Rocky

Movie: Rocky (1976)

AFI List #78 on the 1997 list and #57 on the 2008 list

My List #31

Starring:Sylvester Stallone

My rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

I wasn't sure exactly how I would feel about this movie. I had never seen it before and kinda didn't want to. Not to hate on it, but I not a fan of Sylvester Stallone, so anything with him in it, I wouldn't like right?

Wrong. It was a great story. Not your typical "rags-to-riches" story either, despite being labeled that. I loved the heart of this story. Rocky is a "never was" boxer and debt collector for a loan shark (meaning he beats people up when they don't pay on time). He likes his friend's painfully shy sister, Adrian. Then he gets this chance to fight the heavy-weight champion who wants to put on a show. But he takes this fight seriously and starts to train and all the nay-sayers either try to rip him down or all of a sudden want to help him. And he finally breaks Adrian's shell and starts to date her. The surprise for me, though, was Rocky. He is so kind hearted and optimistic and so good to Adrian. All he wants to do in the fight is to take the champion through all 15 rounds and not give up. He wants to prove that he's not just another bum from the neighborhood. At the end of the fight, he doesn't care about who won, he just starts searching and calling for Adrian to celebrate that he did it. It's not a tear-jerker by any means, but it's touching and inspiring.

I was surprised to see that Sylvester Stallone was the screen writer as well as the star. I think that would make a difference in a person's performance if they knew what they were trying to convey in the story, and Stallone did it fantastically. The studio originally wanted one of their big stars to take it, like Robert Redford or Burt Reynolds, but Stallone said he would never have forgiven himself if the film became a success with someone else in the lead. And I agree.

This film is also on a number of other AFI lists:

• AFI's 100 Years, 100 Cheers: #4
• AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movie Quotes: #80 "Yo, Adrian!"
• AFI's 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villians: Heroes #7: Rocky Balboa
• AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: #52
• AFI's 10 Top 10: Sports Movies: #2
• AFI's 100 Years, 100 Songs: #58 Gonna Fly Now

And my list? A definite rewatch.