“Rocky” vs “First Blood” in Joblo’s Face/Off!

Joblo.com brings Rocky and First Blood to their Face/Off feature where they rate each movie in several categories and determine a winner.  Do you agree with their outcome?

Sylvester Stallone’s two most popular cinematic characters, Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, debuted in between 1976 (Rocky) and 1982 (First Blood) and went on to generate a number of sequels (and even spinoffs in Rocky’s case with the Creed films) that have lasted for decades. But, one of the most common debates is which was the best of the original iterations of these characters, Rocky or First Blood?

In this series we explore the pros and cons of each, while taking a look at things like box office, awards accolades, most-quotable lines, supporting cast and so much more to determine which film is the winner in the never-ending debate when two movies Face/Off!

Edited by Damion Damaske

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

“Rambo” Trivia


Thanks to Military.com today we have 8 Even More Incredible Facts About ‘Rambo’.  Check out three of my favorites before clicking over to all eight.

4. Stallone hated the first cut of First Blood.
The first time Stallone saw the edit for “First Blood,” he hated it. It was three and a half hours long, and Rambo’s dialogue was terrible. At first, Stallone wanted to buy the film so he could burn it. Instead of that, he re-cut the film to 93 minutes with most of his dialogue removed, which is what you see when you watch it today.

5. Without ‘Rambo’ there would be no ‘Predator’
When Rocky Balboa took on Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV,” no one in Hollywood was quite sure who Rocky’s next opponent could possibly be. The joke was made that Rocky would have to fight some kind of Alien in “Rocky V.” After a while, Screenwriters Jim and John Thomas began to take the idea seriously and wrote a Rocky-Rambo Hybrid movie that we call “Predator.”

3. Rambo wasn’t a killer – originally.
John Rambo never actually kills anyone in “First Blood.” There is only one death in the entire movie, and that happened as an accident when an overzealous cop falls from a helicopter while shooting at Rambo. (This refers to the movie “First Blood” not the novel on which the film was based. – Craig)

In subsequent movies, that all changes of course. Rambo’s body count is 76 in “First Blood: Part II,” and 132 in “Rambo III.” In “Rambo,” he appears to kill the entire Burmese Army with one .50-cal.

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sylvester Stallone’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

ScreenRant posted Sylvester Stallone’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes.  Below is their list and my rankings using just their top ten.  Regular readers would know that Get Carter would have definitely made my list.

ScreenRant

Craig

10. Rocky II 10. Antz
9. Nighthawks 9. Death Race 2000
8. Cop Land 8. Rocky II
7. Rocky Balboa 7. Creed II
6. Death Race 2000 6. Rocky Balboa
5. Creed II 5. First Blood
4. First Blood 4. Nighthawks
3. Antz 3. Cop Land
2. Rocky 2. Creed
1. Creed 1. Rocky

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Very Rare “First Blood” Poster by Drew Struzan with Stallone & Kirk Douglas!

This comes to us from my collection. It is a rare advertisement for First Blood from when the project was first promoted. Yep, Kirk Douglas was set to play Colonel Trautman. 

Douglas left the production when he learned that the original ending (in which Douglas’ character killed Rambo) had been changed to allow Rambo to live.  Richard Crenna was brought in and the rest, as they say is history.

The great Drew Struzan did the poster!

– Craig

Click on the photo to see a bigger version.