Rocky

The 1970’s were full of dark Hollywood movies. There were anti-heroes and disaster films. New filmmakers were desirous for change and thus began the blockbuster era. Just as it was beginning, an unknown named Sylvester Stallone came forward with an idea that would change the sports film genre and create pop cultural icons. “Rocky” is a movie about the importance of self-esteem and how everyone in the world has inner value. The film reflects the dark Hollywood projects preceding it but it is injected with classic story motifs and good values. Before “Rocky”, there were few sports dramas being made as compared with today. During the creation of the entire Rocky Anthology and after it, the sports genre became a lucrative and reputable part of Hollywood. The inspirational sports films of today owe “Rocky” a lot. There were many boxing movies before it but “Rocky” was the first boxing film, let alone sports film, to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The reason was because the film is more of a drama than a sports film.

My dad raised me on many things and one of them was “Rocky”. Now as an adult, I can see that true values are being taught despite the fact that the film is set in a sleazily world. The most obvious story motif utilized in “Rocky” is that of the underdog. He is established as a bum who boxes by night and collects money for a loan shark by day. Rocky isn’t a bad man though. He has pets, which is kind of cute. The scene with Little Marie also shows us that Rocky is different from any other bum on the street. Rocky is also different from other collectors in that he doesn’t break the guy’s thumb. He instead tries to set the guy straight much to the dislike of his boss Gazzo. Despite this, Gazzo respects Rocky for his good heart and that makes Gazzo an appealing character. He is another bit of sunshine in the world of sleaze that Hollywood was producing before this film. He gives money to Rocky for his date and for training expenses. He also comes to see the fight at the end of the movie. The romance between Rocky and Adrian has become a memorable one in Hollywood history. The line “Yo, Adrian” is on the American Film Institute’s list of movie quotes at #80. Unlike a classic Hollywood romance, both the characters are nobodies. They need each other however in order to improve themselves. As Rocky says, "She fills gaps." Adrian believes she is a loser because of how her brother Paulie treats her. Rocky is the one to teach her that she is actually beautiful and a good person. When Adrian comes out of her room ready to go out on the date, it shows that she is starting to overcome her shyness. Also, Rocky can help her deal with the abuse that Paulie puts her through. I love how Rocky tries to coax Adrian into his apartment. She likes him but her shyness is still hard for her to overcome. She finally realizes that Rocky is different when he takes her glasses & hat off and kisses her. He does it with respect, knowing that she is beautiful on the inside and underneath her glasses & hat. It is important that they fall in love before Rocky’s big break. Their love is stronger that way.

Rocky respects Apollo interestingly. Apollo isn’t a villain in the movie and Carl Weathers didn’t portray him as such; he is just the antagonist. He is modelled after Muhammad Ali but Apollo does have a flaw: he has too much pride. He ironically thinks less than Rocky does. He doesn’t have heart. His pride brings about his downfall later in the film saga. Rocky doesn’t accept the chance to fight Apollo at first and this is an important element of the Hero’s Journey archetype as first illustrated by Joseph Campbell. Stallone has inserted this into the story, also to great effect. Rocky rejects the call to adventure because he feels that he is unqualified. We can tell that he wants the chance but just like Adrian, he has yet to realize his inner value. Evidence of this fact is seen when Rocky privately admits to Adrian that the jokes at the press conference did hurt his feelings. Rocky acts tough but inside, he is sensitive and needs someone to make him feel valuable. This is why he pursues Adrian. He needs a woman’s love. We then have a dramatic scene between Rocky and Mickey where they set aside their differences. Before Rocky’s lucky break, we understand that Mickey sees potential in Rocky but doesn’t like him because he wastes his life. Mickey spells it out loud & clear for us and Rocky just before Rocky get his lucky shot. Mickey and Rocky actually need each other even though they are at each other’s throats. It takes Rocky’s big break to teach them this. When you watch the scene between Rocky and Mickey in the apartment for the first time, it looks as though Rocky won’t accept Mickey’s help but then he comes out of his house after Mickey down the street. We understand that Rocky at first rejected Mickey’s offer to become his manager not because he doesn’t want it. He is just venting out his anger. He is upset that Mickey never showed him any attention until now. He is more than willing to let Mickey be his manager but he is trying to send Mickey an important message: Rocky may have been wasting his life before but maybe it was because Mickey never paid any attention to him in the first place. The scene is also powerful if you have seen the rest of the Rocky films because their powerful friendship throughout the saga almost never happened.

Rocky begins to train for the fight and this is another scene that is powerful when you know the whole story portrayed in the franchise. The Rocky Saga is inspiring because of where Rocky came from and what he accomplished. Before the events of all the other films however, in the scene when Rocky is taking his first morning run, he is running the streets of Philly alone. No one is awake to cheer him on or chant his name. Also, he doesn’t make it up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art during that scene due to exhaustion. As inspiring as Rocky is later raising his arms in triumph on the stairs, most people forget that Rocky didn’t make it the first time he tried. Duke in the next film becomes the voice of reason for Apollo and we see that also in this first film when he is watching Rocky on the TV. He understands that Rocky has heart and is not taking the fight lightly. Then comes the quintessential sports montage that accompanies the Oscar nominated song “Gonna Fly Now”. The song is also on AFI's list of the greatest movie songs at #58. This would also be a good time to mention that “Rocky” won Best Editing at the Oscars. As inspiring as the montage is, the resolving, climatic run up the stairs is what makes it amazing. The song helps make that iconic image what it is. The image of Rocky celebrating at the top of the stairs is also symbolic. He has triumphed over the stairs but he is still alone. No one in the world except maybe his close friends believes that he has a chance. This montage changed sports films forever in that almost all sports films after “Rocky” have some kind of similar montage. Before the fight however, the audience must understand another dramatic element of the story. Rocky needs to learn the same lesson about self worth that he ironically taught Adrian. This is articulated the night before the fight as Rocky talks with Adrian after his visit to the arena. It has been established that no one wants to fight Apollo with such a short time to train because they are scared of getting embarrassed. Rocky may be a huge underdog but his goal is to do what those top contenders are too afraid to try. His goal is to beat Apollo with heart. No one has gone all 15 rounds with Creed. It is a humbling thing when Rocky admits to Adrian that he can’t win. He knows that Apollo is the better fighter by far and he still respects him. All Rocky wants to do is not be knocked out and be able to stand toe to toe with the champ. That is how Rocky is going to prove to himself that he has inner value. He wants to know if he is special and by surviving Apollo, he will know that for sure. I like the jokes before the fight. They lighten the mood but also make the climax more dramatic and powerful by contrast. Rocky knocking down Apollo in the first round is a welcome surprise for us the audience because we need to know that there is a chance for Rocky. It isn’t easy for Rocky however and even Mickey wants to give up by the end. Rocky has been knocked down in the 14th and Mickey humorously tells him to give up. Rocky ends up doing better than he thought he could because Apollo is literally saved by the bell in the 15th round. Despite his achievement, all he wants more than anything after the fight is Adrian. His achievement is nothing without her. When she professes her love to him, it is his greatest accomplishment. He is still standing and with the woman he loves, ignoring the results of the fight.

The story of the making of the film is an underdog story also. It was filmed in a short amount of time and with a low budget. All sorts of Stallone’s family members are in this film. Fun fact, the poster in the arena is wrong because it was a mistake in the making of the film. It was not part of the original script. The script was re-written as a result due to the low budget. The same thing was done for Rocky’s baggy robe. Stallone and Weathers themselves were the ones who choreographed the fight we see. As another fun fact, “Rocky” was the first film that showed how valuable the Steadicam could be in Hollywood filmmaking. Those involved in this film probably had no idea that they were going to affect Hollywood and American society the way they did. So much of this film has become part of pop culture such as the pet shop, Apollo’s entrance to the arena, the meat locker, Rocky running through the market place, praying at the sink before the fight and crossing himself just before the first bell. We have already mentioned the art museum stairs. In 1996, the Olympic Torch relay went up the stairs and thanks to YouTube, I get to see that moment. Yet another influence on popular culture is the character of Mickey. The sport coaches that show up in films after “Rocky” are many times similar to him in one way or another. “Rocky” was the “Slumdog Millionaire” of the late 70’s in that it grossed much more than it cost to make and was nominated for 10 Oscars including acting Oscars for Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young and Burgess Meredith. It was also nominated for Stallone’s screenplay and sound mixing. As mentioned, the movie won Best Picture but also Best Director for John G. Avildsen. Bill Conti’s musical score should have been nominated in my opinion. His work is what usually brings the tears when I am watching a Rocky movie. The AFI has put “Rocky” on other lists that it has released such as for sports movies at #2 behind “Raging Bull” (I will have to see that movie someday to understand), inspirational movies at #4, film heroes with Rocky being #7, thrilling movies at #52 and finally, it is on the AFI list of the greatest movies of all time at #57.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of this film, I finally go to see "Rocky" on the big screen for the first time. The opening title crawl was so massive. "Rocky" is my favorite sports movie of all time and my favorite film made in 1976. It is also currently my second favorite Best Picture winner after "The Return of the King". Magic on film can happen when the writer of the movie performs one of the major characters such as on “Ghostbusters” and “Ace Ventura”. “Rocky” and its themes of underdog and self-esteem reinvented the sports movie forever. It did that by focusing on drama and not on sports action. The film also has many images that have become a major part of Hollywood history. As good as the original “Rocky” is, it paved the way for even more drama in its many sequels. The “Rocky” saga capitalized on the blockbuster era quite well.

5 Stars out of 5