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Going The Distance: A ROCKY Retrospective

post #1 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:40pm
Thread Starter 
http://chud.com/articles/articles/21...976/Page1.html
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post #2 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:49pm
Christmas came early!!! Thanks, Santa Dev.

Seriously, this new column would be worth it even if it only contained "The Tao of Paulie".
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post #3 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:50pm
Ooh, I am so looking forward to reading the rest of these.
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post #4 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:50pm
No pressure, but I'm looking forward to the Rocky V writeup more than Christmas.
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post #5 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:52pm
Great write up, Devin. In depth as hell, wondrous. It still holds up to this day. Good call on Balboa, too, that and the original are the only ones you really need to see in the series. I take it you'll be hitting up the other 5 in the near to mid future?
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post #6 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:53pm
Thread Starter 
One a week is the plan. I may do two this week.
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post #7 of 56
12/8/09 at 6:55pm
Great write up, I'm really excited for the rest of these. The Rocky series is one of my guilty pleasures (outside of the first and Balboa which are legitimately great). Can't wait to read your thought on Rocky ending Communism.
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post #8 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:00pm
Well done, Devin. The scene that always gets me is the CUT ME moment. Watching that razor go over his eyelid...man.
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post #9 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:03pm
Nice!

I've taken countless out-of-town visitors to the art museum, and the steps are never without someone doing the Rocky thing on them. They finally moved the statue to there a couple years ago (off to the side).

This will be a weird retrospective; unabashed love for the bookends but derision for the four middle chapters?
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post #10 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:06pm
Devin,

I'm having a really, really bad week. I got into a wreck on Saturday and totaled the vehicle. No one got hurt and the family's okay, thank God, but I'm looking at being carless in a city that's pretty brutal to people who don't have cars. Because of all this, I might have to miss BNAT this weekend, the one event every year that I feel like I can't live without. And I honestly don't know where I'm going to find the money to get a new car.

This article was exactly the one I needed. Put a real smile on my face. ROCKY is one of my favorite films of all time. Your breakdown of the film made me laugh and even tear up a little, and I really need it right now. Thanks, man. Sorry if this got all gushy.
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post #11 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:10pm
Well played, sir. Now hurry up and gimme the rest.
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post #12 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:11pm
Brilliant. You nailed Rocky's appeal and in doing so you summarized why the sequels (Balboa aside) just don't cut the mustard.

That said, I still find a lot to love about the increasingly silly sequels. I don't count Rocky V as a sequel, though. I barely count that as a movie. My hate for that movie burns so fiercely you could put it in a jar and light a mineshaft.
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post #13 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:17pm
I actually think V is less embarrassing than IV. V's a worse movie in the details, but its heart is in the right place, and you can see it as a failed attempt at what Balboa actually accomplished.
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post #14 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:24pm
Loved this article. St Rocky, his dump, the doo wop guys, creepy Paulie, Mick is Jewish, all of it GOLD.
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post #15 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:27pm
Rocky's a masterpiece. And I actually love all the sequels (yes, even V had its moments).
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post #16 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:27pm
Fantastic, sir. I can't wait for the rest.

Just a little note: I'm pretty sure you meant Joe Frazier, not George.
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post #17 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:30pm
Quote:
The champ has no idea what he's in for - three more sequels and a death at the hands of a Super Russian. Who could have seen that coming?
Great line. And your last few paragraphs hint at a really great WHAT-IF? What if there had never been a ROCKY II? It's tough, especially now, to see the first film separate and apart from the franchise that AIRPLANE knew would run forever even after only the first sequel. I wonder how differently we'd see the film if it'd ended there.
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post #18 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rex Hudler View Post
Great line.
Easily my favorite line.

Pretty damn good write up. Although I disagree about being able to transition from Rocky to Rocky Balboa with out the others. You can cut 3, 4 and 5. But you gotta have Rocky 2.
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post #19 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt M View Post
I actually think V is less embarrassing than IV. V's a worse movie in the details, but its heart is in the right place, and you can see it as a failed attempt at what Balboa actually accomplished.
Don't get me wrong, it is trying to recapture the grounded quality of the original but it just seems to come off the rails and becomes this ugly, depressing little film. Rocky IV is far less Rocky than Rocky V, but I find it's missteps far more entertaining. It's hard to completely dismiss any film that features Paulie dating a robot. When you look at Rocky and all it achieves, you just never imagine Stallone would go that far off point, and it's pretty goddamn hilarious to witness. It'd be like making a sequel to The Hustler where Fast Eddie has to play video game pool against an insane super computer. You watch the entirety of Rocky IV and you have to wonder just when Stallone lost touch with reality. I think the answer is somewhere around Thunderlips, personally.
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post #20 of 56
12/8/09 at 7:52pm
Very much enjoyed the write up, sir.
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post #21 of 56
12/8/09 at 8:22pm
Fantastic. Gonna watch it this week now.
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post #22 of 56
12/8/09 at 8:27pm
Loved this, and looking forward to the next installment.
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post #23 of 56
12/8/09 at 8:35pm
Love. The original is probably the one I've seen the least of all of them, V not withstanding. When I went back to it around the time Balboa was coming out, it got me all over again. I love the bit in the end fight when Creed is walking away from him, and Rocky calls out to him, waving Creed back. Creed shakes his head in disbelief that this fight isn't over.

Great write-up, looking forward to the rest of these.
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post #24 of 56
12/8/09 at 8:55pm
Outstanding. That is, by far, the greatest analysis of that movie I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

And Paulie was way too concerned about his sister's flower.
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post #25 of 56
12/8/09 at 8:57pm
Outstanding indeed. Can't wait for part 2.
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post #26 of 56
12/8/09 at 9:03pm
I got a little verklempt just reading this. I'm a huge softie when it comes to Rocky. Can't really watch 2-5 anymore though.

Can't wait to read the rest. All ready this is up there with your Friday the 13th retrospective just because of my connection to the series and the comedy gold that's sure to be mined in the next five entries.
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post #27 of 56
12/8/09 at 9:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan "Nordling" Cerny View Post
This article was exactly the one I needed. Put a real smile on my face. ROCKY is one of my favorite films of all time. Your breakdown of the film made me laugh and even tear up a little, and I really need it right now. Thanks, man.
This ^. For different reasons. But still this.
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post #28 of 56
12/8/09 at 9:30pm
The Most Inspiring Mickey Line had me laughing my ass off. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
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post #29 of 56
12/8/09 at 9:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misfit View Post
I love the bit in the end fight when Creed is walking away from him, and Rocky calls out to him, waving Creed back. Creed shakes his head in disbelief that this fight isn't over.
That scene gets me every time. The expression on Apollo's face is just so exhausted and incredulous. Factor in Conti's score and I'm a bundle of raw nerves. And the payoff with Rocky screaming "Adrien" only to ask what happened to her hat never fails to put a lump in my throat. Greatness.
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post #30 of 56
12/8/09 at 9:40pm
Fuckin' hell, Devin. That's just awesome. I love that.

Great work.
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post #31 of 56
12/8/09 at 9:53pm
Excellent write-up.

The "At least you had a prime! I didn't have no prime!" scene with Rock and Mick always reduces me to man tears. Wonderful film, haven't seen it in ages.
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post #32 of 56
12/8/09 at 10:06pm
So glad you're giving the Rocky series the treatment you gave the Friday the 13th movies a few years ago. These are my two favorite franchises so you're getting high fives from this guy. I'm dreading the Rocky 5 review though. Just skip it. It's the only one I don't own and I really have tried to delete it from memory.
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post #33 of 56
12/8/09 at 11:30pm
Not the biggest fan of the franchise, but that's a great write-up, and I'm sure it will only get more entertaining as the series goes so far off the rails that it winds up right back at the beginning.

Hell, I really enjoyed the F13 articles, despite having no affection whatsoever for the films. We better be getting a Potter retrospective when all the DVDs are released.
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post #34 of 56
12/9/09 at 12:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post
Hell, I really enjoyed the F13 articles, despite having no affection whatsoever for the films. We better be getting a Potter retrospective when all the DVDs are released.
I'd really like to see the return of "Star Trekkin"
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post #35 of 56
12/9/09 at 12:12am
I'm dreading your ROCKY III write up. It's a cartoon, but my love for it is genuine.
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post #36 of 56
12/9/09 at 12:13am
You'll have to recall it for us someday.
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post #37 of 56
12/9/09 at 12:34am
Sadly, Rocky as we know and love it would never get made today. It's a small miracle that Rocky Balboa did.

People always talk about the great seminal '70s movies (that would also never get made today), but Rocky is hardly ever mentioned among their number.

It came out right smack between Jaws and Star Wars, and could be said to be the middle film of a trilogy of troubled-in-the-making, non-surefire-hit blockbusters that, I suspect, hit so big because the mass audience was craving a return to simplicity and old-fashioned thrills, uplift, catharsis after a few years of Vietnam-era downers. Older people who saw Rocky pegged it as a bag of old manipulative tricks, but a generation was seeing those tricks for the first time. I try to remember that when the younger set these days goes nuts over stuff I've seen a dozen times before.
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post #38 of 56
12/9/09 at 1:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Blank View Post
It came out right smack between Jaws and Star Wars, and could be said to be the middle film of a trilogy of troubled-in-the-making, non-surefire-hit blockbusters that, I suspect, hit so big because the mass audience was craving a return to simplicity and old-fashioned thrills, uplift, catharsis after a few years of Vietnam-era downers. Older people who saw Rocky pegged it as a bag of old manipulative tricks, but a generation was seeing those tricks for the first time.
This is very well said... You've hit on why the movie resonated so much with people.

....

Devin's point about how it's basically an indie is a good one. Rewatching it recently I was hit by how it's a real movie. III and IV are the perennials I've seen a million times and I love them to death. But Rocky is just a great piece of work. And Stallone delivers a good performance... It's a real character, full of tics and nuance. Stallone is a better actor than people think because he's made several shitty films and coasted on his action persona. But he gave it his all here... The Oscar nom was deserved. He worked hard at creating a character that lives and breathes beyond the screen.

Great write up Dev... I look forward to the rest.
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post #39 of 56
12/9/09 at 1:16am
The most powerful moment for me in the film is right after Rocky ignores Mick's pleas to stay down, he gets up, and brings his fists up and towards himself while staring down Apollo because he wants to keep the fight going.


Great article, Devin.
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post #40 of 56
12/9/09 at 2:04am
Who would win today?







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post #41 of 56
12/9/09 at 2:52am
Great write up of a great movie.

Yeah, it's a shame that Rocky effectively turns into a superhero in the later films, but that was inevitable. I mean, other than the final one, Rocky Balboa, where else are you going to go with this character? I also think that, yes, this movie COULD be made today, and it was. It was called The Wrestler.

Side note: For the first time, earlier today, I just caught Somebody Up There Likes Me on Turner Classic Movies. I was surprised by the similarities not just with Rocky Barbella who later becomes Rocky Graziano, but with the very Adrian-like love interest and a Jewish old man Mickey-type. Inspired by the movie is one thing, but it's looking almost like plagiarism. BTW, great Ernest Lehman script for that flick.
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post #42 of 56
12/9/09 at 2:54am
Fantastic point about Conti's timeless score. It's been used/parodied/referenced more than anything I can imagine, but the music itself has NEVER lost its power. EVER. Goosebumps everytime.

I didn't see the Rocky movies as a kid. I've only seen Rocky, IV, and Balboa. I think I'm good. LOVE Balboa. Rocky is one I need to revisit some more.
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post #43 of 56
12/9/09 at 3:10am
Greatness. There are two movie series that I'll just sit and watch whenever they're on TV and I have time: Rocky and The Godfather (what's with the Italians? Not sure). Really looking forward to part three since that's actually my favorite (although I acknowledge it's not the best, I just feel like the formula was perfected and its my personal favorite).
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post #44 of 56
12/9/09 at 7:49am
Great writeup,

I kinda love all the Rocky Films for different reasons, but the first and last one are without a doubt the best.

Totally agree that Rocky gets overlooked when people talk about great films of the 70's, I think that is in part due to the sequals huge change in tone and style.
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post #45 of 56
12/9/09 at 9:45am
Devin, that is easily my favorite thing I have read by you on this site. The humor was outstanding. And I'm not even a huge Rocky guy. It's been a while since I've seen the first and I'm not sure I've ever sat down and watched 2 or 3 all the way through in one sitting (have seen 4 several times, oddly) and the less said about 5 the better. When I finally got around to Balboa, I was pleasantly surprised. I very much look forward to the rest of these.
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post #46 of 56
12/9/09 at 10:33am
This is the side of Devin that I really enjoy and I have a lot of love for his indepth articles on some of my favourite movies.
The Rocky franchise is quite near and dear to my family as my father was (now retired) professional Kickboxer. I've been watching the franchise since I was in nappies but I never truly understood how much of an legitimately great film Rocky was until I rewatched it maybe 5-6 years ago and found out it was nominated for an Oscar. It's funny what success can do to a storyteller...(even though I still enjoy 2,3 and 4 as fun popcorn flicks).
I've always felt in the battle of the Movie stars of the 80-90s, Stallone's acting ability and actual storytelling talent put him a step above Swarzenegger even if Arnie was better at choosing which roles to attach himself to.
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post #47 of 56
12/9/09 at 11:16am
Great series. Can't wait for parts 3-5.
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post #48 of 56
12/9/09 at 12:20pm
A highly entertaining read. Very funny. Can't wait to read the rest as the series gets more and more ridiculous. I look forward to Devin's take on Rocky's inspirational brain-damage induced mid-fight hallucination in part 5.
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post #49 of 56
12/9/09 at 3:16pm
I wish this was a daily thing. Can't wait for the next part.

In the meantime, I'm gunna use a bad word now WHORE
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post #50 of 56
12/9/09 at 4:50pm
Frank Stallone was just on Adam Carolla's podcast and he goes into Sly's career a good bit including all the turds. Definitely worth a listen.
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