First Blood, 1982.
Directed by Ted Kotcheff.
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, and Brian Dennehy.
SYNOPSIS:
First Blood, the movie that kicked off the Rambo phenomenon, returns to 4K Ultra HD in a new SteelBook edition that’s exclusive to Walmart. Collectors will want to snap this one up, but keep in mind that the transfer and bonus features are the same as the last release. That said, this is a film worth revisiting, particularly for anyone who thinks the character was just a one-note action hero.
It’s easy to look back on the first film featuring John Rambo, known simply as First Blood at the time, through the lens of the later sequels that turned the character into an 80s action hero. However, I’d encourage anyone with that preconceived notion to set it aside and watch the film with an open mind.
The John Rambo of First Blood, played by Sylvester Stallone, is a broken man riddled with PTSD from the horrors he endured as a POW during the Vietnam War. He’s traveling by foot through the Pacific Northwest to visit a friend he served with. When he finds out the man died of cancer brought on by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, he leaves, dejected.
He walks through a small town nearby, hoping to get something to eat at a diner, but the local sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy), tells him he’s not wanted around there, given his long hair and disheveled appearance, and drives him to the outskirts.
Unhappy by the way he was treated, Rambo walks back into the town and confronts the sheriff. One thing leads to another and he’s arrested. In the jail, the deputies abuse him, triggering flashbacks that cause Rambo to become enraged and fight back. He escapes the jail and takes to the woods, where he engages in guerrilla warfare against the police.
His commanding officer from Vietnam, Colonel Trainman (Richard Crenna), arrives to try to take control of the situation and peacefully take Rambo into custody, but the sheriff is having none of that. Teasle wants Rambo dead, and soon the situation explodes.
First Blood tells its story over a taut 93 minutes. Sure, it showcases Stallone’s muscles and gives him a chance to flex some serious action star chops that will serve him well during the rest of the decade, but the best moments in the film are the ones where he simply plays a broken veteran who feels discarded by society. In particular, his speech at the end is a powerful one that lays bare what many war veterans — regardless of the conflict — have to deal with when they return to civilian life.
First Blood has been released on 4K Ultra HD before, but this new edition comes in a handsome SteelBook featuring a sturdy plastic slipcover. As with previous releases, you get a code for a digital copy as well as a Blu-ray platter that serves up the film and the bulk of the special features. Nothing new was created for this release.
The extras kick off with a pair of commentary tracks, one with Stallone and one with David Morrell, who wrote the novel that the film is based on. Both of them are insightful discussions of the movie and seem to have been delivered with some preparation ahead of time, as opposed to the “I’m sitting here watching and talking about this movie for the first time in years” feel that solo commentaries sometimes have.
You’ll likely come away from both commentaries having felt like you received a comprehensive overview of a character who made his debut in a novel that had a few false starts as a movie before the final version was made, and then became a major action hero in sequels that dropped any pretense of examining what Vietnam War vets went through.
Here’s what else you’ll find:
• Rambo Takes the 80s Part 1 (17.75 minutes): As the title implies, this is an overview of the character’s exploits during the 1980s.
• Making of First Blood (22.5 minutes): A holdover from the DVD era, this is presented in standard definition but it’s still a worthwhile overview of the making of the movie.
• Alternative ending, deleted scenes, and outtakes (5.5 minutes): I won’t spoil the other version of the ending, which more closely follows what happens at the end of the novel, but it’s worth watching just to imagine how it would have impacted the character’s legacy.
• The Restauration (1.5 minutes): Yes, the name of this extra is intentional. The idea was to give it a French flair with “avant” (before) and “apres” (after) versions of some footage during the restoration process. I didn’t touch on that in my review, but I’ll just say here that I think the movie looks good. My understanding is that this is the same transfer used for the previous 4K Ultra HD release.
• The Real Nam (27 minutes): Pulled from interviews with Vietnam War veterans as well as Vietnamese people who lived through he conflict, this is a candid look at it.
• Forging Heroes (10 minutes): Rambo was in the Special Forces in Vietnam, and this is a short overview of that elite fighting unit.
• How to Become Rambo Part 1 (14.25 minutes): Stallone’s personal bodybuilding coach runs through a typical workout. Hey, I try to ride my exercise bike for 30 or 40 minutes a day. Isn’t that enough?
The film’s trailer rounds out this release.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
