Two shady figures walk into a club, raising the suspicions of Detective Axel Foley. Foley needs help to deal with both men, but the pair of officers keeping an eye on him — Sergeant Taggart (John Ashton) and Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) — don’t trust him. Furthermore, he’s in a public place, which means that his actions could harm civilians.
After his pleading convinces Taggart and Rosewood to help out, Axel approaches one of the potential troublemakers.
“Phillip!” Foley shouts, adopting the stagger and slurred speech patterns of a drunk man as he approaches the confused suspect. Foley continues the act even after the suspect pulls a gun and threatens the patrons, which allows him to get close enough to yank the weapon away.
You probably recognize the above scene as one of the standout moments of 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, in which Foley shows off his keen detective...
After his pleading convinces Taggart and Rosewood to help out, Axel approaches one of the potential troublemakers.
“Phillip!” Foley shouts, adopting the stagger and slurred speech patterns of a drunk man as he approaches the confused suspect. Foley continues the act even after the suspect pulls a gun and threatens the patrons, which allows him to get close enough to yank the weapon away.
You probably recognize the above scene as one of the standout moments of 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, in which Foley shows off his keen detective...
- 2/12/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
There's a confusing narrative surrounding 1982's "First Blood." Amid the mayhem of its bloody blockbuster sequels, the film either gets misremembered as a straightforward action flick, or is claimed to be a deep exploration of the psychological effects of war on returning soldiers. But the adaptation of David Morrell's 1972 novel is both.
As his franchise took off, Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo would evolve (or devolve?) into a more stereotypical action hero, cutting down entire armies with belt-fed machine guns over the course of four sequels. Stallone even thinks "Rambo 4" is his best action film. But in "First Blood" the character is more multi-faceted. A Vietnam vet who finds himself at odds with the society he believed he was fighting for, John Rambo doesn't directly kill anyone once he runs afoul of a hard-hearted small-town Sheriff and his deputies. Instead, he flees into the Washington State wilderness and...
As his franchise took off, Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo would evolve (or devolve?) into a more stereotypical action hero, cutting down entire armies with belt-fed machine guns over the course of four sequels. Stallone even thinks "Rambo 4" is his best action film. But in "First Blood" the character is more multi-faceted. A Vietnam vet who finds himself at odds with the society he believed he was fighting for, John Rambo doesn't directly kill anyone once he runs afoul of a hard-hearted small-town Sheriff and his deputies. Instead, he flees into the Washington State wilderness and...
- 3/4/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo series is one of the more durable franchises in American cinema, which is somewhat surprising given that it didn’t really find its voice until its fourth installment and began with a film that didn’t lend itself to sequels at all. First Blood, which Ted Kotcheff directed from a script by Stallone, Michael Kozoll and William Sackheim in 1982, is a stand-alone action classic, an elegant and austere survival film in which Vietnam vet John Rambo takes on the town that wronged him without killing a single person. Stallone made up for First Blood’s low body count with […]
The post Rambo: Last Blood and Play Misty for Me: Jim Hemphill's Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Rambo: Last Blood and Play Misty for Me: Jim Hemphill's Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 10/30/2020
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo series is one of the more durable franchises in American cinema, which is somewhat surprising given that it didn’t really find its voice until its fourth installment and began with a film that didn’t lend itself to sequels at all. First Blood, which Ted Kotcheff directed from a script by Stallone, Michael Kozoll and William Sackheim in 1982, is a stand-alone action classic, an elegant and austere survival film in which Vietnam vet John Rambo takes on the town that wronged him without killing a single person. Stallone made up for First Blood’s low body count with […]
The post Rambo: Last Blood and Play Misty for Me: Jim Hemphill's Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Rambo: Last Blood and Play Misty for Me: Jim Hemphill's Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 10/30/2020
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
This Alan Arkin-Peter Falk show is finally being recognized as a comedy mini-masterpiece. Afraid of offending his daughter's future father-in-law, a dentist is sucked into a nightmare of crime and jeopardy, as a jolly Chinese airline whisks him away to a rendezvous with danger in a Latin American dictatorship. It's a gem of sustained mirth. The In-Laws Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 823 1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 5, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Penny Peyser, Arlene Golonka, Michael Lembeck, Paul Lawrence Smith, Ed Begley Jr., James Hong, Barbara Dana, David Paymer. Cinematography David M. Walsh Film Editor Robert E. Swink Original Music John Morris Written by Andrew Bergman Produced by Arthur Miller, William Sackheim Directed by Arthur Hiller
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Good grief, I had no idea that Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas remade this movie back in...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Good grief, I had no idea that Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas remade this movie back in...
- 6/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
First Blood
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim and Sylvester Stallone
USA, 1982
For time immemorial, Ted Kotcheff’s First Blood carried the notorious, if apocryphal, reputation for being overly violent. A closer autopsy of the film would reveal this to be untrue. In fact, there’s only one death – about the same as in Pixar’s Up.
Kidding aside, this misinterpretation of First Blood is symptomatic of its deceptive storytelling acumen. Along with its nominal death count, the film’s ability to conceal a lucid polemic of the Vietnam War under an avalanche of ample entertainment and bloody good fun is a testament to its legacy as a formative pillar in action film lore.
Sleek, economical, and unquestionably gripping, First Blood is also a film with surprising substance and smarts, which are all but undone by the film’s final few minutes.
First Blood introduces us...
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim and Sylvester Stallone
USA, 1982
For time immemorial, Ted Kotcheff’s First Blood carried the notorious, if apocryphal, reputation for being overly violent. A closer autopsy of the film would reveal this to be untrue. In fact, there’s only one death – about the same as in Pixar’s Up.
Kidding aside, this misinterpretation of First Blood is symptomatic of its deceptive storytelling acumen. Along with its nominal death count, the film’s ability to conceal a lucid polemic of the Vietnam War under an avalanche of ample entertainment and bloody good fun is a testament to its legacy as a formative pillar in action film lore.
Sleek, economical, and unquestionably gripping, First Blood is also a film with surprising substance and smarts, which are all but undone by the film’s final few minutes.
First Blood introduces us...
- 6/22/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
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