An aspiring boxer in Philadelphia, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), finds his boxing career stagnating and his life hitting a dead end. However, his opportunity for achievement comes when a boxing champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is looking for an opponent for an upcoming publicity match- and he wants Rocky. Helped by his ageing coach (Burgess Meredith) and his socially awkward girlfriend, Adrian (Talia Shire), Rocky embarks on an intense training regime to revamp his life and survive the ultimate boxing match…
Doug says...
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about toxic masculinity and how it is often exacerbated by the media - in particular the portrayal of so-called “real men” in films - namely men who don’t lose, don’t display emotion and certainly don’t talk about how they feel.
It was with great wariness then that I came to watch Rocky which is a film about a would-be champion boxer. The moment the film began with the oh-too-familiar dark grainy camerawork that the ‘70s seems to insist upon - I knew I was right. Two more hours of try-hard masculinity to sit through. Oh god.
Except that I was completely and utterly wrong. Hurrah! This is a brilliant film, with characters in a heavily male-dominated world still feeling able to talk about their feelings, some great acting across the board and such a superb script that when I found out it was written by Sylvester Stallone himself in three days, I was shocked.
Ultimately I think this is the film that the 1970s has been trying to make this whole time - and not massively succeeding at until now. It’s darkly realistic, with grimy flats and unattractively sweaty men in the gym. It’s got real portrayals of drunken rows in the household and explicit references to sex. But what Stallone finally brings to this gritty era is comedy. We are allowed to finally laugh - and there’s some lovely comic moments, not least of all Rocky’s opponent’s entrance into the ring at the finale - dressed as ‘Uncle Sam’ and trying to pose as the ‘I Want You’ poster. Not to mention the scene where Rocky stone-facedly cracks five eggs into a glass and then downs it. The whole framing of the scene is so simple and straight-forward that it’s actually hilarious.
The story itself is pretty simple and there’s no real shocks, but to me the quality of the writing means this doesn’t matter one jot. It’s a script that smacks of reality, with actors being given great moments to prove their salt. Talia Shire shines as Adrian, a quiet shopkeeper who Rocky takes to. She blossoms through his affections for her and in one fantastic scene finally turns on her awful brother who’s been taunting her and attacking her for years. It’s a great scene that actually starts with his drunken aggression and ends with him in shock at how much stronger she is.
This said, the film belongs to Stallone. I’ve never seen him act before and was surprised by how good he actually is. He conveys a lot without moving much of his face, and he conveys Rocky's blunt simplicity (which other characters mistake for stupidity) with so much ease that you find yourself rooting for him immediately. Not to mention his mumbling delivery is more truthful to the character than Marlon Brando ever managed in The Godfather. And as I say at the beginning, it’s so refreshing to see a masculine character talk openly about how he feels - and when someone’s words has hurt him. Ultimately it means we warm to him even more.
Against all the odds (it is a film about boxing after all…), I loved it. It’s triumphant, the boxing scenes are well done and they don’t go on too long(!) - and the whole film is expertly shot. In particular a scene where Burgess Meredith, as Rocky’s trainer, stands outside Rocky’s flat listening to him rant and rage inside, is so beautifully filmed that this tiny moment became overwhelmingly powerful. A gorgeous piece, and unexpectedly affecting.
Highlight
For the first time in this project, it has to be the overall script. There are so many scenes that are extraordinarily well written - one being when Rocky walks his friend’s errant sister home and lectures her on how she should be seen. It’s a truthful, sharp scene and ends perfectly with her dismissive reaction. Superb, superb, superb.
Lowlight
It’s a small scene but I found the moment where Rocky first kisses Adrian to be a bit disturbing owing to his preventing her from leaving the flat by blocking the door. Ultimately he’s sensed that she does like him and is just scared about making the first move, but in today’s era, it rings a warning bell. A product of its time - and Rocky is ultimately so good-hearted that it’s difficult to believe it was threatening. But still.
Mark
10/10 (but if they made it now, that one scene would be different…)
Paul says...
Boxing. It’s right there in my list of things I just don’t get, along with Christmas markets, over-priced shops that call themselves “boutiques”, and Love Island. Quite frankly, if I wanted to see men punching each other tactically, I’d rather install a camera into the Oval Office. After watching Rocky, I must admit that remain clueless as to the rules and strategies involved in boxing, but I have now gained a vast appreciation for the excitement and hysteria that the sport can mitigate.
So overall, I very much agree with Doug - Rocky is great. All the more so due to its refreshingly humorous tone, messages of hope and what true achievement really is, and its simple and sweet storyline. But despite the fact that it was the highest grossing movie of 1976, it beat intense political and psychological pieces such as Network, All the President’s Men, and Taxi Driver, and led to a lengthy string of not-so-successful-but-they-made-them-anyway sequels, Rocky often finds itself lambasted as a less-deserving Best Picture winner. I think this is because it has no political or philosophical pretensions. It is proof that sometimes a simple film about simple people is all you need to create a hit. But movie snobs may feel differently.
Rocky is essentially an underdog story. Neither was it original then, nor is it now, but it’s a timeless tale that everyone can relate to. We’ve seen similar themes in previous decades in films such as You Can’t Take It With You, How Green Was My Valley, On the Waterfront and Marty. Every decade of movies takes the tale of a downtrodden loser achieving greatness and puts their own spin on it. The ‘80s would include more colours and a soundtrack by Starship or Kenny Loggins; the ‘90s would make it about a curtain-haired teenager who likes action figures; and in this diversity-aware age the protagonist would be a woman, or a person of colour, or gay, or a sloth, or all of the above. My point is that, sometimes you don’t need innovation to have people cheering wildly, sometimes you just need heart and humour. Movie writers, take note!
My favourite part of Rocky was the central romance. Rocky is a gentle giant with a penchant for making self-deprecating jokes and you can’t help but adore him. Meanwhile Adrian is so painfully shy she can barely speak and is psychologically abused by her insecure brother. Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire give spectacular performances, and the whole thing is reminiscent of the equally tender romance between Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair in another high-scoring Oscar winner, Marty.
Also, the final fight was tremendously exciting. We spent most of it trying to work out the basic rules of boxing and failed miserably, but this doesn’t detract from us being transfixed to the screen. And the film ends immediately afterwards in a state of histrionic jubilation and Rocky famously yelling out “ADRIAAAAAAAN!” Its suddenness takes you aback, until you realise that the film really doesn’t need to say anything else. It’s a stunning final 15 minutes.
So yes, I haven’t gained a desire to become a boxing fanatic, but I will certainly be singing Rocky’s praises and shouting down those snobs who think all Oscar winners should be as long as Hamlet and just as portentous. Sometimes, when it comes to content, less is more.
Highlight
Besides Talia Shire turning minimal dialogue into a multi-layered performance, the famously motivational montage sequence and the final fight itself, I think my favourite bit is when Rocky patiently bashes 5 eggs into a glass and drinks the contents in one gulp. It’s gross and hilarious.
Lowlight
There were some periods in the film where my attention started to drift. It’s the typically quiet, darkly-lit, dreary ‘70s tone that can become arduous. But this is very minor because the film would drag me right back in again.
Mark
10/10
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