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"First Blood" is a 1982 action film directed by Ted Kotcheff that launched the Rambo franchise, starring Sylvester Stallone as a Vietnam veteran who clashes with a small-town police force. The film became a cultural landmark that defined the action-movie genre for decades and established one of cinema's most iconic action heroes.
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Film · TMDB
7.5When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Cast
- Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo
- Richard Crenna as Col. Samuel Trautman
- Brian Dennehy as Hope Sheriff Will Teasle
- Bill McKinney as State Police Capt. Dave Kern
- Jack Starrett as Deputy Sgt. Arthur Galt
- Michael Talbott as Deputy Balford
Themes
- prison
- guerrilla warfare
- dying and death
- vietnam war
- vietnam veteran
- hero
- vietnam
- police brutality
- sheriff
- escape
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Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 93
- FilmAffinity ID
- 922584
Show 6 more facts
- publication date
- 1983-01-06
- title
- First Blood
- box office
- 47212904
- capital cost
- 15000000
- Commons category
- Rambo I
- review score
- 61/100
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~23 min read
Article
First Blood is a 1982 American action film starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. The film was directed by Ted Kotcheff and co-written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Stallone based on the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell. The story follows Rambo, who, after entering a small town and clashing with the police, attempts to fight in order to survive a manhunt using his expertise in survival and combat skills. The film costars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor Colonel Sam Trautman and Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle.
First Blood was released in the United States on October 22, 1982. Initial reviews were mixed, but the film was a box-office success, grossing $125.2 million and becoming the 13th-highest-grossing film at the domestic box office for the year and the seventh-highest-grossing film worldwide. In 1985, it also became the first Hollywood blockbuster to be released in China, holding the record for the largest number of tickets sold for an American film until 2018. Since its release, it has been reappraised by critics, with many highlighting the roles of Stallone, Dennehy and Crenna, and recognizing it as an influential film in the action genre.