Today, Sylvester Stallone is regarded as one of the finest action stars of the past 30 years. He’s most well-known for the Rambo franchise, more recently The Expendables movies, and of course, the Rocky franchise. Nowadays, they’re up to seven films with an eighth film on the way, but let’s go back in time to the early 1970’s. Prior to making it big as the Italian Stallion, Stallone was doing what he could to get by, including his first starring role being in a soft-core porn (yeah, seriously) film called The Party at Kitty and Studs in 1973. As easy as it is to make fun of him for that, keep in mind that he had recently been evicted from his apartment, was living on the streets, and slept for three weeks at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, so with that in mind, it’s easy to see why he agreed to do the film for $200 a day for two days. Stallone even said, “it was either do that movie or rob someone, because I was at the end – the very end – of my rope.” Funny enough, after Stallone’s newfound fame, the film was later rereleased as The Italian Stallion.
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After having roles in movies in the early to mid 70s such as Bananas, The Lords of Flatbush, and the cult-classic Death Race 2000, Stallone got the motivation to write the script for Rocky after watching the championship match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, where, while being TKO’d by Ali in the 15th round, people were stunned that Wepner made it as long as he did. He spent three whole days writing the script, with the intent of playing the lead role. However, when he presented the script to United Artists, which they liked, they wanted someone like Ryan O’Neal, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan for the part. Thanks to both persistence and the support of producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, Stallone managed to get the lead role.
The film tells the story of small-time boxer Rocky Balboa (Stallone), who one day gets a shot at fighting the heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, played by the always awesome Carl Weathers. In addition, Rocky pursues a romance with meek pet store clerk Adrian, played by Talia Shire, who usually gets treated like dirt by her brother Paulie, played by Burt Young. In prep for his fight, Rocky gets the curmudgeonly old former boxer Mickey, played by Burgess Meredith. With the support of his trainer, his newfound love, and his determination and heart, Rocky works his way up, not to necessarily beat Apollo in the ring, but prove to others and himself that he can go the distance.
Despite what the sequels became, the first one stands out as more than just a boxing movie. The movie is really more of a character study. We see Rocky as a good-natured guy who, while not very bright, has a lot of heart and cares about others. When a mob boss named Tony Gazzo, played by character actor Joe Spinell, wants him to break a guy’s fingers for not paying, Rocky refuses cause he can’t bring himself to do it. While Paulie treats her like dirt, and she’s generally ignored by others, Rocky sees the beauty in Adrian and wants to show her that she is special and matters. There’s even one scene where Rocky helps a young girl get back to her home and warns her about how there can be a lot of creeps on the street. Really, the boxing element is somewhat secondary in the film.
Directed by John G. Avildsen, who later went on to make The Karate Kid films, Rocky is an important entry in film history. This was during a period of filmmaking known as New Hollywood, where studios gave filmmakers more creative control and were willing to take more risks. While he did have a few roles under his belt, Stallone was still relatively unknown, and many of the other cast members were cast late into the production. In spite of the risks, much like Rocky, the film rose to the top and became a massive success. What makes the film work are the characters. In addition to the good-natured Rocky, you also have Burgess Meredith as Mickey, who you feel was once a great boxer until old age got the better of him, and he almost sees Rocky as the son he never had, so he trains Rocky not only to help him in the fight, but also to feel like he has purpose. Then there’s Carl Weathers as the flashy and arrogant boxer Apollo Creed. Weathers just oozes charisma and steals nearly every scene he’s in, but it is almost satisfying when you see the shock on his face when Rocky just won’t go down.
Another major part of the film’s success is the music composed by Bill Conti. Anytime you hear the theme, Gonna Fly Now, you immediately want to start running and punching at the air like you’re Rocky. It’s the kind of song that really gets you pumped up. Other than that, the rest of the score helps add character to the film, by showing just how low the characters are in their life situation but also giving them a sense of hope. The movie is very inspirational, telling us that it’s not about whether we win or lose, but that it’s about proving to yourself and others that you can do it.
The film went on to make a ton of money ($225 million against a $1.1 million budget), and won three Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Picture, against movies like Taxi Driver, Network, and All the President’s Men. There were six films that followed, four directed by Stallone, one by Avildsen, and one by Ryan Coogler. Despite how campy and ridiculous some of the sequels got, the first film still stands as what happens when someone with a lot of heart and drive goes against the odds and proves to the world that they can make something out of themselves.
