This box set is called Rocky Anthology which is one of my favourite film franchises. It is also one of the biggest films of Sylvester Stallon's career. This box set includes Rocky 1-5 however does not contain Rocky 6 which is the final film in the franchise, so if you want the whole collection I suggest you do not get this box set and go for "Rocky - The Complete Saga" box set which contains all Six films. Sylvester Stalone is both writer and star of all 6 Rocky films.
Cast
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa) Rocky started off as a loan shark at the same time he was a small time boxer. As a loan shark he was asked to do things he did not enjoy but carried on because he needed the money. He is also a southpaw which means he is a left hander boxer. He is also known as the Italian Stallion which is used as his boxing nickname.
Burt Young (Paulie Pennino) Paulie is Rocky's best friend who also becomes his brother-in-law as Rocky marries his sister Adrian.
Talia Shire (Adrian Pennino) Adrian is Rocky's wife who is with him through all the hard times and also supports him in boxing matches.
Burgess Meredith (Mickey Goldmill) Mickey owns the boxing gym, Later when Rocky is given a shot at the Heavyweight title he begs Rocky to let him be his trainer.
Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) Apollo is the Heavyweight champion who gives Rocky the shot at the Heavyweight. Apollo later becomes his close friend.
Story
(WARNING SPOILERS)
Rocky I (1976)
This film introduces Rocky Balboa a small time boxer and a loan shark to get a little extra cash. Later Rocky is given a shot at the Heavyweight title by Apollo Creed. Creed was supposed to have a fight with Green but he was injured so was unable to fight
and no other fighter has the balls to get in the ring with him. So Apollo decides to pick an unknown fighter"The Italian Stallion" because he likes the name. Then decides to give the audience a show thinking that Rocky has no chance of winning, He decides to do anything but train. Who will win the battle?
Rocky II (1979)
After Rocky's match he spends all his money on a new house, car and lots of other things. He spends until it's all gone. Later he tries getting a job but no one will hire him because he can't read. Meanwhile Apollo is not having a great time himself as he is continuously getting hate mail for losing to Rocky. So he decides to give Rocky a rematch but Rocky does not want to, So Apollo did everything he could to get Rocky back in the ring. Rocky finally realises that the only way he is going to make some money is to fight again, so he accepts the rematch and trains hard with Mickey ones again. So who will win this time? Adrian also gives birth to Rocky's son during this film.
Rocky III (1982)
After a couple of years a new fighter emerged and started getting popular on the media. Later he wanted a rematch with Rocky and Mickey said no. Rocky soon found out that Mickey kept bringing him fixed matches. Mickey told him that he did not have the heart to beat the great fighters anymore and that he gave him fixed matches to protect him. Mickey tries pack his bag and leave but Rocky stops him and then convinces Mickey to train him one last time and fight Clubber Lang. While they were on their way to the entrance of the ring Rocky and Clubber had a confrontation, Clubber pushed Mickey as he was trying to break it up. This triggered Mickey to have a heart attack, Mickey told Rocky to leave him and go to the fight, Rocky did as he said. Rocky was not concentrating on the fight and was thinking more about Mickey so he got knocked out in two rounds Mickey died. Clubber was given the Heavyweight title and Rocky was grieving for loosing Mickey. Apollo came to his comfort and got Rocky back on his feet and made him get a rematch against Clubber. Will Rocky beat clubber this time or will he loose again?
Rocky IV (1985)
Shortly after beating Clubber Lang the headlines were all about a new fighter who is from Russia. He is called Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Apollo sees all the media attention on Drago and insists on "Beating that chum" and arranges an exhibition match. Apollo convinces Rocky to let him have this fight and to be his trainer. Now Apollo arrives with a big entrance as there are lots of fireworks, And his got James Brown singing "Living in America". The fights get underway and Apollo is teasing Drago with his little jabs at his face. Shortly after that Drago shows his true colours and lands lots of hard shots, Rocky sees that Apollo cannot take it and insists to stop the match but Apollo makes Rocky promise not to stop the fight. Apollo then loses his arms and Drago lands some hard punches and Apollo is down, He dies there in the ring while Drago speaks in the mike. He stated "If he dies, He dies". Rocky then without any thought sets up a rematch in Russia to avenge his friend's death and because of guilt that he had not stopped the fight. Rocky then travels to Russia and trains with rocks and logs, As Drago is training with high tech equipment, machinery and also using steroids. Will Drago kill Rocky Drago or will he avenge Apollo's death.
Rocky V (1990)
This film opens with Rocky sitting in the shower room straight after the fight against Ivan Drago. He starts shouting for Adrian as he can't stop his hands from shaking. Rocky goes to the hospital and gets some scans done and the doctor said that he had brain damage and that he will have to retire from boxing. He then retires and keeps the details of his health conditions a secret from the public. But a promoter named Duke is persistent on getting Rocky in the ring once again to fight a boxer named "Cane" But Adrian makes it clear that Rocky will not be fighting again. Rocky later meets a guy named Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) who wants Rocky to be his trainer. Rocky initially says no but Tommy met him after and persuaded him to agree. Rocky invites Tommy to his house and even offers him a place to stay; Rocky continues to spend time with him and becomes more and more distant to his teenage son. Training Tommy and watching him win fights has made Rocky feel as if he was winning again, That he fails to realise that his son is being bullied at school. Tommy though is not so happy as the media says that Tommy is not a real fighter and that his nothing compared to Rocky. Tommy then decides not to be under Rocky anymore and challenges him to a fight. Rocky does not agree to the fight then Tommy punched Paulie and it forced Rocky to have a street fight with him which was on live television. Who will win this street fight to death?
Soundtracks (Data Extracted from Wikipeida)
Rocky I & II - The soundtrack for this film was composed by Bill Conti. The main theme song is "Gonna Fly Now"
Rocky III - The movie's soundtrack contained Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger.
Rocky IV - The soundtrack for this movie included "Living in America" by James Brown; the film's music was composed by Vince DiCola, and also included songs by John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band, Survivor, Kenny Loggins, and Robert Tepper. Rocky IV is the only film in the series not to feature Bill Conti. Go West wrote "One Way Street" for the movie by request of Sylvester Stallone.
Rocky V This soundtrack features Joey B. Ellis, Elton John, MC Hammer, 7A3, MC Tab, Rob Base, and Bill Conti. Most of the soundtrack is rap music, rather than classic Bill Conti tunes.
Special Features
Interview with Sylvester Stallone
Documentary: John Avildsen (Director) presents the making of the
film's fight footage
Tribute to Burgess Meredith
Tribute to the film's cinematographer - James Crabe
Director/Cast/Producer Audio Commentary
A selection of different trailers from all five films
Special Hidden Feature
Staccato - interview with Bill Conti: The Composer's Notebook
Make Up!: The Art and Form - interview with Michael Westmore
Steadicam: Then and Now - interview with the inventor of the steadicam Garrett Brown
I think that this is a great collectable box set for Rocky fans to Have, but I do not recommend it as it does not contain all 6 Rocky films. As HD has started to sweep up the market I do not recommend people waste buying this box set if they want to experience the best entertainment. But currently the HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc's have not been released as a box set yet. But Rocky I and Rocky VI are currently avaliable to purchase on Blu-Ray.
My favourite episode was Rocky 4 where he faught Ivan Drago, I loved the sound track on it when he was training. My favourite sound track is Eye of the Tiger though, I first heard it in Rocky 3 where he faught Clubber Lang.
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1969 - Action/Adventure - Director: Peter R. Hunt - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Americans love the underdog. Anytime someone is beating the odds, fighting his or her way ... more
to the top, like The Little Engine That Could, it resonates well with U.S. audiences; it's in their nature. Sylvester Stallone knew that in 1976, whenRockywas a m...
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Dec 10th, 2007
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