Did You Know (Rambo-First Blood) [1982]
DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS ABOUT THIS CLASSIC FILM? I'M SURE YOU WILL BE SHOCKED!
Sylvester Stallone accidentally broke the nose of an actor during the jail escape scene by elbowing him in the face, which is why he is seen wearing a band-aid throughout the rest of the film. Coincidentally, this is what Rambo does to a policeman in the novel during the exact same scene.
The 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 Stallonejoked 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.
Sylvester Stallone hated the first cut of the film so much that he tried to buy the film back and destroy it. When he couldn't do that, he suggested that the producers cut much of his part and let the rest of the characters tell the story. That cut the movie time in half and set a precedent for future action movies.
A plot point that was present in the novel but absent from the film was the primary reason behind Teasle's resentment and contempt towards Rambo, which was that Rambo was a veteran of the Vietnam War, which gained a lot of attention, whereas Teasle was a veteran of the Korean War; a war which most people had all-but-completely-forgotten at this point in time.
The first rough cut was over three hours, possibly three and a half hours long and according to Sylvester Stallone, it was so bad that it made him and his agent sick. Stallone wanted to buy the movie and destroy it thinking that it was a career killer. After heavy re-editing, the film was cut down to 93 minutes; this version was ultimately released in theatres.
When Rambo is believed to have been killed in mine attack by the National Guardsmen, Teasle returns to his office. Behind him, you can clearly see a display case that displays three medals. The three medals, from right to left, are: the Silver Star, The Purple Heart, and the Army Distinguished Service Cross Medals. These indicate Teasle was a highly decorated Korean War hero as both the Silver Star and ADSC are awarded for extreme valor and bravery in enemy combat. The subtext of the book was a battle of different war tactics, for this reason; this is underplayed in the film.
Rambo's trademark combat knife was custom designed by the late Arkansas knife maker, Jimmy Lile. The movie popularized knock-off hollow handled survival knives with compasses in the pommel.
According to Sylvester Stallone in the DVD commentary, the names of the people on Rambo's team in Vietnam (as read by Col. Trautman) are actually names of various people of the film's crew, including make-up artist Michael Westmore and costume designer Tom Bronson.
The movie takes place in the fictitious town of Hope, Washington. However much of the movie was filmed in the real town of Hope, British Columbia.
During the scene when Rambo, on the stolen motorcycle, is being chased by the police, the stuntman representing Sheriff Teasle who was driving the patrol car (Bennie E. Dobbins) suffered a broken back (a compression lumbar fracture) as a result of a seventy mile per hour first take that launched the car to a remarkable height on the ramp assisted steep approach to the railway crossing. The vehicle slammed down flat on its chassis, causing the injury to Dobbins, and it rolled several hundred feet further up the road before coming to a stop. When Dobbins opened the door to exit he found himself unable to walk and he fell to the ground. This original high jump and landing was re-shot and replaced in the final cut, with a more modest and believable car jump and landing, using a different car and stunt driver.
After Kirk Douglas pulled out due to script differences at the last minute after being cast as Colonel Trautman, the producers rushed to replace him. They tried Rock Hudson first, who was recovering from open heart surgery and turned it down. They then offered it to Richard Crenna, who accepted the Friday before filming began the following week. Crenna had to ask the script supervisor constantly to feed him his lines until he was able to get caught up with memorizing the part.
