RAMBO: First Blood (1982) is a bazooka to the heart 

You are simply awesome.

Ames, I was in high school at the end of the 1970's. The group I hung out with was young, dumb and irresponsible. What else do you expect from young guys aged around 20? In the summer someone would get the idea to drive to Vancouver for coffee (we lived in Lethbridge). We'd take turns driving and when we got to Hope we'd know we were almost there. I think I remember the diner you were talking about. Did you grow up near there? What was it like to live in small town BC? PS: loved your reaction. As teenagers I don't think we really understood what it was like to be subject to the draft like Americans were. All I can say is that I'm thankful that I've never had to experience war, so far!!!

So, when are you going to react to ‘the English Patient?” I think that it might be on your top 100 list somewhere 😉

Thanks for liking my comment nice to know I got seen, I have a huge passion for films being quite a bit older I have seen hundreds if not thousands of films but watching your channel has made me see them in a totally different light, how you break the scenes down how you get emotionally attached to what you are watching is truly powerful, an it has allowed me to enjoy things I have seen all over again. So thank you for being such a great beacon of light. Oh so far I have loved your Band of Brothers series watch, your pacific one so far, cant wait for masters of the air. But last of us wow that is by far and away the best reaction I have watched on RU-vid you even made me cry. Not ashamed to say that either please keep doing what you are doing!! So so so so good.

Just watched your reaction. Loved it, and this movie. You wondered if Stallone wrote this. He was approached to appear in the film; coming off of the success that summer of 1982 with Rocky III. He wasn't sure at first if he wanted to do the film; but was allowed to write a draft based off of the original script. The more he wrote the draft, the more he saw himself playing the character of Rambo. Not sure if its up on YT, but check out "Drawing First Blood"; it is a making of featurette made for the 2002 DVD.

I cry at that spot too. It’s all too real. I probably shouldn’t watch this because I get triggered but its so beautifully done. I can’t believe they turned Rambo into a cartoon action hero in the next two when this is so deep.

​@@jacobkubacki27192 and 3 were kinda ridiculous and over the top, they cashed in for sure.

@@stanzaloan3454 2 was ok. 3 was just stupid! They took a heart felt character & turned it into a farce & why none expects the powerful ending of First Blood.

I know what you mean. My uncle was a tunnel rat due to his 5’2 height. We lived above him in a duplex. He would sleep with the lights on. Would wake up screaming in terror. Had to sleep in a separate room from his wife, he attacker her in his sleep. He would sit staring at the blank tv and would wonder around the house at night crying. He died of liver failure, his war is over, I hope he is at peace.

@@Revetus915 The sleep deprivation that goes with it makes the PTSD worse. God bless your Uncle & he’s at peace. My buddy died last month from s brain hemorrhage & came back. He served 28 years, SF & was in the initial invasion of Afghanistan. He swears he went to the otherside & said all his pain & anguish was gone but it wasn’t his time. I believe him! He has drawings he made of the beings he encountered. It gave him me peace of mind knowing there’s peace in the end. Believe it or not, your Uncle was rewarded in the end.

Had ZERO IDEA

@@holddowna yayy thank you so much for reacting to this, I had recommended this a few days back actually. I'm glad you liked the movie. Please react to part 2 and 3

I can’t think of a movie franchise that drifted further from its origin. Those later movies were just gore-p*rn.

I disliked that the anti-war message was lost on the sequels, at least until the final one.

@@gavinsheridan4680 probably Rocky

Welcome home to your dad. I don’t know if he’s around still but that’s one thing this Iraq vet likes to tell them. They never got that.

@@jacobkubacki2719 Sadly my dad passed a little over 4 years ago - the day after Veterans Day. If I've learned anything, we've come a long way in showing more respect to our veterans, but we still don't do enough to help readjust to civilian life (I can't even begin to fathom how). When my dad came home, we have not yet learned to "hate the war, but respect the warrior". I never knew the boy that went to Vietnam, only the wounded & tormented man who came back. Thank you and all who have served for a greater good most of us don't understand.

@@Mister_Samsonite Its the politicians & oligarchs of the world that fight wars for profit. We’re on the verge of a really bog one. Trust me, I have friends still in and in high ranking places. But it’s those people that fan the flames of fear, hatred & division. I saw first hand what we went to Iraq for & it wasn’t for freedom & democracy. I wish the people of our country would wake up & realize what they’re voting for & that goes for both sides of the isle. How many generations of traumatized citizens are we going to produce? We live in the best most advanced time in this current history of mankind & yet we still haven’t figured out how to take care of each other. We should be living well, everyone. Yet the majority puts all if our lives in the hands of people who lie, cheat & steal their way to the top only to turn around & tell us they have the key to a fair & just society! It blows my mind & makes me & a lot of other vets feel like we fought & got hurt & killed for nothing. So yes, be kind to people. It goes a long way. You don’t know what they live with just as they don’t know how it is to walk in your shoes. Our whole world just came out of a 2-3 year pandemic(Ill hold my thoughts in that bullshit) so is it best for humanity to jump into WW3? Or to send billions of dollars to Ukraine while neglecting us broke people that are suffering from losing their livelihoods?! Thank you for the thanks & be an ambassador for peace. War is Hell & we don’t need one.

And he’s getting turned away by another veteran. You can see Teasle’s decorations in his office. Also, he seems to organize his men with Korean War-era tactics when he pursues Rambo into the woods.

@@Enthymene Oh, using the National Guard was a GREAT idea!

That line hits deep

@Rowlandi11 - You've stated the line wrong. Rambo said he couldn't even "hold" a job parking cars. There's a big difference between "get" and "hold". You can't "hold" a job that you never had. Rambo was hired to do it but there were things about him that prevented him from being successful, even at parking cars, so he lost that job, he couldn't "hold" it. We see these things about him in this movie. Even before that terrible, "Oh, woe as me," speech at the end of this movie, if you can't see why Rambo couldn't hold a job parking cars then I hope you don't have a job that relies on critical thinking skills that impacts the lives of others. Apparently the only thing Rambo was ever good at was killing people. Not a lot of jobs like that in the private sector. I can see why he struggled.

@@NeverGiddy okay. I stated the line wrong. Rambos problems holding a job and the message at the end of the movie are not mutually exclusive. Rambo can't work. We treat our veterans like inhuman pieces of shit. Both things can be true. "if you can't see why Rambo couldn't hold a job parking cars then I hope you don't have a job that relies on critical thinking skills that impacts the lives of others." What are you rambling about? I never said I couldn't see the difference, you ASSumed I can't see the difference and then went on some tangent about impacting peoples lives. Just a weird, projecting comment. "Apparently the only thing Rambo was ever good at was killing people" You can't make this claim of "ever" as we don't know Rambo before the war. It's also objectively untrue. Unless you're implying Green Berets have absolutely zero translatable skills to the private sector and are only killing machines. It's strangely dehumanizing and lacking in compassion. You're also now saying it's his lack of skills stopping him from holding a job and not his PTSD. "We see these things throughout the movie" See what things? His trauma flashbacks? His PTSD? So which is it? Is he too stupid to park cars or not? Is he a mindless killing machine or somebody capable with severe trauma? Make up your mind. I guess Rambo is kinda poignant even now, huh

​@@NeverGiddywow! I take it you didn't like Rambo🤔. Every Veterans experience in Nam was different I'm sure, maybe, just maybe loud backfires of cars would have a post traumatic effect, or some tough guy like the cop who just wants to be a jerk! You have no idea why can't, won't couldn't hold a job! Point is the men of Vietnam weren't treated right

​@@donnaralph4413 - Rambo, the movie, had some entertainment value, until the end. Rambo, the character, was a societal threat and needed to be killed at the end of the movie, either by his own hand, Trautman, or all of the law enforcement officers waiting outside. Though not perfect, Sheriff Will Teasle was the hero of this movie. He was hired/elected to protect the town by its people and he saw that as his duty. Let one person live and shit on your sidewalks and soon you'll have a hundred more just like them. You always get more of what you tolerate. He instantly saw Rambo as a threat to the good order of the town he served and as the film progressed Rambo proved him right. When I read comments posted, there seems to be way to much misdirected compassion towards Rambo in this movie. Rambo violently attacked police officers, pushed one through a glass window, pulled a kid off a moving motorcycle and stole it, created the circumstance that led to the death of Art Gault, shot an old man, killed his dogs, stabbed a young police officer, set a spiked booby trap for another, broke an officer's arm, fired at national guardsmen, threw a soldier from a moving truck, destroyed city property, seriously wounded, possibly fatally wounded the Sheriff, and Rambo's the guy we're supposed to feel sorry for. When you turn your trauma inward, we need to be helping you with those emotional difficulties. As soon as you turn your trauma outward, we need to punch your ticket. I'll start feeling sorry for Rambo right after I start feeling sorry for Charles Whitman.

Soo good!!!!

I'm a member of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, and I know a couple of old Viet Nam vets. One was a grunt, the other a brown water (river) Navy man. Neither talks much about their experiences, but the Navy guy won't eat rice. He was a POW for a time, and that is all they were fed. Sometimes it had maggots in it. He won't touch the stuff now. I hug them both a little extra every time I see them. Do you want to make a Viet Nam Vet happy? Tell him "Welcome home!" That's something they never got when they came back from that place.

​@@IHeartShenanigans 🙏🇺🇲👍

@@IHeartShenanigans When I was in South Africa about 15 years ago for a year, I met a Vietnam vet. Guy had a wife and kid when he got sent to Vietnam, he never returned to the US after his tour was over.

Great story Sunder. Speaking as a UK vet', I think times seemed to have changed in the US now, your vet's are appreciated more now. Possibly, in part, due to movies such as Rambo, Private Ryan, etc. I never got why the youth of the day, were so against the average GI Joe. It's not like they chose to go & fight.

My father was a Nam Vet too. He too would get very quiet during the last scene. He wouldn't shake or cry at all. What he got was very, VERY angry. But that anger paled in comparison to the anger he unleashed on me the day I told him I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I'm the first born son. I was essentially raised as if I were in basic training. So, I figured that he would be proud of me for wanting to be a Marine like him. That was a HUGE miscalculation on my part. But, I didn't have to go to war to understand the horrors and atrocities committed by him and to him. I was the only person that he EVER opened up to. I've heard some shit. I find it funny that you called your dad Pops. I called my dad Pops too.

god bless your dad I,m sorry man! steve c. usn ret.

My grandfather had a similar reaction when I took him to see "Saving Private Ryan." He turned to me during the Normandy beach scene in the beginning and said "I can't stay."

god bless tell him thanks s usn ret.

You and your father deserve more respect than the gov't will ever give you. Rest assured there are people that hold you and your dearly departed father in the highest respect and admiration possible. YOU AND YOUR FATHER are what makes this country great and you are always honored. God bless you and your family for protecting us and those who dont who are ignorant and still live, not knowing the sacrafices made. You are owed so much, you will unfortunately get very little. MY RESPECT.

@oldgeezer3324 - If you can believe the internet, Brian Dennehy was born in July of 1938. The Korean War started in 1950 when he was just twelve years old. When it ended in 1953 he was fifteen years old, so he's not a Korean War veteran. He served in the U.S., Japan, and Korea, just not during the Korean War. Dennehy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps serving from 1958 to 1963, including playing football on Okinawa. In several interviews, he described being wounded in combat and repeatedly claimed to have served in Vietnam. In 1999, he apologized for misrepresenting his military record, stating: "I lied about serving in Vietnam, and I'm sorry. I did not mean to take away from the actions and the sacrifices of the ones who did really serve there... I did steal valor. That was very wrong of me. There is no real excuse for that. He was coaching Stallone on PTSD during a time when he was still misrepresenting his stolen valor.

@@NeverGiddy Thank you.

@@NeverGiddyOk, What I read was wrong, thanks for the correction

Brian Dennehy was such a good actor. He was really great at playing a believable asshole.

@@NeverGiddy His character was a Korean war vet, that's what the medals behind his desk represent.

True.

veterans are still being treated like second class citizens. while this shit run country sends money and support to other countries and brings in immigrants to support it forgets the people who fight these wars. and its not even americas wars, it hasnt been for decades. usa is not the greatest country anymore and hasnt been to its citizens in a long time. this corporation run country is selling OUR land to china, other countries are buying buildings to rent to u.s citizens while the money is going to probably fund terrorists or launder drug money. my apartment building was owned by a place in italy. its time for u.s citizens to stand up and get these relics that sit in congress and the white house out, stop worrying about trump and biden and all these money hungry corporations starving us and raising rents, mortgages, and property taxes to give our homes to foreign citizens and eventually it will happen. they are taking our rights to bare arms so we cant fight back and they can take as they will which is our right to fight off a tyrannical government. time to wake up before the second coming, at least we can say i fought back

Yeah the Rambo in the book bears more resemblance to Jason Vorhees, by the time he gets back to town he's killed 18 people already.

I watched a documentary about Stallone and he said that he did NOT want Vietnam vets to get the impression that all hope is lost for them and he was adamant that it would be changed to something a bit more hopeful for them and ended the movie the way it did. I’d go as far as saying that the ending MADE the movie what it is (the original ending had trautman shoot Rambo dead like the book but Stallone like I said again hated it and didn’t want Vietnam vets to get the wrong idea) by making what would’ve been a typical action movie to a heartfelt character study of a veteran

Spoiler.... Just like the ending in, "Of Mice and Men"...poetic tragedy is a theme in art that is really misunderstood and incomprehensible to most people today. Most people who react to Return of the King always say, "why does Frodo have to go away?"

All of Trautmans scenes were re-shot with Richard Crenna, because Kirk Douglas was originally cast. He walked away from the film when he didn’t get to kill Rambo. The studio still wanted Rambo to die, and they actually shot the ending with Rambo killing himself and test audiences were extremely angry. Stallone knows his audience, he was right with Rocky, and he was right with this film.

And sheriff was a Korean vet, sad they didn't put this on the movie.

I laughed at that too.

I know the exact diner she’s talking about. 👍🏼 It’s a must when you’re passing through.

@@jodynelson2055 I gotta go there dressed like Rambo, lol

What's the name of the diner that people talk so much about? The Old Home, fill 'er up, keep on trucking café. 😊

@@user-fk2dm5oy9f Gonna stop at this local choke n’ puke & throw some groceries down my throat. Lol Jerry Reed Smokey & the Bandit

He was amazing!

Totally! I was hyper always wanted to watch this because of the close home town reference and then gut punched

The wars change venues but the trauma stays the same.

Thank u for ur service❤️

Wow!! I would love to watch that

There’s a myth that the actor who portrayed Teasle was a Korean War Veteran. However, Brian Dennehy was born in July 1938; but the Korean War started in 1950, making Dennehy only 12 when it started. Dennehy enlisted in the USMC from 1958 to 1963. In multiple interviews he described being wounded in combat & repeatedly claimed he served in Vietnam. In 1999 he apologised for misrepresenting his military record, stating “I lied about serving in Vietnam & I am sorry. I didn’t mean to take it away from the actions & sacrifices of the ones who really did serve there….i did steal valour. That was very wrong of me. There was no real excuse for that”.

I think OP meant the character was a Korean Vet. Not the actor.

🤣🤣❤️❤️❤️

Unreal!

​@holddowna better than the monolog he has with his son in Rocky Balboa. But that one was pretty good too

First thing I remember him in was a guest role in Kojak.

Real men have only one emotion: Bacon.

I saw the medals too. One would think that the Sheriff with those awards would empathize with Rambo's situation. Kinda hard to believe that he wasn't at least sympathetic.

@@stephentaylor9630 He was Korean war veteran. In Australia the Vietnam veterans were even frowned upon by some of the WW1 and WW2 and Korean war veterans, thanks to stigmas like baby killers and murderers from the media.

There’s a myth that the actor who played Teasle was a Korean War veteran. However actor Brian Dennehy wasn’t born until July 1938; with the Korean War starting in 1950, making Dennehy only 12 when it started. Dennehy enlisted in the USMC from 1958 to 1963. In multiple interviews he described being wounded in combat & repeatedly claimed he served in Vietnam. In 1999 he apologised for misrepresenting his military record, stating “I lied about serving in Vietnam & I am sorry. I didn’t mean to take it away from the actions & sacrifices of the ones who really did serve there….i did steal valour. That was very wrong of me. There was no real excuse for that”.

@@davidanderson1639 Yeah I knew that about Brian, but the character Teasle is a Korean war veteran.

That single stunt cemented Stallone and Rambo as Rock Hard Epic Men forever

Thanks for this! I know they made it so easy to hate teasel but there is more to him! Especially after editing this u see more! Thanks for all the extra tidbits!

No problem. Also, because Teasel was told he wasn’t allowed to win the war in Korea by his superiors, this was why Colonel Trouts warning “Do you want a war you can’t win?” Teasel was finally in charge and nobody was going to tell him he couldn’t win this time. This also explains why he gets upset when they tell Teasel on the radio that Rambo is a war hero, it upsets him more. Because in his mind “where is my recognition?” I never got any and I’m not going to show him any.

Very true about Teasle and his Korean War service. But even in the book he definitely didn't consider Rambo his 'equal', especially in the beginning. In his mind, all the WWII or Korean War vets (like himself) who came home were 'clean cut', hard-working, law-abiding Americans. The image Teasle, and a lot of people had back then about Vietnam veterans was: Scruffy, hippie-like vagrants, drug-addicts, crazy, etc. which is definitely an unfair representation, but looking back it's definitely appalling how bad they were treated when coming home...

When I said he considered him his equal, I meant it as someone who served only, but he looked at him as lower class. He also had this mentality, that nobody cared about me after my war so I don’t care about you, especially a “drifter.” Because he was Sheriff he placed himself on a pedestal while looking down on Rambo as a street bum based on his appearance. He even said “we don’t want your type around here.”

There’s a myth that the actor who played Teasle was an actual Korean War Veteran. However, actor Brian Dennehy was only born in July 1938; with the Korean War started in 1950, making Dennehy only 12 when it started. Dennehy enlisted in the USMC from 1958 to 1963. In multiple interviews he described being wounded in combat & repeatedly claimed he served in Vietnam. In 1999 he apologised for misrepresenting his military record, stating “I lied about serving in Vietnam & I am sorry. I didn’t mean to take it away from the actions & sacrifices of the ones who really did serve there….i did steal valour. That was very wrong of me. There was no real excuse for that”.

Oh definitely.

Ya heard about it will watch for sure

Maybe because Rambo has the MoH?

@@gill5453 Exactly. The MoH is another reason. But I think he would have allowed that even if he didn’t have the MoH.

Totally 180 had no idea what was gunna happen in this movie

@@holddowna Yep, some wonderful acting, easily matches his Rocky 1 acting, This was one of my late father's first laserdisc purchases and I grew up to see why. Thanks again for a wonderful reaction!

It was so powerful i was in shock I never saw that coming but very very well done and very important

Now I understand why he did what he did when going back to town instead of just escaping.

If the majority of people followed the golden rule, this world would be wonderful.

@@jacobkubacki2719 I know, such a simple concept, right? I sure don't expect human nature to change in my lifetime. On a Zen/Physics level, we're made of the same stuff and more alike than we're different. Will we ever learn to stop mocking and destroying what we don't understand? Let's start asking the awkward questions and having the conversations we need to.

@@Mister_Samsonite If it weren’t for politicians & the oligarchs, we wouldn’t be in half the mess this world’s in. That’s both sides. Im a Carlinist as in the comedian/philosopher & take no sides in the absurdity our government has become. They all stand to profit from hatred, division & most of all fear! Well, love is the only thing that conquers that. If voting actually works(lol) we need a do over. Article 5 of our Constitution would do that but they won’t let me explain it here. I have to speak in code. IDK? I served, got injured, got arrested years later as my mental health declined & now my life is shit. I wish I never enlisted. Im ashamed that I participated in that sham. I pray for death but I love my daughters so I keep sticking around for now. God bless & tell your representatives no to war.

@@jacobkubacki2719 Brother, I am so sorry that other people's choices have left you so battered and disillusioned. Much like you, my father saw no "patriotism" in his service, but as a pawn in a far more sinister endgame. I don't know what to say that would ease your pain, but I hope seeing your daughters thrive in this crazy world is enough. However you might feel now, pulling the curtain is a permanent solution to temporary problems. I always used to think our vote made a difference, but it's hardly worthwhile when different puppets have their strings pulled by the same masters. I will pray that this message gives you hope and helps you prevail. Every life has meaning and purpose!

@@jacobkubacki2719 I'd also like to make a book recommendation - Viktor E. Frankl's "Man's Search For Meaning". It brought me great peace during the darkest moments of my life. A great quote from this book - a man with a "why" to live for, can bear with almost any "how".

Right? Richard Crenna is a national treasure. I've loved everything I've seen him in. He played a rather convincing Ronald Reagan in the movie they made about the assassination attempt on him.

🏳️‍🌈🗡❔️

@@definitelynotanAIchatbot sorry. Lol I just saw that. I apologize. Thank you for letting me know.

Right!!! He was so excited to see his friend!

😔

I should add that, at age 60 so too young for that generation, I did in my late teens and as a young adult get to know quite a few Vietnam vets, and while few shared much of their story the impact it had on them was obvious... Several addicts & lots of alcoholism. I remember one guy, Jerry, well known around town as the town drunk - would get his VA check the beginning of the month and go on a two+ week bender, and then be panhandling and angry the last week or two after his money ran out. It was through other people I knew his past, but got to know him a little over a few years and tried to never look down on him - he was in a door alcove to a closed business one day as i was walking by and said hi and was trying to "borrow" $1 from me "for a cup of coffee" - he was obviously shaking and starting to go into the DTs, but I first offered to take him to the diner down the street and buy him coffee and something to eat... Of course he tried the excuse of "I don't like their coffee" (and I offered anywhere else, knowing what he really wanted of course)... And finally told him "look Jerry, quit the BS, I know you want the $1 to go buy a little bottle of alcohol... I can see you shaking in withdrawal, just say so, and if you want I'll go buy a bottle for you". He lit up and was happy, I said "what's your favorite poison?" and walked around the corner and came back with a 250ml bottle for him. I'm betting he's dead by now, he was well known in the AA/recovery community (how I knew some of his past) as someone who would probably never get sober, often wound up in detox at the hospital.. often pushed away even the other vets in recovery who tried to help him. I just felt looking down on him was not going to ever accomplish much - that was the only time I ever bought him alcohol, but I did get him to the diner on occasion and buy him food and talk with him, try to encourage him to want to change. Didn't work, of course...

I would like to add MY voice to this request. It is a very good movie that I think you will appreciate, Ames.

@@davidbennett1357 I made my best mate watch this film an she doesn’t normally find these films interesting, but she keeps telling me she needs to watch it again as she can’t get her head around it being something that really happened to these people.

Oh ya!

Its better explained in the book. It switches POV from Rambo to Teasle, back and forth. Teasle was dealing with personal issues and felt the kid was disrespectful, kid was tired of being pushed and made his stand against it.

Ain't it the truth.

Amen

his monologue 💔

@@holddowna I noticed your entire demeanor changed during that scene. We can all tell you really did feel what Stallone was portraying. Thank you for reacting to this.

I breakdown all the time like Rambo. The VA fucked me over really good too so I agree. Some days I can’t wait for the pain to be over. Today is one of those days. Nobody gives a fuck.

LOL

Thanks for watching!

I didn’t know what I was walking into glad I watched it

ICWYDT~!

That’s the one!!!

I like Stallone and his movies are a lot of fun, but I was not happy with his performance at the end. That’s just my personal preference.

❤️

Srsly! It made the movie!