Rambo 1st Blood Ultimate Edition (1982)

"...a first-rate, taut action thriller.  Adam Smith, Empire
"A thriller that's actually thrilling.  Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
"If you like Rambo, you'll love First Blood.  Find-A-Video
"...a very good movie, well-paced, and well-acted not only by Stallone...but also by Crenna and Brian Dennehy...  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...some of the best use of rugged landscape since the westerns of Anthony Mann...  TV Guide

Editor's Note After being arrested for a crime which he did not commit, a Green Beret survivor of the Vietnam War begins having terrible nightmares. This gripping, action-packed tale demonstrates the tragic psychological consequences of armed struggle. A classic action movie-war film, RAMBO spawned many successful sequels.

	Bill McKinney
	Brian Dennehy
	David Caruso
	Jack Starrett
	Richard Crenna
	Sylvester Stallone
	Chris Mulkey
	Michael Talbott
	Andrew Laszlo - Director of Photography
	Buzz Feitshans - Producer
	David Morrell - Based On Novel By
	Jerry Goldsmith - Musical Score
	Michael Kozoll - Screenplay
	Sylvester Stallone - Screenplay
	Ted Kotcheff - Director
	William Sackheim - Screenplay
	Andrew Laszlo - Cinematographer
	Jerry Goldsmith - Original Music By
	Joan E. Chapman - Editor
	Mario Kassar - Executive Producer
	Sylvester Stallone, et. al. - Screenplay
	Wolf Kroeger - Production Designer

Sylvester Stallone stars as ex-Green Beret John Rambo, a shell-shocked Vietnam vet adrift in the Pacific Northwest. Harassment by an unsympathetic small-town sheriff brings on nasty flashbacks of torture at the hands of the Viet Cong; after busting out of the jail where he has been unjustly imprisoned, our psychically-scarred hero vows to get revenge on the ungrateful sheriff. Before blowing the sheriff and his town away, however, Rambo must use his jungle smarts to elude the relentless posse of state troopers and National Guardsmen who pursue him through the forest. Total Film
"...FIRST BLOOD is a cracking film..." 07/01/2000 p.102

Entertainment Weekly
"As John Rambo, Sylvester Stallone was a one-man army." 04/15/2005 p.48

Find-A-Video 8 of 10
...If you like Rambo, you'll love First Blood. This is the film that introduced Rambo. Sylves

Movie Cynics 8 of 10
For those of you out there that are too ignorant to know any better, the first Rambo movie was never called Rambo, but simply First Blood. Not until the success of the sequel would First Blood have the name Rambo attached to it. Purists will complain that the first film is actually an indictment of the Vietnam war, which sets it apart from the reluctant hero attitude of the sequels that would follow...Sylvester Stallone and Brian Dennehy both make the movie what it is, a case study of what happens when two alpha males butt heads and refuse to back down. Dennehy hands in one of the most amazing ball-busting performances I've ever seen. The opening dialogue between Rambo and Sheriff Teasle is more memorable than most scenes...First Blood is often remembered as the movie that started the "Rambo" franchise. In reality, it is far superior to its later incarnations. The film is dark, depressing, and completely enthralling. Much of the imagery is moody and tense, which is quite different from the over the top action that would take its place in the sequels...First Blood is a tense action/thriller with a dark tone. The action in the film is more realistic than its following incarnations, and the direction is by far the best it ever was in the series as much of the imagery is iconic and beautiful. Check it out.

BBC Online 8 of 10
"First Blood" may have signalled the beginning of the incredibly lucrative "Rambo" series but for Sylvester Stallone it represented his first success outside the "Rocky" franchise. The heavily dramatic "FIST." (1978), the critically acclaimed "Nighthawks" (1981), or the risible "Escape to Victory" (1981) were among the notable flops Stallone starred in between the "Rocky" films...Stallone plays the Vietnam vet John Rambo who falls foul of an over-zealous hick, town sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy). Taking an instant dislike to Rambo, Teasle arrests him. His subsequent humiliation in the local clink plus a forced shaving gives Rambo flashbacks to his torture in 'Nam and he breaks out, only for Teasle to stage a massive manhunt involving over 200 Guardsmen...At this point the film turns essentially into a chase movie with Stallone foiling his pursuers at every turn. As opposed to the later films his hapless enemies are only maimed by Rambo and never killed...Stallone underwent training in survival skills and hand-to-hand combat that helped give the film such a raw and authentic edge that excited the audiences of the time. This didn't prevent his by now standard hospital visits while making a film. Four broken ribs and a burned hand were some of the injuries he sustained portraying the cinema's most famous one-man army. - Almar Haflidason