We all have certain movies we love. Movies we respect without question because of either tradition, childhood love, or because they’ve always been classics. However, as time keeps ticking, do those classics still hold up? Do they remain must see? So…the point of this column is to determine how a film holds up for a modern horror audience, to see if it stands the Test of Time.
DIRECTED BY TED KOTCHEFF
STARRING SYLVESTER STALLONE, BRIAN DENNEHY, RICHARD CRENNA, DAVID CARUSO
F*ck yes! We’re just a few days away from Rambo’s final mission when he draws LAST BLOOD this Friday. Will you be there to witness Sly the Septuagenarian Stallone’s sortie swan song?
Well if you happen to be on the fence, allow us to help make up your mind in the affirmative. After all, it’s been 37 years since Rambo drew FIRST BLOOD, and more than a decade since completing his last eponymous mission (RAMBO). And while the mere title conjures almost self-parodic pop-cultural references to an abject killing machine, rightly borne out of the two over-the-top action sequels, the original FIRST BLOOD is so much more than that reductive descriptor. At its heart, FIRST BLOOD is a character-driven action spectacle that addresses serious subject matter under the guise of a visceral track-and-kill thriller. We might be putting the cart before the horse by quoting Stallone himself when he told the Graham Norton Show that FIRST BLOOD is not only his favorite of the RAMBO flicks to date, but that “we wouldn’t change a thing about it.”
With that, let’s examine how FIRST BLOOD (GET IT HERE) has fared so far against the toughest of enemies: Time!
THE STORY: Based on the David Morrell novel of the same name, it might interest you to know that the name Rambo was taken from a variety of apple. Moreover, Rambo does not have a first name in the novel, so Stallone came up with John on his own. The novel was optioned by Columbia in 1972, and you probably wouldn’t believe the number of acting and directorial talent attached to the project prior to Stallone and Ted Kotcheff taking the helm. We’re talking Richard Brooks, Sydney Pollack, Mike Nichols, Martin Ritt, George Miller, John Frankenheimer and others set to potentially direct. Star wise, De Niro, Pacino, Steve McQueen, Lee Marvin, Robert Mitchum, Nick Nolte, Kirk and Michael Douglas and several other high-profile actors were in line for the role. And still, one can’t even imagine anyone other than Sly in what has become his second most iconic film role to date (ROCKY vs. RAMBO might be a good Face-Off).
Story-wise, there is nary a wasted or extraneous moment in FIRST BLOOD. No fat. It’s lean and dense, with a diegetic musculature that perfectly mirrors Rambo himself. This is no doubt because of the 26 drafts of the script were written before Sly was asked by Kotcheff to polish it even further. Reportedly, Sly did seven revisions of the script before it was deemed ready to shoot. This can’t be overstated. A movie is only as good as its screenplay, and great efforts were made to ensure a superb script was fashioned before filming began. Filming that, while the movie is set in Hope, Washington, really took place in Hope, British Columbia. In a great opener that establishes viewer sympathy, John Rambo – decorated Viet Nam Green Beret – walks through town to his fellow soldier and friend’s house, happy and hopeful. When he learns his pal died of cancer from Agent Orange, Rambo’s cheery façade sinks into utter loss, grief and hopelessness.
In a grievous case of police profiling, Sheriff Will Teasel (Brian Dennehy) spots Rambo ambling down the road and harasses him instantly. He makes it very clear Rambo is unwelcome in town, despite doing nothing wrong. He’s done right, only right, in the eyes of his country, and cannot fathom this gross mistreatment. Teasel offers Rambo a peaceable ride out of town, provided he stays out, but Rambo is too prideful to let such blatant discrimination slide. Rambo defiantly walks back into town after being dropped on the outskirts, starting a full-fledged “private war” between his one-man guerilla army and the incompetent small-town police force. Rambo heads for the hills to hide out and plan a reconnaissance, prompting Teasel and his men to load up the ammo and advance with guns akimbo. Only Rambo’s higher up, Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) can get through to Rambo and save his life before he ends others.
WHAT HOLDS-UP: With such an airtight script, adroit director (remember, Kotcheff made WAKE IN FRIGHT, NORTH DALLAS FORTY, UNCOMMON VALOR and yes, WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S – that’s five films that couldn’t be more diverse) skillful DP Andrew Laszlo (THE WARRIORS, THE FUNHOUSE, STREETS OF FIRE, etc.), and hall of fame composer Jerry Goldsmith, it’s hard to find a single weakness in what amounts to an eminently entertaining 90 minutes. And while we may touch on each of the above, where FIRST BLOOD holds up as seen in 2019 is in the thematic subtext, the compelling performances, and the tactile, non-FX-based action. Let’s hunt!
Subtextually, FIRST BLOOD marries two major themes. The first is the notion of the Vietnam War and the severe PTSD it incurred on American soldiers back at home. This also includes the unfair treatment and/or protest of said war while failing to support the soldiers who had no say in the decision to engage in the first place. The other is the excessive use of police force, bullying, profiling, castigating the other as a demon, and the lethal abuse of authority. But it’s precisely at the meeting place of these two themes where the movie is not only at its most interesting, but proven to be ahead of its time. The message this movie conveys is no timelier, topical, or more salient in 2019 than it was in 1982. In a way, an argument can be made FIRST BLOOD is truly more relevant than ever today!
In another way, RAMBO is a victim of his own success. He served his country admirably and comes home a war hero, but appears so homeless and unkempt that he’s arrested for vagrancy and resisting arrest. Yet he did nothing wrong. He’s handcuffed, beaten by Sheriff Galt with a Billy-club and kicked in the ribs while he’s down. He’s stripped nude and blasted with a fire-hose. He’s verbally ridiculed and demeaned by his so-called own. The irony here, which is explored in the novel, is that Teasel is also a decorated war vet. Notice the Korean War Medals sitting behind his desk. In the novel, the rift between the two men is generational, with the stubborn Teasel unwilling to accept the newfangled war tactics brought about by Nam vets like Rambo. Still, even above the violent onslaughts that come later, it’s not so much the physical action as it is the tense tug-of-war between a PTSD-riddled soldier and a prejudicial, power-hungry police force that still makes the drama of FIRST BLOOD appear fresh!
Yet, we know event he subtext wouldn’t matter much without such commanding performances by the three central leads. Stallone, who deserves way more credit as a writer, is underrated as an actor in FIRST BLOOD because of the cartoonish sequels that would follow. But man, Sly gives such a tormented, internalized, physical performance in FIRST BLOOD that it’s impossible to even consider another actor in the role. He goes from being proud to sad, bewildered, disgruntled, maniacal, and ultimately remorseful. Dude even broke a rib while falling from a tree, the genuine reaction of which was captured onscreen. While a tad unintelligible, the final speech Rambo gives to Trautman about losing his friend in combat is downright moving, and drives the aforesaid subtext home with a trenchant nail! For their parts, Crenna and Dennehy lend credible veteran support to Sly’s leading turn, providing a commensurate ally and foil to Rambo’s badass assault.
Before addressing a combat scene or two, it’s worth noting how much Jerry Goldsmith’s score adds to the movie. The musical theme is proud and patriotic to being, but also has a hint of somber wistfulness as well. The combination perfectly echoes Rambo’s vexed psyche, and continues to reiterate his state of mind as the film unspools. It works so well because it’s never too obvious. However, there are a few obvious action salvos that still hold serve today. The sequence when Rambo overruns the prison is still quite inspired – particularly in the way he notices the cache of rifles stashed in a gun-closet, only to find them during the finale. In the woods, iconic shots of Rambo lunging from a behind a tree in full camo, putting a blade up to Teasel’s throat, or spearing a wild boar from above, or stabbing that one dude with a forked tree branch – they all hold up extremely well because they require no aging technology or FX.
WHAT BLOWS NOW: I just re-watched FIRST BLOOD and honestly found nothing about that sucks by today’s standards. I’m sure much of this is due to editing the film to a digestible 90 minutes, down from a three and a half-hour original cut. A cut, that, made Sly and his agent so physically ill that they offered to by the film back so he could have it destroyed before release. Seriously. As it is now, there isn’t a single gram of fat to be found on RAMBO, the character and the film itself. I suppose we could grouse about the changes made from the book to the film, making Rambo less violent and more sympathetic (he guts Galt like a trout in the novel), but that has no bearing on how the film plays in 2019.
THE VERDICT: We’d have to agree with Sly and confirm that, when all things are considered, FIRST BLOOD is still the best RAMBO entry of the bunch. The screenplay is superb, the direction is terrific, the score is emotionally resonant, and above all, the poignant theme has never felt more important. Now let’s just hope LAST BLOOD is as good as the FIRST!