Rocky [M]

Rocky Balboa is a floundering club boxer and a white class nobody who gets a shot at achieving his dreams when Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, selects him as part of a publicity stunt to fight him in the ring and have a shot at the ultimate title. Whilst simultaneously sparking up a romance with a long-admired pet shop clerk named Adrian, Rocky finds the courage and strength to reach for the stars and make himself known to an indifferent world. 

Scooping up the Academy Award for Best Picture upon its release, Rocky is a wholly lovely and inspiring movie: the ultimate believe-in-yourself and reach-for-your-dreams drama. 

Rocky Balboa is a floundering club boxer and a white class nobody who gets a shot at achieving his dreams when Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, selects him as part of a publicity stunt to fight him in the ring and have a shot at the ultimate title. Whilst simultaneously sparking up a romance with a long-admired pet shop clerk named Adrian, Rocky finds the courage and strength to reach for the stars and make himself known to an indifferent world. 

Catapulting the then relatively unheard of Sylvester Stallone into public awareness as both an actor and a writer, Rocky is really a most moving film, bringing a beating and aching heart to a sport that seems relatively brutal and heartless. The entire feature is wholly inspiring and emotionally evoking, particularly the end where Rocky, all beaten and bruised and a vision of complete defeat, simply calls for Adrian over and over again. It’s really is most romantic. Oh man, I teared up. 

Stallone was made an international superstar overnight with this movie and it’s no wonder as, not only does he show talent as a writer, but he also delivers a memorable performance that is jock-like and brutal, but at the same time heartfelt, communicative, and oafishly charming. From go to whoa, you’re always rooting for Rocky, not just in the ring, but also in life. 

And special attention has to be drawn to the fantastic fanfare soundtrack composed by Bill Conti. The use of trumpets and simple fanfare tune styles is just beautiful, it works wonderfully well with the scenes and situations and, although it’s not something that would be imagined compatible with the sport of boxing, it really fits and makes the training montages all the more emotional and inspiring. 

Starring Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Thayer David, Joe Spinell, and Jodi Letizia, Rocky is a rough but gorgeously inspirational movie filled with drama, violence, strength, courage, romance, and heart. Despite its obvious masculine and macho façade, it really it a most lovely and heartfelt movie. Just beautiful.