It has recently been a goal of mine to watch all the Oscar best picture films. There are 81 of them and I have already seen 51. I plan to watch In the Heat of the Night tonight starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. I am also watching films on the AFI top 100 10th anniversary list. I hope that you enjoy reading these reviews as they are practice for me if I ever end up doing some film reviewing for a newspaper or something in the future. Hopefully these will also help you enjoy some old films with me, because the oldies are where it all started!
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Rocky (1976)
Everyone in the world has probably heard of the movie Rocky and its five sequels, but I wonder how many think it is just about boxing. I was surprised when I first watched this movie because I expected it to be just that: a boring and gory sports movie geared to teenage boys. However, I found it to be a rather mellow story about an ordinary guy (Sylvester Stallone) who is down on his luck and no longer the fighter that he once was. Even when he wins fights, he barely comes out of it well and doesn’t have the fire that the name “Italian Stallion” would imply.
Rocky was directed by John Avildsen and written by Sylvester Stallone who stars as Rocky Balboa. It also stars Talia Shire as Adrian Pennino, Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, and Burgess Meridith as Micky who is Rocky’s trainer.
Rocky collects money for his boss on the streets as a side job, but his kind spirit is evident when he gives a man a second chance to come up with the money instead of beating him up like his boss suggests. He is a kind but uneducated man whose circumstances have brought him to this point.
He even has a sweet relationship with his shy girlfriend Adrian. He respects her and his motives for being with her are innocent. Their relationship is more about friendship than sex. Rocky never hurts
It’s easy to get caught up in the story and to root for Rocky especially through his training. He works hard, never says anything bad about his opponent Apollo Creed, and has an undying stamina. Rocky says that boxing is the only thing that he’s good at, but he’s very humble. He knows his weaknesses and uses them to improve and motivate himself.
Rocky won three Oscars for best director, best editing, and best picture in 1976 and was nominated for seven more. Bill Conti did the music for this film and barely escaped the Oscar for best song to “Evergreen” from A Star is Born. Although the title song “Gonna Fly Now” didn’t win, it is still an enormously motivating song that plays while Rocky is running through the streets and training for the big fight. As I said earlier, the movie is less about the fight (which only takes about ten minutes at the end) and more about how Rocky gets there and how he rises up from his meek circumstances to a local and international hero. I love this movie and would recommend it to most anyone as it is only rated PG for some blood, violence, and mild language. I would even recommend the first sequel. It stays true to the first and doesn’t seem strained or lame. I plan to watch the newest Rocky Balboa from 2006. If I watch the others, I hope that they doesn’t take away from the greatness of the first two.
Ugh, now I have the theme song stuck in my head. You should watch the others and tell us if they're any good! In any case, you summarize the story and characters well. It's impressive you were able to watch the movie in an unbiased way and appreciate it even though most people end up making fun of it (and perhaps overplaying that song at pepband games)!
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