by David C. Terr

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Title: Rocky

Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith.

Release Date: Nov. 21, 1976

Running Time: 119 min

Genres: Action, Drama, Romance, Sport

 

Commentary
Rocky is my favorite sports film. I've never been a big fan of any sport, especially boxing, but I love Rocky for its inspiration and romance. Rocky is the perfect role for Sylvester Stallone. Talia Shire also plays a great role as Adrian, his shy lover. I've also watched and enjoyed two of the four Rocky sequels, Rocky II and Rocky IV, but the original is my favorite.

Plot Summary

• Introduction: Rocky concerns small-time boxer Rocky Balboa, who lives in a bad neighborhood in Philadelphia and makes his living helping a loan shark by beating up his clients. Rocky meets Adrian, a very shy woman who works at a pet store, and shortly thereafter they fall in love. Meanwhile, the World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), decides to give an unknown boxer a chance to fight him and picks out Rocky. Rocky agrees to the challenge and does extensive training for the match. His goal is just to go the distance, so that he won't be an unknown fighter anymore.
• The Fight: Apollo doesn't consider the fight to be a serious match, but Rocky takes it very seriously and delivers some nasty punches to the Champion, even knocking him down temporarily with a powerful left hook. Then the Champion comes to life and pounds profusely on Rocky, making a mess out of him. In the end though, Rocky comes back, breaking one of Apollo's ribs and severly beating up on him by the end of the match. Apollo wins the match in a split decision but still feels defeated. Meanwhile, Rocky calls out for Adrian, who rushes out to him, whence he declares his love for her.

Cultural Significance
Rocky became a huge success, winning the 1976 Academy Award for Best Picture and spawning four sequels. The theme song, "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti, also became a big hit and the training scene in which it is played is one of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history. A statue of Rocky was even erected in 1982 at the top of the "Rocky Steps", the steps to the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Rocky completes his training. Due to controversy, the statue was eventually moved to the sidewalk, though it's been temporarily moved to the top of the steps a couple times since.

Movie Clips

Here's the original movie trailer.

Here's the classic training scene to the tune of the theme song.