Rocky Knocked Out The Competition

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2011)

At the 1977 Oscars (for the films of 1976),there were really great movies up for Best Picture. "Network","All The President's Men","Taxi Driver" and the lesser known "Bound For Glory".
The story of Rocky is much like a story many people deal with everyday. Trying not just to make something of ourselves in this life ...... but to become something better and more meaningful than we already are or that we may not be at that time.
I feel this was the reason it won the top Award at the Oscars. The top 3 that I mentioned were movies showing what was wrong in our country,which is always important ground to cover and all 3 are brilliant and classics. (I've never seen Bound For Glory,so I can't comment.)
Anyone of them could have taken the prize but the Academy simply went a different way. At least (again) that's how I see it. I have nothing negative to say about Rocky as a movie,it's simplistically wonderful and the climax is unforgettable.
I only have trouble with the DVD's overloaded with far too many "extras". Don;t get me wrong , I like extras,like deleted scenes. ...but why not take these deleted scenes and put them back in the movie and onto the DVD itself?
Also,if I recall correctly,the fight used to be a lot longer and seems to be edited to be shorter and quicker. Why? To cater to those with short attention spans?
I did some detective work online to see about a scene where Rocky talks to a priest before the fight and found that this occoured in Rocky 2,not this one.
Anyhow,10 stars for "Rocky" for the great little film that won over the Academy and the nation. If I rated the DVD features that come with this,it'd be a 9. (END)