First Blood: 10 Differences Between The Movie & The Book

First Blood: 10 DIfferences Between The Movie & The Book

In 1972, the famous writer David Morell released his first novel called First Blood. The book follows a war veteran named Rambo who ends up in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a group of law enforcement officers. Ten years later, the book was adapted into an action film starring Sylvester Stallone, and the Rambo franchise was born. Both the film and the book were a great success. However, they are not exactly alike. This is largely due to the fact that eighteen different scripts were written before the final script. Stallone is also said to have suggested a number of changes. Here are the main differences between the book and the movie.

The War Veteran’s Name

First Blood is the only movie that critics adored in the franchise and the very first notable difference between it and the book is the name of the protagonist. In David Morell’s novel, he was never referred to as John Rambo in any scene. He was only called Rambo. John Rambo isn’t such a bad name though it was somehow overused in action movies of the 80s. Bruce Willis’ character in Die Hard is called John McClane while Arnold Schwarzenneger’s character in Commando is called John Matrix. Someone ought to have come up with more name suggestions.

William “Will” Teasle’s Title

In the film, when Rambo arrives in the fictional town of Hope, Washington, he is picked up by Sheriff Teasle and dropped off at the border. He is then asked to leave. However, Teasle was not a sheriff in the novel. He was the chief of police. So what’s the difference between a police chief and a sheriff? Well, in most states the sheriff is elected. The only exceptions are New York, Hawaii and Rhode Island. However, the chief of police is in most cases appointed by the local government of the area in which he serves.

Reasons For The Arrest

The reason for Rambo’s arrest varies between the novels and the films. In the novel, a war veteran hitchhikes to Madison County in Kentucky. Teasle thinks he’s causing trouble, so he takes him to the border and warns him not to come back. However, Rambo appears two more times, forcing Teasle to arrest him. In the film, Rambo goes to visit an old friend, only to be told that he has died of cancer. He then decides to go to the town of Hope in search of a diner. Teasle is annoyed by his presence, so he takes him to the border and tells him to leave. He doesn’t obey. The sheriff notices his return through the side mirror and returns to arrest him.

Sylvester Stallone Gives Positive Update on Rambo Prequel

The Knife

After being dropped off at the border, a defiant Rambo decides to return to Hope. Of course, no one tells him what to do. Thus, the sheriff is forced to arrest him and take him to the police station. There, the police take his belongings, including the iconic knife, before locking him up. There is no knife in the novel. One of Rambo’s most iconic weapons was only introduced in the film. Since then, the action hero has used it in every installment of the franchise. He always looks pretty cool when he’s in use, so we’re glad the writers thought of that.

Escape From Jail

In the film, the deputy sheriff decides to beat him up just for the fun of it. The officers keep on brutalizing him but when one of them comes with a razor to shave his hair, it triggers memories of his torture in a POW camp in Vietnam. He thus fights his way out of the station while still clothes. He steals a motorbike and rides it to the forest. No one dies in the process. In the book, Rambo is not abused. He is simply locked in a cell. When Teasle shows up to cut his hair, he begins to panic. And when the deputy comes with another straight razor, he loses his mind completely. He takes the razor and slices through the deputy’s abdomen before escaping while naked. He steals a motorcycle and manages to hide from the police for the night after a good samaritan offers him shelter.

Rambo’s Hideout

After an extensive hunt in the film, Rambo hides in a cave in the forest. The cave is full of rats and they continue to cause him trouble. He has to constantly fight small monsters and get rid of them from his body. Luckily, they don’t do him much harm. However, in the novel he hides in the bat cave. Hello Batman? Were you there too? It’s time to charge you with aiding and abetting. Since bats weren’t really a big deal in the novel, it would have been boring if that remained the same during the making of the film.

Guerilla Tactics

While in the forest, Rambo single-handedly destroys the entire city police force. Using guerrilla tactics, he attacks one at a time until they are all wounded. It’s important to note that in the film he only wounds the officers, not kills them. He then corners Teasle, puts a knife to his throat and warns him to back off or he will do more harm. Rambo in the novel does not value the lives of law enforcement officers. He kills most of them, along with their dogs, before cornering Teasle and giving him a warning. When he releases Teasle, the police chief gathers more men and regroups.

Fleeing From The Cave

He might not be able to pull off such stunts now but in First Blood, Stallone’s character escapes from the cave by jumping on to an army truck and hijacking it. In the novel, he steals a police car. In both mediums, the escape leads to a second manhunt in the town. Back to the movie. Rambo damages plenty of property in the town but doesn’t kill anyone. In Morell’s book, Rambo keeps up with his murderous ways and goes on to kill plenty of the members of the state police who had been brought in after he decimated the local police. A couple of civilians and national guard members also ned up being casualties.

Trautman’s Arrival

The arrival of Rambo’s military training officer Colonel Trautman impacts the ending in both the novel and the novel and the movie. In the novel, he is actually Captain Trautman and not Colonel Trautman. When he arrives in Hope, in the novel, he tells Teasle but Rambo is not “trouble” but rather he is “troubled.” He accepts responsibility for Rambo’s action, admitting that he trained him to kill. In the movie, Trautman arrives and explains to Teasle that he trained Rambo and the military has thus sent him to come and talk to the war veteran in order to put an end to the destruction. He implores Teasle to let Rambo go so that he can take him back to the military where he belongs.

The Ending

The ending of the movie differs significantly from the book. In the novel, Teasle captures Rambo by surprise and shoots him in the stomach. Rambo manages to wound Teasle too with a return shot. Before the situation can escalate any further, Rambo gets killed courtesy of Colonel Trautman who shoots him in the head. The Ted Kotcheff movie ditched the idea of Rambo dying because test audiences didn’t take it too well. The script was thus rewritten to allow the war veteran to live. The movie thus sees Rambo shooting and injuring Teasle but when he goes close to finish the job, Trautman appears and tells him not to do it. Rambo then surrenders himself to the authorities.