Having starred in iconic films like Rambo: First Blood, Demolition Man, and The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone has earned a reputation as one of Hollywood’s greatest action heroes. While many people still view his earliest movies as classics, the Rocky creator has been open about the bumps along the way. Surprisingly, one of his greatest action hits was almost such a disaster that he tried to destroy it.
When it comes to the action genre, few names are as iconic as Sylvester Stallone, only rivaled by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, and Bruce Willis. As one of the stars who helped shape and define the 1980s, he seamlessly transitioned from dramas like Rocky into explosive cop and military movies. What might shock fans of the Tulsa King star is that one of his most respected films was almost a complete disaster, the actor thought would kill his career. Thankfully, he was able to salvage the project, turning a certain flop into one of the best roles of his career.
This 1982 Classic Made Stallone an Action Hero
Sylvester Stallone holding out a cup as John RamboImage via Orion Pictures
In 1982, Sylvester Stallone changed his public image overnight when he took on the role of John Rambo for Ted Kotcheff’s First Blood. Based on the novel by David Morrell, it follows a Vietnam War veteran as he makes his way through rural Washington. Struggling with PTSD from his experience, he’s become a drifter, and the movie opens with him learning of the death of the last member of his team. When he passes through the town of Hope, he encounters an abrasive sheriff, Teasle, who tries to send the man on his way out of town. However, feeling he’s been pushed one step too far, a defiant Rambo walks back through, getting arrested when he does. When Teasle’s men harass and brutalize the vet, he has traumatic flashbacks of war and fights his way to freedom.
With the cops on his tail, Rambo applies his Green Beret survival skills and flees into the mountains, where he takes shelter and tries to escape. Unfortunately, unwilling to let the issue go, Teasle’s men chase after him, soon bringing in the National Guard when he proves too much for them. Even with dozens of troops in the hills armed with rifles, the war hero manages to overcome anything thrown his way. In the end, it falls to his old commanding officer to try and talk him down before things can get any worse.
Hailed by many as not only one of the greatest action films of the ’80s but also Stallone’s best performance, First Blood is still relevant today. While the sequels forgot the point of the original film, turning the franchise into a shallow action series, the original remains king. Considering how respected the ’82 film is, it’s hard to believe there was a time when the star was desperately trying to have it destroyed before release.
Why Stallone Wanted to Destroy First Blood
Sheriff Teasle arrests John Rambo in First BloodImage via Orion Pictures
When Stallone made the first Rambo movie, he was still, for the most part, an up-and-coming star. While there was still a lot of respect for his Rocky success, he was far from the established legend he is today. As a result, he was seen as one of the last choices for the Vietnam veteran role, signing onto the project to get some more steady work. When the movie was finished, it clocked in at three hours long and was, as Stallone put it in a 2005 Howard Stern interview, “a career killer.” In fact, he was so hesitant to have the long cut go out that he tried to buy it outright so he could burn the negatives. He even went so far as to say both he and his agent wretched when they watched the old cut.
Explaining the problems with the movie, Stallone said, “Originally it was three hours long, I stayed an hour and a half in the woods chasing guys. And, plus, I was pontificating throughout the thing. For example, I shoot an owl, and then the owl drops, I go ‘take that you mouse-munching mother.’ And then there would be lines like the cop pulls me over, and he goes, ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ and I go, ‘Did you ever see Easy Rider? Well, I’m easy walker.” For a movie considered so deep and powerful, the lines Rambo originally said would have turned a decade-best film into one of its worst, representing everything wrong with tacky action. Ironically, this wound up consuming the sequels, culminating in the laughably bad third film.
In the end, Stallone and the producers saved the movie through one of the oldest tricks in Hollywood: trimming down the protagonist’s dialogue. Throughout the final cut of the film, Rambo says very little, instead having other characters talk about him to build him up as a character. Whether it’s the cops discussing the hunt for him or Trautman describing his service, the movie is aided immensely by keeping the hero more reserved.
When Rambo finally begins speaking more, it offers a great contrast to the rest of the movie as he crumbles from a composed soldier to a man haunted by war. In perhaps the best-acted scene of Stallone’s career, he breaks down in Trautman’s arms, accepting responsibility for his actions and finding some semblance of inner peace.
First Blood is One of Stallone’s Most Important Movies
Teasle intimidates John Rambo in jail in First bloodImage via Orion Pictures
When it was released, First Blood spoke to the experiences of countless war veterans, especially those who fought in Vietnam. In the novel, part of the tension between Teasle and Rambo stems from the former’s own service, feeling bitter at how Korean War vets were forgotten and ignored. In the film, his motivations are much simpler, written as a lawman who just wants to keep his small town quiet, clean, and boring. However, when the vet gets the better of him and his force, things turn personal, and it becomes harder for him to set ego aside and de-escalate.
In its own way, First Blood almost serves as a metaphor for the Vietnam War itself; Rambo is a man who just wants to be left alone, and the more the cops go after him, the more disastrous it is for them. What started as a civil matter of vagrancy gradually escalated, with each scene seeing more force used against Rambo, always backfiring on the authorities. As Trautman opines during the film, Teasle’s fight puts him in his own personal war. As the story plays out, the audience increasingly sympathizes with Rambo as a man who simply wanted to be left alone.
Perhaps the most lasting legacy of First Blood is in how it raised the issue of social neglect of veterans, especially on the issue of mental health. PTSD has always been a taboo subject among service members, but the widely-hated Vietnam vets also had to contend with prejudice from their fellow Americans. With stories of vets suffering abuse the moment they stepped off the plane home, Stallone’s iconic monologue gave voice to soldiers around the nation.
The movie does still have its share of cheesy one-liners, like Trautman telling Teasle he’ll need “a good supply of body bags.” However, in giving these lines to other characters, the story allows Rambo’s scenes to remain somber. Of course, the sequels wound up forgetting what made the original so special, as did so many ’80s franchises.
Rambo Propelled Stallone’s Action Career
Sylvester Stallone holding a machine gun on the poster of Rambo First Blood 2Image via Tri-Star Pictures
Before his success with First Blood, most of Stallone’s films were either small-budget dramas or still set within the Rocky franchise. When it took off, he became the face of the one-man-army genre, leading to gems like Cobra and the Rambo sequels. With each passing year, he showed up with a more chiseled physique, allowing him to lug around M60 machine guns and rocket launchers without breaking a sweat. Here, he was able to compete with Schwarzenegger for the status of definitive action hero of the ’80s. Between the two of them, they embodied the almost comical ultra-machismo of the decade, and they never looked back.
Although Stallone has churned out his share of bad action films, he is a man who tends to bring integrity and vision to his movies. Having written, directed, and starred in his breakout hit, Rocky, he’s shown many times that he’s a man of many talents. In the case of Rambo: First Blood, he spotted a bad movie and made sure to turn it into one of the best action hits of the ’80s.
Release Date
October 22, 1982
Runtime
93 minutes
Director
Ted Kotcheff
Writers
Michael Kozoll, Sylvester Stallone, William Sackheim, David Morrell
Producers
Buzz Feitshans
Sylvester Stallone
John Rambo
Richard Crenna
Col. Samuel Trautman