First Blood is about a Vietnam vet named John Rambo who comes to a small Washington state town (actually British Columbia) to find the last surviving comrade from his elite Green Beret unit. When he discovers that he too is dead, Rambo makes his way into town for a bite to eat and instead winds up being arrested by the hick local sheriff (Brian Dennehy). While in custody, Rambo is abused by the locals but manages to escape sparking an all out manhunt.
This film has 55 minutes of action out of 96 total highlighted by the jail escape and subsequent chase. Jack Starrett is great as the cop that does most of the abusing while Davis Caruso is fine as the only deputy (among the surprisingly large local force) that seems to have a conscience. Dennehy is good as always and makes a worthy opponent for Rambo. Richard Crenna is great as Rambo's former CO and he and Dennehy play off one another quite well. Even though he has limited speaking parts, this is probably one of Stallone's best performances highlighted by the "Vietnam speech" near the end of the film.
The film is presented in digitally remastered widescreen 16:9, and is without a doubt the best video presentation of First Blood to date. The movie was shot in the temperate rain forest of BC and is quite dark at times. However, the darkest scenes have been enhanced here and are much improved over the various VHS versions some of which are terrible. Sound is Dolby 2.0 only but not bad considering. Also included are a cute trivia game (get all 10 right without a mistake to see a Rambo cartoon), production notes, and a teaser and trailer. The "featurette" is nothing more than a glorified trailer.
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