Around sometime in the early 90s, when I was around 8 or 9, I spent
the day at my aunt's. On that day we were trying to find something to
watch, they didn't have many VHS tape, mostly WW2 documentaries,
Where Eagles Dare and a film about a boxer. That film was Rocky 4.
Now I was and never have been a sporty person, I hated football and
rugby, in fact anything physical was for me, a definite no. But, I
like sports movies. There's something uplifting about inspirational
sports films. For some reason, Rocky 4 hit some sort of cord with me,
not necessarily making me want to take up Boxing unlike Karate Kid
which made me want to be the next Chuck Norris. I don't know what it
was, was it the overly patriotic stance the film takes? The
incredible training montages or was it the greatest 80s movie
soundtrack ever that really stuck with me? Maybe it was all of them
but it definitely did something and I've never looked back.
Rocky 4 lead me, as a teen, to seek out the rest of the films,
Starting of course with the original 1976 Rocky, the tale of a small
time boxer given a shot at the title. It's the quintessential
underdog tale.
The film was written by and stars Sylvester Stallone, a man who would
go on to basically co-create along with Schwarzenegger, Willis and a
whole host of badasses, the action genre as we know it today. But he
got his start in low key dramas, well actually he got his start in a
little seen soft core 70s porno called A Party At Kitty and Studs,
but everyone has to start somewhere. Stallone spent the early part of
his career playing thugs and heavies in movies like Death Race 2000
for Roger Corman and the 1950s Gang comedy drama, Lords Of Flatbush
('74) opposite The Fonz himself. But these were not great films.
Stallone decided to write a film for himself. A story of a small time
Philly boxer who works as an enforcer for a local loan-shark on the
side. When the producers were shopping the script around, nobody
wanted Stallone to play the role of Rocky Balboa but he was insistent
and eventually MGM caved and allowed him to star. The film attached
director John G. Avildsen who wasn't really a big name behind the
camera even though he'd directed Jack Lemmon in an Oscar Winning
performance in Save The Tiger ('73).
Then the cast started to fill out. Talia Shire signed on to play
Adrian, the object of Rocky's affection, who'd just come off the
phenomenal success of The Godfather Part 2 in a role that was the
complete opposite of Adrian. Carl Weathers, who'd previously had
small parts in 2 Pam Grier films, Bucktown and Friday Foster (both
'75), signed as world champ and Rocky's opponent, Apollo Creed, Burt
Young who'd previously appeared in Across 110th Street
('72), Chinatown ('74) and Sam Peckinpah's ninjas and CIA Assassin
flick, The Killer Elite, signed on to the role of Paulie, Adrian's
older brutish brother and finally the legendary Burgess Meredith, a
star of both TV and film since the late 1930s, signed on as Rocky's
trainer Mickey.
Rocky follows Robert 'Rocky' Balboa, a young small town boxer and
enforcer for a local Loan Shark who is given a golden opportunity, a
shot at a nobody becoming a somebody against reigning world
heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed. What was supposed to be an easy win
against the nobody fighter in an elaborate exhibition fight, turns
into something much more. Creed didn't count on the determination and
the sheer heart Rocky put into the fight. The film also follows the
blossoming relationship between Rocky and Adrian, the shy sister of
Rocky's pal Paulie.
Rocky did something nobody thought it would. This low budget tale of
a boxer became a hit. Audiences found the film relatable, the
characters were every day real characters, they did every day things,
they lived in the same places as the audiences. The Audience were
Rocky, Adrian and Paulie. People also took to Rocky's sincerity,
heart and determination. Here was a man who worked as an enforcer to
make ends meat collecting for a local mobster just to make enough
money to eat, he was the downtrodden, the working class every-man and
Creed was the in-your-face, aggressive, flamboyant millionaire champ
who wanted an easy fight, Creed was the villain, even though Creed
was a flawed individual himself. The audience will always root for
the underdog.
The great thing about the characters in Rocky is how well Stallone
wrote them, these were people with depth, they had flaws, they
weren't caricatures and even though you could say Creed was the
villain of the film, he wasn't really that bad, he was the best at
what he did and he still wanted to give a nobody a shot at something
better.
But it wasn't just the audience who rooted for the underdog, the
Academy of Motion Pictures did to, awarding Rocky not one but 3
Oscars for best Film, best Director and best Editing. Rocky also
received seven other nominations including noms for best actor,
supporting actress and supporting actors for both Burt Young and
Burgess Meredith aswell as best original screenplay for Stallone.
This cemented Rocky as not only the quintessential underdog tale but
also one of the best sports films ever made. Even though Rocky didn't
need a sequel, the film was followed up by Rocky 2 in 1979, but
that's a tale for another day.
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