First Blood
1982 · Movie · R · 93 min · ★ 7.5 · 74% critics
After a Vietnam veteran is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he flees into the mountains and fights back alone. What starts as a tense manhunt escalates into an escalating one-man stand against his pursuers amid harsh wilderness conditions.
Based on First Blood
Also known as Rambo: First Blood · Rambo I: First Blood · Rambo 1 · Rambo 1: First Blood
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Details
- Years
- 1982
- Release date
- 1982-10-22
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Critic score
- 74/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.5/10 (6,911 votes)
- Box office
- $125,212,904
- Budget
- $15,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy First Blood if you want tense survival action with a serious, emotional edge—Not for you if you prefer lighthearted, purely heroic brawls like Cobra or Die Hard-style action.
Pros: intense survival tension; memorable lead performance; strong emotional punch | Cons: harsh police portrayal; parts feel unrealistic; confusing motivations
Themes
- prison
- guerrilla warfare
- dying and death
- vietnam war
- vietnam veteran
- hero
- vietnam
- police brutality
- sheriff
- escape
- police
- gun
- +19 more
Cast & crew
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
Chris Mulkey
as Deputy Ward
John McLiam
as Orval the Dog Man
Alf Humphreys
as Deputy Lester
David Caruso
as Deputy Mitch
Directed by Ted Kotcheff