Rocky IV (1985)

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

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writer:

Sylvester Stallone

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire	...	Adrian
Burt Young	...	Paulie
Carl Weathers	...	Apollo Creed
Brigitte Nielsen	...	Ludmilla
Tony Burton	...	Duke
Michael Pataki	...	Nicoli Koloff
Dolph Lundgren	...	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

Storyline

Rocky Balboa, heavyweight champion of the world, is the trainer for Apollo Creed in an exhibition match against Ivan Drago, a "superman" boxer from the Soviet Union. When Apollo is killed in the ring by the brutal Drago, Balboa blames himself and promises to avenge his friend's death in the ring.

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Plot Keywords:

boxer | russian | death | fight | champion | 

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Taglines:

Get ready for the next world war.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Rocky Anthology Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

27 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rocky IV - Der Kampf des Jahrhunderts

Filming Locations:

Fremont Mansion - 56 Fremont Place, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$127,900,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first film in which Gonna Fly Now is not sung, although a few bars of the song are incorporated into Vince DiCola's score. Rocky V also only features part of the song in instrumental form. It wouldn't be until Rocky Balboa that the song, lyrics and all, would reappear.

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Goofs

When Apollo is in his pool throwing balls to the dogs, he throws all the balls in his hand, then when it cuts to a different angle, all the balls are back in his hand

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Quotes

Apollo: We always have to be in the middle of the action 'cause we're the warriors. And without some challenge, without some damn war to fight then the warriors might as well be dead, Stallion. Now I'm asking you - as a friend - stand by my side this one last time.

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Crazy Credits

Only Rocky film that doesn't start with the "scrolling Rocky" logo.

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Connections

Referenced in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Hundred Dollar Baby (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Heart's On Fire"
Performed by John Cafferty
Written by Vince DiCola, Ed Fruge (as Ed Frugé) and Joe Esposito (as Joe 'Bean' Esposito)
Produced by Vince DiCola and Ed Fruge (as Ed Frugé)
John Cafferty appears courtesy of Scotti Brothers Records

User Reviews

A reasonable fourth instalment, as long as you suspend ALL disbelief!

And so, after taking on the might of none other than Mr. T in part III (And winning), Rocky Balboa (Sylverster Stallone) returns to face his greatest challenge yet - Defeating the Russian heavyweight super-strength and steroid-powered boxer, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundren).... ....And there's not much else happening in this formulaic but embarrassingly entertaining and feel-good fourth instalment in the "Rocky" series, which, as it happens, ended up being the second from final one to be made. As yet.

It's the death of Rocky's enemy-turned-friend Apollo Creed (The disappearing Carl Weathers) in the movie's first half that sees Rocky return to the ring. He goes to Russia to train for the match, despite warnings that another fight could kill him. Que plenty of genuinely exciting training sequences, with lots of nice 80's music played in the background, as Rocky prepares to wipe out the man who was responsible for his friend's death.

There's some highly memorable lines and moments in there as well, such as the scene where Drago's punching power is measured, and the chilling moment where Drago utters to Creed "You will lose." Some of the dialogue is so preposterous, however, that you'll probably find yourself laughing, particularly towards the end where Drago discovers that he isn't the iron man he thought he was.

Yep, it's trashy, but it's damn good fun. The boxing scenes are as unrealistic and silly as ever (As if the Russian spectators in the final boxing match would end up cheering for Drago's opponent, and AS IF you would hear those loud clumping noises every time a punch is thrown!), but Sylveser Stallone is always watchable as the simple but likeable boxer, whilst Dolph Lundren has probably never been on better form. Following the death of Apollo Creed, there's a wonderfully directed moment in the movie where, with no dialogue at all, the eyes of Both Drago and Rocky meet for several seconds - This tiny sequence alone sort of spells out what the rest of the movie is going to be about!

There's plenty of steroetyping in there too (Look at the way the Russians are portrayed), and Talia Shire is as miserable and irritable as ever as Rocky's put-on wife. The usual support is back in there too in the form of Burt Young and the amazing Brigette Neilson, and, believe it or not, much can be said for Stallone's direction; he may not be too worried about realism or plot, but when it comes to exciting and entertaining his audience, he really is something quite special.

All in all, this is trashy fun, but it's still fun, and, whilst it's nowhere near as mature as the original "Rocky," it probably remains the best out of the four sequels (Two being the worst). Not bad at all.