First Blood (1982)

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writers:

David Morrell (novel)
Michael Kozoll (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 October 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

One war against one man.

Plot:

A mentally unstable Vietnam war vet, when abused with a small town's police force, begins a one man war with it.

Plot Keywords:

Rambo | Sheriff | Colonel | Escape | Small Town

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 16	12:00 AM	AMC
Mon. Nov. 16	11:30 AM	AMC

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	John J. Rambo
Richard Crenna	...	Col. Samuel Trautman
Brian Dennehy	...	Hope Sheriff Will Teasle
Bill McKinney	...	State Police Capt. Dave Kern
Jack Starrett	...	Deputy Sgt. Arthur Galt
Michael Talbott	...	Deputy Balford
Chris Mulkey	...	Deputy Ward
John McLiam	...	Orval the Dog Man
Alf Humphreys	...	Deputy Lester
David Caruso	...	Deputy Mitch
David L. Crowley	...	Deputy Shingleton (as David Crowley)
Don MacKay	...	Preston (as Don Mackay)
Charles A. Tamburro	...	Pilot (as Chuck Tamburro)
David Petersen	...	Trooper
Craig Huston	...	Radio operator (as Craig Wright Huston)

Also Known As:

Rambo (USA) (TV title)
Rambo: First Blood

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 (video release) (1998) | Finland:K-18 (original rating) (1983) | Malaysia:18SG | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (re-rating) | USA:R (certificate #26816) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | France:-12 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R16 (VHS rating) | Norway:18 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Golden Ears Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Anabasis N.V.

Trivia:

Sylvester Stallone hated the first cut of the film so much that he tried to buy the film back and destroy it. When he couldn't do that, he suggested that the producers cut much of his part and let the rest of the characters tell the story. That cut the movie time in half and set a precedent for future action movies.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John is escaping from the police station on the motorcycle, when he is riding on the sidewalk, you can hear him yelling "get out of the way." This does not correspond with the movements of his mouth which clearly indicate he was actually saying something else.

Quotes:

Rambo: I could have killed 'em all, I could kill you. In town you're the law, out here it's me. Don't push it. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Let it go. Let it go.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sledge Hammer!: To Live and Die on TV (#1.11)" (1986)

Soundtrack:

IT'S A LONG ROAD

Don't forget a steady supply of body bags...

Dramatic action classic features Sylvester Stallone as one of his two iconic film characters (the other being Rocky Balboa, of course): John Rambo is a sullen and traumatized Vietnam veteran who starts his own private war in the Northwestern United States when ignorant, bullying small-town sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) pushes him too far. Rambo's long-ago superior, Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) comes in to try to talk some sense into him.

I'm not really interested in the political views involved in such a movie; all I know is that this movie has kept me entertained for years. It's slick as all get out, violent, energetic, amusing, and well acted (especially by Dennehy); heck, some of those forest scenes are even suspenseful. David Caruso has one of his earliest film roles as the young deputy Mitch. Jerry Goldsmith's music score is memorable and the closing song ("It's A Long Road") sung by Dan Hill (better known for his sappy love ballads) is pretty good too. The script is the only drawback because it suffers from some holes and implausibilities that some people may not be prepared to put up with.

Filmed in the town of Hope in British Columbia, Canada, and followed by two sequels that are very much typical macho action movies.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I really enjoy "First Blood".

8/10