Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky film series and also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), a poor small-time club fighter and loanshark debt collector from Philadelphia, gets an unlikely once in a lifetime shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed (Weathers).
Rocky entered development in March 1975, after Stallone wrote the screenplay in three days. It entered a complicated production process after Stallone refused to allow the film to be made without him in the lead role; United Artists eventually agreed to cast Stallone after he rejected a six figure deal for the film rights. Principal photography began in January 1976, with filming primarily held in Philadelphia; several locations featured in the film, such as the Rocky Steps, are now considered cultural landmarks. With an estimated production budget of about $1 million, Rocky popularized the rags to riches and American Dream themes of sports dramas which preceded the film.
Rocky had its premiere at the Paramount Theatre in New York City on November 20, 1976, and was released in the United States on December 3. Rocky became the highest-grossing film of 1976, earning approximately $225 million worldwide. The film received critical acclaim for Stallone's writing, as well as the film's performances, direction, musical score, cinematography and editing; among other accolades, it received ten Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Picture. It has been ranked by numerous publications as one of the greatest films of all time, as well as one of the most iconic sports films ever.
Rocky and its theme song have become a pop-cultural phenomenon and an important part of 1970s American popular culture. In 2006, the Library of Congress selected Rocky for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". The first sequel in the series, Rocky II, was released in 1979.
Plot
To mark the upcoming United States Bicentennial, heavyweight boxing world champion Apollo Creed plans to hold a title bout in Philadelphia. However, he is informed five weeks from the fight date that his scheduled opponent, Mac Lee Green, is unable to compete due to an injured hand. All other potential replacements are either booked or unable to get into shape in time. Having invested heavily into the fight, Apollo decides to give a local contender a chance to challenge him.
He selects Rocky Balboa, an Italian-American journeyman southpaw boxer living in poverty, who primarily fights in small gyms and works as a collector for a Mafia loan shark. Rocky is chosen on the basis of his nickname, "The Italian Stallion", because Apollo feels that the name is most suitable for marketing purposes. Rocky meets with promoter George Jergens and agrees to the fight, which will pay him $150,000. Rocky puts himself through several weeks of unorthodox and improvised training, such as using sides of beef as punching bags.
He is later approached by Mickey Goldmill, a former bantamweight fighter-turned-trainer whose gym Rocky frequents, about further training. Rocky is not willing initially, as Mickey has not shown much interest in helping him before and saw him as a wasted talent, but eventually he accepts the offer.
Rocky builds a romantic relationship with Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino, a shy woman who is working part-time at the J&M Tropical Fish pet store. Adrian's brother and Rocky's best friend, Paulie, sets his sister up on a date with Rocky. She initially rejects his advances but consents to each subsequent step of the date when he continues to ask. Paulie also offers to work as a cornerman with him for the fight, an offer Rocky turns down. Paulie becomes jealous of Rocky's success, but Rocky placates him by agreeing to advertise the meat packing business where Paulie works as part of the fight. Rocky trains extensively for the match, while Apollo is unconcerned and puts more effort into promotion than training. The night before the match, Rocky visits the Spectrum and begins to lose confidence. He confesses to Adrian that he does not believe he can win but strives to go the distance against Apollo, which no other fighter has done, to prove himself.
On New Year's Day, the fight is held with Apollo making a dramatic entrance dressed as George Washington and then Uncle Sam. Taking advantage of his overconfidence, Rocky knocks him down in the first round—the first time that Apollo has ever been knocked down. Humbled and worried, Apollo takes Rocky more seriously for the rest of the fight, which goes on for the full fifteen rounds, with both combatants sustaining various injuries: Rocky, with hits to the head and swollen eyes, requires his right eyelid to be cut to restore his vision, while Apollo, with internal bleeding and a broken rib, struggles to breathe. As the fight concludes, Apollo's skill is countered by Rocky's stamina, toughness and will. As the final bell sounds, Apollo tells Rocky there "ain't gonna be no rematch". Rocky replies that he does not want one.
As the ring is flooded with reporters and excited fans, Rocky calls out repeatedly for Adrian, who makes her way into the ring. As Jergens declares Apollo the winner by virtue of a split decision, Rocky and Adrian embrace and profess their love for each other, unconcerned with the outcome of the fight.
Cast
Sylvester Stallone as Robert "Rocky" Balboa Talia Shire as Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino Burt Young as Paulie Pennino Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed Burgess Meredith as Michael "Mickey" Goldmill Thayer David as George "Miles" Jergens Joe Spinell as Tony Gazzo Jimmy Gambina as Mike Tony Burton as Tony "Duke" Evers Pedro Lovell as Spider Rico Stan Shaw as "Big Dipper" Brown Jodi Letizia as Marie Frank Stallone as Streetcorner Singer Joe Frazier as Himself
Production Development and writing Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for Rocky in three and a half days, shortly after watching the championship match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner that took place at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio, on March 24, 1975. Wepner was TKO'd in the 15th round of the match by Ali, with few expecting him to last as long as he did. Despite the match motivating Stallone to begin work on Rocky, he has denied Wepner provided any inspiration for the script. Other inspiration for the film may have included characteristics of real-life boxers Rocky Marciano and Joe Frazier, as well as Rocky Graziano's autobiography Somebody Up There Likes Me and the movie of the same name. Wepner sued Stallone, and eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.
Henry Winkler, Stallone's co-star in The Lords of Flatbush who then broke out as Arthur Fonzarelli on ABC's Happy Days, said he had taken the script to executives at the network. They expressed interest in turning it into a made-for-television movie and actually bought the script but insisted that someone else rewrite it. Upon hearing the news, Stallone begged Winkler not to let ABC change writers, so Winkler went back to the executives and offered to return the money in exchange for the rights. While ABC refused at first, Winkler said he was able to use his status as one of its biggest stars at the time to convince them to sell the rights back.
At the time, Film Artists Management Enterprises (FAME), a joint venture between Hollywood talent agents Craig T. Rumar and Larry Kubik, represented Stallone. He submitted his script to Rumar and Kubik, who immediately saw the potential for it to be made into a motion picture. They shopped the script to various producers and studios in Hollywood but were repeatedly rejected because Stallone insisted that he be cast in the lead role. Eventually, they secured a meeting with Winkler-Chartoff productions (no relation to Henry Winkler). After repeated negotiations with Rumar and Kubik, Winkler-Chartoff agreed to a contract for Stallone to be the writer and also star in the lead role for Rocky. Stallone offered the script to Ralph Bakshi to direct, because he loved Bakshi's 1973 film Heavy Traffic, but Bakshi turned it down because he didn't want to leave animation, and John G. Avildsen signed on to direct instead.
United Artists liked Stallone's script and viewed it as a vehicle for a well-established star like Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan. United Artists initially thought the project was going to be a disaster. Stallone's agents insisted that Stallone portray the title character, to the point of issuing an ultimatum. Stallone later said that he would never have forgiven himself had the film become a success with somebody else in the lead. He also knew that producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff's contract with the studio enabled them to "greenlight" a project if the budget was kept low enough. The producers also collateralized any possible losses with their big-budget entry, New York City (whose eventual losses were covered by Rocky success). The film's production budget ended up being $1,075,000, with a further $100,000 spent on producers' fees and $4.2 million on advertising costs.
Pre-production Although Chartoff and Irwin Winkler were enthusiastic about the script and the idea of Stallone playing the lead character, they were hesitant about having an unknown headline the film. The producers also had trouble casting other major characters in the story, with Apollo Creed and Adrian cast unusually late by the production standards. Real-life boxer Ken Norton was initially sought for the role of Apollo Creed, but he pulled out and the role was ultimately given to Carl Weathers. Norton, upon whom Creed was loosely based, fought Muhammad Ali three times. According to The Rocky Scrapbook, Carrie Snodgress was originally chosen to play Adrian, but a money dispute forced the producers to look elsewhere. Susan Sarandon and Cher auditioned for the role but Sarandon was deemed too pretty for the character and Cher too expensive. After Talia Shire's ensuing audition, Chartoff and Winkler, and director John Avildsen, insisted that she play the part.
Philadelphia-based boxer Joe Frazier has a cameo appearance in the film. Frazier has claimed that some of the plot's most memorable moments—Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of his training regimen—are taken without credit from his own real-life exploits.
Ali, the outspoken boxer and one of Frazier's main rivals who had fought him three times (the last, the Thrilla in Manila, being the year before the film was released), influenced the character of Apollo Creed. At the 49th Academy Awards, Ali, at the time in his second reign as the real-life world heavyweight champion, was a surprise presenter alongside Stallone for Best Supporting Actress. Ali told Stallone, "I'm the real Apollo Creed!" They had a lighthearted confrontation onstage to show the film did not offend Ali before presenting the award, which Beatrice Straight won while only appearing in Network for five minutes and two seconds – the record for the shortest amount of screentime to win the award.