Rambo: First Blood

Rambo: First Blood

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DVD Reviews of Rambo: First Blood

DVD Review: One of Stallone's best
Summary: 4 Stars

"First Blood" is the story of John Rambo, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who returns to America after escaping from a POW camp in 'Nam, only to find that it's a different America than the one he left. When he arrives, he gets called a "baby-killer" and spat upon by protestors who view the United States' and his involvement in the war as less than honorable. With nowhere to go, he becomes a drifter, a "forgotten hero".

The film starts with Rambo hiking in the Pacific Northwest, looking for his only surviving buddy from 'Nam. When he arrives at his friend's place, he is saddened to learn that he has passed away from cancer due to exposure to Agent Orange in the war. An upset Rambo then finds himself in a small town where the local sheriff tells him that the town doesn't want someone like him there, and drives him to the city limits. Defiant, Rambo heads toward the town again, only to be arrested and charged with vagrancy. As he is being processed, harassment by the police officers triggers flashbacks of the brutal torture he suffered in Vietnam, and he escapes. He commandeers a motor bike and heads to the mountains, where he takes on the sheriff's posse, and ultimately 200 National Guardsmen. A trained Green Beret, he escapes his pursuers, setting up the climactic showdown between Rambo and the sheriff.

Sylvester Stallone gives a great performance as Rambo, and his speech at the end of the film , where he bares his soul and relates to his commanding officer (and in essence, us as well) the suffering he has endured, both during and after the war, is chilling. Character actor Brian Dennehy also turns in a great peformance as Sheriff Will Teasle, the man who pushes Rambo and draws "first blood" in this war. Also appearing is Richard Crenna as Colonel Sam Trautman, Rambo's C.O. in 'Nam, who gets one of the best bits of dialogue when he describes Rambo and his elite training, with almost father-like pride ("Rambo's been trained to ignore pain... to ignore the weather... to live off the land... to eat things that would make a billy goat puke") to a defiant Teasle. All 3 men give strong performances throughout.

The DVD has some pretty good features, among them a trivia game (with some true bafflers!), a trailer, production notes, a featurette on the film (which plays more like an expanded trailer), and commentary by "First Blood" author David Morrell. It certainly is interesting to hear him compare the film version with the book that he wrote (one of the main differences in the film script being that Rambo lives; in the novel, he dies on the last page). All this is held together by some neat motion menus.

The film is in a widescreen anamorphic format, although the picture leaves a bit to be desired, with some color fading and scratches throughout. The soundtrack is in Dolby Stereo, and sounds dated. It's not necessarily that bad, though, as most of the film is dialogue-driven throughout, with the exception being the last 1/3 of the film, when Rambo returns to the town.

I give the DVD 4 stars, because this is one of those films that would have been served well with a better digital re-mastering of the print, and a 5.1 soundtrack. I give the actual film 5 stars, because this is one of those films that strikes a chord with everyone. Far from the outrageous action-oriented and almost cartoonishly violent sequels that would follow, "First Blood" is basically a psychological story about a man who is trained as a killing machine for war, yet finds out that when he comes back from that war, he can't just "turn it off". Rambo leaves his wide-eyed innocence back in 'Nam, and when pushed around by Teasle and his posse, he reverts back to that which he knows best: Defeating the enemy by any means necessary. It's certainly well worth it to sit down and watch Stallone in his 1st portrayal of Rambo, playing him as the haunted man who can't escape his past, as opposed to the later films where he would become an unstoppable killing machine who would grunt and yell his way to almost implausible victory. Highly recommended.

Description of Rambo: First Blood