Rocky IV (1985)

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writer:

Sylvester Stallone (written by)

Release Date:

27 November 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

He's facing the ultimate challenge. And fighting for his life. [UK]

Plot:

When Apollo Creed is killed in a match against a powerful Soviet boxer, Rocky decides to challenge him himself.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Russian | Death | Champion | Boxing

Awards:

7 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire	...	Adrian
Burt Young	...	Paulie
Carl Weathers	...	Apollo Creed
Brigitte Nielsen	...	Ludmilla Vobet Drago
Tony Burton	...	Duke
Michael Pataki	...	Nicoli Koloff
Dolph Lundgren	...	Captain Ivan Drago
Stu Nahan	...	Commentator #1
R.J. Adams	...	Sports Announcer
Al Bandiero	...	American Commentator #2
Dominic Barto	...	Russian Government Official
Danial Brown	...	Rocky Jr.'s Friend
James Brown	...	The Godfather of Soul
Rose Mary Campos	...	Maid

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Mexico:A | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1988) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1986) | France:U | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

When shooting the film, Sylvester Stallone decided that for the shooting of the fight, he and Dolph Lundgren should hit one another for real, so as to increase the intensity of the scene. After doing three takes of Rocky taking shots to ribs, Stallone felt a burning in his chest, but ignored it. Later that night, he had difficulty breathing and was taken to a nearby emergency room. It was discovered that his blood pressure was over 200, and he had to be flown on a low-altitude flight from Canada to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, where he remained in intensive care for eight days. What had happened was that Lungren had punched him so hard in the chest, Stallone's heart had slammed up against his breastbone and began to swell, cutting off the blood supply and restricting the oxygen flow throughout the body.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the montage, whilst Rocky is driving around reminiscing about the past, there is a clip of Rocky and Apollo jogging in front of a mirror. At the bottom of the mirror you can see a small camera light moving back and forth.

Quotes:

Adrian: Rocky?
Rocky: Yeah?
Adrian: You alright?
Rocky: Yeah I'm fine
Adrian: Why'd you do it?
Rocky: I just gotta do what I gotta do.
Adrian: You don't have to do anything
Rocky: No, Adrian, I do and I gotta leave this place too.
Adrian: So where are you going?
Rocky: They said they're gonna let me train in Russia and I just want to be somewhere where I ain't gonna think about nothing except him.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Burning Heart

One of the greatest movies ever made!

I can remember seeing this before it was released in England, as a friend managed to get a copy from America. I'd always been a fan of the Rocky series so I was really looking forward to this & I wasn't disappointed! I must have seen the film about 10 times before it was released in Endland, then it was about 3 or 4 times seeing it at the cinema (back when this was released I would only have been about 6, so my parents must have been annoyed at taking me to the same film!). As soon as it was released on video I managed to obtain a copy, which probably lasted about 6 months. I also purchased the album, which contains one of the best montage songs ever ("No Easy Way Out") and still have it to this day! I must have been through at least 10 copies on video & one DVD.

Obviously, the death of Apollo was heartbreaking to me, but Drago just seemed like a monster and I was eagerly awaiting the East Meets West clash in Russia, as Rocky avenges his friends death.

Such an amazing film and way better than Rocky 5 (and, in my opinion, the other films as well) so please check this out - I don't think it's dated well, but to those around in the 80's you should definitely watch this film as soon as possible!