For Rambo fans, it’s among the most pivotal moments in First Blood.
The blockbuster classic begins with the drifter John Rambo, a battle-scarred Vietnam vet, being run out of town by a power-mad sheriff.
The stone-faced Rambo, however, turns and defiantly crosses a wood-trestle bridge back into the tiny town of Hope.
After that, all hell breaks loose.Now, 30 years later, Rambo fans in Hope, B.C., are struggling to preserve some vestige of the Kawkawa Lake Bridge, which was made famous by that scene.
Though the bridge continues to draw tourists, from the merely curious to the Rambo-crazed, its creosote-soaked lumber makes it an environmental hazard to the Coquihalla River below.
A new bridge, scheduled to open May 27, will take its place.
For many in Hope, where the 1982 film was shot, it’s the end of an era.
“I wouldn’t say that the fans won’t come anymore, I just think they’ll come and be disappointed that the bridge is not there,” said Inge Wilson, manager of the Hope Visitor Centre.
Up to 1,000 people visit Hope every year to relive parts of the movie, picking up self-guided driving tours, T-shirts, hats and DVDs at Wilson’s visitor centre.
The biggest draw, she said, is a life-size cut-out photo board of Rambo.
“I can come to the visitor centre any time of day, any day of the year, in any weather conditions, and I will see people that are using the photo board,” she said.
Though community members tried to have the bridge left in place or dismantled and moved elsewhere, the environmental concerns are just too high.
“The idea of saving the bridge is off the table,” town manager Earl Rowe said. The permit to build the replacement bridge made clear that the old bridge, situated above fragile salmon habitat, had to go.
“Creosote sweats, leaks and drains in the summer,” explained Brian McKinney, a fan and owner of the nearby Hell’s Gate Air Tram. “It’s nasty stuff.”
McKinney, who was born and raised in Hope, co-starred in a YouTube video series about the bridge that he said caught the attention of Sylvester Stallone himself.
“At one point he was interested in bringing portions of the bridge to Las Vegas to plant next to his Planet Hollywood, as a prop,” McKinney said.
Though he isn’t a diehard fan, McKinney is a marketing guru of sorts for Hope. “I know and feel and the smell the impact that anything tourism has on this area,” he said.
He’s well aware that the film has taken on a life of its own in the community of 6,200.
“Fans of this movie are flippin’ borderline fanatical. When we did the 25th anniversary, they came from Germany, Australia, England to relive this movie,” he said. “They came dressed as Rambo.”
“In this era of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, we’ve got 12, 14, 16-year-old kids saying First Blood was the best and grittiest and most violent movie they’ve ever seen,” McKinney said.
Though the bridge may go, other remnants of the film – from the breathtaking Coquihalla Canyon to abandoned tractors – will remain.
Supporters will mark the bridge’s legacy by hosting a community celebration on July 10, titled “Rambo Bridge: The Final Take.”
For many, it will be an emotional day.
“It’s very meaningful for the ones who really know the story,” Wilson said. “It won’t be quite the same when it’s gone.”
Comments