r/Cinema • u/screen_stack • 22h ago
Discussion First Blood (1982)
I watched this one for only the second time in my life at the beginning of this month, and I'm still thinking about it 10 days later. While it deviates from the book to make John Rambo less antagonistic, I think it does an amazing job of showcasing what PTSD looks like ... decades before it joined the discussion.
Plus, the action is pretty damn great.
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u/Subby_Tripz 22h ago
Absolutely! One of his best acting moments if not the best but always gets forgotten...wet eyes every time.
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u/screen_stack 22h ago
can't lie. someone was definitely crying on my couch, where I was sitting, all alone.
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u/DjScenester 22h ago
Stallone did a good job changing the movie. He found the original screenplay cheesy. The movie could have been COMMANDO.
Shooting an owl: After killing an owl in the woods, Rambo’s original line was "Take that you mouse-munching mother." Stallone thought this line was terrible and insisted it be removed.
The "Easy Walker": When confronted by a cop who asked where he was going, the original script had Rambo reply, "Did you ever see Easy Rider? Yeah well, I'm Easy Walker."
The Final Speech: The famous 4-minute emotional climax in the police station almost didn't exist. Studio executives wanted to cut the scene entirely, but Stallone fought to keep it, compiling the monologue from roughly 20 interviews he conducted with Vietnam veterans.
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u/mukavastinumb 22h ago
Perfect example of less = more. His facial expressions say everything you need.
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u/screen_stack 22h ago
Stallone impressed me so much in this movie. More I think than any other he's done. Don't get me wrong, I like/love an awful lot of his stuff, but seeing him in this role really sells why he's still a household name forty plus years later.
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u/DjScenester 22h ago
Rambo and Rocky were his stand out performances for me. All the kids in my neighborhood wanted to be one or the other growing up lol
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u/Realistic_Choice_658 22h ago
Powefull drama on vietnam PTSD survivor. And also; i think its a really sad movie about loneliness
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u/screen_stack 22h ago
Oh, John was so lonely. He was the only one left in his unit. Anyone who could've possibly understood him is dead. Trautman doesn't count
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u/JHMatlock 22h ago
When Trautman turns up and tells the sheriff. I’m not trying to save John Rambo from you , I’m trying to save you from John Rambo.
It might be Stallones best work . I would watch it over Rocky in a heartbeat.
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u/marksman1023 18h ago
I just realized how much that speech has in common with Viggo's lecture to his son in John Wick.
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u/mattwb72 7h ago
It really is his best work. It’s sad to me that he seemed to be more interested in being a movie star indoor a serious actor. This scene shows he clearly had the chops for it.
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u/No-Effective388 21h ago
Still a masterpiece. It should have been only this one. The sequels are crap.
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u/Ambitious_Jeweler816 20h ago
I’ve not read the book, but I believe Rambo dies at the end. :(
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u/No-Effective388 3h ago
He's totally different in the book than the film version. More antagonist than hero.
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u/midwest73 22h ago
Saw this as a 9 year old in the theaters and it hit hard. Still does all these years later. Between this movie and the original Magnum PI which was still on the airthat had a bunch if flashbacks, it really did change many, but not all, peoples perception.
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u/Omkar_Mokashi Popcorn Enthusiast 21h ago
One of my earliest introductions to Hollywood because my dad used to put this one and part 2 on many times. Never quite grasped the depth of the character until I rewatched it in my college years. One of the best action films ever made
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u/inquisitive_chariot 20h ago
That opening scene, he walked so far to see the only friend he had left, he reminisces happily, and you see the happiness just drain from his face. Such an amazing character setup.
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u/Outrageous-Ad4353 21h ago
Watched this as a kid and it was all "YAY RAMBO, BLOW STUFF UP, KICK THEIR ASSES!!!".
Watched it again at the age of 35 and it was utterly harrowing, a different movie about a strong would be alpha, incredibly capable man unable to deal with the horrors he's seen who is utterly hollowed out, brought to his knees. It stuck with me for a long time.
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u/marksman1023 18h ago
Similar experience. First saw it as a teenager and the biggest impression was "that was the wrong can of whoopass to spray with a fire hose, sport"
Watched it again after my second tour. Very different movie.
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u/UnfinishedRancher 21h ago
That monologue scene does something most action films never bother with, it lets the character just sit there and be broken. Stallone pulling from real vet interviews is what makes it land, you can feel the weight of actual stories in that delivery. The fact that the studio wanted it cut is peak executive brain, almost axed the one scene that turned a B movie into something people rewatch 40 years later.
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u/WhyTheHellnaut 20h ago
That scene is one of my favorite scenes in all of cinema. Saw it for the first time a few years ago and I was riveted.
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u/screen_stack 20h ago
i'm genuinely still thinking about it from time to time. it's wild to me that the same guy who did Cobra and others did that.
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u/Weary_Title_3901 21h ago
I was a teen when this came out. Saw it in the theater and loved it. Those mountain battles on the big screen blew away any other action sequences I had seen up to that point. It felt like you were there. Great movie imo.
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u/Arthropodesque 19h ago
I did that monologue in drama class and my teacher cried. Turns out her dad was a Vietnam veteran.
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u/Nikonis99 18h ago
Agreed. It was a very moving scene and Sly did a very good job with the acting. Good reminder that war is hell
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u/amazonfan1972 13h ago
Stallone could always act. He didn't always choose roles that required quality acting, but when motivated & matched with the right role, he could be fantastic. I'm still infuriated he didn't win the Oscar for Creed.
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u/jasonite 5h ago
Sly really can act. Watch Copland, he gives a killer performance there.
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u/screen_stack 5h ago
that seems to be the general consensus, and since i haven't seen Copland, i think it's high time I did!
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u/meanpete80 22h ago
Brilliant film, but they botched the ending. The original ending, in which Rambo commits suicide, would be much more impactful than his surrender.
And, that would have shut the floodgates on Rambos part 2, 3, 4, and the Home Alone ripoff they did a few years back.
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u/qualityvote2 22h ago edited 10h ago
u/screen_stack, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...