First Blood

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. Dustin Hoffman was originally considered for the role of John Rambo. Can't you just hear it now? "Sheriff Teasle, you're trying to seduce me!"
2. Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Al Pacino and John Travolta were also a few of the names tossed around before producers settled on Sylvester Stallone. Why no one considered Don Knotts, we'll never know.
3. Gene Hackman turned down the role of Sheriff Teasle, which eventually went to Brian Dennehy. How awesome would it have been to watch Rambo take on Lex Luthor?
4. The next time you're in British Columbia, treat yourself to a John Rambo walking tour of Hope, Pitt Meadows and Golden Ears Provincial Park. Hopefully the local law enforcement won't chase you out of town for looking like a drifter.
5. Although the film was released as First Blood in the U.S., several other countries re-titled it Rambo: First Blood and even just plain Rambo. Spain, meanwhile, marched to its own drum and called the movie Surrounded. As long as Sly keeps blowing stuff up, we don't care what it's called.
6. Speaking of the stuff Sly blows up, the sporting goods store that Rambo obliterates is called "The Outpost." Seems like "Kindling" would have been more appropriate.
7. In an alternate ending, Rambo takes his own life. Good thing test audiences hated such a dark conclusion, because that would have made all those sequels considerably trickier. Although that does give us a great idea for Weekend at Rambo's...
8. Uh, Rambo? I think you're being watched. Look carefully at the stolen army truck as it crashes through the police roadblock - there's a camera mounted inside the cab.
9. Also visible: when Rambo jumps the train tracks on his motorcycle, you can spot a ramp built to help him execute the stunt. Still cooler than CGI, though.
10. Use caution when professing your love of this movie to your friends from Tokyo - "rambo" means "violence" in Japanese.

Cast

Crew