Even though he has the restaurant going for him and people passing him by on the street saying’, “Hey Rock!”, he still is alone when he wakes up in the morning. Spider Rico ( Pedro Lovell), who Rocky beat in the beginning of the first movie, seems to be a permanent guest and fan of Rock. The place is named in honor of his late wife who died of “woman cancer” (as he says), in 2002. Rocky’s there just about every night telling the same old boxing stories to all his guests. Rocky ( Stallone) is once again retired and still living in Philadelphia, he now runs a small Italian restaurant decorated with boxing memorabilia called Adrian’s. ![]() Stallone knew it and that’s why there’s a final (yes, he even said this. I like all the sequels except for that one. Although Stallone was nominated for his writing in the first one and the writing wasn’t exactly horrible in the three that followed but the fourth sequel just didn’t feel right. The supporting characters in these films have always been solid but as the franchise progressed, the scripts seemed to have thrown in the towel (especially 1990’s “Rocky V”). Sequels just don’t work without a decent script and a great cast. Then there were the sequels which many seemed to make fun of more and more after each movie came out. Sure, he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer (unlike Stallone, who is actually pretty smart despite the public’s image of him) but he had courage, determination, a sense of humor, and heart. His will even showed outside the ring when he pursued a painfully shy Adrian Pennino. Like Stallone, the character of Rocky would never quit. He even painted the windows black so that there’d be no distractions. Stallone even said that he locked himself in a room for three days to write the script cuz he wanted more than the roles that were coming his way at the time. Both of them had a goal and saw it through no matter what. I’m inclined to think that it’s Stallone’s/Rocky’s indomitable will that moved viewers. Still, there’s something about the movie that connected and involved the audience. ![]() There’s nothing terribly unique about the underdog storyline. All great movies in their own right by great directors. ![]() That’s right, it won best picture beating out “Taxi Driver”, “Network” and “All The President’s Men”. It won for Best Picture, Best Director (John Avildsen) and Best Editing (Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad). The movie dominated as it was nominated for ten (that’s right) Academy Awards that year: Best Sound, Best Original Song (“Gonna Fly Now”), Best Supporting Actor (Burgess Meredith & Burt Young), Best Actress (Talia Shire), Best Actor (Stallone), and Best Original Screenplay (Stallone). That year, Oscar night was Rocky’s night. Stallone was never again as raw or vulnerable or intense as he was in that original film there were shades of Brando (so they said) in that brief moment of time. If he would’ve quit after that, he could’ve been an absolute legend, a contender if you will, but he didn’t. It was a gamble that paid off, and it made Sly a star. It was his script and he was the one who knew Rocky best. Studios loved the script but he refused to sell the screenplay without getting cast as the lead. Sylvester Stallone was certainly not a hot young thing when at 30 years old, he wrote a film in three days about a two-bit boxer straddling the line between bum fighter and street thug. ![]() Thirty years ago “Rocky” was introduced to the cinema world and Americans (especially Philadelphians) loved the movie and the characters. I’m gonna start out this review with an introduction involving some history, some stats, and a recap.
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