Category: Rocky

Rocky & Rocky II: The Best Boxing Movies of All Time

Craig / / 2011, Honors, Rocky, Rocky 2

On January 30, 2011, Moviefone.co.uk posted their choices for The 15 Best Boxing Movies of All Time.  Care to guess what movies came in at…

14. Rocky II
Before the ‘Rocky’ franchise devolved into (loveable) camp with villains like Clubber Lang and Drago, star Sylvester Stallone managed to put together one of the best and most underrated sequels in modern times. Though the climactic and triumphant return to the ring and the end of the film is memorable, the best parts of this movie deal with Rocky’s efforts to retire and his inability to find a place for himself outside the squared circle. A surprisingly moving film.

and

1. Rocky
What is there to say about Rocky that hasn’t already been said? Written by an unknown actor named Sylvester Stallone who insisted he star in the film as well, Rocky was a surprise box office and critical success when it debuted in 1976, launching Stallone to superstardom and creating a worldwide franchise that has become an indelible part of pop mythology. And on top of all that it’s still a damn good movie.

To read the full article, click here.

New Rocky Action Figure Coming

Craig / / 2011, Rocky

Pattni has signed a deal to create a new Rocky action figure…

The new Rocky action figure features the fighter, played by Sylvester Stallone in the films, in full boxing kit and has movable head, shoulders, arms, waist, legs, knees and ankles.

Pattni Imaginations MD Mayur Pattni,added: “We are thrilled to have signed this new deal as Rocky is an absolute icon.

To read the full piece, click here.

Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky Balboa: Best of the Best

Craig / / 2010, Honors, Rocky, Rocky 2, Rocky Balboa

On December 17, 2010, Newsday posted a piece titled Actors, Fighters Weigh-in on Boxing Flicks.  As you can imagine the Rocky movies were selected as top choices several times.  Here’s what was said:

  • Frank Vincent, played Salvy, opposite Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull.”  He’s appeared in numerous other films, including “Goodfellas” and “Casino.”
    1.     Although it was a fantasy,  I have to go with “Rocky 1”, for the inspirational message.
  • Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, former WBA light heavyweight champion, played Billy Fox opposite Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull.”
    3.     “Rocky.” “The entire Rocky series was great for boxing. Even if it wasn’t real, it was an opportunity for Sly to come in and make those movies. It gave boxing a boost.”
  • A.J. Benza, played L.C. opposite Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky Balboa.”
    1.     “Although “Raging Bull” is a better film, with incredible acting and all the sacrifices Robert De Niro made to literally become Jake LaMotta, and having the great Martin Scorsese at the helm, I still have to say the greatest boxing movie of all-time is “Rocky.” Here we are 34 years later and I still drop the remote and stop whatever I’m doing whenever it’s on TV. That song is in everybody’s heart. That fight is a fight we will all face one day in our lives. Sylvester Stallone did it. Game over. Who doesn’t get the chills when they hear the trumpets?”
    3. “Rocky Balboa.” Mainly because I’m in it. But I remember being on the set, on the last day, and watching Stallone run the steps for the last time. And when he was done and it was a wrap, no one wanted to leave. Stallone just sat on the steps. And I remember telling him, “You been making us cry for over 30 years. Who does that outside of our own families?”
  • Jeff Waxman, co-producer, “The Fighter”
    1    . “Rocky”
    2    . “Rocky II”
    “I loved all those movies,” said Waxman. “I loved them not just for the boxing, but for the story. With Riocky, it was about going the distance, in this movie (“The Fighter”), Micky Ward had to go the distance, he had to win and he did.”
  • Steve Farhood, boxing analyst for Showtime:
    1.     “Rocky.” “The right movie at the right time. My friend and I saw it in the dead of winter, and we were so pumped up, we ran home two miles through the streets of New York City. By the way, not one of the 347 sequels compares.”
  • Lou DiBella, boxing promoter, played himself in “Rocky Balboa” and is a producer on “The Fighter.”
    1.     “Rocky.” “I think the character of Rocky Balboa is the greatest personafication of the underdog in movie history and it gets to the essence of why people love boixng. I think Rocky Balboa is the most iconic figure every created about boxing.”
    2.     “Rocky II.”
  • Mark Breland, Olympic gold medalist and WBA welterweight champion. Has appeared in “The Lords of Discipline,” and  “Summer of Sam.”
    2. “Rocky.”
  • Jose Rivera, former two-time world champion who played Mark Wahlberg’s sparring partner in “The Fighter.”
    1. “Rocky.”
  • Junior Jones, former world bantamweight and junior featherweight champion:
    1.     “All of the “Rocky,” movies. I liked the training scenes and the music, too. It allows you to see the hard work and the intensity of a fighter.”

To read the full piece, click here.

“Rocky” is a Best Knockout

Craig / / 2010, Honors, Rocky

On December 16, 2010, Warren Tasker of The Edmonton Journal listed his choices for Five of Hollywood’s Best Knockouts.  “Rocky” made the list and here’s what he had to say:

2. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, Avild-1976)

Sylvester Stallone learned this month that he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for writing the screenplay to Rocky, , the tale of a Philly club fighter plucked from obscurity to fight the heavyweight champion. Can’t disagree at all with the decision.

Rocky, the opposite of Raging Bull, is a feel-good yarn that delivers on its message: If you try hard enough, your dream will be realized. Stallone’s Rocky Balboa is a lovable lug, a self-deprecating deprecating boxer with a killer left hook to the body. Audiences love him, the supporting cast, the music and the gritty boxing scenes. You catch yourself cheering, even after all these years. Yo Rock, we still love ya.

If you’d like to read the full piece simply click here.

“Rocky” One of the Most Powerful

Craig / / 2010, Honors, Rocky

On December 8, 2010, SignOnSanDiego posted Christy Lemire choices for the Five Most Powerful Boxing Movies.  As one would expect, Rocky made the cut and here is why…

  • “Rocky” (1976): Again, from the what-more-can-we-say? department. We went with the first “Rocky” here, tempting as it was to dredge up later installments featuring Mr. T and Dolph Lundgren, because it set the precedent for the franchise. It was the little movie that could, the one that came out of nowhere with no budget and shocked the world by winning the best-picture Oscar over bigger and more traditional contenders: “Network,” “All the President’s Men,” “Bound for Glory” and “Taxi Driver.” Sylvester Stallone wrote the script and starred as the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer who would go on to win the heavyweight championship. As full of cheesy uplift as the ending is, it still sends chills.

To read the full report, click here.

“Rocky” One of the All-Time Best

Craig / / 2010, Honors, Rocky

On November 11, 2010, Rope of Silicon posted “The Five Greatest Boxing Films of All Time” by Bill Cody.  I’m happy to say that “Rocky” made the cut coming in at #2.  Here’s why…

Whatever you say about Sylvester Stallone, and a lot of people do, he wrote one of the greatest scripts of all time. Loosely based on Muhammad Ali’s fight with Chuck Wepner, Rocky is pretty much a perfect movie. Stallone was the right choice to play the washed up palooka from Philly and smart enough to insist the studio use him.

I could go on and on about this film. The casting, (Burgess Meredith, Burt Young and Jason Schwartzman’s Mom are all wonderful) the gritty way it was filmed, the soundtrack that would have been completely hokey in any film other than the tale of an outlier who finally catches the brass ring. But why go on? It’s Rocky. Like my choice for #1, it won the Oscar for Best Picture. And it’s the blueprint for almost every sports movie that has been made since it came out. Enough said.

To read the whole article, click here.