Rocky
If there can ever be said to have been a so called feel good movie that has proved to be so defining, so untoppable in concept and execution, that it has been defined by every generation afterwards as the ultimate underdog inspirational movie with nothing really ever having taken its place, then this can be the one. Even with the sequels which improved on both writing and filmmaking technique, the 1976 original remains untouchable to almost all knowledgeable cinephiles, and its Best Picture Oscar win cemented that as well. Sylvester Stallone took the gamble of his life here: offered $350,000 for his script alone, despite being broke, he turned it down on the condition that he be allowed to star in it despite being an unknown (save for his extraordinary bad guy in the Roger Corman classic Death Race 2000), and agreed to take next to no salary up front and placed his bets on his performance making the whole thing succeed. It worked, as his Rocky Balboa comes off as a logical extension of the actor himself while still being a wholly original character. While Stallone himself is now considered a creative genius, Balboa is as charmingly dumb as a bag of rocks, and despite the character being shown as an almost animalistic fighter in the ring and also working as a kneecap collection man for a loan shark, the essential GOODNESS of who Rocky is as a person is what makes the character great, as despite his flaws and problems, at least he constantly CHOOSES to TRY to do the right thing, whether it be walking a teenage girl home and advising her to live a better life (and being told off for his troubles) or showing a genuine love for animals like his pet turtles and the animals in the neighborhood pet store, which is where he knows Adrian (Talia Shire), sister to his best buddy Paulie (Burt Young) and the girl whom he has the absolute biggest crush on despite the fact that neighborhood guys think sheās a retard when really she is just painfully shy (and pretty once the glasses come off). Paulie on the other hand, is the classic definition of the middle aged loser, well inclined (as fans of the series have endured) to bitch and moan about his lot in life when itās obvious that heās the cause of most of his own problems. As we all know, at the momentous halfway mark of the film, a freak occurance happens: Rocky is offered a shot at The Heavyweight Championship Of The World, mostly because the original challenger has pulled out and the champ himself, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) has handpicked Rocky from a catalog of all available Philly area club fighters due to him being white and carrying the nickname The Itallion Stallion (and also the noticeable Nation Of Islam types that Creed has in his entourage that were dropped in later films). Weathersā colorful yet likable bravado helps him come across as almost a more cartoonish version of the real life Muhammad Ali (and a quick cameo showing him palling around with Joe Frazier confirms that). Once the fight is in place, Rocky finds support from his old loan shark boss Gazzo (Joe Spinell), who while technically a lowlife criminal type is actually someone who is shown to treat Rocky well as almost a big brother or even a father figure type. And of course there is the ferocious Mickey, the grizzled gym owner who has had a love / hate relationship with Rocky for years who approaches him after the fight is signed to serve as his manager / trainer and played to legendary perfection by Burgess Meredith in the role he had late in life that propelled him from respected character actor to acting legend. He, along with Young, Shire, and Stallone all received Oscar nominations for acting, but amazingly none of them won. Admittedly, when compared with the sequels, this comes across as the ābare frameworkā of the concept, with director John Avildson going a bit overboard with some ārealismā and dramatic elements, trying to make it gritty yet still family friendly which rings some false notes at times (Stallone would replace him to better effect later on), and the final fight is easily and widely considered the worst in the series, which was something Stallone would go on to perfect. A low budget feel with almost no sense of a crowd atmosphere (because there was none) combined with a terrible rushed effect in which nearly half the fight is skipped over to basically only show us the beginning and the end. The spirit and emotion are still there though in the final minutes, thanks to the acting and Bill Contiās incredible score with the ending that literally had the world cheering. In the end, while a lesser overall film than certain sequels, an acknowledged American classic thatās a must see for allā¦
8/10