Rocky II (1979)

Rocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writer:

Sylvester Stallone

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire	...	Adrian
Burt Young	...	Paulie
Carl Weathers	...	Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith	...	Mickey Goldmill
Tony Burton	...	Duke (Apollo's Trainer)
Joe Spinell	...	Tony Gazzo
Leonard Gaines	...	Agent
Sylvia Meals	...	Mary Anne Creed
Frank McRae	...	Meat Foreman
Al Silvani	...	Cutter
John Pleshette	...	Director
Stu Nahan	...	Announcer
Bill Baldwin	...	Commentator
Jerry Ziesmer	...	Salesman

Storyline

Rocky Balboa is a little-known boxer who was given a shot at the heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed. Having done much better than anyone expected, Creed demands a rematch, embarrassed by his inability to dominate the "amateur" Balboa.

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Plot Keywords:

fight | rematch | training | boxer | coma | 

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Taglines:

The Rematch Of The Century

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Rocky Anthology Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

15 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rocky 2

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 3,567,129 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sylvester Stallone himself wrote the paperback novelization for this movie. The novel is mostly in first person, from Rocky's point of view, written in the same choppy English in which Rocky speaks. Scenes in which Rocky is not present (such as Apollo Creed consulting his associates, or Paulie alone with Adrian) are in standard third-person, in proper English.

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Goofs

When Adrian is in the coma, Rocky's facial hair is used to give a general idea of time. Just before Adrian comes out of the coma you can Rocky with almost a full beard. The shot pans over to Adrian opening her eyes. When the shot pans back to Rocky, he barely has a 5 o'clock shadow.

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Quotes

Duke: [after round 1 of rematch with Balboa who is fighting right handed] Alright, did the switching bother ya?
Apollo: Nothin' bothered me, man, nothin' bothered me.
Duke: Well then, you should've had him! Now don't let up on this man. This man is dangerous. This man is DANGEROUS!
Apollo: This man is dangerous? I'm dangerous! I'm dangerous!

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: John Goodman/The Pretenders (1994)

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Soundtracks

"STREET SCAT"
Words and Music by Frank Stallone

User Reviews

pretty good for a sequel

Imperfect, but highly entertaining sequel picks up right where the original left off. Having suffered heavy brain damage as a result of his brutal battle with the hard-hitting champion, Balboa decides to call it quits and dedicate his life to his newfound love Adrian (Shire). However the intense media hype, public mockery from the champion Creed, and a discovery that "normal" life isn't all that it's cracked up to be draw him back into the ring for a highly-publicized rematch. You have to be patient this time around as the film is slow going at first, and lacks the emotional punch of the original, but an exciting, edge of your seat climax makes it worth the wait. A good follow-up considering the impact of its predecessor. **½