A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations
- Shingleton
- (as David Crowley)
- Preston
- (as Don Mackay)
- Pilot
- (as Chuck Tamburro)
- Radio Operator
- (as Craig Wright Huston)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe large piece of rotten canvas that Rambo finds in the woods and cuts into a makeshift coat was in fact not a movie prop, but a real piece of rotten canvas found by the film crew during the movie's production. Since there was only one piece, Sylvester Stallone joked about how the canvas became a treasured prop on the set. After filming ended, Stallone kept the rotten canvas and still has it in his possession to this very day.
- GoofsWhen Sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy) gets out of his squad car to arrest Rambo, he has a visible twitch in the blinking of his eyes. In an interview, Dennehy related to talk show host Merv Griffin that he took Rambo's knife out of the sheath and then, while handling the knife, accidentally jammed it into his hand, but Dennehy continued with the scene even though the pain was causing his eyes to visibly twitch.
- Quotes
Trautman: [1:24:53] You did everything to make this private war happen. You've done enough damage. This mission is over, Rambo. Do you understand me? This mission is over! Look at them out there! Look at them! If you won't end this now, they will kill you. Is that what you want? It's over Johnny. It's over!
Rambo: Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! It wasn't my war! You asked me, I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win! But somebody wouldn't let us win! And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport, protesting me, spitting. Calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me, huh? Who are they? Unless they've been me and been there and know what the hell they're yelling about!
Trautman: It was a bad time for everyone, Rambo. It's all in the past now.
Rambo: For *you*! For me civilian life is nothing! In the field we had a code of honor, you watch my back, I watch yours. Back here there's nothing!
Trautman: You're the last of an elite group, don't end it like this.
Rambo: Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment, back here I can't even hold a job *parking cars*!
- Alternate versionsNBC edited 3 minutes from this film for its 1985 network television premiere.
- ConnectionsEdited into Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity (1999)
- SoundtracksIt's a Long Road
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Lyrics by Hal Shaper
Arranged by David Paich and Marty Paich
Produced by Bruce Botnick
Sung by Dan Hill
Probably the best Stallone movie behind the first Rocky. Great action, yes, but also a terrific script and some really good performances that elevate this above so many other action movies. I've read David Morrell's original novel and I have to say this is a case where the movie adaptation is just superior in every way. In the book, the Teasle character is more of the good guy and Rambo is a psycho killer that has to be put down like a dog. So kudos to Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Sylvester Stallone for making the changes they did to the plot and for all the quotable lines their script gives us. As for the acting, there isn't a bad note anywhere in this. Even the supporting players are excellent. Stallone and Dennehy knock it out of the park. Richard Crenna has arguably his most famous role here as Colonel Trautman. He gets many of the best lines.
Great score from Jerry Goldsmith with a memorable theme song. Ted Kotcheff's direction is solid. The action is fantastic but, as I said, it's so much more than just a popcorn movie. It has something to say about the Vietnam war and how the soldiers were treated when they returned home. This won't sit well with all types but I appreciate what they were going for here and thought they did very well with it. Had there never been another Rambo movie, this one would still be a classic. But there were more sequels to come, all action movies of varying degrees of quality but none quite as good as this one.
Sylvester Stallone's Most Iconic Roles
Sylvester Stallone's Most Iconic Roles
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $47,212,904
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,642,005
- Oct 24, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $125,212,904
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1