Rambo: First Blood (Blu-ray)

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Video:
"First Blood" has been released a number of times on standard definition DVD. I´m not even going to count the various versions I have buried in my own collection. It seemed only logical that John Rambo would be an early candidate by Lionsgate for the Blu-ray format, though I was surprised to see the first film fly solo. The MPEG-4/1080p transfer is a small step up over the most recent release of "First Blood" and the edition that was housed in the metal packaged trilogy. The film was not cheaply made, but compared to action films of today, "First Blood" is a gritty looking picture that lacks their coloring and detail. The film takes place in a rainy environment without a lot of sunlight and the cinematography mimics that mood. There is a sizable amount of film grain, though that appears to have been improved on Blu-ray. One area where I did see the most improvement was the darker moments in the film, such as in the mine while Rambo tries to free himself from a cave-in and from rats. These scenes are far better. "First Blood" is an improvement on Blu-ray and while this film will never be able to knock anybody´s socks off due to source materials, this is the best it has ever looked.

Sound:
Lionsgate throws viewers the choice of either Dolby Digital EX 5.1 surround or DTS-HD 6.1 sound. As far as action films go, "First Blood" is not an aggressive film and does not provide an enveloping experience. It is filmed mostly in the quiet and serene wilderness of the North Western United States and there is a nice amount of ambient information that helps deliver the peaceful environment and the sounds of gunfire, helicopters and explosions that shatter the serenity of the environment Rambo finds himself in. The .1 LFE channel erupts a few times and rumbles nicely. "First Blood" does sound quite dated at times and this film doesn´t rival its two far louder and explosive sequels, but the choices made in sound design and editing of this film to provide a natural sounding environment work nicely. My socks are still on after listening to the track, but I was pleased by the Blu-ray update.

Extras:
"First Blood" has been released a number of times on standard definition DVD and this Blu-ray release features a number of supplements that have been culled from the older versions of the film. This is not an all-in-one end-all edition of the film and a few nice inclusions were not ported to Blu-ray, but some of the nicest ones are indeed found on this next generation format. Mentioned first on the packaging are the Deleted Scenes that includes the ending where John Rambo does indeed die. They are very rough looking and look quite old, but I was happy to see them thrown in. The Audio Commentary with Sylvester Stallone is the absolute best bonus on the disc. My respect for Stallone continues to grow each time I hear or read something based upon the words of the actor. He recently had a long-running dialogue with readers of a certain movie news site and blew everybody away with his candor, intelligence and humility. These traits are repeated in the commentary and for anybody that doesn´t know much about Stallone the man, they should listen. He gives one of the better commentary tracks out there. The Audio Commentary with Writer David Morrell reinforces many of the negative opinions I have on the film. The Advanced Trivia Track features a pop-up video presentation of trivia bits that contain sounds and graphical overlays. This feature provides nice tidbits and each one is announced with a sound. Finally, the Drawing First Blood feature is a decent talking-heads style documentary about the making of this film.

Closing Thoughts:
I´ve seen "First Blood" a number of times. Theatrically. LaserDisc. DVD. DVD. DVD. Probably a couple more times on DVD and now on Blu-ray. I didn´t give the film the best review when I reviewed one of the incarnations of the film on DVD. However, I´m getting kinder as I entered a new decade in life and feel that the film is indeed entertaining, but I still hold on to my caveat that the film could have been much better if it kept true to David Morrell´s original novel. The Blu-ray release is a step up in visual quality. The high definition picture is cleaner and more detailed than any of the numerous standard definition releases. The soundtrack is not quite the step-up from the DVDs as the picture quality was, but it is still rather nice sounding for a film of this age. As far as supplements go, this is not the definitive release of the film, and I suspect a bigger special edition will be forthcoming at some point in the future, but the ones included are very nice; especially the Sylvester Stallone commentary. For fans of the actor and the film series, you won´t go wrong with picking up this title on Blu-ray. This is the best of the "Rambo" films and the first available on the new format.