The SmarK DVD Rant for Rocky: The Undisputed Collection (Blu-Ray)
OK, let's call a spade a spade here. If you're the kind of crazed Rocky Balboa fan who's buying this set, you're not buying it for Rocky or Rocky II. Both of those are great films that I've seen a million times and many people have as well, but they're not the raison d'etre of a set like this. No, the type of person who is willing to drop $80 on a set containing all six Rocky movies is the person who can easily sit down on a Saturday afternoon and blow through ALL SIX MOVIES, and enjoy the hell out of it. Any pansy can watch Rocky again, but I'm the kind of guy who gets more out of the later movies, so that's what I'm going to talk about.
Rocky III
So this is the ultimate example of batshit crazy 80s excess in all its glory. Rocky III sees our hero ascend from the underdog role in the first two movies, into elite World heavyweight champion boxer, suddenly living the high life and beating up hand-picked opponents. He even fights Thunderlips (The Ultimate Male!), played with over-the-top zeal by young Hulk Hogan, in the role that made him a star. And it's for good reason, as you can really see him out there chewing the scenery with every frame of film he gets. That one of course goes much differently than UFC's boxer v. wrestler matches would go. But on the horizon is #1 contender and knockout artist Clubber Lang (another star-making performance, this time by Mr. T), roughly equivalent to a young Mike Tyson. Pretty impressive considering Tyson was still a few years away from rising prominence. The subtext is pretty blatant, as Rocky has upgraded to training in star-studded celebrity gyms while Lang trains in dirty basements because he has the EYE OF THE TIGER. Lang's heel promos, by the way, are something to behold, and if he had any interest or talent at pro wrestling he could have been as big a star as Hulk Hogan with them. Clubber, to the surprise of no one, wins the title from Rocky (and manages to induce a fatal heart attack in Mickey to boot), but this is an 80s movie so there's no comeback that can't be made with a MONTAGE! I did find it a tad unbelievable that Apollo Creed, who would have just lost the World title a few months previously, would retire and become Rocky's new trainer, but this isn't the type of movie where you can criticize plot points like that. Yeah, the beats are predictable (they dedicate a STATUE to him and he's training at the Rolling Stones' Rock N Roll Circus, is there any doubt that a crushing loss is coming?), but the whole movie is such cartoonish excess and completely exuberant in its desire to entertain the living fuck out of the audience that you have to love it. Just watch the final fight between newly retrained Rocky and Clubber and tell me you wouldn’t be cheering at the end. A million billion stars!
Rocky IV
So now Rocky is fighting FOR AMERICA. Russians are invading American professional sports, and their name is DRAGO. And wouldn't you know it, it's another star-making performance, this time in the form of Dolph Lundgren as roided Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Yeah, those Russians, taking steroids, not like wholesome American athletes. So anyway, Apollo Creed isn't gonna stand for somebody somewhere saying America is whack, and he's got James Brown to prove it. Say what you will about this movie, but that James Brown performance made for one hell of an entrance for Creed. The batshit insanity of this series only gets ramped up when Drago literally KILLS Creed during a "friendly exhibition" match, and cuts a heel promo over the man's lifeless body! Now here's where you get into a bit of a continuity problem, as Rocky is presented as the next logical step for Drago, but in the previous movie he was complaining that his fights were a series of tomato can setups and he really wasn't as good as he was supposed to be. At any rate, it's off to COMMUNIST RUSSIA for Rocky v. Drago, and of course Adrian is a bitch who won't support her husband. I hope she gets cancer in the sixth movie and dies. But Rocky's underdog status is OK, because this is the 80s and there's no problem that can't be solved with a MONTAGE! The montage will never let him down. Your theme of the movie: Technology is bad, running in the snow is good. Oh, and did I mention that the montages are all set to crappy 80s synth rock? Because Stallone REALLY loves them. Unfortunately the training portion of the movie is WAY too long, as the big fight is signed something like 45 minutes into the movie and they have to fill more than 30 minutes with Rocky In Russia as a result. And of course we now know that Russian fighters look like Fedor, not Ivan Drago. Even the FIGHT is turned into a montage! That's the 80s , man! Sadly, the series didn't end here, because if it had it would be the most awesome movie series in history.
Rocky V
First one not to be directed by Stallone. This one takes place the day after the fourth one, but his kid has magically gone from 10 to 14. And Drago was the one on steroids? Rocky wants to retire after his Russian adventure, but literally the minute after he steps off the plane a Don King promoter is offering millions to fight flavor of the week Union Cane (a million bonus dollars to whoever thinks up those names). And sure enough, as soon as Rocky declares how terrific it is to have millions of dollars and be retired, he loses everything to a crooked accountant and he's broke. And brain damaged. Now I understand the purpose of building dramatic tension and giving the characters obstacles to overcome and such, but as someone who is reasonably invested in the characters (except for bitchy Adrian) I don't want to see bad things happen to them in order to drive the plot. It's not FUN. So it's back to the mean streets of Philly and Adrian's still an unsupportive hag, but there's hope in the form of angry young boxer Tommy Gunn. And he's REALLY angry because this series is such a cartoon now. Another point that bugged me here was that they go to great lengths to create tension by making Rocky blind to Tommy's obvious character faults and treat him like a son, while ignoring his own son. I don't WANT to dislike Rocky, that's why I'm watching all these movies and enjoying them so much up until now. Rocky is supposed to be the hero, not the flawed one. There's movies for that, and they're called GOOD movies. Even worse, they even give Rocky Jr. a whole shitty character arc, where he swings wildly between bullied new kid and earring-wearing street tough. Even worse than THAT, the montages set to shitty synth rock have been replaced by wussy C-level hip hop. Considering MC Hammer was too heavy for most white people when this movie was released, it makes the choice of musical accompaniment all the stranger. Tommy Gunn rises up the ranks as a surrogate Rocky, but the movie takes great pains to point out how he has no heart and he's just Rocky's robot. So who the fuck am I supposed to be cheering for here, then? When he gets his World title, even his own promoter admits that he's a joke and a paper champion, but the movie still needs a big Rocky fight scene for the climax. So we get a street fight between Rocky and Tommy instead, and even that doesn't go right. When Rocky gets beat down by the heel and you hear the horns swelling up, you expect him to pop up and finish the asshole for good, but instead Gunn keeps popping up like a movie villain. I saw what they were trying for, but this was a movie that should not have been made and didn't feel like a satisfying conclusion to anything.
Rocky Balboa
So 17 years later, another sequel, and having never seen this one before I came in with an open mind and ended up enjoying the hell out of it. Adrian is dead and gone (probably still nagging him from the grave), and nearly 60 Rocky is long retired. The first part of the movie sees Rocky meeting Little Marie from the very first movie, now all grown up and raising a son. Their platonic and very sweet relationship is some wonderful acting from both of them, and since Rocky's own son is being a bit of a douche here he's free to mentor young Steps without worrying about alienating anyone this time. And everyone just gets along right away! Hallelujah! The main plot from the boxing end of things centers on pampered heavyweight champion Mason Dixon (I know, these guys should come up with wrestling names) as art imitates life and he's sitting on top of a division full of nobodies with PPV buyrates falling. A rather dated-looking computer simulation says that Rocky in his prime would knock out Dixon, so money-starved promoters try to set it up, awakening the beast in Rocky as a result and driving him to get his license back. The courtroom scene really didn't work for me, and it was one of the few moments that took me out of the movie, in fact. I was kind of enjoying the whole "Rocky finds new love in the old neighborhood" stuff so much that it almost disappointed me when the movie suddenly shifts to Vegas for his training and big comeback fight against Mason Dixon. But man, that fight WORKS, and you have to be a machine not to be moved by the sense of mythology that this series has now established for Rocky. It almost feels like a real athlete trying for one last moment of glory, and everyone gets what they need out of it. It's an idea that shouldn't work because it's so silly, but it does, because Rocky IS a larger-than-life character and you'll accept this preposterous comeback. Plus in all fairness, he's more ripped than any 60 year old you'll see outside of Vince McMahon. Not the best of the series, but it's way better than 5, and that's something.
Audio & Video
Since this is Blu-Ray, I'll chat for a moment about the video quality, and in short it's not great. The first movie is just a straight dump of the previous release and it's still really grainy and DVD-like for a Blu-Ray. I know it's an older movie, but restoration can work wonders and the first Rocky is a movie well worth taking the time to restore to pristine condition again. The second and third movies are similar, looking better in some ways, but a couple of times I paused III and was pretty shocked by all the dirt and grain I could see on the screen. The fourth and fifth movies look better yet with more vibrant colors as we get closer to the modern era, but it's the last movie that of course blows them all away. Rocky Balboa is reference-quality on Blu-Ray, especially the final fight, which looks like something out of an HD broadcast today. Audio on the first five movies is about the same, which is to say mono converted into DTS 5.1 to no great effect, aside from some awesome usage of the surrounds for the theme song. And of course Rocky Balboa makes full use of the uncompressed audio track, especially again during the big fight, giving it a true arena feeling.
There's a seventh disc filled with extra features (mostly on the first movie) but I've had enough Rocky for one day. Does anyone watch these things anyway?
The Pulse
I think you have to be of a certain era to fully appreciate what's going on with the entire set, but I am and I do, so highest recommendation from this end. If you're someone who's into quality, just get the first movie (there's tons of good editions available) and maybe the second one (even though it's basically the same movie).
Stallone also didn’t direct the first Rocky
I’m looking forward more to “The Expendables” than any other movie coming out next year. That movie will rule.
Good review(s), Scott. The first and sixth are my favorites, as they seem to have the most honest heart and integrity as films. Rocky V is depressing on so many levels.
Clubber and Drago are a couple of fantastic ’80s cartoon heels. Their trash-talking carries those two movies.
I liked Rocky V; it’s a hell of a lot better than Rocky IV, anyway. It’s just that, by that point, people went to Rocky movies for the same reasons they still go to James Bond movies: formula escapism. That’s OK, but part V broke the pact.
Part VI wasn’t bad, but I didn’t like the ending, which ignored the fact that Balboa even being competitive against Dixon would have meant the end of Dixon’s career…
I think that’s why they had him break his hand early on, to explain how Rocky could keep up with him.
Also, the implication was that Dixon was in the Lennox Lewis stage of having beaten everyone, but not proven that he’s a champion. So just like Lewis had to fight a washed-up Tyson, Dixon fought Rocky.
He broke his hand? I forgot that–haven’t seen it since it was in the theatre. Kind of a good call-back to the first movie, then.
They still could have pointed out how bad it was to lose to a 60-year-old ex-boxer with brain damage. But, then, I’m getting cynical in my old age.
Dixon wins by split decision. I liked the sixth movie because it was a great sunset to the first movie (in fact, if you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy the cartoonish aspects of 3-5 you can just pop in 1,2, and 6 and enjoy them as a trilogy). Rocky doesn’t want to win; he just wants to go the distance. Mason Dixon doesn’t really train hard AND breaks his hand. Don’t forget that George Foreman won the title late in his career as well.
Yeah, but Foreman was in his mid-40s. Rocky was an old heavyweight champion when he won it in the late 70s, I think he’s supposed to be nearly 60. And Foreman retired in good health, unlike the brain-damaged Rocky.
Great thing about the split decision: the cards actually make sense in terms of the scoring of the fight as we saw it, complete with 10-8s.
Key point here — Rocky’s apparently not brain damaged in the sixth movie.
Stallone threw a couple of throwaway lines into that courtroom scene (more in the commentary, though, apparently) to explain that the diagnosis of ‘risking permanent brain damage’ was, apparently, a MISdiagnosis of post-concussion syndrome. Stallone said as much in a chat session on aintitcool.com.
Truth be told, my only problem with the movie is a total nitpick. While it kind of fits Paulie to play kind of a rib on Rocky with the theme music … it’d feel more like a real fight if they’d just gone with “Eye of the Tiger” instead of “High Hopes”. (They could even claim that in the movie universe the song got written by Survivor after Rocky or Apollo mentioned it in an interview or something.)
That was the only detail that I had a problem with, though. On the plus side, having Dixon with all four belts including the one Rocky used, the RING Magazine Championship, was a nice touch, just like the belts on the wall of Adrian’s being not only the RING belt but the WBC, WBA and IBF belts. It made the whole movie feel … real in a way.
Yeah, the same guy directed the 1st and 5th ones, which was actually a cool point about the 5th.
Anyway, this review makes me want to pull out the collection and watch them all. I felt the same about Rocky 5 when I watched it more recently.. Why did they go out of their way to show that Tommy wasn’t actually much of a challenge for Rocky? That was a bad dramatic choice, although I admit I love the rest of the movie.
Two points:
- Good lord, how I hate Stallone playing Rocky as dumber and dumber as the series goes on.
- We’re all in agreement that Zeus was basically Vince taking the Clubber Lang formula to its logical ending.
Two other points:
- Rocky had 10 title defences, so it would’ve been a couple of years between the rematch with Apollo in II and the narrative in III picking up.
- Eddie Murphy’s rant in one of his standup routines (Raw, I think) about thousands of Italians trying to start trouble with black guys after a Rocky movie came out and getting their asses beat down as a result is one of the funnier bits he ever did.
Yeah, those damn Italians were never tough, we know that.
Cough *Mafia* cough.
Actually, Rocky seemed to get smarter in parts 3 & 4. In other words, his speech was not as “philly street” and he dressed classier. The second point is obviously because he had more money, but image wise; I thought he was smarter. In part 5, he goes back to his fedora (?) wearing, bumbling character.
Ditto on the Eddie Murphy rant. Classic.
But Rocky was suffering from brain damage, so he kind of was getting dumber.
Nothing funnier than the scene where he “reads” to a comatose Adrian in Rocky II.
I watch all the special features on DVDs but I admit I don’t usually listen to the commentaries (though the RDJ/Jack Black/Ben Stiller one from Tropic Thunder is quite fun).
As someone who lived in Philadelphia I love how Rocky is supposed to live in South Philadelphia but very clearly lives in the Northern Philadelphia area.
But the fourth movie, on a batshit insane level, is a work of art. Here’s what happens: Apollo comes out of retirement to fight a roided out Russian boxer in an exhibition fight. During said exhibition fight the Russian KILLS APOLLO because Rocky won’t throw in the damn towel. Then Rocky gets in his car and drives through a tunnel apparently 55 miles long going 105 and shifting into 95th gear. He then signs an UNSANCTIONED fight against the Russian IN RUSSIA on Christmas Day, which his nag of a wife tells him he can’t win. Rocky flies to Communist Russia and begins training in a remote cabin by lifting stones, running in snow, and chopping down trees. Drago trains with ultra-modern equipment. Rocky’s wife eventually shows up about three days before the fight at which point we get the insane training montage (when shown on TBS or TNT they inexplicably leave out the needle going into Drago’s arm explaining that he uses steroids) that ends with Rocky CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN. So then we get to the climactic fight… in Russia… on Christmas day. Rocky is giving up about eight inches and eighty pounds of muscle to the Russian. During the fight Rocky is then knocked down approximately 150 times but hangs in there. Eventually Rocky begins to make a comeback and the Russian crowd actually starts CHEERING Rocky. Rocky finally knocks out the giant Russian and ends the Cold War with a stirring speech ending in: “If I can change… And you can change… Maybe we can all CHANGE!”
That, my friends, is a movie.
I love these movies so very, very much without a hint of irony. These films are made by people who know how to entertain their audience and do so without the slightest bit of apology for it.
I wonder what would happen in a fight between Rocky and Chuck Norris.
Heck, I’ll go so far as to say that Hearts on Fire is a good song IF you’re watching it in the montage. I can’t stand listening to it on an iPod, but it’s freaking perfect for that sequence.
I still don’t get why people buy Blu Rays for movies that were made before the digital age. You would be better off buying the standard DVD and setting whatever money you saved over the Blu Ray on fire. Then you can enjoy a movie in roughly the same quality and enjoy being warm for a little while.
I have to agree. My roommate does this for older movies and swears he sees the difference b/t the Blu Ray and DVD versions but I can’t. And even if there is a difference, it seems so negligible and doesn’t warrant spending the extra money on the Blu Ray version.
Are the Blu Ray discs themselves any more durable than DVDs?
What’s amazing is the quality jump on DVD. I still show people the Godfather because it’s a fucking beautiful DVD.
they are almost impossible to scratch and not play. As a former manager for Blockbuster I can tell you that we were big cheerleaders for the format for just that reason. PS3 games are virtually indestructible while Xbox games are constantly unplayable.
I think that your Xbox comment is a bit exaggerated. If you’re dumb enough to treat your disc’s like shit and they become unplayable because of it than it’s your own damn fault. I have had the 360 for 3 years and have never had a single game go bad on me.
Paying a shit load more for a movie in the BluRay format just because the disc’s are made of adamantium or something is still silly when the quality is not worth the extra $$.
It’s not that fucking hard to put a DVD back in the case when you’re not watching the movie.
I worked at Gamestop before. I couldn’t believe how bad some discs came in. Ones from adults, not children. It was mind boggling. You paid $50 for this game and treat it like a sand-paper coaster.
The quality is absolutely worth the extra $$$ for movies made after 1995 or so, and certainly in this decade. Dark Knight on DVD looks like shit even when upscaled, but it’s close to reference quality on Blu Ray.
It’s just that anything before that wasn’t really produced in a high enough quality to begin with, so it’s not a big deal, especially if you’ve got a great upscaling DVD player. Luckilly, the PS3’s upscaling is also top-notch, so it’s win-win with buying that.
(especially if you’ve got a 60GB model, heh.)
But I’d never buy a used movie from a rental store. I’ve rented too many movies that were unplayable to do so. I can see why rental chains like Blu-Ray so much for that very reason; replacing DVDs was hurting their bottom line.
um no, it is not exaggerated for the rental industry. For example the Call of Duty game that came out last year (not the newest one), we lost 6 of our 12 copies for X360 within two months to the ring of death or just vicious scratches. At the same time the WII discs, handled by kids more than 360 games almost never had issues. Yes, if you own games you handle them properly. My point was from the retailer perspective, which is why I mentioned being a store manager for Blockbuster in the first place. Blu-Ray7 is a god send for an industry that loses millions and millions on scratched up dvds and video games each and every year.
I don’t find the difference to be that great in general, although I watch mostly older movies.
The jump in picture quality from VHS to DVD is MUCH greater than that of DVD to Blu-Ray. The improvements are pretty incremental to my eyes and not worth the premium you pay in price for the discs. The difference is more visible on regular TV channels, as Non-HD stuff is sub-DVD quality and HD stuff looks great; the difference between the two formats on optical discs isn’t as startling.
If you get a great upscaling DVD player (OPPO makes several great ones – Oppo980H in particular) and a decent wide-screen TV then you are set. As long as your DVD discs are a good transfer and you use a HDMI cable to hook it up, you can have a pretty nice setup at a fraction of the price.
Hey Scott just a plot point to help you out about Rocky III. It’s supposed to be three years since Rocky II, so Apollo retiring by then having all that time to change his attitude towards Rocky makes a little bit more sense.
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It’s more than that. Creed never hated Rocky. In between the two fights, Creed gave Rocky enough respect to tell him that he had given him his best and if anything, Rocky frustrated him more than any other fighter he faced in that he was the one guy Creed wasn’t able to knock out. In the end, it wasn’t hatred that did him in but his ego/hubris (which drove him to the rematch in the first place against Duke’s advice) and what led him to not just “stay away” in round 15 (defying his closest adviser again in doing so) because his motive wasn’t personal vendetta, it was just to prove his own standing. And it was also out of respect to the man that had bested him who went into the ring with Clubber Lang well below his capabilities the he help Rocky get back to that level of toughness. It was a very subtle subplot that extends through most of the series about how boxers who go to war against each other exit with a high level of mutual respect.
I like the music in Rocky IV more than the movie itself.
Best scene out of all the Rocky movies is in Rocky 1, and its not a boxing scene. Its the scene where after Rocky gets his title shot, that Mick comes to his apartment all of a sudden for the first time and comes begging to be his manager. Rocky then for like 2 minutes just snaps on Mick and Rocky saying his place STINKS.
And about BluRay, I am kinda pissed that Terminator Salvation only has the Director’s cut for the Blu Ray only. The regular DVD is like a no frills version. If I ever get a PS3, then maybe I will start a Blu Ray collection.
There is a Director’s Cut for normal DVD because we were selling it at the grocery store where I work.
It’s wierd because my first Rocky movie was Rocky IV, and while I watched II and the first one later on as a kid, I never quite understood the back story until years later when I watched them as an adult. I was more into the more fast action (cartoon) Rocky III and IV.
Haven’t seen them in a while, but quick notes.
Rocky I: After seeing this one around 2004-05, I actually finally realized the movie wasn’t about the fighting. It was a moral story about a down and out club fighter, that finally finds love, a friend (well, manager), and a chance at the World title. Now we know Rocky doesn’t really have a chance, and he knows it – but he wants to prove he can at least stand up with the champ for the 15. In the end, Rocky cares more about Adrian losing her hat, than losing the fight. In fact, we barely hear “and still heavyweight champion . . .” as the movie ends. This movie made Stallone into somebody.
Rocky II: Usually when you win awards for picture of the year, there probably is going to be a sequal. It actually turned out pretty good. Rocky has some fame, retires and takes the leftover purse money from the Apollo fight to buy a new house, car, and marry Adrian. Of course, we get conflict as Rocky has nowhere else to go. Apollo is embarassed for letting “this bum” go the distance with him, and wants to redeem himself. So Rocky has nowhere to go, Apollo wants revenge – but for the first half Rocky is so banged up from his first fight that even his wife and trainer tell him to hang it up – but in true dramatic fashion both finally cave in. Well one actually almost dies, while Micky just got pissed after watching Sportscenter. Of course, they already did the first movie – so Rocky this time actually does beat Apollo – but more on a fluke as Apollo once again beat himself. Although Rocky did have more heart, and YO ADRIAN I DID IT!!
Rocky III: Here is where movie logic gets thrown out the window. Rocky fought Apollo Jan 1, 1976 in Rocky – and in Rocky II – it is November 1976. Rocky holds the title for “three years” according to everybody, and yet Rocky faces Thunderlips in 1982. To be honest, if there wasn’t money to be made – Rocky II would have been the fitting end to the series. And yet . . . Stallone can still write good dramatic scenes like the one with Mickey, and even the one with Adrian on the beach. Still, its got a little more fluff – but hell – it needed it. And trust me Thunderlips vs. Rocky is one of the greatest scenes in the friggin movie thanks to . . . the god of wrestling himself, Hulk Hogan. And yeah, Mr. T is in this – nuff said.
Rocky IV: The first Rocky movie I ever watched. In spite of the death of Apollo, it seems more like a wrestling angle. Evil Russian kills Creed, Rocky seeks revenge. Always loved the No Easy Way Out montage. I mean this movie was head of its time, wrestling angles, montages set to music. And Scott’s right about Drago cutting a heel promo over Apollo’s corpse, but hell he cuts a heel promo over his own country at the end of the fight as Russia turns babyface.
Rocky V: Supposed to be the final film, and Stallone wanted to kill Rocky off and try to do a more realistic film. MGM/UA said NO GO on killing Rocky . . . so we got this movie instead. Actually, the promo video where Rocky meets Stallone in a Art Musuem is more interesting than the friggin movie. Now the director of this movie was so disapointed with the final cut, he actually did a bootleg final cut in 2002 that was streaming on the internet somewhere a few years back with different takes and tries to make the story even darker instead of the more light hearted edge the middle part of the movie had.
Rocky Balboa: Perfect end. Some would have said “leave it alone,” but when this came out in December 2006 – I wanted to see it and trust me it was a fantastic movie. As someone else said, you could throw III-V in the trash really and it would make no difference.