First Blood

First Blood (also known as Rambo : First Blood) is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor Sam Trautman and Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle. It is the first installment in the Rambo franchise, followed by Rambo : First Blood Part II.

The film is based on the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, which many directors and studios had unsuccessfully attempted to adapt in the 1970s. In the film, Rambo is a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who must rely on his combat and survival skills when a series of brutal events results in him having to survive a massive manhunt by police and government troops near the small town of Hope, Washington.

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 $156 million at the box office. 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.

Its success spawned a franchise, consisting of four sequels (co-written by and starring Stallone), an animated television series, a comic books series, a novel series, several video games, and Indian remakes.

Plot

John Rambo is a Vietnam war veteran, who makes his way to the outskirts of a small town called Hope, Washington, in search of an old comrade, only to learn that his friend had died the previous year of cancer, brought on by exposure to Agent Orange during the war.

Entering the town, Rambo is intercepted by the local sheriff, Will Teasle, who immediately takes a disliking to Rambo due to his unkempt hair, army jacket and generally messy appearance. Teasle however, offers Rambo a lift to "make sure he is headed in the right direction". When Rambo, now in Teasle's car, asks for directions to a diner, Teasle tells him that there's a diner 30 miles up the highway.

Teasle then drives Rambo to the outskirts of the town before dropping him off and telling him that Portland, where Rambo had initially said he was headed, lies straight ahead. As Teasle drives off headed back into the town, he spots Rambo trying to return. Infuriated, Teasle arrests Rambo on charges of vagrancy, resisting arrest, and possessing a concealed knife before bringing him to the police station.

Led by the sadistic chief deputy Art Galt, Teasle's officers abuse Rambo, triggering flashbacks of the torture he endured as a POW in Vietnam. When they try to dry-shave him with a straight razor, Rambo snaps. He overwhelms the patrolmen and Teasle, takes back his knife, fights his way out of the station, steals a motorcycle, and flees into the woods. Teasle organizes a search party with automatic weapons, dogs, and a helicopter.

Having spotted Rambo attempting to climb down a cliff over a creek, Galt defies Teasle's orders and attempts to shoot Rambo from the helicopter. Realizing that he is an open target, Rambo leaps from the cliff and lands on a tree branch, injuring his right arm. With Galt still shooting at him, Rambo throws a rock at the helicopter with his uninjured arm, cracking its windshield and causing the pilot to briefly lose control. Galt, who had removed his safety harness in order to get a better firing angle, loses his balance and falls to his death on the rocks below.

With the aid of a pair of binoculars, Teasle identifies Galt's dead body at the bottom of the cliff, just beside the creek. Rambo tries to persuade Teasle and his men that Galt's death was an accident and that he wants no more trouble, but the officers hit him with a non-lethal shot, and force him to flee once more. Teasle swears revenge. It is later revealed that Rambo is an ex-Green Beret and recipient of the Medal of Honor, but Teasle, bent on revenge, arrogantly refuses to turn the manhunt over to the State Police.

Using guerrilla tactics, Rambo non-lethally subdues the deputies, using improvised booby traps and his bare hands, until only Teasle is left. Overpowering Teasle and holding a knife to his throat, Rambo threatens to "give him a war he won't believe" if Teasle does not give up the pursuit, before retreating further into the woods. The State Police and Washington National Guard are brought in to assist Teasle, along with Rambo's mentor and former commanding officer, Colonel Sam Trautman.

Confirming that Rambo's time in Vietnam allowed him to become an expert at guerrilla warfare and wilderness survival, Trautman advises that Rambo be allowed to escape to the next town in order to defuse the situation, then be permitted to surrender peacefully later. Confident that Rambo is hopelessly outnumbered, Teasle adamantly refuses. He allows Trautman to contact Rambo, who is using a stolen police radio, and try to persuade him to give himself up. Rambo recognizes Trautman but refuses to come in, condemning Teasle and his deputies for their abuse and noting that "they drew first blood".

Trying to slip through the cordon, Rambo is surprised by a young boy out hunting; he overpowers but does not harm the boy, who alerts the authorities. A National Guard detachment corners Rambo at the entrance of an abandoned mine. Against Teasle's orders to wait for him, the inexperienced guardsmen use a rocket, collapsing the entrance and seemingly killing Rambo. He survives and finds another way out, hijacking a supply truck carrying an M60 machine gun and ammunition and returning to town.

To distract his pursuers, Rambo blows up a gas station, shoots out most of the town's power, and destroys a gun store near the police station. Trautman, knowing that the sheriff is outmatched, tries again to convince Teasle to leave Rambo be, but the sheriff ignores him and goes to kill Rambo himself. Rambo spots Teasle on the police station's roof, and the two engage in a brief gunfight that ends with Teasle being shot and falling through a skylight.

As Rambo prepares to kill him, Trautman appears and warns Rambo that he will be killed if he does not surrender, reminding him he is the last survivor of his elite unit of Green Berets. Now cornered, Rambo rages about the horrors of war before collapsing in tears and talking about his traumatic experiences: watching his friends die in Vietnam, being unable to hold a job due to his PTSD, the cruel treatment he received from his fellow Americans when he came home, and being forgotten by the country that he sacrificed so much for.

Teasle is taken to a hospital, while Rambo, after being comforted and validated by Trautman, surrenders and is taken into federal custody.

Soundtrack

It's a Long Road - by Jerry Goldsmith

It's a long road
When you're on your own
And it hurts when
They tear your dreams apart
And every new town
Just seems to bring you down
Trying to find peace of mind
Can break your heart

It's a real war
Right outside your front door I tell ya
Out where they'll kill ya
You could use a friend
Where the road is
That's the place for me
Where I'm me in my own space
Where I'm free that's the place
I want to be

'Cause the road is long yeah
Each step is only the beginning
No breaks just heartaches
Oh man is anybody winning

It's a long road
And it's hard as hell
Tell me what do you do
To survive
When they draw first blood
That's just the start of it
Day and night you gotta fight
To keep alive
It's a long road

P/s : Khi phổ biến phim First Blood ở VN (khoảng 1983...) người ta dịch tên phim là "Giọt máu cuối cùng", hồi đó, dẫu cho thấy chướng tai gai mắt nhưng không ai dại gì mà tranh cãi...Mãi đến năm 2019, khi Sylvester Stallone (diễn viên chính kiêm đạo diễn) cho ra tập phim Last Blood để kết thúc chuỗi bộ phim Rambo của mình, lúc này, không cách nào khác người ta đành phải dịch tên tập mới này là "Giọt máu cuối cùng" cho đúng với nghĩa đen lẫn nghĩa bóng của phim. Và họ cũng không cảm thấy hổ thẹn chút nào khi phải âm thầm tự sửa lại tên của tập First Blood từ 37 năm trước kia thành "Đổ máu" hay có khi là "Kẻ gây đổ máu", vẫn rất cố chấp không muốn gọi tên phim theo phiên bản gốc để hoàn chỉnh cho "serie movie : Rambo" - có đầu tiên...có cuối cùng, một kết thúc hùng tráng cho nhân vật John Rambo. Do vậy bài viết này xin được đăng theo bản gốc tiếng Anh (nguồn internet), đây cũng là cách để thể hiện sự tôn trọng bản quyền của tác giả, nhà sản xuất vậy ...(cập nhật 2020)