NationMaster - Encyclopedia: First Blood

First Blood is the first film featuring the character of troubled Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It starred Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle, and Richard Crenna as Col. Samuel Trautman. First Blood is a 1972 novel by David Morrell that the 1982 movie First Blood was based on. ... FIRST BLOOD are a hardcore band from San Francisco, CA. Their Trustkill Records debut album is titled Killafornia. ... Image File history File links First_blood_poster. ... Ted Kotcheff (sometimes credited as William Kotcheff or William T. Kotcheff; born April 7, 1931 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, who is well known for his work on several high-profile British television productions and as a director of films such as First... David Morrell (born 1943 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) is the award-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. ... Sylvester Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... Sylvester Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 - January 17, 2003) was an American actor. ... Brian Dennehy in Death of a Salesman Brian Dennehy parodied in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Brian Dennehy (born July 9, 1938 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) is an Irish-American actor who has appeared in movies, television shows, and stage productions. ... David Stephen Caruso (born January 7, 1956 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York) is an American film and television actor. ... Jack Starrett (November 2, 1936 â€“ March 27, 1989) was an American actor and director from Refugio, Texas. ... Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 â€“ July 21, 2004) was a famous American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // This is the year of film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which will become the highest grossing movie for almost 15 years (until Titanic), earning double or triple against any major film of the 1980s. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... Released on Friday, May 24, 1985, the second movie of Rambo, Rambo: First Blood Part II, has Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) released from prison by Federal order to document the possible existence of POWs in Vietnam, under the belief that he will find nothing and the government can sweep the issue... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Rambo is a trilogy of popular action films based on the characters created by David Morrell in his novel First Blood. ... Sylvester Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... Rambo is a saga of popular action films starring Sylvester Stallone, based on the characters created by David Morrell in his novel First Blood. ... Brian Dennehy in Death of a Salesman Brian Dennehy parodied in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Brian Dennehy (born July 9, 1938 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) is an Irish-American actor who has appeared in movies, television shows, and stage productions. ... Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 - January 17, 2003) was an American actor. ...

Based on a 1972 David Morrell book of the same name, the film (which differs from the book in many areas) was directed by Ted Kotcheff, produced by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, and released on Friday, October 22, 1982. See also: 1971 in literature, other events of 1972, 1973 in literature, list of years in literature. ... David Morrell (born 1943 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) is the award-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. ... First Blood is a 1972 novel by David Morrell that the 1982 movie First Blood was based on. ... Ted Kotcheff (sometimes credited as William Kotcheff or William T. Kotcheff; born April 7, 1931 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, who is well known for his work on several high-profile British television productions and as a director of films such as First... Mario Kassar (born Beirut, Lebanon, 10 October 1951) is a movie-industry executive whose projects are frequently in association with Andrew Vajna. ... Andrew George Vajna (born August 1, 1944) is a Hungarian film producer, originally from Budapest. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // This is the year of film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which will become the highest grossing movie for almost 15 years (until Titanic), earning double or triple against any major film of the 1980s. ...

Plot

The film centers on John Rambo, a former member of the US Army's Green Berets (an elite Special Forces unit) who fought in Vietnam and was a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions there. Rambo has difficulty adjusting to civilian life and wanders the country as a drifter. The film begins as he is seeking out his friend Delmore Barry, apparently the only other Special Forces member from his unit to make it out of Vietnam alive. The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... The United States Army Special Forcesâ€”or simply Special Forces (capitalized)â€”is an elite Special Operations Force of the United States Army trained for unconventional warfare and special operations. ... Special Forces (SF) or Special Operations Forces (SOF) are highly-trained military units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. ... The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ...

Rambo finds out from Barry's widow that he died from cancer due to Agent Orange exposure, and she is clearly very upset that she lost the man she loved and is also left to eke out a meager existence on her own. Rambo, in an attempt to offer some cold comfort to her, gives her the photograph of her husband's unit. This also hurts Rambo deeply as now he realizes that he is the last of his unit. Left to continue drifting, Rambo runs afoul of Will Teasle, the sheriff of a small Washington State mountain resort town called Hope (set in Hope, WA. - filmed in Hope, British Columbia). Teasle drives Rambo out of town while telling him the people of Hope don't appreciate people of his kind: drifters. Rambo asks for a place to eat, but Teasle refuses him courtesy in the town. Rambo is dropped outside of town but heads back, refusing to be pushed out. Teasle forcefully stops and arrests Rambo for vagrancy, resisting arrest, and carrying a concealed weapon, a large survival knife, which he claims is for hunting "The Enemy". Vietnam. ... This article deals with the U.S. state. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...

Teasle brings Rambo back to the station, where he is beaten by Art Gault, the sheriff's sadistic head deputy. Some of the officers are sympathetic to Rambo, but ignorant or meek. During the beatings, Rambo has flashbacks to his time as a prisoner of war. The sight of a straight razor, as the deputies attempt to shave him, brings to Rambo's mind horrible torture when he was a POW and causes Rambo to have a psychotic episode. He violently disables the officers with nothing but his hands, escapes the police station with his knife, and heads into the mountains on a stolen motorcycle. Teasle gives pursuit in his police car, which is overturned after an extended chase. Rambo flees into the hills, wearing only his jeans, shoes and a tank-top, useless in fending off the cold weather. Rambo quickly improvises cold weather gear with items he finds at remains of a construction site. Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

The deputies go after Rambo on foot, aided by a pack of Dobermans, forcing him to climb down a steep cliff overlooking a river gorge to elude capture. Deputy Gault, ignoring Teasle's orders to capture Rambo alive, attempts to murder him from a helicopter while he is trapped on a ledge, unseen by the other deputies. Rambo drops into a mass of trees, badly cutting himself, and is cornered by the helicopter again. He throws a rock at it, causing it to pitch heavily and drop Gault into the gorge, killing him (despite the film's reputation of being overly violent, this is the only person who is clearly killed in the entire movie). Deputy Mitch (David Caruso) reasons with Teasle that Gault might have earned his fate due to his abusive behavior, but Teasle furiously ignores this and vows to avenge his life-long friend's death. The Doberman Pinscher (alternatively spelled Dobermann in many countries) or Doberman is a breed of domestic dog. ... David Stephen Caruso (born January 7, 1956 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York) is an American film and television actor. ...

Teasle leads his deputies into the woods in an attempt to capture Rambo. The deputies are inexperienced and fight amongst themselves, making them easy targets. Rambo kills the Dobermans and disables the deputies using guerrilla war tactics, severely wounding but not killing them. Rambo then confronts Teasle, knife to his throat. He threatens chaos should he be pursued again: "In town you're the law, out here it's me. I could have killed all of them. I could have killed you. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Let it go. Let it go." Guerilla may refer to Guerrilla warfare. ...

Rambo then leaves suddenly. Teasle is clearly shaken, but refuses to give in. He calls in the National Guard and the State Police. A TV broadcast of the incident gets the attention of Rambo's former commanding officer, Colonel Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna), who warns the searchers that trying to capture Rambo is suicidal; his combat training and experience make him far better than anyone they have. Trautman's suggests letting Rambo go; they can probably pick him up working at a car wash and nobody else will get hurt. Teasle dismisses that advice, claiming that Trautman was only sent by the Pentagon to save face. The United States National Guard is a component of the United States Army (the Army National Guard) and the United States Air Force (the Air National Guard). ... Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 - January 17, 2003) was an American actor. ...

When the National Guard unit finds Rambo holed up in a mine entrance, they are afraid to go after him and take the easy way out- firing a M72 LAW (shoulder-fired rocket launcher) and collapsing the mine. Teasle is furious, as he wanted Rambo alive, but eventually accepts that his nemesis is dead. Unbeknownst to his pursuers, Rambo survives the explosion and cave-in. He crawls through tunnels in the mine, struggling to keep his torch burning and fighting rabid rats. Eventually he finds an exit near a main road. Rambo then steals an Army truck with an M60 Machine gun from the National Guardsmen and returns to Hope. Rambo then takes out his frustration on Teasle's "quiet little town" by destroying a gas station, a local surplus store, and a sporting gun shop. The M72 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon, also referred to as the Light Anti-Armor Weapon or LAW) is a portable one-shot 66 mm anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Talley Defense Systems, produced by Nammo Raufoss AS in Norway. ... The M60 (formally the United States Machine Gun, Caliber 7. ...

Trautman talks to Teasle for the final time, advising him to give up his mania of stopping Rambo. Teasle staunchly refuses, saying he's not afraid of his inevitable death. Trautman candidly tells him that it's clear which of them has any chance at survival, but not because Trautman is better then Rambo; the simple fact that Rambo trusts him is the only advantage he needs. Teasle is stunned at this callousness, but says that nothing will take "his town" away from him. He himself hides on the roof, hoping to catch Rambo running around. Rambo thwarts this by destroying power lines and cutting all the lights in the town, making it impossible for Teasle to catch Rambo.

Rambo spots Teasle on the roof. After destroying the station, he manages to badly wound the sheriff and bring him down through a skylight. Teasle curses Rambo with what he thinks will be his final words. Meanwhile, the state police have surrounded the building, cutting off every way out. Rambo is about to finish what he's started when Colonel Trautman appears and tells him that his mini-war is over; there's no hope of escaping alive, saying "It's Over Johnny. It's Over." Rambo responds with, "Nothing is over! Nothing! You can't just switch it off! It wasn't my war. You asked me, I didn't ask you!" He goes on to talk of the people protesting him at the airport. He then rages about how what meant something in the war - honor and loyalty - means nothing in the real world. He breaks down sobbing and tells a story about his friend Danforth who was blown to pieces in a Saigon bar by a shoe shining boy. He exclaims, "I can't get it out of my head. Seven years. Every day I have this. Sometimes I wake up and don't know where I am. I don't talk to anybody. Sometimes a day. Sometimes a week. I can't put it out of my mind." With no purpose left, Rambo gives himself up to the authorities.

Adaptation issues

Various screenplays adapted from Morrell's book had been pitched to studios in the years since its publication, but it was only when Stallone, who at the time had limited success outside of the Rocky franchise (most of his non-Rocky films either barely broke even or were flops altogether), decided to become involved with the project that it was finally brought into production. Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. ...

Stallone’s star power after the success of the Rocky films enabled him to suggest changes to the script, to make the character of John Rambo more sympathetic. While Morrell's book has the Rambo character kill many of his pursuers, in the movie version, Rambo does not directly cause the death of any police or national guardsmen.

Prior to Stallone taking the role, Steve McQueen was interested in the role.^{[citation needed]} Just before shooting began, Kirk Douglas quit the role of Col. Trautman over a script dispute; Douglas wanted the film to end as the book did, with the death of the Rambo character.^{[citation needed]} Richard Crenna was quickly hired as a replacement; the role of Trautman became the veteran character actor's most famous role. A suicide scene was filmed, but ultimately, Kotcheff and Stallone opted to have Rambo turn himself in at Trautman's urging. Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 â€“ November 7, 1980) was an Academy Award-nominated American movie actor, nicknamed The King of Cool.[1] He was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s due to a popular anti-hero persona. ... Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch Demsky December 9, 1916) is an American actor and film producer known for his gravelly voice and his recurring roles as the kinds of characters Douglas himself once described as sons of bitches. He is also father to Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas. ...

Critics' views

Film reviewer Chuck O'Leary lauds First Blood as “...a gripping survival adventure with an emotional ending that's downright moving.”^[1] O’Leary also praises composer Jerry Goldsmith’s “excellent musical score." BBC film critic Almar Haflidason notes that Stallone’s training in survival skills and hand-to-hand combat “...helped give the film such a raw and authentic edge that excited the audiences of the time.”^[2]

Film reviewer Brian Webster, from the Apollo film site, calls First Blood “...an embarrassingly sloppy production” with a weak script.^[3] Jeremiah Kipp had a more positive view of the film, which he gave two stars out of four. While Kipp criticised some of the “comic book” dialogue and “macho...mindless escapism” of the film, he acknowledges that it also “...reflect[ed] a new compassion towards traumatized veterans of the Vietnam conflict. As well, Kipp praised Stallone’s acting in the finale, stating that the actor ”...hits his climactic breakdown monologue out of the park” with a performance that was “sweet and moving and mildly incomprehensible.”^[4]

In general, the film was criticized by many at the time for its violent scenes and for its seeming glorification of weapons (such as the M60 which featured prominently in advertising).^{[citation needed]} Interestingly, though, its violence and gore pales in comparison to modern day action and war films (or even current prime time TV dramas), with only one on screen death, a possible three other deaths only suggested by a car crash and a handful of non-lethal attacks.

Production

First Blood, which had a modest shooting budget of $14 million, became a major hit, going on to earn an estimated $47 million in North America and $78 million overseas. This success helped to solidify Stallone's career. First Blood also spawned two sequels, with a fourth film expected to be released in 2008. John Rambo is an upcoming film, starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. ...

The town scenes in the movie were shot in Hope, British Columbia, Canada. The rest of the movie was shot in Golden Ears Provincial Park. Hope ( ) is a community of approximately 7,000 people located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Golden Ears Provincial Park (British Columbia) is one of the largest Provincial Parks in British Columbia, Canada at 55,590 hectares. ...

The Rambo series

John Rambo's iconic stature was not attained until the popular sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II was released in 1985^{[citation needed]}. Often viewed as much more of an action film than a drama^{[citation needed]}, as the original had been, Rambo was panned by most critics^{[citation needed]}. But that did not stop the film from being the second-highest grossing film of the year, trailing only Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future [1]. President Ronald Reagan set off a minor controversy when he admitted he admired Rambo (thus gaining a nickname "Ronbo").^{[citation needed]}. A fourth Rambo film, John Rambo is scheduled for a mid-2008 release. Rambo is a saga of popular action films starring Sylvester Stallone, based on the characters created by David Morrell in his novel First Blood. ... Released on Friday, May 24, 1985, the second movie of Rambo, Rambo: First Blood Part II, has Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) released from prison by Federal order to document the possible existence of POWs in Vietnam, under the belief that he will find nothing and the government can sweep the issue... Robert Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an Academy Award-winning American movie director, producer and writer. ... This article is about the first film in the Back to the Future trilogy. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981â€“1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967â€“1975). ...

DVD

Author David Morrell recorded an audio commentary track for the First Blood Special Edition DVD released in 2002.

Actor Sylvester Stallone recorded an audio commentary track for the First Blood Ultimate Edition DVD released in 2004. This edition also includes a "never-before-seen" alternate ending in which Rambo commits suicide. This edition was also released on Blu-ray by Lionsgate. A blank rewritable Blu-ray disc (a BD-RE) A Blu-ray Disc (also called BD) is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital media, including high-definition video. ...

An HD DVD of First Blood was released in the UK by Momentum Pictures in April 2007. HD-DVD disc HD DVD (for High Density Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical media format which is being developed as one standard for high-definition DVD. HD DVD is similar to the competing Blu-ray Disc, which also uses the same CD sized (120 mm diameter) optical data...

Contents

Plot

Adaptation issues

Critics' views

Production

The Rambo series

DVD

See also

External links