Plot
A small time boxer gets a once in a lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champ in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

Release Year: 1976

Rating: 8.1/10 (144,743 voted)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

Storyline
Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer trying to make the big time, working as a debt collector for a pittance. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed visits Philadelphia, his managers want to set up an exhibition match between Creed and a struggling boxer, touting the fight as a chance for a "nobody" to become a "somebody". The match is supposed to be easily won by Creed, but someone forgot to tell Rocky, who sees this as his only shot at the big time.

Cast:
Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire - Adrian Pennino
Burt Young - Paulie Pennino
Carl Weathers - Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith - Mickey Goldmill
Thayer David - George Jergens
Joe Spinell - Tony Gazzo
Jimmy Gambina - Mike
Bill Baldwin - Fight Announcer
Al Silvani - Cut Man (as Al Salvani)
George Memmoli - Ice Rink Attendant
Jodi Letizia - Marie
Diana Lewis - TV Commentator
George O'Hanlon - TV Commentator
Larry Carroll - TV Interviewer

Taglines: He's a has-been battler with one dream left...and one last chance.

Official Website: Rocky Anthology Official site |

Release Date: 3 December 1976

Filming Locations: 1818 East Tusculum Street, Kensington, North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $1,100,000 (estimated)

Gross: $225,000,000 (Worldwide)

Runtime: 119 min

Trivia:
Most of the scenes of Rocky jogging through Philadelphia were shot guerrilla-style, with no permits, no equipment and no extras. The shot were he runs past the moored boat for example; the crew were simply driving by the docks and director John G. Avildsen saw the boat and thought it would make a good visual, so he had Sylvester Stallone simply get out of the van and run along the quays whilst Avildsen himself filmed from the side door. A similar story concerns the famous shot of Rocky jogging through the food market. As he runs, the stall keepers and the people on the sidewalks can clearly be seen looking at him in bemusement. Whilst this works in the context of the film to suggest they're looking at Rocky, in reality, they had no idea why this man was running up and down the road being filmed from a van. During this scene, the famous shot where the stall-owner throws Rocky an orange was completely improvised by the stall owner-himself, who had no idea that a movie was being filmed and that he would be in it.

Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When Rocky is talking to Adrian on Thanksgiving through the door, the camera shot goes to Paulie who is about ten feet away. You can see one of the movie cameras in the mirror.

Quotes:
[first lines]
Club fight attendee: Come on, Spider!

"But it's Thanksgiving. Yeah to you, but to me it's Thursday."

Rating: 10/10

It's hard to explain what this movie means to me. Words could never. I remember when I was a kid, I never liked the first Rocky, was too obsessed with III and IV. It happened when I was 11 and I went to see V in the theater. I never been to a movie like that before. People were screaming and cheering. Shook the whole damn place. They were dancing in the isle's and celebrating. It was then I realized the true power of Stallone's vision. The realization that only the original would ever really matter.

Rocky to me is so many things. I had to beg my girlfriend to see it. She said she doesn't like boxing. I almost dumped her right there. If she wasn't so hot, I probably would have. I was crushed that someone could think that this movie is about boxing. To me it was never that. It's about a guy, much like you or me, who's down on his luck and everyday feels like Sunday. He's pushing 30, single and broke. I'm sad to say that at this moment it almost reminds me of myself. Every minute more another reason.

It's hard to pick my favorite scenes from the movie. I love the chemistry between Rocky and Adrian (Shire). When he's talking to door and she finally comes out and then stops to look in the mirror. It's a thing of beauty. Or when Mickey (Meredith) goes over to Stallones apartment. Rocky gets upset and punches his shitty wall, then goes to hide in the bathroom. The look on Stallone's face when he comes out to find Mickey still there is priceless. I heard it wasn't in the script or directed, just happened. But the one that does it for me is when he comes home in the opening scene after the chapel fight. He turns on his record player and goes for a beer, but it's empty, like everything else in his life. Talks to the turtles and his fish, why because the Rock is lonely. Goes to the mirror and practices a joke for his love. Looks at a picture of himself and realizes he's wasting his life. It's more than beautiful or real.

It's safe to say that I have seen the original more than 100 times. I still feel all the emotion. I love this movie more than any other film. I hope one day, with God's help, to show it to my kids and have them feel the same way. I think if I ever got the chance to meet Stallone, I'd want to thank him. Tell him how he changed my life. But in reality, he probably wouldn't care. Because, "I'm at least half a bum."

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