian nation.
"This movie could fuel the sentiment of Myanmar [Burma] people to invite American troops to help save them from the junta," one Rangoon resident said via e-mail.
In the movie, John Rambo, played by Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone, comes out of retirement in Bangkok to save a group of Christian missionaries taken captive by troops in the jungles of eastern Burma.
As with previous Rambo films, it is short on plot and long on blood and guts - although viewers appear to think it is all relative.
"Rambo acted very cruelly, but his cruelty is nothing compared to that of the military junta," a Burma student in Thailand said, who did not wish to be named.
- Reuters
And also this (provided by DeniandDavey, thanks)
Burma fears Rambo
(BangkokPost.com)
Burmese officials have banned even pirated copies of the new Rambo movie, and Hollywood's Sylvester Stallone says he'd love to go to Rangoon and confront the junta face to face.
"These incredibly brave people have found, kind of a voice, in a very odd way, in American cinema... They've actually used some of the film's quotes as rallying points," said Stallone, 61, in a telephone interview with the Reuters news agency.
"That, to me, is the one of the proudest moments I've ever had in film," he told Reuters.
Police in Burma have given market sellers strict orders not to sell pirated copies of the flick.
Just two weeks into its commercial release (panned by most US critics, highly rated by audiences in the US), the movie is available in black-market editions under the counter in markets in Rangoon and towns along the Thai border.
In the movie, ageing war veteran John Rambo, played by Stallone, ventures into Burma to rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by a ruthless local infantry unit.
"Rambo acted very cruelly, but his cruelty is nothing compared to that of the military junta," a Burmese student in Thailand was quoted by Reuters.
In Rangoon, local people said Burmese have gone crazy over lines from the film such as
* When you're pushed, killing's as easy as breathing.
* Burma's a warzone.
* Rambo: Are you bringing in any weapons?
Aid worker: Of course not.
Rambo: You're not changin' anything.
The tagline of the blood and guts movie is: "Live for nothing, die for something."
Stallone's movie specifically focuses on the Karen near the Thai border. The Karen and other groups have suffered half a million cases of forced relocation and thousands more have been imprisoned, tortured or killed by the military dictators.
Stallone told Reuters that he hopes the film can provoke a confrontation.
"I'm only hoping that the Burmese military, because they take such incredible offence to this, would call it lies and scurrilous propaganda. Why don't you invite me over?" he said.
"Let me take a tour of your country without someone pointing a gun at my head and we'll show you where all the bodies are buried... Or let's go debate in Washington in front of a congressional hearing," the movie star said to Reuters.
"But I doubt that's going to happen."
Stallone said he was happy with what he described as "the bloodiest, R-rated film (for) a generation" and hoped to make another.
"It will depend on the success of this one, but right now I think I'm gearing one up. It will be quite different," he said.
Posted Sat Feb 2, 2008 1:24am AEDT
Police in Burma have given DVD hawkers strict orders not to stock the new Rambo movie, which features the Vietnam War veteran taking on the former Burma's ruling military junta, a Rangoon resident said.
Despite the prohibition, pirated copies of the movie are widely available on the streets of the former capital, where it is fast becoming a talking point among a population eager to shake off 45 years of military rule.
"People are going crazy with the quote 'Live for nothing, die for something'," one resident said, referring to the tagline of the fourth Rambo instalment, which opened in the United States this week.
Even though it received lukewarm reviews, it is likely to be a sure-fire hit with opponents of the junta, with some even hoping it could spur a change of regime in the impoverished south-east Asian nation.
"This movie could fuel the sentiment of Myanmar [Burma] people to invite American troops to help save them from the junta," one Rangoon resident said via e-mail.
In the movie, John Rambo, played by Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone, comes out of retirement in Bangkok to save a group of Christian missionaries taken captive by troops in the jungles of eastern Burma.
As with previous Rambo films, it is short on plot and long on blood and guts - although viewers appear to think it is all relative.
"Rambo acted very cruelly, but his cruelty is nothing compared to that of the military junta," a Burma student in Thailand said, who did not wish to be named.
- Reuters
And also this (provided by DeniandDavey, thanks)
Burma fears Rambo
(BangkokPost.com)
Burmese officials have banned even pirated copies of the new Rambo movie, and Hollywood's Sylvester Stallone says he'd love to go to Rangoon and confront the junta face to face.
"These incredibly brave people have found, kind of a voice, in a very odd way, in American cinema... They've actually used some of the film's quotes as rallying points," said Stallone, 61, in a telephone interview with the Reuters news agency.
"That, to me, is the one of the proudest moments I've ever had in film," he told Reuters.
Police in Burma have given market sellers strict orders not to sell pirated copies of the flick.
Just two weeks into its commercial release (panned by most US critics, highly rated by audiences in the US), the movie is available in black-market editions under the counter in markets in Rangoon and towns along the Thai border.
In the movie, ageing war veteran John Rambo, played by Stallone, ventures into Burma to rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by a ruthless local infantry unit.
"Rambo acted very cruelly, but his cruelty is nothing compared to that of the military junta," a Burmese student in Thailand was quoted by Reuters.
In Rangoon, local people said Burmese have gone crazy over lines from the film such as
* When you're pushed, killing's as easy as breathing.
* Burma's a warzone.
* Rambo: Are you bringing in any weapons?
Aid worker: Of course not.
Rambo: You're not changin' anything.
The tagline of the blood and guts movie is: "Live for nothing, die for something."
Stallone's movie specifically focuses on the Karen near the Thai border. The Karen and other groups have suffered half a million cases of forced relocation and thousands more have been imprisoned, tortured or killed by the military dictators.
Stallone told Reuters that he hopes the film can provoke a confrontation.
"I'm only hoping that the Burmese military, because they take such incredible offence to this, would call it lies and scurrilous propaganda. Why don't you invite me over?" he said.
"Let me take a tour of your country without someone pointing a gun at my head and we'll show you where all the bodies are buried... Or let's go debate in Washington in front of a congressional hearing," the movie star said to Reuters.
"But I doubt that's going to happen."
Stallone said he was happy with what he described as "the bloodiest, R-rated film (for) a generation" and hoped to make another.
"It will depend on the success of this one, but right now I think I'm gearing one up. It will be quite different," he said.
