Rocky (1976): His Whole Life Was a Million-to-One Shot

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2017)

Rocky (1976) is a film directed by John G. Avildsen (1935-2017). The flim was written and stars Sylvester Stallone. The film co-stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. Thayer David (1927-1978) and Jimmy Gambina also co-star.
Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for "Rocky" in 3 and a half days. United Artists loved Stallone's script and were planning to use it as a vehicle for an already famous star, such as Burt Reynolds or James Caan. Sylvester Stallone wanted to star in the film. The producers agreed. Sylvester Stallone later stated "If the film became a huge success without me in it, I would have never forgiven myself."
The film was mostly shot in Philadelphia. The film used Garret Brown's Steadicam for the training scenes and some of the fighting scenes.
The most famous scene of the film is where after Rocky trains for the fight he runs up the Philadelphia Museum of Art (AKA "Rocky Steps") and raises his arms in the air.
Rocky is a film about the rags-to-riches story of a small-time boxer named Rocky "The Italian Stallion" Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who is uneducated but kind-hearted. He is an Italian-American boxer who also works a debt collector for Tony Gazzo (Joe Spinell) in the streets of Philadelphia. Rocky starts out a club-fighter. However, World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) finds out 5 weeks before his Bicentennial Super Fight that his opponent has severely injured his hand. With all the other ranked contenders either scheduled or busy doing something else, Creed decides to choose an unknown to have a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. He chooses Rocky. Rocky now has a shot to become a World Heavyweight Champion. He has a best friend Paulie (Burt Young), who is an abusive drunk. Paulie's sister, Adrian, Rocky meets at the pet shop that she works at. Rocky goes every day and night to tell her a joke. Eventually, they go out on a date and kiss. Adrian is timid and shy and Rocky is strong but uneducated. They have great chemistry together and provide a great bond throughout the film. Rocky meets Miles Jergens (Thayer David) who offers him the title shot. Rocky reluctantly agrees, with his pay being $150,000. He tells Adrian about this. After a few weeks of training, Rocky agrees for Mickey "Mighty Mick" Goldmill, a highly respected trainer/manager and a former Bantamweight boxer from the 1920's, who earlier in the film, criticizes Rocky for not showing all his potential. Paulie becomes very jealous of Rocky's success and Rocky weakens his anger by letting his company Shamrock Meats be advertised for Rocky, paying Paulie $3,000. The night before the fight, Rocky begins to doubt himself after walking around the arena. He talks to Adrian, stating that he doesn't expect to win, he just wants to go the distance with Creed so that he can prove to himself that he was no bum from the neighborhood. The next day on New Year's Day (January 1, 1976), Rocky Balboa takes on Apollo Creed for the World Heavyweight Championship. Creed is very cocky at first and Rocky knocks him down to the ground - the first time Creed has ever been knocked down. Creed then takes Rocky more seriously but still never loses his cocky ego. Rocky goes the distance with Creed after 15 rounds of intense boxing. The bell rings and the fight is over. Both fighters get off of each over. The result of the fight is a split decision (8:7, 7:8, 9:6). Apollo Creed retains the title. In the end, Rocky and Adrian profess their love to each other, not caring about the result of the fight.
"Rocky" was a sleeper hit made off of a small $1,000,000 budget. The film grossed $225,000,000 worldwide. It is the highest grossing film of 1976. Rocky has a worldwide percentage return of over 11,000 percent. The film, if converted into 2015 prices, would have grossed $460,000,000.
"Rocky" is critically acclaimed and is considered one of the greatest films of all time. The film won 3 Academy Awards:
1. Best Picture - "Rocky" (1976) - Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff (Producers)
2. Best Director - John G. Avildsen
3: Best Film Editing - Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad
The film was also nominated for 7.
In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
In my opinion, "Rocky" (1976) is THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL-TIME. It is truly the ultimate underdog story. 10/10. A film you must see before you die.