An 'all-time great action movie' that renowned director Quentin Tarantino reportedly wanted to remake will be aired for free on TV tonight.
Rambo: First Blood, originally released in 1982, is set to be broadcast on ITV4 at 11pm this Saturday (February 1). For those who can't catch the showing, it's also available to stream on Amazon Prime for subscribers.
Initially known as First Blood, the film later added the character's name, Rambo, as a prefix when it became a successful franchise. It's a loose adaptation of David Morrell's novel of the same name.
Sylvester Stallone stars as John Rambo, an ex-Green Beret haunted by Vietnam memories and struggling to find his footing. Once seen as a perfect killing machine, he's now seeking inner peace. However, he encounters a small-town sheriff itching for a fight. Chaos ensues when Rambo, unjustly imprisoned, escapes and becomes the target of a massive manhunt, forcing him to use all his survival skills, reports Surrey Live.
First Blood, which helped solidify Stallone's reputation as an action star, was a significant departure from his earlier recognition for the first three Rocky films. Despite having roles in other movies like Nighthawks, Paradise Alley, and Escape To Victory, none matched the box office success of First Blood, which raked in over $125 million.
The film's triumph led to four sequels, with the latest, Last Blood, coming out in 2019. More than four decades on, the film remains a fan favourite. One stated online: "One of the all time great action movies. Stallone's best movie." Another said: "Rambo: First blood is damn near perfect. Stallone is one of the only actors to lead to great franchises."
A third fan pointed out the unique qualities of First Blood, noting: "Timeless movie with Stallone at his best along with a fantastic support cast. First Blood has a rawness to it, similar to Deliverance, which makes the violence more acceptable. The violence however is not overdone nor out of place as the violence of war is brought home and released upon ignorant, non understanding civvies. Possibly Stallone's best role before the story of John Rambo became the thing of overbudgeted Hollywood."
In the era of numerous remakes and reboots, First Blood has been suggested to be getting a fresh take with celebrated director Quentin Tarantino at the helm. Tarantino caused a stir in 2021 when he floated an idea for a Rambo remake while appearing on The Big Picture podcast. He shared that if his goal was simply 'to make a good movie', he would opt for an adaptation truer to the original novel by author David Morrell with John Rambo at its centre.
Tarantino even envisioned a cast saying: "Kurt Russell would play the sheriff, and Adam Driver would play Rambo. Every time I read it (the book), the dialogue is so fantastic in the David Morrell novel that you're reading it out loud. It would be so good. But now I want to do more than that. But if it was just about to make a good movie, that's out there."
Rambo: First Blood is on ITV4 at 11pm Saturday, February 1 and streaming on Amazon Prime.
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