It’s time for another edition of War Movie Mondays Again. This time we’re featuring 1982’s First Blood (a.k.a Rambo: First Blood), directed by Ted Kotcheff. The film stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle and Richard Crenna as Col. Sam Trautman.

First Blood is based on author David Morrell’s 1972 novel about a Vietnam veteran trying to adapt to civilian life after his horrific experiences during the war as a member of an elite special forces unit. Kotcheff’s film serves as a study of the psyche of veterans and shows the audience the harsh realities many were still facing long after they’d come home.

As the film begins Rambo is a man haunted by his past backpacking through the Pacific northwest of the United States in search of an old Army buddy. Rambo arrives at his friend’s home to discover he’s been dead for over a year due to cancer from exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military during the war. Realizing he’s the last surviving member of his unit and with nowhere to go, he hits the road and ends up in the town of Hope, Washington.

When Rambo enters the town, he is spotted by the town’s sheriff Will Teasle (Dennehy) who asks Rambo where he’s headed, and why he’s passing through. Teasle offers Rambo a ride and escorts him to the city limits. Rambo asks Teasle why he’s against him trying to find something to eat in town.

Teasle explains that he is the law and that he’s paid to keep drifters out. Once dropped off at the outskirts, Rambo begins to head back into town. Teasle arrests Rambo for vagrancy, resisting arrest, and for carrying his signature knife.

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