Movie Rambo is Based on a Real Story
Films based on novels are by no means a rarity, but many people don’t realize that First Blood, the first film of the Rambo series, is one of them. Written by David Morrell in 1972, First Blood was generally very well received, and the film rights were sold that same year. The fact that it took ten years to get from page to screen was due to a constant cycle of re-writing and re-selling, and the rights passed through multiple studios and re-writes until it was finally brought to life in 1982.
The film studio behind the movie, Lionsgate, confirmed that the last chapter of the Rambo (Rambo 5) series will hit theaters later this year.
September 20, 2019
As is so often the case, the film adaptation ended up very different from the original novel. As well as changing several characters and minor points, the entire focus of the novel shifted by the time it got into production. The book involves a much more depressing ending, as pretty much everybody dies.
Major inspiration for the character of Rambo himself was a real-life war hero Audie Murphy. Murphy was a decorated hero of World War II, receiving five medals for heroism from France and one from Belgium, as well as thirteen medals of valor from the US Army. Murphy also won the Medal of Honor at the age of nineteen for single handedly holding his position against enemy soldiers before counterattacking while wounded. His incredible skills in war weren’t the only inspiration, though. Sadly Murphy returned home with severe PTSD, and turned to drugs and alcohol to cope.
Rambo movies so far
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| First Blood | October 22, 1982 | Ted Kotcheff |
| Rambo: First Blood Part II | May 22, 1985 | George P. Cosmatos |
| Rambo III | May 25, 1988 | Peter MacDonald |
| Rambo | January 25, 2008 | Sylvester Stallone |
