“We tried to buy it back and burn the negative.” Sylvester Stallone hated this movie, but today it is considered one of his very best

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Sylvester Stallone is famous for playing Rambo. The 1982 movie launched him to action-star status and became a classic. Surprisingly, Stallone initially disliked his performance as John Rambo and even tried to prevent the film from being released.

Interestingly, despite now being hailed as a career highlight for Sylvester Stallone, the movie initially made him worry it would actually damage his career, and he almost prevented its release.

In a 2005 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Sylvester Stallone revealed he once wanted to purchase the original film *First Blood* and destroy its negatives, effectively making the movie disappear.

I immediately knew this was a terrible mistake – something that could ruin my career. The film was so bad, even my manager and I were physically sick after watching it. We desperately tried to buy back the film and destroy the original footage, I swear. We really wanted to erase *First Blood* from existence.

The first version of *First Blood* was over three hours long, and Sylvester Stallone initially thought it was a failure. He didn’t feel comfortable releasing it until it underwent significant editing and cuts, ultimately resulting in a film he was proud to share.

He followed through, and John Rambo quickly became one of his most iconic characters. Audiences loved the film starring Sylvester Stallone, and it’s great that the filmmakers were able to complete it to everyone’s satisfaction, allowing Stallone to share it with the world.

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2025-10-08 12:32