Category: Rocky 3

Top Five Stallone Eighties Movies

Craig / / 2011, Cobra, First Blood, Rambo 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4

AMC recently posted their choices for the Top Five Stallone Eighties Movies.  Here’s a taste of the piece:

1. Rocky III (1982)
The third movie in the saga changes the pace, and Sly deftly walks a fine line between the Oscar-worthy drama of the movie’s predecessors and straight-up action… Rocky III is bigger, better, and more exciting than any sports movie that came before (or after)…

2. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
… one of the greatest action flicks of all time.

3. First Blood (1982)
…First Blood has a realism that is lacking from many eighties action movies…

4. Cobra (1986)
… Cobra is like Dirty Harry after five shots, three Red Bulls, and a trip to a military arsenal.

5. Rocky IV (1985)
The Rocky formula is taken to a whole new level with better training scenes and musical montages, bigger opponents (the truly monstrous Russian, Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren), and Cold War themes…

You can read the whole article here.

Ranking the “Rocky” Movies

Craig / / 2011, Rocky, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4, Rocky 5, Rocky Balboa

On February 9, 2011, ChicagoNow.com posted Ranking the Rocky Movies by Kyle Trompeter.  While I don’t agree with Kyle’s rankings, he does make a good case for each choice… and there is a surprise or two in his list.

And for the record, here is how I rank them:

1.  Rocky and Rocky Balboa.  {Perfect bookends to the series]
2.  Rocky III
3.  Rocky II [Depending on my mood sometimes I flip positions on II and IV]
4.  Rocky IV
5.  Rocky V [While many fans really dislike Rocky V, I am thankful that because of it we got Rocky Balboa]

– Craig

Clubber Lang @ Hollywood Collectibles

Craig / / 2010, Rocky 3

It’s always a treat to hear from Mark at Hollywood Collectibles.  This time was no exception!

Hi Craig,

Here is our new Clubber Lang 12″ statue, a companion piece to our sold  out Rocky statue.

As before we would like to offer a 10% discount to your forum members.   If they enter the coupon code “clubber” they will automatically receive the discount.

Lots more Sly stuff in the pipeline too….!

Thanks,

Mark

Although it’s too early to announce all the Stallone projects planned, and there are several, I can say that Expendables fans will be happy.

As always, thanks to Mark and the great folks at Hollywood Collectibles! – Craig

Original Rocky Statue for the Holidays!

Craig / / 2010, Celebs, Rocky 3
Hey SZoners! The holidays are quickly approaching and I wanted to remind everyone that Rocky sculptures are still available through A. Thomas Schomberg studios. These statues were created by Mr. Schomberg [who created the original Rocky sculpture seen in the Rocky movies] in collaboration with Sylvester Stallone and MGM studios. Here’s my interview with Mr. Schomberg. [part two of the interview is here] for the SZ.

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Mr. Schomberg and his lovely wife, Cynthia recently contacted me to let me know the following:
As of August 2010, we have become completely sold out of our 12″ ROCKY sculptures.  It is a bitter sweet situation, because even though we are grateful many were purchased, we are going to miss the contact with all of the many fans.  We found it so rewarding to hear from the fans from all over the world and their appreciation about owning a piece of the ROCKY statue.  But the most rewarding of all, was hearing about their personal struggles and ultimate triumphs.  We continue to gather these stories and encourage those who have not contacted us to please do so, because eventually there will be a publication documenting all of this.
The good news is, we do have the 20″ Bronze Plated ROCKY sculptures still available (the same one that I own! – Craig), as well as the 20″ Limited Edition ROCKY sculptures.
We will offer the Bronze Plated ROCKY for $395, shipping free and with interest free time payments. Also, Tom will sign the first 30 of the sculptures sold, which would normally be priced at a premium.   We realize there are numerous “Rocky” look alikes out there, but none of them are from the original ROCKY statue and from the original sculptor.
Since the 12″ Sculptures have sold out, we are getting low on the 20″ Bronze Plated Sculptures.  Also, there are only 7 remaining of the Limited Edition ROCKYs at the price of $2600.  Our next set of castings (we can only produce 35 at a time until the 100 limit) will go up at least another $1000 due to foundry increased pricing, so the current price is a very good offer.

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It’s always great to hear from Tom and Cynthia.  They are two of the kindest, most humble and down to earth people you could ever talk with.  One of my highlights of running the StalloneZone was getting to interview Tom and my Schomberg Rocky statue is one of my most prized possessions.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a Rocky statue for yourself or a loved one, there’s never been a better time.  Here’s the link to the special holiday pricing!

Remember, if you purchases a statue, I’d love to post a picture of you with it on the StalloneZone! – Craig

Rocky’s Adidas Boots

Craig / / 2010, Rocky 3, Sly Fan

SZoner, Paan checked in with the photo above and…

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Craig,

Adidas released the history book for their internal use in 2008.  They show the boots on a page for  Teofilo Stevenson (Cuban Boxer).  But we, SZONERS, know by heart the person who actually wore and signed these boots.

It’s amazing that they put the word “FIGHT” on the side for him. I hope this information will make everyone smile.

Best regards,

Paan
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Thanks Paan! – Craig

Sly, Jim Peterik & Eye of the Tiger

Craig / / 2010, Rocky 3

On October 26, 2010, Smashing Interviews Magazine posted an interview with Jim Peterik the founder of Survivor and composer of the classic “Eye of the Tiger.” Did you know that Jim was also in the band Ides of March famous for the #1 hit “Vehicle” that he wrote?  The song also appeared in the Stallone film “Lockup.” Jim also wrote hit songs for 38 Special and Sammy Hagar.

Here’s what Jim had to say about Sly and “Eye of the Tiger”…

Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): How did you get involved in writing “Eye of the Tiger” for Rocky III?

Jim Peterik: That was just a miracle event as far as I’m concerned. Apparently Stallone had caught wind of Survivor and liked our sound. One day I got a message on my answering machine. This sounds like a story one would make up but I pressed the button and heard, “Hey, yo Jim, give me a call. It’s Sylvester Stallone.” I’m thinking, “Yeah, whatever.”

I called the number and sure enough it was Stallone. He tells me about this new movie and that he doesn’t want to use “Gonna Fly Now” anymore. He wanted something new, “something with a pulse and for the kids.” Stallone said, “I’m going to send you the movie.”

Frankie came over and we watched the film. Frankie said, “This is going to be enormous.” I had my electric guitar in my hand, the punches were being thrown in the movie, and I was feeling the pulse. I just started doing that bap bap bap bap on the guitar, not knowing that riff would become pretty much etched in American consciousness to this day.

I sent the demo of the song to Stallone and he goes, “Oh yeah, that’s it. You got it. Just write me a third verse. You got a little lazy there.” So we did and the rest is history. It’s an amazing story that really put us on the map. What amazes me is it’s still so popular. We’re still on the Billboard charts under downloads. We’re like #22 or something.

Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Colleges that have tiger mascots play the song during football games.

Jim Peterik: I’ve been asked to do halftime at LSU in November. I’ll be singing that song with the band. That’ll be a real thrill.

You can read the entire interview here.

6 Stallone Movies Crack Top 100

Craig / / 2010, Honors, Over the Top, Rocky, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4, Victory

On October 13, 2010, Matt King, a senior analyst at BleacherReport.com posted his choices for the 100 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time.  Not surprisingly, Sly had six movies that made the grade.  Here are Matt King’s choices and commentary.

#79   Over the Top

You can thank Sly Stallone for knowing why you turn your hat around when you arm wrestle somebody. That’s valuable information there.

Seriously, though—it’s a movie about arm wrestling. How awesome is that? It’s Stallone right around the time he discovered steroids, facing off against some guy with more neck rolls than a pug. As a man, you just have to love this. It’s man law.

#62 Victory

What’s this? It’s a sports movie and we’re playing the Germans during WWII? Yes, please.

You could make a water polo movie where a team faces off against the Germans during WWII and I would be all in. It’s too easy. The villain is built in. You don’t need to build them up or give them any depth. It’s cool. We hate them. Let’s move along.

I also have a soft spot for sports movies ending a ridiculous note. Sly Stallone catching a penalty kick pretty much fits that bill.

#46 Rocky IV

It’s hard to rank the Rocky movies. Usually when a sports movie comes out with a sequel, it sucks. But Rocky managed to make not one, but three sequels that are extremely watchable.

Somebody has to bring up the rear and, while I do have a special place in my heart for Ivan Drago and Rocky IV, it can’t compete with the others.

It does however give us some amazing lines (I must break you) and a training montage that set the gold standard for cheesy goodness. I’ll always be thankful to Rocky and the fourth installment for singlehandedly winning the Cold War.

#32 Rocky II [and if you take a look at their original post, notice where they got the Rocky II photo]

At the end of Rocky, Apollo tells him that there won’t be a rematch and Rocky says that he doesn’t want one.

Good ending, but that’s hard for us sports fans to accept. We need some kind of resolution.

It’s the same reason most Americans hate soccer for three out of every four years: we hate ties.

Thankfully, Rocky II gave us that rematch and managed to do so without seeming like a horrible cash grab and was a really solid movie.

#24 Rocky III

Rocky III is probably the most entertaining Rocky movie. It’s got over-the-top characters like Hulk Hogan and Clubber Lang, Mickey dying, and a great final fight.

Mr. T really did kick ass as Clubber. With the first two Rockys, you always liked Apollo at least a little bit. He was mouthy, but it came with charm. Clubber Lang was just big, scary, and mean.

#6 Rocky [and don’t ask me why the photo for Rocky is from Rocky Balboa]

The ultimate underdog story.

The first Rocky was the ultimate everyman. He’s just an unassuming, humble guy from Philly who ends up getting a shot at the champ through a series of events and making the most of it.

Eventually, Rocky turns into this super fighter in later movies, but in this one he’s just your average guy with a bigger than average heart. Nothing special.

Stallone will never be considered a great actor, but he’s terrific in the movie. He nails the “aw shucks” attitude.

And who could forget Mickey. That gruff voiced little troll is one of my favorite sports movie characters of all time.

*****

I was happy to see that Over the Top easily made the top 100.  I was surprised that Rocky Balboa didn’t appear on the list.  What’s up with that?  It should have been right there along side Rocky.

If you’d like to see Matt King’s entire list of 100 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time, you know what to do.