First Blood

Plot synopsis:
John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is a former member of an elite United States Army Special Forces unit and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War in which he was also a prisoner of war (POW). The film begins 10 years after Rambo left the war, in the American Northwest in 1980. Rambo is searching for one of his friends from his unit, Delmar Berry. Rambo soon learns from Delmar's mother that he has died a few months earlier from cancer due to Agent Orange exposure. Although not yet revealed to the audience, Rambo knows he is now the last surviving member of his unit. He leaves the picture of his unit with Berry's mother and walks away, obviously saddened.The scene fades to Rambo entering the small town of Hope, Washington State on foot. With his longish hair and military-style coat, he is quickly spotted by the town's overzealous and paranoid sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) who quickly drives Rambo out of town, noting his strong distaste for "drifters." A defiant Rambo heads back toward town immediately, to the dismay of Teasle who arrests him for vagrancy and for carrying a large combat knife as a concealed weapon.Rambo stands his ground against the officers at the station and is brutalized and harassed by Art Galt (Jack Starrett), the sheriff's cruel head deputy and closest friend. Rambo is ordered to strip and Galt and his deputies, Ward (Chris Mulkey) and Mitch (David Caruso) are astonished to see his chest and back are covered with horrible scars. Galt viciously hits Rambo in the lower back with his police baton without provocation. A third officer sprays him with a fire hose to clean him up. When they attempt to dry-shave him with a straight razor in preparation for his court appearance, Rambo has a flashback to being tortured in a North Vietnamese POW Camp and loses control, instinctively using his military training to beat Galt and his comrades. He fights his way out of the station, retrieving his large knife. He assaults several more officers, pulls a civilian off a motorcycle, steals it, and is pursued into the nearby mountains. Teasle chases him into the wilderness but ends the pursuit when his car overturns. Further up the mountain, Rambo spills the cycle he stole and runs up past the treeline. He finds an old sheet of canvas, making a tunic for himself. He ventures further up the mountain, into the forest.The deputies are eventually forced to search for Rambo on foot and he climbs down onto a steep cliff to elude capture. After spotting Rambo from a helicopter, Galt blatantly disregards procedure and attempts to shoot him in cold blood. Rambo drops off the cliff into a mass of trees and cornered, throws a rock at the helicopter in self-defense. The helicopter, struck by the rock thrown by Rambo and due to strong updrafting, pitches, causing Galt to fall to his death. Teasle, who did not see Galt's attempt to kill Rambo, vows to avenge his friend's death. After tending to a deep cut in his upper arm, Rambo attempts to surrender, he's shot at by Teasle's men and retreats into the woods.Teasle leads his deputies into the forest to capture or kill Rambo. The deputies are inexperienced and bicker, particularly after learning over the radio about Rambo's combat experience, and that he's a Green Beret and a war hero. Rambo quickly disables the small, disorganized team using guerrilla tactics and booby traps, severely wounding, but not killing, all the deputies and takes one deputy's walkie-talkie. In the chaos, Rambo, wearing heavy natural camouflage, isolates and confronts Teasle, holding his knife to the sheriff's throat and saying, "Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Let it go..." he warns before disappearing into the woods.A base camp is assembled near the site and the National Guard is called in. Just after the National Guard informs Rambo that he is surrounded by their forces, United States Special Forces Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) arrives, taking credit for training Rambo and telling the sheriff that Rambo has been trained to survive in harsh environments and has been taught to engage superior numbers in combat. He is surprised to find any of the deputies still alive and warns that it would be safer to let Rambo go and find him a few days after the situation has calmed down, suggesting that Rambo can be apprehended without a fight. Fueled by a mixture of scorn and pride, the hot-headed Teasle refuses to heed his advice. Knowing that Rambo had stolen a CB radio from one of his men, Teasle allows Trautman to talk to Rambo. Trautman tries to convince Rambo to give himself up, however, Rambo refuses in his response, citing his deplorable treatment by Teasle and his men. Trautman suggests that Rambo shouldn't have fought back so harshly, to which Rambo states "They drew first blood, Sir." Rambo switches the radio off. By the time the conversation ends, Teasle's men have triangulated Rambo's location on the mountain.Rambo is eventually cornered by the National Guard troopers in a mine entrance, where he has taken refuge. The novice guardsmen fire a M-72 LAW's rocket at him, collapsing the entrance and trapping him inside. They assume Rambo is dead. Unbeknownst to his pursuers, Rambo has escaped into the tunnels of the mine. Rambo finds some old fuel and makes an improvised torch. After wading through waist-deep water and fighting off rats, Rambo cleverly uses the flame of the torch (as an indicator of air flow in the tunnels) to find an escape to the surface.Rambo hijacks a passing U.S. Army M135 2.5 ton cargo truck, throws out the driver, crashes through a roadblock and returns to town, crashing it into a gas station. He blocks the highway to anyone in pursuit by igniting the spilled fuel on the road, also destroying the stolen truck. Armed with an M-60 machine gun, Rambo then goes on a shooting spree in town as the residents flee. Rambo, using his experience at guerrilla tactics, takes out power transformers, blacking out part of the town. Rambo shoots up and destroys a sporting goods shop and a few other businesses in an attempt to confuse Teasle as well as identify his position before spotting him on the roof of the police station.After shooting up the building, Rambo carefully enters the police station. Aware of Teasle's presence on the roof, Rambo darts under the skylight to draw fire as bait to reveal his exact location. Teasle immediately fires at Rambo who notes his position and returns fire through the ceiling with the M-60, injuring him. Teasle falls through the skylight onto the floor. Rambo steps over him, prepared to kill him. Before Rambo can shoot Teasle, Colonel Trautman appears and tells him that there is no hope of escaping alive. Rambo, now surrounded by the police, rages about the horrors of war in Vietnam and the difficulties he has faced adapting to civilian life. He's tired of being misunderstood, and how in the Army he was a war hero but back in America he could not even be trusted to work "parking cars." He weeps as he recounts a particularly gruesome story about witnessing his friend dying by having his legs blown off by a booby-trapped shoeshine box planted by a Viet Cong child operative. Rambo then turns himself in to Trautman and is arrested. The credits roll as he and Trautman exit the police station.

Tags: suspenseful, cruelty, murder, anti war, cult, violence, dramatic, flashback, action, tragedy, revenge, sadist

Review:
Sylvester Stallone co-write the script and started and the men can act, he is an action hero on screen in my opinion his best film.
"First Blood is a realistic film portrayed about John Rambo a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who saw hell in the Vietnam War and he is hunted by the past.
Sylvester Stallone plays the character of John Rambo very convincingly and Director Ted Kotcheff brings out the story to an effective scale allowing us to see the action through the character's eyes..
The best thing about "First Blood" is that we know that John Rambo was in the Vietnam War and was trained to kill, yet, he doesn't kill a single human in the film on purpose.
"First Blood" is the best of the Rambo series mine personal favorite action film .
Stallone was immensely popular back in the 80's and if it is true that he hated the first cut of the film, then one can only say that he is lucky that he didn't get his wish to scrap the entire thing.John Rambo is first introduced to us as he is walking into a small town to look for a friend of his that he served in Vietnam with.
In my opinion Stallone shouldn't make comedies, but when it comes to action movies (Rambo, Rocky, Cobra, etc.) he's definitely one of the best!
This film has Sly showing off his acting ability (which is saying something for an actor with such little capability of "acting") as the iconic John Rambo in the film that sparked off the eponymous film franchise, whilst the sequels were heavily classified as flops, 'First Blood' is a daring and thrilling survival adventure that follows a Vietnam Vet and the post-war trauma he suffers from.
". Sylvester Stallone achieved amazing heights during the 80's, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, especially as a movie character synonymous with the muscled guy who is a pure fighting machineIn Ted Kotcheff's "First Blood," John Rambo (Stallone) is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who was trained specifically as a killing machine He has come to a quite little town in Oregon, only to visit one of his platoon buddies He was told that his friend has died, last summer, of cancer Disheartened, Rambo continues to walk the streets of Hope when he is annoyed by the local Sheriff (Brian Dennehy), and booked for vagrancy and resisting arrest Beaten, kicked all over, treated like trash, and pushed too far by the other cops in the Sheriff's office, Rambo is taking back to traumatic flashbacks, to the enduring torture in POW camp Rambo, by that point, fights his way out and wages a one-man war against the police force that escalates out of control...
Rambo is seen as a one man army overpowering all the sheriff's deputies and escaping into the surrounding woods "First Blood" communicates the rage, the depression, the frustration and the psychological wounds of one Vietnam soldier that fought for his country and was then hassled by it upon his return But what makes Rambo such a dangerous hero is Brian Dennehy being incredibly efficient as the cruel officer who doesn't like the looks of Stallone...
He actually begins the movie as a fairly nice chap, someone we can sympathise with, and it's his unnecessarily rough treatment at the hands of small-town sheriff Dennehey and his crew that is likely to shift audience sympathies firmly in the direction of the 'misunderstood' Vietnam vet.
The character of John Rambo became more popular in films such as "Rambo:First Blood,Part II" and "Rambo III".The character were treated like a comic book hero spawning action figures and a short lived animated series which lasted only a short while.There are not that many people who has heard of the Rambo character.He's well known through out,but today's generation would have been lucky to catch him on VHS or DVD.Back in 1982 when the character of John Rambo was introduced to movie screens,filmgoers were dealing with a character that was not displayed as an action icon,but a man who had a lot of demons within him.The best thing about "First Blood" is that John Rambo is not portrayed as an action hero.He is portrayed more as a man.A man who is haunted by memories of the Vietnam War.Sylvester Stallone plays the character of John Rambo very convincingly and Director Ted Kotcheff brings out the story to an effective scale allowing us to see the action through the character's eyes.Violence in films are the main aspects in film today.Or at least one of.It's fun to watch a violent film,but the violence in this film was not filmed to thrill the audience,but to make us understand what John Rambo is going through.I have these memories of first watching this film twenty years ago when I was twelve."First Blood" doesn't deal with CGI nor does it deal with special effects.It deals or tries to deal really hard on what is real.I like "First Blood" because I understand the character.He feels that society is against him and he is angry.A lot of films there is only one villain where as in this one society is the villain.That is according to Rambo.Actually,there is one villain named Sheriff Teasle played by Brian Dennehy.He and Rambo seemed to clash against each other and Ted Kotcheff let's us experience these two men go at it.I liked how the film shows Rambo trying to survive out in the woods while the guards are in hunting him when in turn he is hunting them creating these traps putting these officers in painful situations.The best thing about "First Blood" is that we know that John Rambo was in the Vietnam War and was trained to kill,yet,he doesn't kill a single human in the film on purpose.The killing of Galt was accidental and was deserving according to my eyes.This film is the best in the Rambo series because I understand the character and I understand why he is acting violent."First Blood" doesn't bring us John Rambo,the action hero but John Rambo,a regular man with a lot of demons he must face."First Blood" is the best of the Rambo series..
you have Stallone's John Rambo, Dennehy's Sheriff Teasle, and Richard Crenna's Colonal Trautman.Brian Dennehy hasn't missed a beat in his entire career; he's been a superb character actor since i've been watching movies, and - like Michael Caine - he always puts everything into each performance.
As said by another reviewer,"First Blood" is a classic.Based off of the 1972 novel by David Morell,"First Blood" is about a former green beret of the Vietnam War,John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone).
The only thing that I can say about this movie is that it is great and you will never forget it and you will want to watch it over and over again and here are the reasons why: The storyline is great the actors and acting is really good it has lots of action in it The cast is really good such as Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, Richard Crenna as col.
Cosmatos's 1982 action film, Rambo First Blood, is seen by most as a classic bare bones shoot em up action movie, but in reality tells a commentary on the dehumanizing effect warfare can have on the men and women forced to kill or be killed.
'First Blood' follows John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a green beret who had a successful and violent career in Vietnam but has terrible memories from the war that plague his life.
Engrossing action thriller about John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a Vietnam vet and Medal of Honor recipient, who is now a drifter haunted by his experiences in the war.
As a manhunt is underway to capture Rambo, his mentor and former commanding officer Colonel Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) shows up to try and prevent a bloodbath.Probably the best Stallone movie behind the first Rocky.
But Rambo is slowly planning his personal revenge to the sheriff as well.Directed by Ted Kotcheff (North Dallas Forty, Uncommon Valor, Weekend at Bernie's) made an tough action drama that become One of Stallone's best films.
John Rambo (BAFTA winner Sylvester Stallone) is a fairly reserved and sensitive guy, a man who has seen and lived the horrors of the Vietnam War. He returns to the good old United States of America to find his only friend has died.
John Rambo's character, played by Sylvester Stallone, is that of a volcano under layers of snow until somebody 'pushes' it to erupt.This is more than just a thriller action film.
John Rambo is a Vietnam war veteran (a former Green Beret) who arrives at a small picturesque mountain town to find an old friend but then gets into trouble with the local sheriff's department.
While the next two Rambo movies do not have such a psychological factor, they do succeed as the greatest action films of all time..
But if you want to see explosions, guns and killings, which is what first brought me to this film, then you can't find many better.Stallone dispatches of the 'bad guys' using every inch of his Rambo's training, and yes, from the start you know the cops don't have a hope.
Don't get me wrong First Blood was definitely a good movie but lets face it, whenever we think of Rambo we picture Stallone's character killing terrorists and blowing stuff up with his compound bow..
Unlike the similarly themed action films that proceeded First Blood, Rambo does not actually kill anyone intentionally (Galt (Jack Starrett) falls from a helicopter after a rock hits it, only because he unfastens his seat belt), which actually adds corners to an otherwise one-dimensional character.Rambo's final outburst of violence is directed at the buildings of the small town.
In First Blood Sylvester Stallone introduced his second enduring screen character John Rambo, Vietnam veteran of the Special Forces.
He injures about six cops breaking jail and Dennehy's hot to get this guy no matter what it costs.The best I can say for the rest of the film is that Sly makes them pay plenty.Richard Crenna was Rambo's colonel in Vietnam tries in vain to tell the local and later the state law just what they're up against.
Sylvester Stallone stars as John Rambo: a lonely, alienated, and troubled Vietnam vet just trying to move on with his life until he gets unlawfully provoked over a misunderstanding, and finds himself in a war against a sheriff's department and the national guard.
Locations for the shoot were in British Columbia.John Rambo (Stallone), ex Vietnam war veteran, wanders into small town Oregon and is met with hostility by Sheriff Will Teasle (Dennehy).
I hate dumb action movies and Sylvester Stallone often stars in them, but "Rambo First Blood" is an exception to the rule.
That's unusual, but when you have seen the actionscenes you will understand why."Rambo First Blood" is a thrilling action movie with great acting in it.
This film tells the story of one of those soldiers.For a basic plot summary, "First Blood" focuses on John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a returning 'Nam vet who gets hassled by a small-town sheriff (Brian Dennehy) for no more offense than looking like a drifter (with his scraggly beard, beat-up army coat, and knapsack).
Though the audience never knows exactly what Rambo did or saw in Vietnam, by the time the film concludes it is very much apparent the type of man/soldier he was and thus why he "snaps" under pressure from the sheriff.The acting in "First Blood" is also first-rate, with Sly Stallone turning in arguably his best ever on- screen performance, despite not uttering more than a handful of lines the entire movie (though his impassioned plea to Col. Troutman ranks up their with Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" speech in A Few Good Men).
First Blood was an adaptation of the 1972 book of the same name, but lets be honest we know the movie, which as action films go is awesome, grounded and open the career of Stallone to the action genre ,no some say that was wrong , but the volume of amazing flick born of that decision like Demolition Man ,Cop Land ,Tango & Cash and Ants, makes me think was worth it.So to the uninitiated the film follow John Rambo, a Vietnam veteran who tries to find his comrades from his platoon, but when the police mistreats him ,he is forced to fight back and unfortunately for the cops, a trained green beret is better than some police officers.
The important thing however is not the intense scene, which are really good (bonus fact: the movie was made with only 15 million dollars!), it is that Rambo wasn't looking for trouble, he only wanted to be left in peace and the reaction of the society forced him in the defense.That fact is very real for the veterans coming back for literally the other side of the world and after the pain of war brinks ,they are called names (not the nice ones) and put on the side by their countrymen for whom it was said to them they were fighting.
American film 'First Blood' concerns the fight of an innocent man against a corrupt system.It describes how corrupt practices continue to prevail within certain American police stations who would abuse their powers in order to discriminate against people whom they choose to term as outsiders.The pace of the film is fast and no time has been wasted to convey the message that a powerful innocent person would retaliate with ferociousness once he is challenged by thugs.By making 'First Blood',Director Ted Kotcheff has been successful in showcasing the frustrations of a former Vietnam war veteran whose strength was underestimated by brutish police force in a small American town.It is true that 33 years after its making,this film continues to be praised as one of the best action films.However,there are other reasons to watch 'First Blood' as it was also instrumental in revealing Sylvester Stallone's acting abilities.Lastly,the survival of a former army veteran in harsh nature is one of the unique facets of First Blood.This is something which has not been depicted by many action films..
"First blood" is the second most awesome movie of Sylvester Stallone after rocky.The film features a Vietnam soildier fighting for his right and all.
As the manhunt begins Rambo is in his element preparing himself for a ONE MAN WAR.This film stars: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna & Brian Dennehy.
The final scene where Rambo breaks down and recalls violent tragedies while in war gives the audience a sense of how hard it must have been to return from Vietnam to civilian life.One of Stallones best movies..
John Rambo is a troubled Vietnam war veteran, who comes to look for a friend from his unit only to find out he has died.Rambo is now the last surviving member of his unit.The town's sheriff, Will Teasle notices Rambo and his long hair and military-style coat.He arrests him from drifting.After being mistreated by the deputy Art Galt, he escapes.In the woods he knows how to survive, better than the cops chasing him.United States Special Forces Colonel Sam Trautman knows this.He knows they can't beat Rambo.No one can.Rambo: First Blood (1982) is directed by Ted Kotcheff.Its producers include Mario Kassar and Andrew G.
Vajna.It's based on David Morrell's novel.Jerry Goldsmith is behind the music.The movie got three sequels, the last one happening in 2008.It's hard to imagine anyone else playing the part of John Rambo than Sylvester Stallone.He is an iconic action star, who really nails the part of this anti-hero.Richard Crenna is terrific as Colonel Sam Trautman.Brian Dennehy is perfect as the nasty Sheriff Will Teasle.Bill McKinney is great as State Police Capt.
Rambo does not have that much action but it certainly does tell a great story.This is about a Vietnam War vet who is trying to find old friends of his.
This film is more of an emotional drama, that being said, it's still entertaining as crap, and definitely worth checking out.John Rambo, (Sylvester Stallone) is a former Vietnam Green Beret who returns to the states to find that all his friends from the war have died.
The original Rambo film before he became known as a one man army as shown in the sequels, Sylvester Stallone plays John Rambo who is a Vietnam veteran who gets pushed too far by a deputy sheriff who hates drifters coming into the small town.
Starring the one and only Sylvester Stallone, "First Blood" introduces the world to the legendary action hero John Rambo, in the first of four confusingly titled films.
Directed by Ted Kotcheff ("Weekend at Bernie's") and co-starring Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna and a young David Caruso, the film is as notorious for its extensive action scenes as it is for the intense and iconic performance put forth by Stallone, who is also credited for writing the screenplay.Ex-Green Beret and Vietnam War veteran John Rambo is passing through a small town after learning of the death of a member of his unit, and all he wants is something to eat.
And this is the rare case where the movie is actually better than the book.For those not familiar with the story, "First Blood" revolves around a Vietnam veteran named John Rambo, who after being unfairly treated and discriminated by the local police force, who have arrested him for vagrancy, unleashes his rage, escapes into the woods, and after inadvertently causing a police officer's death, becomes the target of a massive manhunt led by the enraged sheriff played magnificently by Brian Dennehy.
Richard Crenna is great, he plays the colonel, serious dude but sarcastic and humorous with his comments towards the police officers that are trying to catch Rambo.If you have not seen the film i will give you a rough idea of the story line.Rambo goes to a small town in America somewhere, to visit an old war buddy, a close friend from Vietnam.
Titled 'First Blood', but more commonly known as 'Rambo', this film tells the story of ex-Vietnam Greet Beret, John Rambo who starts his own personal war with a local sheriff after being picked up for vagrancy.