Tribute to Guy Morgan:Rocky (1976)

Rating: 10/10 (11 March 2020)

In the last few weeks,I've been thinking about all the incredible films family friend Guy Morgan introduced to me,before he suddenly passed away at age 46 on March 11, 2019 of a brain aneurysm. One running joke we used to have was Guy saying "Oh you watch all those French films,but you've not seen Rocky!" On the first anniversary,I marked it by finally stepping into the ring.
View on the film:
Never having seen a boxing match or boxing film before entering a ring he would return to for the later underdog Sports title The Karate Kid (1984), director John G. Avildsen & his regular cinematographer James Crabe land killer combos, from the left hand long takes hitting a gritty indie atmosphere strike, by the wide-shots being held on Rocky building mutual respect between himself and trainer Mickey,and rolling to the cute awkward romance with Adrian.

Backed by a hero pose score from Bill Conti, Avildsen pairs the indie left hits with killer knockout right hand thrills, rolling with the punches in early use of Stedicam breathing in the Philadelphia air, and handing out body blows in tightly held panning hits across the in-ring action.
Famously writing the first draft in 3 days whilst penniless, the screenplay by Sylvester Stallone strongly leans towards the autobiographical, but refreshingly avoids tipping into indulgence, thanks to the working class sincerity Sly holds Rocky in, capturing a warm roughness in his clashes with trainer Mickey and the slow-burn romance of Adrian. Working up from his roots, Sly punches up with delightful wish fulfillment of local hero Rocky grabbing the chance to enter the spotlight against mega-star Creed.
Having the flu whilst filming,Talia Shire wonderfully works this into her performance as Adrian,with Shire concerned she might give Sly her flu, leading to sweet nervous excitement over falling in love with Rocky. On one side having Burgess Meredith barking orders as Mickey,and on the other having Carl Weathers's slick cool Creed, Sly gives a excellent performance, pulling at the determined underdog heart of Rocky.