Jan 23 2009
“Rocky” (1976) *****
Preview
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith.
Directed by: John G. Avildsen.
Stats:
*Budget: $1.1 million.
*Domestic Gross: $117.2 million.
*Shot within 28 days.
*Award Winners: Academy Awards won for Best Picture (Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler), Best Director (John G. Avildsen), and Film Editing (Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad).
*Nominations: Best Original Screenplay (Sylvester Stallone), Best Actor (Sylvester Stallone), Best Actress (Talia Shire), Best Supporting Actor (Burt Young), Best Supporting Actor (Burgess Meredith), Best Music/Original Song (Bill Conti, Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins for “Gonna Fly Now”), and Best Sound (Harry W. Tetrick, William L. McCaughey, Lyle J. Burbridge and Bud Alper).
The Catch:
An underdog boxing fighter gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship.
Characters:
*Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone): Uneducated yet good-hearted, Rocky is a loan shark enforcer by day and a semi-pro boxer by night.
*Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire): Rocky’s romantic interest, a shy pet store clerk.
*Paulie Pennino (Burt Young): Adrian’s brother and Rocky’s best friend; works in a meat-packing plant where he allows Rocky to train in the freezer.
*Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers): Heavyweight champion as well as Rocky’s opponent, seemingly inspired by Muhammad Ali.
*Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith): Former bantamweight fighter from the 20s, owns a local boxing gym, and becomes Rocky’s manager/trainer.
Story:
Rocky Balboa begins as a nobody working for a loan shark named Gazzo and does some local semi-pro boxing by night. Meanwhile, the undeafted heavyweight Apollo Creed injures his hand and the championship fight is due for New Year’s Day 1976. He conjures up the idea of selecting a local underdog as his opponent, giving whoever that person is a chance to take a shot at the title. Low and behold, Apollo Creed meets The Italian Stallion aka Rocky Balboa.
While preparing for the fight under the training of ex-bantaweight fighter Mickey Goldmill, Rocky also practices his punches in his good friend Paulie’s meat-packing plant as well as dates his shy sister whom both fall for each other. Rocky doesn’t intend to win the championship, but just to go the
distance with Creed, therefore proving he’s not just another bum from around the block.
Review:
“Rocky” is the ultimate American rags-to-riches tale that turned Sylvester Stallone into a major Hollywood star at the age of 29. He wrote the screenplay himself in a lowly small room. The story is very simple and straight-forward, focusing on a small cast of characters, and a protagonist’s desire not to specifically win but to go the distance.
The film, to this day, maintains a strong reputation as a classic. Stallone’s and Shire’s characters share a beautiful romance that just blossoms throughout the movie. The climax of “Rocky”, the title fight between he and Apollo Creed, does indeed go the distance with a full 15 rounds (which was pretty average back then), building toward the final moment of punches and blocks between the two fighers.
This blockbuster of a film went on to spawn several video games, five sequels, and an onslaught of pop culture references. Being that Stallone was going through a similar underdog experience in his real life acting career at the time while writing the script, it paves the way for many of us with similar desires to go the distance… just like Rocky did in the championship and Stallone in Hollywood.
Rating: *****
