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Lance Sawyer makes his second appearance at the StalloneZone, this time with his riff on Sly as John Rambo from “First Blood.” I’ve been a fan of Lance’s art for a while. Recently I had a chance to purchase a few sketches from him and I could not be happier in how they turned out!
If you’d like to see more of Lance’s art, you can right here.
Krystal Clark over at Screen Cave posted her choices for The Top 10 Macho Movies that Ruled the 80’s. Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sly scored two movies in the top ten, but guess who came in at #1. Yep, Sly for First Blood. Here’s the list with the rationale for Sly’s films.
10. Road House
09. American Ninja
08. Rocky IV: “I must break you.” It’s been 26 years since Rocky IV’s release and those words still send chills down our spine. The movie isn’t a masterpiece but what it lacks in sensible dialogue it makes up for in spirit. It was Rocky Balboa versus Ivan Drago. It was the U.S. versus The Soviet Union. It was blonds versus brunettes. You get the picture.
07. Missing in Action
06. Predator
05. Escape from New York
04. Die Hard
03. Blood Sport
02. Commando
01. First Blood: John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is the ultimate ‘80s action hero. He’s a loner. He’s quiet. And he happens to be an expert in guerrilla warfare. After being tormented by a corrupt sheriff, Rambo taps into his survival training to fight back. As one man, he takes on 200 police officers and still manages to come out on top. How? Because he oozes machismo! If you send in 200 men against Rambo, don’t forget one thing – “a good supply of body bags.”
SFGate.com posted their choices for the Best Stallone Films along with the films that readers picked. You can see the choices above or here.
SZoner, Gerardo Moreno is back with his version of a new “First Blood″ teaser poster.
Well done, Gerardo! To see more of his art, click here.
SZoner, Gerardo Moreno sent in the photo above and this link for folks wanting more information.
AMC recently posted their choices for the Top Five Stallone Eighties Movies. Here’s a taste of the piece:
1. Rocky III (1982)
The third movie in the saga changes the pace, and Sly deftly walks a fine line between the Oscar-worthy drama of the movie’s predecessors and straight-up action… Rocky III is bigger, better, and more exciting than any sports movie that came before (or after)…
2. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
… one of the greatest action flicks of all time.
3. First Blood (1982)
…First Blood has a realism that is lacking from many eighties action movies…
4. Cobra (1986)
… Cobra is like Dirty Harry after five shots, three Red Bulls, and a trip to a military arsenal.
5. Rocky IV (1985)
The Rocky formula is taken to a whole new level with better training scenes and musical montages, bigger opponents (the truly monstrous Russian, Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren), and Cold War themes…
You can read the whole article here.
Earlier this week I received the following e-mail:
Reegs, Scott and I,( aka the First Blood Team :), have been working on this new First Blood video that shows very rare footage that was edited for a Canadian TV version back in 1983 and never made to DVD. It was important to preserve these footage.
The video also includes at the end a rare photos slide show that I’m sure First Blood fans might enjoy.
If you think this video deserves his little entry in your SZ weekly updates, Feel free to add it!
Thanks
Herve, Reegs and Scott.
Obviously I felt the video deserved to be posted. It’s great footage that needs to be preserved. Thanks to SZoners, Herve, Reegs [our own Raven] and Scott! – Craig
I had been a fan of Thomas Boatwright’s art for a while. When he announced a sale on commissions for the month of December, I wrote to ask him about a Stallone piece for my collection. Thomas quickly responded and said that he was a fan of “First Blood.” I was surprised at how quickly Thomas finished the piece and that he’d decided to put Richard Crenna’s character in as well. I totally dug everything about it.
So… I asked Thomas if he was up for some more Stallone. He said that he was, so you’ll be seeing his take on Sly from The Expendables and Get Carter on the SZ in the next few weeks. They are just as cool! If you want to see them sooner, Thomas has posted them on his blog and his DA site. Send him some love.
I hope to get more Stallone art from Thomas in the future. If you get commissions, you should consider him as well. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices and is a fantastic artist! – Craig
Recently IGN.com posted their choices for The 10 Smartest Action Movies. I’m happy to say that First Blood came in at #6. You can see the whole list here.
On June 30, 2010, HopeStandard.com posted a nice article about a group of Rambo fans who are taking steps to save the bridge used in the filming of First Blood. The efforts to save the bridge aren’t news to those that read the StalloneZone message boards, but the article may be. Here are some highlights:
Camping on the river’s edge at the bridge, a camping spot soon to be no more after the new bridge is constructed, the young men spent an evening of round table discussion on which of the Rambo movie series was Sylvester Stallone’s best work. But there was also plenty of discussion over what a “waste it is to see a perfectly good bridge,” part of the town’s “heritage” dismantled.
Ideas from draw bridges and refits in order to keep the Rambo bridge as a pedestrian, biking route along the TransCanada Trail filled the Saturday evening conversation in camp.
…there appears to be a resurgence of fans since the new movie releases and the 25th anniversary of the original First Blood. According to Visitor InfoCentre staffer, Kimberly Campbell, “June 2010 has seen a flood of Rambo fans visiting the Hope Museum from all over the world. While it is typical for at least three or four groups to ask about First Blood every day, June has seen a rise in both the numbers and intensity of fans.”
“Recently, the Museum has been graced with the presence of visitors from Vancouver, Portland, Ontario, Germany, and the Netherlands who have come to Hope in large part because the movie was filmed here,” adds Campbell.
At the Hope Museum, visitors are able to re-view the movie First Blood, “or a number of special edition and behind-the-scenes versions of the movie, as well as a special documentary titled On the Set of First Blood,” adds Campbell. (On the Set of First Blood has been covered on the SZ and was created by SZoner, Herve Attia! It’s excellent and should be in every Stallone fan’s collection. Also a tip of the Rambo bandanna to Regan Greenard! – Craig)