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Scott Ventura >> Movie Commentary >> February 2000 >> Rocky

Rocky

Movie Commentary by Scott Ventura

Details

Scott's Rating:
3 / 5
Times Seen:
1
Viewing Date:
February 2000
IMDB Name:
Rocky (1976)
Director:
John G. Avildsen
Keywords:
drama
Made:
1976
MPAA Rating:
PG

Million-to-One

The success of Rocky is arguably more interesting than the movie itself. Sylvester Stallone wrote it for himself, and refused to sell the screenplay if another actor was going to be cast as Rocky Balboa. Because of Stallone's relative obscurity at the time, the movie was made on a short shooting schedule on a low budget. It went on to win three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Huh? This beat out Network? I'll admit that it has a certain appeal, and definitely good characterizations by Talia Shire, Burt Young, and Stallone, but it isn't that enthralling, even as a Horatio Alger story. I'm willing to respect Balboa's quest for respect, and even his desire to impart that quest on neighbors, but it didn't hit me as spectacular filmmaking.

Reference Source

The most famous things from Rocky may be quotes like "Yo, Adrian!", but now I get to get a joke in reverse. "Ally McBeal" as been using "the bells" as a signal of confidence for several of its characters. And it turns out those bells first made their existance known in Rocky. The same day that I watched Rocky, an episode of "Futurama" recycled the camera angle looking down into the ring as the announcer's microphone descends. Cool.

DVD Comments

The Rocky DVD is sparse, but not bad. It has audio, subtitles, and captions in each of English, Spanish and French. The captions add mention of background noises to the dialogue. I noticed that some things said in the ring through mouthpieces, though both audible and understandable, were left out in the subtitles. The theatrical trailer is also included.

See the IMDB information on Rocky's DVD.

Other Opinions




Copyright 2000-2001 by Scott Ventura. All rights reserved.