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ROCKY
Reading my good friend Citizen's review motivated my 6th re-watch of Rocky, the feel good movie of 1976 that struck such an emotional chord with moviegoers, not to mention winning the Oscar for Best Picture of 1976 and making an official movie star out of a struggling actor named Sylvester Stallone.
For those who have been living under a rock for the past 40 years, Stallone wrote the screenplay for this winning Cinderella story playing one Rocky Balboa, a former boxer who lives in Philadelphia and works as a thumb breaker for a local loan shark. He is good at his work even if his heart gets in the way sometimes and he recently lost his locker at the gym where he works. Rocky is suffering from self-pity and even some self-loathing when the opportunity of a lifetime falls in his lap. Heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) offers Rocky a chance to step in the ring with him for the championship when his original opponent falls ill.
Amidst all this, Rocky begins to seriously pursue a relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire) the painfully shy sister of Rocky's buddy Paulie (Burt Young), an abusive alcoholic who works in a butcher shop. Rocky's sensitive approach to getting this girl's attention not only works, but brings the girl out of the shell she's been living in.
Many have speculated on why this movie struck such a chord with movie audiences in 1976, considering the fact that prior to this, Stallone had only done bit parts in seven or eight other films, the only significant role being in The Lords of Flatbush. I think the Cinderella story onscreen paralleled so strong with the one off that an immediate connection was made with people. It didn't hurt that Rocky was also one of the most instantly likable movie characters ever created and Stallone's script and John G. Avildsen's sensitive direction take their time in crafting this likability...i loved watching Rocky trying to teach the young tomboy not to act like a whore or trying to justify not breaking the thumb of a guy who was $70 short on what he owed. I also loved Rocky and Adrian's first date on the ice...with the vocal alarm clock in the background.
I was also impressed by the fact that even though Rocky was not the brightest bulb in the row, he was not a complete moron. I LOVE that scene where Mickey (Burgess Meredith) comes to his apartment trying to climb on the Rocky bandwagon after Rocky has been offered the title shot. He reminds Mickey that he just took Rocky's locker, but his acceptance of Mickey's offer is done out of earshot of the audience...a nice directorial touch from Avildsen.
Avildsen's direction also won him an Oscar as did Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad's film editing. Personally, I think Best Picture and Director should have gone elsewhere, but I definitely understand the wins. Stallone's movie star turn in the title role is an absolute revelation. I think Talia Shire was robbed of the Best Actress Oscar for her Adrian, a character who makes a remarkable and believable transformation from her first scene to her last, Shire is a one woman acting class here and Meredith's supporting actor nomination was richly deserved as well. The climactic fight between Rocky and Creed is effectively choreographed and edited, though I really didn't buy Rocky knocking Creed down so early in the fight, but that's a very small nitpick regarding this instant classic that riveted me to the screen to day the same way it did 42 years ago.
Reading my good friend Citizen's review motivated my 6th re-watch of Rocky, the feel good movie of 1976 that struck such an emotional chord with moviegoers, not to mention winning the Oscar for Best Picture of 1976 and making an official movie star out of a struggling actor named Sylvester Stallone.
For those who have been living under a rock for the past 40 years, Stallone wrote the screenplay for this winning Cinderella story playing one Rocky Balboa, a former boxer who lives in Philadelphia and works as a thumb breaker for a local loan shark. He is good at his work even if his heart gets in the way sometimes and he recently lost his locker at the gym where he works. Rocky is suffering from self-pity and even some self-loathing when the opportunity of a lifetime falls in his lap. Heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) offers Rocky a chance to step in the ring with him for the championship when his original opponent falls ill.
Amidst all this, Rocky begins to seriously pursue a relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire) the painfully shy sister of Rocky's buddy Paulie (Burt Young), an abusive alcoholic who works in a butcher shop. Rocky's sensitive approach to getting this girl's attention not only works, but brings the girl out of the shell she's been living in.
Many have speculated on why this movie struck such a chord with movie audiences in 1976, considering the fact that prior to this, Stallone had only done bit parts in seven or eight other films, the only significant role being in The Lords of Flatbush. I think the Cinderella story onscreen paralleled so strong with the one off that an immediate connection was made with people. It didn't hurt that Rocky was also one of the most instantly likable movie characters ever created and Stallone's script and John G. Avildsen's sensitive direction take their time in crafting this likability...i loved watching Rocky trying to teach the young tomboy not to act like a whore or trying to justify not breaking the thumb of a guy who was $70 short on what he owed. I also loved Rocky and Adrian's first date on the ice...with the vocal alarm clock in the background.
I was also impressed by the fact that even though Rocky was not the brightest bulb in the row, he was not a complete moron. I LOVE that scene where Mickey (Burgess Meredith) comes to his apartment trying to climb on the Rocky bandwagon after Rocky has been offered the title shot. He reminds Mickey that he just took Rocky's locker, but his acceptance of Mickey's offer is done out of earshot of the audience...a nice directorial touch from Avildsen.
Avildsen's direction also won him an Oscar as did Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad's film editing. Personally, I think Best Picture and Director should have gone elsewhere, but I definitely understand the wins. Stallone's movie star turn in the title role is an absolute revelation. I think Talia Shire was robbed of the Best Actress Oscar for her Adrian, a character who makes a remarkable and believable transformation from her first scene to her last, Shire is a one woman acting class here and Meredith's supporting actor nomination was richly deserved as well. The climactic fight between Rocky and Creed is effectively choreographed and edited, though I really didn't buy Rocky knocking Creed down so early in the fight, but that's a very small nitpick regarding this instant classic that riveted me to the screen to day the same way it did 42 years ago.