Sylvester Stallone emerged as a hard-working professional since his breakthrough role with Rocky. After the success of the movie, the actor never looked back and went on to deliver blockbusters to forge his career even further.
But cinema in general evolved over time, not just in its stylistic approach but the very technology that has pushed the limit beyond what was previously unthinkable. Still, in defense of the traditional aspects of cinema, especially action movies, Stallone believes heavy use of technology deters the essence of the evolution of the character/s. Stallone even used his body to act in certain narratives.
Sylvester Stallone’s Greek Tragedy
The influence of Greek Tragedies is essentially boundless. It has heavily influenced the theatre of Ancient Rome and the Renaissance masters like Shakespeare. Even today, Greek Tragedy has its place among storytellers, action megastar Sylvester Stallone said he was apt while wielding the crux of the ancient style of storytelling. Of course, Stallone’s reference largely followed his argument in defense of traditional cinema not being embroiled too deeply in technology.
“That’s why I think First Blood is one of the first action films. I relied on body acting to tell the story. The character never talks, but you know exactly what’s going on through the other characters. They’re almost like narrators in his Greek tragedy. The guy never stops moving, and that’s what I call an ‘action film.’ There’s not one CGI shot. The audience goes: That is pretty special,” Stallone told The Hollywood Reporter.
Ted Kotcheff’s 1982 action thriller, First Blood starring Stallone in the title role, has set a distinct stylistic emphasis as the movie uses a narrator rather than the hero goofing around with bombastic dialogues. Perhaps the character’s inherent near silence made him even more fierce and terrifying. Regardless, for Stallone in his approach, movies like First Blood would be the action movie he would love to cherish.
Sylvester Stallone Saved Rambo Franchise
While Stallone poured his soul into the first Rambo movie, First Blood, there was little room for a sequel. As the $125 million movie approached the end, the complete silence was broken with Rambo’s four-minute monologue. It was surprising for the viewers, but Stallone worked very hard for the scene. “That scene was a tough one to get past the producers,” Stallone said during his chat with THR.
“They didn’t want it. I was supposed to be shot and die. And I go, ‘There are a lot of veterans who are going to look at this and go, ‘So my only hope is to kill myself?’ I can’t do that. I did 20 interviews with veterans and I compiled it into that moment, all stream of consciousness, with everything just pouring out. I want people to take away some sense of hope when they leave the theater. I don’t want my heroes to die.”
Killing off his character in the movie would close the doors to the immaculate franchise. Of course, the director intended the same as the producers. The death scene was even filmed, but much discussion with the action star propelled the director to drop the scene from its final cut, Rambo survived.