Welcome to Harbour Highlights, a series of cult and classic favourites, handpicked by the Harbour lights staff. For May, Cheryl takes us to the city of Hope, Washington for the birth of an iconic character in 1982’s First Blood. Based on the novel by David Morrell which others had spent a decade trying to adapt, First Blood finally reached the screen thanks to the star power of Sylvester Stallone who was riding high thanks to the success of the Rocky franchise. In John Rambo, he’d find another character that would become synonymous with his screen persona, though in his first film the character is less of the bombastic action hero of the sequels. Instead, the film is more of a character-based action drama, following the character as a troubled Vietnam veteran forced to use his skills to survive after a series of brutal events lead to a town’s officials hunting him down. With Stallone and co-stars Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy on top form, the film would go on to huge success, launching a franchise that led to everything from sequels to an animated series. Don’t miss the chance to revisit where it all began in the place it all began – on the big screen.