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:

Sun. Nov. 29	6:00 PM	AMC
Mon. Nov. 30	2:00 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:

In the book, Trautman was brought in to kill Rambo because he had trained him. Thus, he was the only one who could stop him.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Rambo is driving the truck and pushes the cop car into the path of the broken down car, the explosion starts the second the cars make contact. In the next shot during the fireball, the two cables that held the static vehicle in place are visible.

Quotes:

Teasle: [noting dirty American flag patch on Rambo's ragged military jacket] You know, wearing that flag on that jacket, looking the way you do, you're asking for trouble around here, friend.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fat Pizza (2003)

Soundtrack:

IT'S A LONG ROAD

Rambo is an icon.

The adaptation of this novel to the big screen is a great accomplishment. The film is not only the beginning of one of the greatest action trilogies of all-time, but it charts the developments of its characters, something rarely done by an action movie. "First Blood" is a moving story about the realities of post-Vietnam America and is very underrated as a film.