(2013-05-21 23:50:49)

First Blood

This was the first Rambo movie of the series. Stallone could not have been better in this role. There's not much more I can say other than this is a great movie.

(2013-05-21 09:21:13)

Rambo; John Rambo.

The two roles Sylvester Stallone is most well-known for are Rocky and Rambo. Comedians used to have a field day pointing out that the two characters are virtually the same the reason being that Sly can't act so he only plays characters that are just like him: muscle-bound men with little intelligence, a good heart, and ambitions of rising above their current situation. There are many similarities between the two characters but there are many differences as well. The careful observer notices those differences and realizes that Sly is a much more talented artist than most people will give him credit for.Nowhere is this more clear than in FIRST BLOOD. When most people think of Rambo they have an image of Sly with a red headband firing a M-16, blowing people away in a jungle somewhere. This is not the John Rambo of FIRST BLOOD (well at least not until the last twenty-five minutes of the movie). The John Rambo of FIRST BLOOD is a discouraged Vietnam veteran walking across the country trying to locate the only other surviving buddy of his from Vietnam. He soon discovers that his friend has died from cancer caused by Agent Orange. With no family, no friends, a government who has abandoned him, and a nation that scorns him, John Rambo becomes a lonely drifter. No big deal, except he drifts into a town that isn't very hospitable to strangers. The local sheriff literally drives Rambo away, but arrests him after he comes back. What the local law enforcement doesn't realize is that Rambo is a ticking time-bomb; a killing machine prone to war flashbacks. What follows is a great acion-filled hunt between Rambo and a timid sheriff and his local yokels set in the beautiful American northwest.FIRST BLOOD is a great movie. It suffers from a few flaws typical of the 1980's action genre (invincible men who only suffer from the occasional deep wound). However, it is also a film exploring a part of American society (now virually history) that many would rather forget. Though there aren't as many abuses to Vietnam veterans as there used to be and many sins have been attoned for, there is still a great deal of prejudice in our country. That prejudice is just a fraction of the ever-dividing culture war that is ripping the United States apart. FIRST BLOOD and John Rambo are a testament of what can happen if the elite continue to ignore the common man and push him too far.

Pavel

(2013-05-20 18:09:18)

The best from Rambo trilogy.

I have seen First blood after seeing the other two Rambo movies, and Iwasreally surprised. For me this is the best movie from the trilogy, becauseofpsychological background of Rambo. For the first time I understand thewayJohn is behaving in other movies. It is not just action movie with amessageto say (like two other Rambo movies)but real story.

(2013-05-20 03:45:46)

First Blood (Special Edition) - DVD Aspect Ratio Issue

This review is from: First Blood (Special Edition) (DVD) The original Theatrical Aspect Ratio for First Blood was anamorphic widescreen - 2.35:1 (cinemascope). On its 35mm cinema film neg & stock, it is compressed horizontally in a 2:1 ratio. This interprets that on the film, it will roughly be 1.17:1 and on screen, it will magnify and stretch to its intended 2.35:1 format. What deterred me from buying this particular DVD is that on its "Technical Information" page, it has listed this DVD's aspect ratio for Widescreen as - 1.85:1 (which is generally non-anamorphic and flat) suggesting that it has been incorrectly set to - "Letterbox" (used to cover production mechanics such as lens' barn doors, sound booms, etc.). If this is the case, certain part of its image that was originally viewed in the cinemas would now be blocked out. That's almost as bad as the 1.33:1 pan & scan. Maybe it's an info error? I like to watch movies in the format it was intended to be seen by the filmmakers. Also, I can never understand why anyone would want to own an inferior full-screen/pan & scan format. It's like watching half a movie. On this DVD release, it seems the studios have provided both widescreen & full-screen. I assume this equates to having both sides of the disc being used. It would have been better served to have an attractive picture on one side to reduce accidental handling faults such as dirt or finger prints on the read-areas of the disc. Of course, the flip side should be the majority's choice - Widescreen (when available). An option for English subtitles would have been great too. When actors tend to mumble, it is handy to be able to rewind to a particular scene and turn on the subtitles to find out what the character in the script was supposed to have said.

(2013-05-19 14:07:02)

Very professional service

I received my DVD very soon after I placed the order. Very fast service, good prices, and DVD looked like it came off the store-room shelf. Highly recommend this company and the movie. Plan to purchase more from them!

classicsoncall

(2013-05-19 09:16:04)

"Hunting? We ain't hunting him..., he's huntin' us".

"First Blood" is the kind of picture I like to come back to from timeto time, one that doesn't wear out it's welcome with repeat viewings.It comes at you from some sort of primal level, from that area withinthat makes you want to lash out at dimwitted neanderthals that onlyjudge a book by it's cover, and not by it's content. The kind of filmthat examines bigotry and narrow small-mindedness, and then proceeds toexact it's revenge on all the conventional arbiters of power thatreside in a single individual who deems himself the lone authority onright and wrong.I must say, Brian Dennehy does a splendid job of portraying that kindof character I love to hate. It's there in his mannerism, his speech,the condescending way in which he looks at others unlike himself. Then,when faced with the consequences of his own actions (deputy Galt's fallfrom the helicopter), he ratchets up the tempo instead of recognizinghis error. One failure leads to another, and then another, until thesnowball effect destroys an entire town. And then when it's all over,there's no recognition on the part of John Law that this could all havebeen avoided with a little more discretion and a lot more tact.Sylvester Stallone has come under a lot of heat for portrayingseemingly one dimensional characters like Rocky and Rambo, but hispictures have a way of hitting you where you live. For dedication tohis craft he's come under fire for being simple minded and formulaic.Maybe that says more about the critics than about an audience thatfinds Stallone's characters to be average Americans who want to be leftalone to pursue their own goals and ambitions without interference byself important arbiters of authority. I'm sure there's some sort ofpolitical corollary in there about where we are as a country today, butI don't want to go there in a movie review. At least not today.

John Lindsey

(2013-05-19 14:00:37)

An action masterpiece!

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is a former Vietnam vet and soldier whowas drifting in Oregon and when he is harassed by a tough heartedSheriff (Brian Dennehy) and the local authorities of a small town, hesuddenly gets bad memories of his past in Vietnam that gets triggered.The cops are hunting him down as he is hiding near the woods for Rambois armed with weapons, his former commanding officer/friend ColonelTrautman (Richard Crenna) comes in and must try to control his formersoldier from causing any more damage to the police and the town.A powerful and compelling action drama thriller is one of the bestmovies of the 80's and most influential. Inspired by a novel from DavidMorrell, this gritty and downright violent film is also a human dramaas well which is co-written by Sylvester Stallone. The film became asurprise box-office hit in October of 1982, it spawned a few funsequels and some knock-offs but none of them could surpass thismarvelous gem which actually made Rambo a more tragic character thatthe audience could relate to. This movie has spectacular stunts andaction sequences, good performances and a memorable score by JerryGoldsmith which makes this a personal fave of mine and a must see.

SPaS

(2013-05-19 06:04:53)

Ingenious film-making (spoilers ahead)

FIRST BLOOD is an true action classic from the 80s, and the storybehind the movie would be worthy a document any day: from abest-selling novel the production spent almost a decade in variousstages of development hell with different people- 6 directors had beenattached to the project as well as Dustin Hoffman starring! Finally itgot made with executive producers Mario Kassar & Andrew Vanja (takingthe risk of their lives) and the reluctant Stallone starring. Even thenit got wrapped behind schedule and way over budget. But like a Phoenixit rise from the ashes and blew everyone away! The movie introduced usboth THE action icon of the decade, and a new sub-genre (one-man army)in action movies. Kotcheff did a brilliant job with long shots (theslow opening scene is a classic!) and pacing, and Jerry Goldsmith gotrobbed at the Oscars!PS. Makes me wonder - if a similarly GREAT movie gets made today withsimilar problems, it can just kiss box-office goodbye. Back then peoplewere more interested in the product and willing to take chances, nowit's all about the image. SIGH, the good old days... :)

shaun98

(2013-05-17 21:28:10)

Good for a rainy afternoon

No one would call "First Blood" an accurate portrayal of Vietnam veterans.It's a jingoistic, Regan-era action movie, shamelessly manipulative andcompletely implausible. It pales next to the realism of "Taxi Driver" or"Born on the Fourth of July." Judging from the setup, I strongly suspectthat the source material, the novel by David Morrell, was much more literateand realistic. Indeed, as a film project, this property has passed throughseveral studios, directors, and stars before Stallone took over. It wouldhave been interesting to see the material in the hands of more seriousfilmmakers, but that will surely not happen for decades. Still, taken on itsown as an action movie, it's not half-bad. You really can't take itseriously, but it's acceptable escapism that's short and to the point,unlike some modern films of the genre. (Do these James Bond flicks reallyhave to run past the two-hour mark?)Regardless of the script shortcomings, Stallone himself is effectively cast.He rarely speaks, letting his facial expressions and body language do allthe acting for him. His loneliness, instability and internal tension isbelievable, even if the script isn't. It's interesting to note that he'smore of an anti-hero in this film than he is in most other movies. He's likeTravis Bickle on steroids. The coda does allow him to show somevulnerability for once, though his monologue is such an obvious way ofmaking an ideological point. When he's onscreen "First Blood" doesn't letup, but I didn't like it when the film focused on Brian Dennehy, who plays asheriff determined to capture him. This two-dimensional character often goton my nerves. It might have helped if more insight had been provided forhim; why did he react so negatively to Rambo's presence from the start? Incontrast, Richard Crenna provides solid support as Stallone's former mentorfrom his Greet Beret days.Stallone's action scenes, while lacking in credibility, are quite engaging.The cinematography casts an appropriately cold, brittle parlor overeverything. The mountains and forests are characters in their own right;even John Rambo himself is overwhelmed by their cold majesty. One of thebest scenes is the forest hunt; the setting and action make for anappropriately eerie, suspenseful sequence. Despite the relatively lowbudget, it's still a more visually interesting movie than a lot of otheraction films. It's still not a cinematic classic, but it's much better thanyou'd expect from an early-eighties B-movie. I won't lie and say it's goodart, but it's fairly entertaining and well-crafted.**1/2 (out of ****)Released by Carolco Pictures (thru Orion)

Andy Croft

(2013-05-17 06:24:21)

Great old timer

Its been an old time movie week on Foxtel. Just re watched First blood.I was glued this time I think more than when I watched it 25 years ago.Stalone is amazing in the fact he is peak physical condition acting arole that really suits him. Easy watching for me - My wife hated it onrelease and still does so there is no more a truer saying in that " Weare not all the same " especially when it come to our different tastes.I like this movie - Give it a go again or if you have not seen it, itsdated but OK to watch, its not a waste of time. Not a fan of the restof the Rambo's though.It was good to see a very young David Caruso. He has definitely hascome on with age.

gwnightscream

(2013-05-17 05:16:29)

"Stallone Action Classic!"

Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy star in this 1982action film based on the book. A Vietnam Vet starts a war after aSheriff sets him off. John Rambo (Stallone) is a former Green Berethome from the Vietnam war visiting one of his team members. He learnsthat his friend has passed away and he's the last of his team. Soon,Rambo wanders until he meets a Sheriff, Will Teasle (Dennehy) whopushes him. Will arrests him for vagrancy and has his men clean him uptreating him like an animal. Rambo escapes starting his own personalwar with Will and his men. Rambo's Colonel friend, Sam Trautman(Crenna) decides to help Will find Rambo before he goes too far. Thisis a great action flick that's one of Stallone's best. Crenna wasterrific as Trautman, Dennehy is great as Teasle and who can forgetJerry Goldsmith's excellent score. I recommend this classic.

Malcolm Kenworthy

(2013-05-17 00:03:30)

A great action movie

First Blood is a great action movie, and one on Stallone's best, afterRocky.Stallone plays John Rambo, a former Green-Beret in Vietnam who is arrestedby a small town sherrif because he wants something to eat, and charged withvagrency.The deputy sherrif abuses Rambo, and all hell breaks loose when Rambomanages to escape and make it to the woods. Not even after Rambo wipes outhalf of the team looking for Rambo, and his former commanding officer,Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) tells the sherrif that he is in a war thathe cannot win, will the sherrif give up.Plenty of explosions and violence will keep action fans watching, and mostpeople will probably be sympathetic with Rambo's problems.A good, solid action movie from the king of action movies, SylvesterStallone.

Kristine

(2013-05-16 00:23:33)

See? Even the most machoest, toughest, roughest men in the world just need a hug! :D

I'm not sure why, I mean, bad acting, senseless violence, not much of aplot, but I loved this film. I have been interested in seeing the bigmacho films of Stallone and Schwartzenegger for a while. I'm just youraverage girl who loves the action flicks a little better than the chickflicks. In the 80's an extreme amount of action flicks came out: DieHard, The Terminator, First Blood, Commando, Aliens, Batman, etc. I'mnot sure why, maybe the 80's were just that boring. ;-P Just kidding tothose who grew up during the 80's.In essence, First Blood is a movie that replays the Vietnam War withStallone's humorless, absurdly indestructible killing machine, JOHNRAMBO. Yes, the Rambo! Well, we start off with evil cops who justhassle Rambo, I mean after all, we do need him to go off in some way.Rambo is haunted by some very disturbing memories from Vietnam. Heescapes from prison where he is very much abused and runs to themountains. He goes on a crazy spree of not really killing, more likescarring all the cops who did him wrong. Thanks to them, now they'vegot a loose and crazy killing machine who can kick some 20 men butt.I loved the ending, because they actually touched on real humanemotions. I'm not saying this because I just love drama movies, but itmade this one just more than an action movie. It was real and showedthat even Rambo can cry. For an action flick, everyone, this is it. I'dalso recommend Die Hard or The Terminator. 80's, what a decade, huh?8/10

(2013-05-15 19:03:27)

Great Movie, Poor Quality Images

This review is from: First Blood (DVD) I love the movie, by far the best of the Rambo movies. However, the DVD quality was not too good. The movie was very dark, very difficult to watch and really see what was going on.

(2013-05-14 20:24:17)

Classic

This review is from: First Blood [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) It looks excellent considering how old this movie is. I say it is worth it considering how cheap it is as well.

Goldwaterproductions

(2013-05-14 17:45:27)

Criminally underrated.

A lot of people know the Rambo series as a ridiculous 80's actionseries. But what a lot of people tend to forget is that the first moviein this series was not a ridiculous action movie. It's a serious, dark,thriller that has a very somber tone and a sympathetic lead character.Almost everything that Rambo is known for nowadays is completely absentin this movie. From the multitude of explosions to the high body countto the unrealistic action to the ridiculous story line is completelyabsent. There are only 2 or 3 explosions (not to mention they arerealistically done) and only one person dies throughout the wholepicture. and the action, while there isn't a lot, it's realistic. Eventhe story line you believe can actually happen. It's for these reasonsthat make this my favorite Rambo movie. And not to mention thefantastic and heart breaking performance given by Stallone. Why theAcademy didn't nominate him for Best Actor at the Oscars is beyond me.If you didn't like the other Rambo movies because of theirridiculousness and haven't seen this film, I highly recommend seeingit. It's one of my favorite post-war movies if not one of my favoritemovies of all time.Final rating: 9/10

(2013-05-14 12:08:54)

GO Rambo

I have had the Rambo series on vhs tapes and they were getting worn out so I got DVD's

(2013-05-13 16:45:03)

The First One!

This is one of those rare gemstones of a film that seems to stay in your mind for a long-time.One of Stallone's best films to date, apart from the original Rocky. The storyline is interesting, the acting is convincing, good support by Brian Dennehey and Richard Crenna!Stallone is exceptionally good in this role and its a shame he couldn't find other good characters for the rest of his career! It moves at a good pace and their is good emotional acting in it! The scenery is good, it adds to the storyline and the sense of Rambo's desperation, with the cold and damp feel! The ending is great and we feel for Rambo's character as he cries about his fallen comrades!The ending is emotional and the song at the end adds to the spirit and drive of Rambo's character! A True Stallone Classic!

malkane316

(2013-05-13 16:54:03)

Quick Reviews!!

Seen by many as just another mindless action flick, this goes deeperthan most films of its kind. Yes, it is a classic 'one man army' movie,and although i feel its sequel deals more with the disillusionment ofveterans, it is an effective look at a man trained only tokill-destroyed by his government, forgotten by his people. Small townexclusiveness, fear and small-mindedness are exploited to the full, andif you give it a chance, this is actually a highly satirical movie. Butif you want to see explosions, guns and killings, which is what firstbrought me to this film, then you can't find many better.Stallone dispatches of the 'bad guys' using every inch of his Rambo'straining, and yes, from the start you know the cops don't have a hope.The few roles which call for any substantial acting are done well, theaction is of a high quality, the music is memorable, and the scriptsufficient. if you want deep characterisation then watch The DeerHunter, but for action, watch this. 8 out of 10

Iron Maiden Rocks

(2013-05-13 04:30:51)

The Best movie ever!

In the first and the best Rambo, Rambo comes back to America teated like crap. He gets arrested and then he has escaped, the climax has begun! I have watched this movie so many times, and it has never gotten old! The whole movie is preety much the climax. I wish the movie would keep going with more bloodthirsty action!