Category: 2010

Stephen Ripley yesterday in the Chatham Daily News noted that…

in 81 years only 10 sports-themed films (12 if you consider horse racing and billiards to be sports) have been nominated for best picture…

Mr. Ripley went on to rate them and Rocky came in at #2.  Here’s what he had to say:

2. Rocky (1976)

After five sequels, it’s easy to forget what a great film the original Rocky was when it hit theatres in 1976. The tale of a journeyman boxer who makes the most of his shot at the title was written by struggling actor Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the title role. The film received 10 noms, earning the judges’ decision for best picture, best director and best editing.

The Patriot-Ledger also posted their own Oscar & Sports Article. Rocky , Sly, Talia Shire, and Burgess Meredith all got nods…

• Best film –The nominees are A League of Their Own, Brian’s Song, Chariots of Fire, Fever Pitch, Hoosiers, Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull, Remember the Titans, Rocky, and The Natural.    The winner: Fever Pitch…  [He’s a Red Sox fan, what can I say?]
  

• Best actor in a leading role – The nominees are Kevin Costner (Bull Durham), Robert DeNiro (Raging Bull), Robert Redford (The Natural), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky), and Denzel Washington (Remember the Titans).  The winner: Robert DeNiro…
• Best actress in a leading role – The nominees are Kim Basinger (The Natural), Geena Davis (A League of Their Own), Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams), Susan Sarandon (Bull Durham), and Talia Shire (Rocky).  The winner: Kim Basinger…
  
• Best supporting actor – The nominees are Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Bill Murray (Caddyshack), Joe Pesci (Raging Bull), Tim Robbins (Bull Durham), and Wesley Snipes (Major League). The winner: Burgess Meredith. His portrayal of the crusty trainer, Mick, is rivaled only by his riveting performance as The Penguin.

With the 2010 Oscar winners almost ready to be announced, Tom Chivers was inspired to come up with his list of “The Ten Worst Injustices in Academy Award History.” Coming in at #4 was Rocky.  Here’s what Mr. Chivers had to say:

4. Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone(above), is actually an underrated film. It isn’t helped by its endless sequels (we forget whether it’s Rocky IV or Rocky V that has the robot butler, and the bit at the end of IV where Rocky’s incoherent post-fight rambling seems to bring about the end of the Cold War is particularly ludicrous), but it’s touching, unpretentious fare, and Stallone does well in the role he built for himself. Still, it’s a bit of a stretch that it beat Scorsese’s Taxi Driver to the 1976 Oscar for Best Picture.

While I think it’s great that Mr. Chivers believes that Rocky is underrated, I’m surprised that he thinks it’s a “bit of a stretch” that Rocky beat Taxi Driver.  I think the real injustice for Rocky is that Sly didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Mr. Chivers also says that Rocky wasn’t helped by it’s endless sequels.  Perhaps he forgot that Rocky was judged on it’s own merits.  At the time of the 1976 Oscars, there had been no sequels.  And while it’s clear that Mr. Chivers may have been confused [Rocky IV has the robot not V] or allowed his opinion of Rocky to drop due to the sequels, the Oscar judges didn’t have to face that problem.

It’s interesting that if you take out Mr. Chivers references to the sequels you end up with:

4. Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone(above), is actually an underrated film…  it’s touching, unpretentious fare, and Stallone does well in the role he built for himself. Still, it’s a bit of a stretch that it beat Scorsese’s Taxi Driver to the 1976 Oscar for Best Picture.

What you end up with is Mr. Chivers opinion that Rocky [a film he has nothing but praise for] should have lost to Taxi Driver.  Okay.  That’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it.