Anyone who goes through a war, will never be the same again. Once you see people getting killed, no matter if you personally had to kill or watch military friends die in the battlefield of a war, you will be scarred for life. Those memories will always be with you, no matter where you go. I have personally never been in any war, so i can not imagine how difficult it must be, coming home from a war and trying to adjust in society. When it comes to the Vietnam war specifically, i have seen several documentaries about what happened during those years. To hear the stories of some of the soldiers that survived, is very emotional. You can see in their eyes, and facial expression, that they have gone through some really horrible memories. Speaking of the Vietnam war, there is especially one war film that i really love, that i feel may give the best portrait of how it was during the Vietnam war, and that is the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. Directed by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, this film tells the story U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard ( Martin Sheen ), a burn-out veteran assassin, who is ordered to travel to an outpost in Cambodia, and murder U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz ( Marlon Brando ). While he travels there with a crew of soldiers on the Nung River, he is forced to experience even more horror of war, while he is already struggling with his inner demons. A lot of really powerful performances from legendary actors such as Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall and many more. Apocalypse Now is a very powerful war film, that really shows a lot of different perspective of how war affect us, and what war force us to do in a lot of horrible situations. One of the best films in legendary director Francis Ford Coppola´s amazing career, and i highly recommend the longer version called Apocalypse Now Redux. Speaking of the Vietnam war, in 1972 author David Morell released his novel First Blood, that tells the story of war veteran Rambo, who wanders into a town known as Madison, and get in trouble with local police chief, Wilfried Teasle. This novel became a film adaptation in 1982 from director Todd Kotcheff ( who directed the classic 70´s comedy Fun With Dick And Jane ). Legendary action actor Sylvester Stallone was chosen to be in the lead role as Vietnam war veteran John Rambo, and this film is still today considered to be one of the best action drama films of the 80´s. Since this film turns 40 years this year, i decided to revisit the film to see if my opinion have changed anything. Is the very first Rambo film just as good as i remembered, or have this film aged really bad?
John J. Rambo ( Sylvester Stallone ) is a Vietnam war veteran who is walking along the outskirts of a small town called Hope, Washington, in search of an old comrade Delmar Barry. He finds out that his friend died in cancer, that he got from the exposure of Agent Orange during the war. John continue his journey as he enters the town of Hope, he is intercepted by the local Sheriff Will Teasle ( Brian Dennehy ). Sheriff Will does not want strangers in his town, so offer Rambo a ride, to make sure that he is heading in the right direction. As soon as Rambo is dropped off, Rambo starts walking back to town. Sheriff Will arrest him for not following orders, and they have no idea that they are about to feel the rage, of a true war machine.
I know that a lot of people say that the 1976 film Rocky is one of their absolutely favourite films in Sylvester Stallone´s amazing career. But i personally feel that First Blood may be one of his best films ever, when it comes to telling a powerful story, and doing some real emotional acting as well. This film really show an honest portrait of a Vietnam war veteran trying to adjust in society, while he is still struggling with his own demons from war. To see a man being attacked just becuase he is an outsider, shows how prejudiced certain people can be. In the case of John Rambo, the last thing he needs is to be pushed away, with everything that he is struggling with emotionally from war. I do feel that First Blood manage to capture the feeling of a broken man, not knowing where he belongs, or if he ever will find a place where he feels accepted. One of the things that makes this film so good, apart of all the great action scenes and dramatic moments, are some of the characters. Sylvester Stallone manage to portait John J. Rambo in his very own unique way. You can tell that he really wanted to show the world, how war can affect your life with some really powerful acting ( especially towards the end, when he holds a very personal speech ). Legendary actor Brian Dennehy may do one of his best acting performances ever in this film, as the douchebag Sheriff William "Will" Teasle. He may come across as a family loving man at first towards the small town of Hope, but he is definetely the wrong man for his job. Brian manage to balance his performance with both strong dialogue, and very clear body language. One of the most powerful acting performances in First Blood, is definetely from legendary actor Richard Crenna as Colonel Samuel R "Sam" Trautman. You can tell that Colonel Trautman really care about John Rambo, knowing what he has gone through. And no one knows John better than Trautman either. The radio scene where Trautman talks to Rambo for the first time in many years, that´s where you see the only trust Rambo have left in this world. This film is violent in certain scenes, but for specific reasons. If you play too much with a soldier, you can hope he spares your life. First Blood is one of those films that manage to combine action and drama, and make it work so well. There is no question in my mind, the first Rambo film will always be the best in the franchise, and is one of the true classics of the 80´s that will never be forgotten, A must have on DVD or Blu Ray collection.
Rating: DDDD
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