Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writer:

Sylvester Stallone

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

9 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	...	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

Storyline

Rocky Balboa accompanies his friend Apollo Creed to the ring in a boxing match against a Russian Boxer named Ivan Drago. Drago is too strong for Creed, and unfortunately kills him in his match. Balboa blames himself for Creed's death and is determined to defeat Drago in a boxing match. He gains the help of Creed's former manager, Duke and travels to U.S.S.R. to take on Drago.

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Plot Keywords:

boxing | training | russophobia | training montage | cold weather | 

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Taglines:

Get ready for the next world war.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violent sports action and brief strong language (director’s cut)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Europe's hit "The Final Countdown", similar in style to Vince DiCola's score, is often falsely claimed to be in this film. The song was also recorded in 1985 (but released in 1986).

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Goofs

The scene where Rocky holds a press conference to announce he will fight Drago begins with a newspaper clipping where the headline reads "Rocky vs. Drago - for Guilt or Glory?" with a subhead that reads "Public outraged over Apollo's death." But if you read the story underneath the headline, the story is not about the boxing match, it's about the upcoming Game 3 of the 1985 World Series baseball game between St. Louis and Kansas City.

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Quotes

Drago: I win for me! FOR ME!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits sequence is presented with a slideshow of scenes from the movie before the last picture, also seen in the film's poster, starts zooming out towards the end of the credits.

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Alternate Versions

On the USA Network version of the film, a shot of Drago taking steroids is reframed to edit out a needle piercing his shoulder. To keep time with the song "Heart's On Fire" playing in the background, previous shots of the needle full of steroids are slowed down.

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Connections

Referenced in The Games Maker (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Chipmunk Song
Courtesy of EMI America Records

User Reviews

This film will pump you up!

Rocky IV really stood out from the rest of the Rocky films to me, with the whole America versus Russia ordeal. Now it has been mentioned by other critics that this is inaccurate, but who really cares??? The point is that you really get to the point where you want Sly to kick Dragos butt in the ring. I enjoyed the training montage, and the boxing scene was so entertaining for me. And with the Russian leaders, and the Russian public standing up and cheering and clapping for Rocko.. a bit corny but so great.Talia shire in my opinion is at her best in this one out of all the other ones; she seems more confident and easier to get along with her character. And one of the most dramatic scenes to hit cinema was the death of Carl Weathers(Apollo Creed). The idea of fighting for the death of his friend, and for himself is just so inspirational. It just makes you want to jump up and get in the ring to help rocko. Out of a perfect score of 10, i gave this one a 7.

Details

Official Sites:

Instagram MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

27 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rocky IV

Filming Locations:

Wyoming, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,991,537, 1 December 1985

Gross USA:

$127,873,716

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$300,473,716

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1