Rocky (film series)

Rocky
Rocky Anthology DVD set
Directed by	John G. Avildsen (Rocky & Rocky V) Sylvester Stallone (Rocky II–IV & Rocky Balboa) Ryan Coogler (Creed)
Produced by	Robert Chartoff Irwin Winkler
Written by	Sylvester Stallone (Rocky–Rocky Balboa) Ryan Coogler Aaron Covington (Creed)
Starring	Sylvester Stallone Talia Shire Burt Young Burgess Meredith Carl Weathers Tony Burton Michael B. Jordan
Music by	Bill Conti (Rocky I–III & V–Balboa) Vince DiCola (Rocky IV) Ludwig Göransson (Creed)
Cinematography	James Crabe (Rocky) Bill Butler (Rocky II–IV) Steven B. Poster (Rocky V) J. Clark Mathis (Rocky Balboa) Maryse Alberti (Creed)
Edited by	Richard Halsey (Rocky) Scott Conrad (Rocky) Stanford C. Allen (Rocky II) Janice Hampton (Rocky II) Don Zimmerman (Rocky III–IV) Mark Warner (Rocky III) John W. Wheeler (Rocky IV) John G. Avildsen (Rocky V) Robert A. Ferretti (Rocky V) Michael N. Knue (Rocky V) Sean Albertson (Rocky Balboa) Claudia Castello (Creed) Michael P. Shawver (Creed)
Production company	United Artists (Rocky I–V) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Rocky Balboa & Creed) Columbia Pictures Revolution Studios (Rocky Balboa) Warner Bros. New Line Cinema (Creed)
Distributed by	United Artists United International Pictures (Rocky I–V) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Rocky Balboa & Creed) Columbia Pictures (Rocky Balboa) Warner Bros. (Creed)
Release dates	1976–present
Running time	639 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$154.08 million
Box office	$1.407 billion

Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the eponymous character Rocky Balboa. The films by order of release date are: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), Rocky Balboa (2006) and Creed (2015). The film series has grossed more than US$1 billion at the worldwide box office.

All of the films were written by Stallone except for Creed, which was written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington. The original film and the fifth installment were directed by John G. Avildsen, Creed was directed by Coogler, and Stallone directed the others.

Films

Rocky (1976)

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer who seems to be going nowhere in life, as he works day-in and day-out as a collector for a loan shark and fights in sleazy clubs for low-paid reward, to which Rocky is mocked and told that he's nothing but a 'bum', especially by gym trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith). At the same time, Rocky successfully courts Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), a painfully shy woman with an alcoholic brother, Paulie (Burt Young). But when heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) chooses Rocky at random as his opponent in a title fight, Rocky realizes he now has the chance to prove he is not worthless. With Adrian as his support and Mickey becoming his trainer and manager, Rocky fights for his self-respect.

Rocky II (1979)

Soon after proving himself, even with a split decision loss to Apollo Creed, Rocky expects the good life to follow. He marries Adrian and begins spending the money he earned from the match. But after he fails at both endorsements and a series of low-wage jobs, Rocky realizes the only way he can survive is to begin boxing again. Creed, on the other hand, faces criticism from fans to overcome the fight. As a result, he taunts Rocky through publicity into a rematch, for which Rocky trains once again with Mickey. In the fifteenth round, Rocky knocks Creed to the ground, falling to the ground himself in the process. Both fighters struggle to get to their feet, but only Rocky is successful. For the first time, Rocky is declared the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Rocky III (1982)

After winning the heavyweight title, Rocky takes advantage of his newfound wealth and fame, appearing in multiple advertisements & television programs, and relishing his new celebrity. After defending the title multiple times, he is prepared to retire, but the No. 1 contender, James "Clubber" Lang (played by Mr. T), challenges Rocky publicly. Rocky, after dealing with Mickey's heart attack before the fight, is overpowered by the stronger, hungrier Lang and is knocked out in the second round. Mickey passes away after the fight, and old rival Apollo Creed steps in, training Rocky to fight more in Creed's old style (and in his old Los Angeles gym) and use more guile and skill. In the rematch, Rocky outboxes Lang, tiring the stronger fighter out and eventually knocking him out in the third round. After the fight, Apollo calls in his "favor" for training Rocky, which is a one-on-one match between the two of them with no cameras, no media, just man vs. man in the gym. The film ends as they each throw their first punch.

Rocky IV (1985)

After winning back the title from Clubber Lang, Rocky decides to spend some time with his family. However, destiny has some new plans for him which don't allow him to leave the ring. A new fighter from the USSR, Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren), has emerged and challenges Rocky to an exhibition match. Apollo fights instead, and the beating he takes from Drago ends with him dying in Rocky's arms, still in the ring, as Drago coldly watches. To avenge Apollo, Rocky challenges Drago to a rematch, which is to be held on Christmas Day in Moscow. In a montage replete with symbolism, Rocky is shown training in a remote cabin in Siberia with the help of Creed's old trainer Duke, his brother-in-law Paulie, and (eventually) Adrian, doing exercises such as chopping wood, lifting rocks, running in the snow, and climbing a mountain filled with snow, while Drago is seen in an ultratechnological training facility running on treadmills, utilizing weightlifting machines, and injecting steroids to boost his strength. During the fight itself, Rocky takes the worst beating of his life, but refuses to fall, eventually winning over the foreign crowd with his display of courage and determination, and he knocks Drago out with seconds left in the final round.

Rocky V (1990)

In the aftermath of his fight with Ivan Drago, Rocky Balboa is diagnosed with brain damage and is forced to retire from the ring. Additionally, the Balboa fortune is all gone due to an unscrupulous accountant. Rocky's family returns to their old neighborhood: Adrian returns to the pet store she used to work at, while, in a subplot, Rocky (Robert) Jr. (played by Sylvester Stallone's real son Sage) deals with bullying at his school and Rocky re-opens Mickey's old gym. While training other boxers, Rocky meets a young, hungry boxer named Tommy Gunn (played by real-life fighter Tommy Morrison) and begins training him which results in a strained relationship with Robert. Unfortunately, as Tommy begins his rise to fame under Rocky's wing, a sleazy fight promoter named George Washington Duke convinces Tommy that Rocky is holding him back, and Tommy throws over Rocky for Duke. After Tommy wins the heavyweight championship, he makes a short speech thanking Duke, and is met with jeers and the familiar chant of "Rocky" from the crowd. Seething from this insult, as well as being called by publicists as "Rocky's Robot" and being told that he's "no Rocky Balboa", Tommy decides to seek out his former mentor for a final showdown. Rocky starts to walk away from the public challenge, but Paulie decides to let Tommy have a piece of his mind about how Tommy has treated Rocky – after which Tommy punches Paulie. Rocky then challenges Tommy outside. The two proceed in a violent bare-knuckle street brawl, which Rocky wins. Rocky then proceeds to punch Duke for being harassed by him. In the end, Rocky and Robert reconcile as they run up the steps as father and son.

Rocky Balboa (2006)

In Rocky Balboa, sixteen years have passed since his final fight with his former protégé, Tommy "The Machine" Gunn. Long retired Rocky Balboa still staggers around an ever-changing world; his son is grown and distant, Paulie is working back at the meat plant, and Rocky's wife Adrian has died. Rocky has opened a restaurant, named after his wife, which he stocks with mementos of his prime as he tells his old fight stories to the customers. But when a computer simulated fight on ESPN depicting a bout between a young Rocky Balboa and the current champion, Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) reignites interest in the faded boxer, Rocky discovers he has not lost his fighting spirit and considers an opportunity to prove himself in the ring again. Rocky does a great job fighting, and almost wins but loses to a split decision just like the first film. Rocky is last seen visiting his wife's grave saying "Yo Adrian, we did it".

Creed (2015)

Adonis Johnson - known as "Donnie" - the son of an extramarital lover of the late, former heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed, tracks down Rocky Balboa at Adrian's and asks Rocky to become his trainer. Rocky is reluctant, but eventually agrees. When word gets out that Donnie is Creed's illegitimate son, the handlers of world light heavyweight champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, who is due to be forced into retirement by an impending prison term, offers to make Donnie his final challenger—provided that he change his name to Adonis Creed. Donnie balks at first, wanting to forge his own legacy. However, he eventually agrees. While helping Donnie train, Rocky learns he has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He is initially unwilling to undergo chemotherapy because it wasn't enough to save Adrian from ovarian cancer. Donnie persuades Rocky to seek treatment, and continues training while Rocky recovers. In a battle reminiscent of Apollo and Rocky's first fight, Donnie fights Conlan in Conlan's hometown of Liverpool and surprises almost everyone by going the distance and pushing Conlan to his limit. Conlan wins by a split decision, but Donnie wins the respect of Conlan and the crowd, with Conlan calling Donnie the future of the light heavyweight division. Returning to Philadelphia, Donnie and a recovering Rocky both make their way up the Philadelphia Museum steps and look at the skyline.

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

• This table shows the characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise
• Italics indicate the actor is not credited and only appears in flashbacks via archive footage from previous films
• A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film

Crew

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

Accolades

On December 7, 2010, Sylvester Stallone was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum, for paying tribute to boxers in writing and creating the underdog character of Rocky.^[25]

References