“His name is Sylvester Stallone, but you will always remember him as Rocky.”
Rocky, directed by John G. Avildsen is about a young man, Rocky Balboa. Rocky is a blue collar Italian- American who is from South Philadelphia. He starts off as a small time boxer who fights in clubs and uses anything he can get his hand on to train. As Rocky continues fighting, the defending champion, Apollo Creed finds out that his opponent for championships has become injured so he sets out to find a local competitor. Rocky gets notified of this search and is asked if he wants to go against Creed for the belt. Rocky is standoffish at first and doesn’t want to fight Creed, but eventually gives in. Mickey Goldmill, an admirable coach and previous fighter from the 20’s, offers to coach Rocky after he accepts the position in the fight. Rocky is famous for being the underdog with a remarkable work rate and a love for one woman.
Although Rocky was not known very well for its cinematography, but more for the storyline within, Avildsen still did some good things with the story Sylvester Stallone wrote, “With rousing music and sentimental scripts, Avildsen was a master at ennobling and lifting the underdog into states of grace. He won best director for “Rocky” (1976), the tale of Rocky Balboa’s gritty and unlikely transcendence from the streets of South Philadelphia…” (Los Angeles Times). Another source, Roger Ebert, when talking about John G. Avildsen said, “Avildsen correctly isolates Rocky in his urban environment, because this movie shouldn’t have a documentary feel, with people hanging out of every window: It’s a legend, it’s about little people, but it’s bigger than life, and you have to set them apart visually so you can isolate them morally.” This section represents the movie in a decent manner due to the fact it looks at the big picture, the legend. Ebert also spoke how Rocky intervened with audience by saying, “What makes the movie extraordinary is that it doesn’t try to surprise us with an original plot, with twists and complications; it wants to involve us on an elemental, a sometimes savage, level. It’s about heroism and realizing your potential, about taking your best shot and sticking by your girl. It sounds not only clichéd but corny — and yet it’s not, not a bit, because it really does work on those levels. It involves us emotionally, it makes us commit ourselves: We find, maybe to our surprise after remaining detached during so many movies, that this time we care” (Roger Ebert).
Rocky, as stated above, was best known for the underdog’s work ethic and storyline. This was noticed within the film industry and was able to win awards, “On Nov. 21, 1976, Sylvester Stallone was vaulted to ‘the hottest new star’ of the year with the debut of Rocky. The film, which claimed the best picture Oscar at the 49th Academy Awards, became a pop-culture milestone and an enduring franchise for Stallone” (Hollywood Reporter). In 1977, Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture- Drama, Best Foreign Actor, in addition to the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing- Feature Film. Then, in 1978, it won the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film. Rocky became a huge blockbuster although the film was not filled with well-known actors (one of the reasons why it was considered an unconventional film) and, according to Hollywood Reporter, producers Chartoff and Winkler, “not only gave up their normal producer’s fee, but actually mortgaged their homes in lieu of paying interest charges on a completion bond.”
In the end, the legend of Rocky was one that, at one time or another, the entire nation held onto, “His name is Sylvester Stallone, but you will always remember him as Rocky.”
Resources
“Awards.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/awards.
Ebert, Roger. “Rocky.” RogerEbert.com, 1 Jan. 1976, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rocky-1976+ .
Fleishman, Jeffrey. “’Rocky’ Director John G. Avildsen Dies at 81.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2017, www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-john-avildsen-obituary-20170616-story.html.
oldhollywoodtrailers. “Rocky Official Trailer #1 – Burgess Meredith Movie (1976) HD.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Oct. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VUblDwa648.
Hello Caitlyn,
I liked your article as it was very informative. First, I didn’t realize how many awards Rocky won. I knew best picture at the Academy Awards but the others blew my mind. In reality I have never seen the film but I know of it and the story. I like how you gave a quick summary of the story to fill us in though to get the full understanding of the under dog story. It adds well to your essay. The quote you added from Ebert about how the emptiness of the city “people not hanging out of every window”; it shows the isolation of the character as we follow his story. When I watch movies I’ll pay more attention to how the background affects the foreground more attentively. I never really have put that in perspective but I could see how that would work for such a film. It’s interesting how one catches these things purposely when most of us don’t even take a second look.
Hello Caitlyn,
I appreciated all the effort you put into your post! I thought it was one of the more interesting and detailed posts available last week. I say this because you not only explained the actual premise of the film but then after went into detail about why you chose this movie as your blockbuster film. I also think your writing style is great and that helped me understand each idea you incorporated into your post as I worked my way through. All in all, I think you really did a great job last week and I look forward to reading your post next week.