‘First Blood’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman
January 19, 2021 · First Blood (1982) · Action · Adventure · Thriller · 1:22:49 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsMultiple scenes: Rambo's jail escape (starting with the shaving scene), Rambo on the cliff jump, nighttime hunting sequence, Troutman's first scene ('God didn't build Rambo. I made him'), the rats scene, and the final escape sequence▶ 30:12
Brian KoppelmanAgrees with and elaborates on the jail escape sequence, emphasizing Stallone's physical acting and the motorcycle scene as exemplary action filmmaking▶ 32:24
What's Aged the Best
Bill SimmonsThe credits showing producers Mario Kassar and Andrew J. Vagina - suspects they might not have been real people but fictional powerful foreign producer names▶ 45:18
Brian KoppelmanAgrees with SPEAKER_01's point about the producer names, and adds that small realistic details like jail painting and the radio operator reading a magazine give the movie credibility▶ 47:36
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsGene Hackman — Gene Hackman would have made the movie better and elevated it to another level as Will Teasel▶ 56:12
Brian KoppelmanBrian Dennehy — Prefers Brian Dennehy over Gene Hackman because Hackman doing this role would have prevented him from doing Unforgiven, and Dennehy's physical presence was important▶ 56:16
Joey Pants Award
Bill SimmonsChris Mulkey — Discusses Chris Mulkey and one of the Miami Vice cops (Zito or Swiatek) who gets hit by Stallone's wooden trap, ultimately giving it to the Miami Vice cop▶ 58:25
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsPresents extensive research including: Blade magazine crediting Rambo franchise with revitalizing cutlery industry, Stallone breaking actor's nose during jail escape scene, stuntman breaking back in motorcycle scene, Stallone's $3.5M salary negotiation, Brian Dennehy Vietnam controversy, and deleted Penthouse Pet flashback scene▶ 1:01:22
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsRichard Crenna — Not Stallone (peaks with Rambo 2 & Rocky IV in 1985), yes for Brian Dennehy and definitely Richard Crenna, Vietnam action movies, hunting knives, early 80s movie graphics▶ 1:04:17
Brian KoppelmanRichard Crenna — Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy both good cases, David Murrell (author), agrees on hunting knives as great call▶ 1:04:39
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsDoes Will Teasel work again after this incident? Would Rambo have blown up anyway (yes, someone would have pushed him)? Do mountains really have caves as elaborate as the one in the movie? Rambo vs Rocky preference question?▶ 1:13:13
Brian KoppelmanDoes Will Teasel realize it was 100% his fault? Would Rambo have eventually blown up regardless? How did Troutman get there so quickly? Why did Rambo spend the first night cooking instead of leaving through the cave? Where can you get Troutman's hat?▶ 1:13:21
Who Won the Movie
Brian KoppelmanSylvester Stallone — Agrees with Stallone, noting it made him a billion dollars long run▶ 1:19:04
Movies Referenced (43)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apocalypse Now (1979) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 9:25 |
| Full Metal Jacket (1987) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 15:09 |
| Gandhi (1982) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 22:58 |
| Platoon (1986) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 15:05 |
| The Rock (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Brian Koppelman | ▶ 35:06 |
| Unforgiven (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | ▶ 56:22 |
| All the President's Men (1976) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Brian Koppelman | ▶ 28:07 |
| Blade (1998) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:01:32 |
| Dirty Harry (1971) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 5:25 |
| Fargo (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 29:36 |
| Rocky III (1982) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 18:41 |
| Rocky IV (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 21:35 |
Directors Referenced (4)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Eastwood | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Unforgiven | ▶ 5:21 |
| Stanley Kubrick | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon | ▶ 11:33 |
| Ben Affleck | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Argo, Gone Girl, The Town | ▶ 1:20:32 |
| Gary Goldman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | ▶ 4:06 |
Actors Referenced (50)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvester Stallone | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 39 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | Rocky, Rocky IV, Creed | ▶ 1:43 |
| Brian Dennehy | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 19 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | First Blood | ▶ 27:13 |
| Richard Crenna | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 18 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | Rambo III, First Blood | ▶ 39:50 |
| Ben Kingsley | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | Gandhi, Schindler's List | ▶ 22:58 |
| Dan Hill | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | First Blood, Tropic Thunder | ▶ 52:06 |
| Kirk Douglas | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 56:46 | |
| Michael B. Jordan | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Brian Koppelman | Black Panther, Creed, Fruitvale Station | ▶ 1:17:50 |
| Charlize Theron | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Brian Koppelman | Mad Max: Fury Road | ▶ 1:21:26 |
| Dolph Lundgren | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Brian Koppelman | Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe | ▶ 33:42 |
| Roy Scheider | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | Jaws, The French Connection, All That Jazz | ▶ 3:09 |
| Russell Crowe | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Brian Koppelman | Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind | ▶ 1:18:33 |
| Tom Cruise | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | Top Gun, Minority Report | ▶ 1:19:14 |
Writers Referenced (3)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 27:10 | |
| Andrew Lloyd Webber | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | The Phantom of the Opera | ▶ 20:16 |
| David Morrell | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II | ▶ 7:34 |