Movie of the Week: Sylvester Stallone’s oddball protagonist goes from contender to champion in ‘Rocky’
Writing the screenplay for 1976’s Rocky in a matter of just three days, we doubt Sylvester Stallone could’ve predicted the success of the boxing franchise almost half a century later. Sparking the creation of eight sequels, including four direct follow-up movies and a 21st-century trilogy of Creed movies, the Rocky franchise is an unlikely champion of contemporary Hollywood, having earned $1.8billion worldwide since the first instalment.
Having a part in the production of each of the movies, the Rocky movies are very much the children of Sly Stallone, who has been tied to the franchise since the very beginning. Winning three Oscars in 1976, including ‘Best Picture’, the very first movie in the franchise has long been considered a staple of Hollywood cinema, telling the story of a plucky, patriotic champion who fights through adversity to seize the American dream.
What makes Rocky such compelling viewing is that its underdog tale is mirrored by the staggering efforts of Stallone to get the movie made behind the scenes. Having only $106 to his name before the production of the movie, the actor and filmmaker was struggling to get by in Hollywood at the time, even revealing in an interview that he was even turned away from extra work for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.
“I couldn’t even get casted as an Italian. I said, ‘If there is one movie I can definitely get into, it would be The Godfather because there’s a party scene and there’s three hundred guests. They said no,” Stallone recalled, even admitting to selling his dog in order to make ends meet. After the success of Rocky, which was made for $960,000 and took $225million, Stallone got the dog back by giving the new owner a small speaking role in the movie.
With the majesty of the franchise considered, including its iconic theme tune from Bill Conti and inspiring training montages, it’s somewhat surprising to witness just how rudimentary the original Rocky movie is by comparison. Shot on a grainy Panavision Panaflex Camera, the film lacks the slick Hollywood sheen you may come to expect from a modern blockbuster, telling the story of a young man, not entirely comfortable in his own skin, who is constantly striving to better his life.
Without the quick wit of Indiana Jones or the gruff good looks of John McClane, Stallone’s Rocky instead reflects the everyday plucky American. Awkward in personality and unlucky in love, he doesn’t even seem to have the confidence synonymous with the American people, but what he lacks in affable personality, he makes up for in sheer, dogged determination, taking on the boxing heavyweight champion of the world as if he was merely another dish to be washed.
As a result, Rocky isn’t the stylish boxing movie you think it’s going to be. Instead, it shares better similarities with an indie drama that just so happens to conclude in a marvellous fighting spectacle. For most of the runtime, we enjoy Rocky’s company as he tries to wrestle with his inner demons, attempting to win over his lover Adrian (Talia Shire), sometimes charming and sometimes drastically failing.
Still, there is something authentic to Rocky’s struggle that is lost in more modern sports flicks. Stallone’s protagonist isn’t built with the same stardom as real-life pros Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua or even Tyson Fury. Instead, he is merely a “contender who refused to give up”.
