RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital

Brilliant film Brilliant

"First Blood" (1982) is a action film with psychological undercurrents. It stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, one of the defining roles if his acting career. It's a popular movie, and inspired three sequels. This first film in the saga is based on a bestselling novel, by David Morrell, which - in the midst of an action storyline - explores some of the difficulties faced by soldiers returning home to the USA after fighting in Vietnam, and the post traumatic stress suffered. The book introduced Rambo - although it was this film series that turned the character into a global phenomenon. The film concerns John Rambo, who's living as a vagrant, being picked up by local police in a small town in rural America. The police don't particularly like Rambo's looks or attitude. In turn, Rambo doesn't seem to care about what the police think ... He's arrested, and while being detained is mistreated by some of the officers. During a moment of flashback - to an ordeal during the Vietnam War, when he was tortured - Rambo gets mad, fights the police officers and escapes. Hiding in the nearby mountains, Rambo is pursued by the police. It's then that the police learn that Rambo is an elite warrior - an ex-special forces soldier who's trained to evade capture, survive in the wilderness, and kill the enemy using any tactics. Ultimately, the police utterly fail to apprehend Rambo - and so now the military join-in the manhunt, led by Rambo's former commanding officer Colonel Sam Trautman. In the final act of the film, Rambo destroys the local town - and then, persuaded by Trautman, gives himself up. This is a violent film. Yet it's not violence for its own sake, merely to titillate. Rather, the storyline is handled in a serious manner - and Rambo's tortured psyche is explored (being clearly depicted in the final scene, when he suffers an emotional breakdown). This is as much a drama about a man being mistreated, and refusing to simply accept such mistreatment, as it is an action film. Stallone acts well, portraying the central protagonist in a meaningful way. He's brilliantly supported by both Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy. This is a defining film of the 1980's - inspiring a host of copy-cat movies. The Blu-ray edition presents excellent quality video and audio. Unfortunately, it has few special features.

Excellent product

Great movie

A typical Silvester Stallone film about a down trodden army veteran trying to deal with civilian life after the Vietnam war. Now having to deal with the loss of his buddy from his service days, he wanders aimlessly trying to come to terms with life. In the end you have to feel sorry for this guy who knows the only thing he was trained to do “kill” … Brian Dennehy plays the tough local sheriff chief and likes things to stay quite in his neck of the woods. That is until John Rambo, who just wants somewhere to eat turns up in town.

brilliant

Excellent

If you like to hear author's and/or actors discuss the story and movie making process then this is an excellent buy. I got it specifically because Sylvester Stallone (actor) and David Morrell (author) discuss FirstBlood. If you have listened to any of Stallone's commentaries before, you will know he is a contrast to the type of characters he plays on screen. He comes across as extremely knowledgeable, intelligent and very interesting, full of the kind of insight fans of these commentaries love. Likewise David Morrell is always honest, tells a great story and is never less than heartfelt. He comes across as a very nice guy, who is very pleased to have created one of the great action icons of the twentieth century. If you have any interest in fiction writing Morrell's books on the writing process are also excellent value for money. As this is a blu-ray the image and audio are excellent but you can buy just that for less directly from the UK. The value of this is for the fans of the commentaries. Well worth the slightly elevated price.