Rocky (1976)

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.

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writer:

Sylvester Stallone

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

Top 250 #201 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

boxer | boxing | fight | training | philadelphia pennsylvania | 

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Taglines:

His whole life was a million-to-one shot.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Rocky Anthology Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rocky - Um Lutador

Filming Locations:

1818 East Tusculum Street, Kensington, North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$117,235,247 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions, United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the championship fight, the filmmakers had trouble getting extras to fill the arena because it was a low-budget film that was not yet known to anyone. Stock footage of crowds was used to help this problem, but empty seats are still visible in some shots.

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Goofs

Jergens describes Apollo's upcoming fight as his "bicentennial fight." In the same scene, Apollo says that it will take place "on this country's birthday," meaning July 4, 1976. But the fight with Rocky takes place on New Year's Day, January 1, 1976.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Butkus the dog is credited as "Butkus Stallone".

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Connections

Featured in Tribute to James Crabe (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Gonna Fly"
Music by Bill Conti
Lyrics by Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins
Sung by Deetta West (as De Etta Little) & Nelson Pigford

User Reviews

Stalone's best

As much as the media mocks Stallone, he won best picture for this film. He will never top this film, which made him a icon. It's a story about a down on his luck loan collector/ boxers who gets a one time shot at the heavy weight championship, because of a late pull out by a contender, and the champ does not want to lose his money on the deal. There is romance between Rocky and his new girl friend who lives just as hard of a life as Rocky, and together they make life livable. The rest of the cast is other down and outers who give the viewer a feeling of hopelessness until Rocky gets his chance. This film is touching, and unforgettable.