Deconstructing Story - First Blood

From the age of twelve I had the headline poster on my bedroom wall, of Sylvester Stallone from First Blood, the ribbon of menacing bullets diagonal across his chest, the bandana, Rambo holding the M60. I have no idea why the image was so important because I only watched First Blood when I was sixteen. The movie still resonates with me thirty years later.

In trying to understand why First Blood has been such an iconic movie, I thought I'd break it down to fifteen core beats. The kind of beats any story needs if it will parse as entertainment in a viewers mind.

One - Introduction to Rambo

The movie begins by showing us Rambo, John J, walking down a grass verged track to a riverside settlement, accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith's laconic signature soundtrack. We discover Rambo is looking for the only surviving member of his squad from Vietnam, whom he quickly discovers died from cancer soon after returning from Vietnam. Now Rambo is completely alone and has nothing to lose. He heads back to the road and towards a small town called Hope.

Two - Characters (5 - 11 minutes) 

At five minutes we meet Sheriff Teasle, the much liked guardian of Hope. He spots Rambo and offers to give him a lift through town. Rambo wants to stop and eat but Teasle doesn't want guys like Rambo in his town. At eight minutes he drops Rambo off outside town. Rambo stops and deliberates and then starts walking back. He is arrested and his hunting knife confiscated.

At the police station we are quickly introduced to all the characters who play a significant part in the first half of the movie.

Three - Theme (@ 5 minutes)

During the arrest of Rambo, Teasle states that wearing his military jacket and the american flag 'like that' is what got him arrested. Throughout the movie to its closing scenes the repeating theme is how America has mistreated the soldiers who fought the Vietnam war.

Four - Catalyst (@ 13 minutes) 

Although Rambo's arrest sets up everything that will happen, it is his reluctance to be fingerprinted and his first meeting with the dark hearted Deputy Galt, that sets the violence in motion. We see how brutal Galt can be and also from flashbacks, just how unstable Rambo is.

Five - Preparing for the Adventure (13 - 16 minutes)

From the moment Rambo arrives at the station to the moment he escapes on sixteen minutes, there is no attempt by any party to avoid the adventure ahead. Rambo is treated brutally with relish, which results in horrifying flashbacks as the officers try to shave him. Rambo has deliberately put himself in this situation. He takes out half the personal in the station as he escapes.

Six - The adventure begins ( @16 minutes)

The escape as we move into act two sets-up the deepening conflict between Teasle and Rambo. Teasle relentlessly follows cross country in a squad car as Rambo flees on a motorbike. We get a sense that something has been gnawing at Teasle for some time and his determination to follow Rambo embodies his need for a violent resolution. No reason is stated in the movie but we see it in every gesture of Brian Dennehy's superb performance. As Teasle later says, 'I wanted to kill that kid so bad I could taste it.'

Likewise with Rambo, we get a sense that now he's on the run he is alive again and free. Above all he is doing something he is good at. This is a fight both men were looking for and now they have it.

Seven - No sub-plots

The whole story is focused around the hunt for Rambo and then his return attack on the town of Hope. There are no sub-plots or other layers. Colonel Trautman arrives on the scene at the mid-point but serves only to pad out the Rambo back story and add weight to his threat.

Eight - Fun in the Forest (16 - 40 minutes)

We enter the first of two big sections in act two. This one will lead us to the mid-point of the movie. The resourcefulness and ability of Teasle is demonstrated in his ability to command and focus resources. He above all is the one with any ability to capture Rambo, with the inability of his men demonstrated by their 'deer hunting' approach to the search and spoiling the scent of the hunting dogs. Rambo further demonstrates his skills by salvaging survival equipment from a scrap yard.

At twenty-five minutes the stakes are raised considerably when Rambo is forced to climb down a sheer cliff to escape. Deputy Galt starts shooting at Rambo from a helicopter, which forces Rambo to jump, using a tree to break his fall. He sustains an arm injury. Not content with wounding Rambo, Galt moves in for the kill. As a last desperate act Rambo throws a rock at the helicopter windscreen which unbalances Galt who falls to his death onto the rocks below.

Teasle sees Galt's dead body from the top of the cliff and Rambo offers a truce. Instead he is fired upon and we learn Teasle and Galt have been lifelong friends. At the same time Teasle discovers Rambo was an elite and medalled soldier. Both men now have more of a fight than they might have been looking for. Teasle's murderous desire and Rambo's need to survive have reached primal levels.

Teasle rallies his officers and they go with the hunting dogs to track down Rambo. Once more we get a sense Teasle alone is the one with any ability to do this, with the hunting dogs and then each of the officers systematically and cleverly taken out by Rambo, leaving the forest full of screams as Teasle's men call for help.

Nine - Mid-Point (@ 41 minutes)

Rambo confronts Teasle as the last man standing, telling him not to push it, that he could easily have killed them all. He lets Teasle go. Although this seems like a victory for Rambo his situation is immediately made worse when Teasle escalates the hunt, bringing in the state police and national guard. The hunt is turned into a national media event with Rambo demonised.

Ten - Soldiers close in (43 - 68 Minutes)

The second big chunk of story, taking us to the end of act two, starts with a slow down in pace. The narrative briefly summarises how we have got to this stage with a performance focused around the embattled but vengeful Teasle, who blames Galt's death firmly on Rambo. We are introduced to Colonel Sam Trautman, the soldier who trained Rambo, who implores Teasle to let Rambo go, so they can later catch him after the situation is defused. Ignoring this advice Teasle uses Colonel Trautman to initiate radio contact with Rambo. In one of the best moments in the movie, that both humanises Rambo and makes him more of a threat, Trautman tries to talk Rambo into turning himself in. In a repeat of the mistreatment of Vietnam soldiers theme, Rambo who is hiding in a mineshaft, refuses to run any more. 'There are no friendly civilians', he says, stating they pushed first, not him. The radio conversation has given a fix on Rambo's location.

At fifty-three minutes and the following morning, the national guard closes in on Rambo. He easily gives them the slip but is discovered by a young boy hunting with his dad. In a moment that reveals Rambo's true character he refuses to kill the boy whose screaming brings the soldiers back on Rambo's trail. He returns to the mineshaft and the national guard wait outside. At fifty-eight minutes the national guard, scared by Rambo's devastating return fire, rocket launch the mine. The mine is blown up and Rambo is believed dead. Although Colonel Trautman thinks Rambo might have survived he endures Teasle's rant about the easy victory. A rant Teasle later apologises for, which opens up some vital empathy for the sheriff as we head towards the finale.

Rambo has in-fact survived but endures his darkest moment escaping the mine at sixty-four minutes as the tunnel increasingly narrows and he is attacked by rats. Teasle and Trautman briefly share a drink and we get real context from Trautman for the kind of killer Rambo was in Vietnam - a war of attrition that foreshadows the hell Rambo is about to bring to the town of Hope.

Eleven - Rambo Lost (@ 58 minutes)

There are two key moments in the previous section that are important beats in the story. The first is the national guard rocket launching the mineshaft with Rambo inside. Although we do not believe Rambo can be dead the weight of Rambo's story then falls on the shoulders of Colonel Trautman. Having talked up his soldier's abilities it seems all is lost when Rambo is so easily killed by part-time soldiers. This moment directly contrasts the mid-point, where Rambo's victory of Teasle was short lived. This moment in the mineshaft is a short lived victory for Teasle, because Rambo is actually alive and will soon be back.

Twelve - Darkest Moment (@ 64 minutes)

The second key moment during the back-end of act two, comes at sixty-four minutes when Rambo reaches his lowest point in the movie. In the mineshaft with the tunnel narrowing, he is attacked by rats, a very memorable scene full of terror for Rambo, in turn demonstrating his humanity.

Thirteen - Into Act Three (@ 68 minutes)

After the rat attack it can only get better for Rambo and quickly does, when he finds a way out. He climbs a ladder and discovers he's amid the retreating troops who believe he's dead. And so we ease into Act Three and the violent finale.

Fourteen - Attack on Hope (69 - 88 minutes)

Rambo immediately steals a van with an M60 machine gun in the back. He races back to Hope, taking out a squad car full of pistol totting policemen and breaks through a roadblock to a victorious upsurge in the Jerry Goldsmith music score.

At seventy-four minutes he sets a petrol station in Hope on fire which quickly results in Teasle evacuating the streets. Teasle climbs onto the station roof with a rifle and waits for Rambo to show his face. Rambo doesn't, he systematically takes apart the town, and everything Teasle is responsible for. Finally he creates a diversion and spots Teasle on the roof.

At eighty-four minutes Rambo runs through Teasle's line of sight to draw him out and then unloads the M60 into Teasle, who is badly wounded but survives. Rambo is now ready to take on the rest of the police and National Guard positioned outside the police station.

At eighty-five minutes Colonel Trautman appears and tries talking Rambo down. In a very moving scene that pays off on the mistreatment of soldiers theme and the horrifying experiences of war that still haunt Rambo, he is reduced to a sobbing wreck and the battle is over.

Fifteen - The End (@ 89 minutes)

Rambo leaves the station and goes into custody with Colonel Trautman. He has shared his nightmare and in contrast to the beginning he is no longer alone. Teasle is lifted into an ambulance. The movie closes freeze framed on Rambo with Trautman at his side. Dan Hill sings his hit song 'It's a Long Road' in accompaniment.

Summary

First Blood is a story that appeals for its primal nature, of the hunter and hunted, a fight to the death. The enduring nature of the story is underpinned by the age old motif of the soldier who fights for his people, who is then caste out by the people, fearful for what he became in saving them. The film leaves us pondering contrasting moral viewpoints: Teasle believes men like Rambo are only ever trouble and everything that happens, especially Galt's death, prove him right; set against Rambo's belief he has been victimised once too often. Brian Dennehy's performance as Teasle, without any reference to his past, tells us exactly the man he is and what he stands for. Likewise Stallone is understated but likeable as the traumatised ex-soldier with blood and terror on his hands. We feel empathy, not just for Rambo - the errant son, but also for Teasle - the strict father figure, that lasts beyond the closing credits of the film.

Box Office

Made for $15,000,000, First Blood was released October 1982, going on to make a world-wide gross at the cinema of $125,000,000 It went on to be a big video and DVD hit, spawning the hugely successful and very different, partly James Cameron penned Rambo II.

Trivia

First Blood was originally set to star Paul Newman as Sheriff Teasle and then later Steve McQueen as Rambo. In David Morrell's original book of the same name, Rambo is shot dead at the end by Colonel Trautman. This was the original ending of the film too, but when it was test screened the audience almost rioted and they filmed an alternative ending, with Rambo surviving.