Defined A Genre!

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2015)

Before Rocky, there was very few movies about sports. After Rocky, movies about sports were coming like crazy. If there was no Rocky, there would be no Raging Bull, Rudy, Jerry Maguire, etc.
Rocky isn't all about sport. It is mostly a Cinderella story for men. It deal with chasing your dreams and not giving up. Sugar-coat that with boxing, and both sexes will definitely be satisfied. Since it is a Cinderella story undertaken in such an original and truly inspiring and intelligent way, it is only natural for this to become one of the best movies ever made.
I think everybody knows the general story of Rocky: an uneducated club-fighter from Philadelphia named Rocky Balboa (Stallone) who makes a living collecting money for a loan shark mobster (Spinnell) is hand-picked by world champion Apollo Creed (Weathers) because of his nick-name ("The Italian Stallion") to be his opponent as a publicity gimmick. Rocky isn't sure if he can win, but he makes an effort and trains his hardest to go the distance.
Like most actors, Stallone was a poor upstart who came up with the idea of Rocky in his tiny apartment. It was so good that many production companies wanted to buy it from him, but Stallone refused. He got John G. Alvidson to direct, got the right stars, and Rocky was born. He knew it would be a sleeper hit. I'm sure he knew it would win Best Picture for 1976.
Rocky was a major success that spawned a total of five sequels. Some better than others, but all of which I loved. Soon after Rocky, Stallone's massive physique got him into mindless and mediocre action movies like Cobra and Tango & Cash. If I'm not mistaken, Stallone has won (or has been nominated for) more Golden Raspberry Awards than anybody in history. Only Adam Sandler has rivalled him in more embarrassing victories. I understand why Stallone has won all these bad awards, but he actually is a good actor. Just look at him in the first Rocky movie alone: he could have won an Oscar. All of Rocky was his creation--one of film's greatest.