Rocky Balboa (or Rocky VI) is a 2006 film written, co-produced and
directed by Sylvester Stallone who also stars as underdog boxer Rocky
Balboa. It is the sixth and final film in the Rocky series, which began
with the Oscar-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976. The film portrays Balboa in retirement, a widower living in Kensington, Philadelphia, and the owner and operator of an Italian restaurant in
the city called "Adrian's", named after his late wife.
Rocky Balboa was produced as the final sequel to the Academy Award-winning Rocky. According to Sylvester
Stallone, he was "negligent" in the production of Rocky V and it left him, and many of the fans, disappointed with the
presumed end of the series. Stallone also mentioned that the storyline of Rocky Balboa parallels his own struggles and
triumphs in recent times.[1]
In addition to Stallone, the film stars Burt Young as Paulie, Rocky's brother-in-law, and
Antonio Tarver as Mason Dixon, the
heavyweight division champion in the film. It also features the return of two minor characters from the original movie into
larger roles in this film: Marie, the young woman that Rocky attempts to steer away from trouble; and Spider Rico, the first
opponent that Rocky is shown fighting in the original movie. The film also holds many references to people and objects from
previous installments in the series, especially the first.
The film exceeded box office expectations and critical reaction was positive, with several critics also calling it the “best
since the original.”[2]
Synopsis
Rocky Balboa picks up in present-day Philadelphia, where Rocky, a local celebrity, is living in a row house in
Kensington (a deleted scene reveals that Paulie has been living with him in a downstairs bedroom). His wife Adrian has died (due
to "woman cancer", in 2002), and Rocky has retired to become owner of a small but successful Italian restaurant, Adrian's. He
charms his patrons with stories of his past. Rocky visits his late wife's grave site regularly, and embarks on an annual tour of
Philadelphia landmarks that held importance to him and Adrian, including his old apartment and the pet shop where Adrian worked.
His brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young) joins him on this tour, but does so at great personal
pain because, in his opinion, he did not treat Adrian well during her life. Rocky counters this claim by reminding Paulie that
Adrian loved him as well.
Rocky's son, Robert (Milo Ventimiglia), is the opposite of Rocky - a buttoned-down,
corporate-minded businessman who is trying to carve out his own place in a very different world. Rocky's relationship with Robert
is strained because Robert has always had to live under the shadow of his famous father; he even believes that the only reason he
was hired for his latest job was because of his last name. But it is through the course of the movie that we see the relationship
mend itself through Rocky's admonishment to his son that his life is his own and he must be willing to take the chances necessary
for an opportunity to succeed.
During the tour of Rocky's life with Adrian, Rocky reunites with "Little" Marie, who was last seen in the original film. Marie
works as a bartender, and has a son, Stephenson (nicknamed "Steps"; James Francis Kelly III).
Rocky's friendship with Marie blossoms and gives him the strength and confidence he needs to succeed in what is to come. He also
develops a close relationship with Marie's son, Steps. Steps is a youth growing up with no father figure in his life, as his
father left Marie when he was younger, and hangs out on the streets of Philadelphia late at night. Rocky, seeing a youth who's
heading for a life of trouble, takes the youth under his wing. Rocky offers Steps a chance to work with him on weekends, and even
takes Steps with him to the dog pound, where Rocky gets a dog. Steps first says he would name the new dog "Fleabag", and then
recommends the name "Punchy." Punchy is not the most attractive dog in the world, but Rocky sees a reflection of himself in the
animal: an aging creature who still has one fight left in him. Eventually, Steps becomes one of Rocky's cornermen.
ESPN broadcasts a show titled "Then and Now", hosted by Brian
Kenny. It portrays a computer simulation of a fight between Rocky in his prime and the current heavyweight champion, Mason
Dixon. It is likened to a modern-day version of The Super Fight, a simulation between
Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano that took place in
1970. In the Balboa-Dixon simulation, Balboa is predicted to have won KO13, a fact that riles the champion. Dixon's promoters
L.C. Luco and Lou DiBella try to sell Dixon on the idea of a fight with Balboa as a way to
endear him to the public. It would be a win-win charity fight, where Dixon could not only endear the public as a humanitarian,
but also please fight fans who would be able to see that Dixon would easily defeat the aging icon that is Rocky Balboa.
Rocky is battling his own demons, and he feels that if he got back into boxing on a small level, he might be able to exorcise
those demons. His application for a license is initially denied, however, until he pleads his case before the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Commission. His license is eventually granted. Dixon's promoters approach Rocky at his restaurant to pitch the fight
with Dixon. Ultimately, Rocky accepts the fight, as it is pitched as a charity exhibition match. Rocky returns to his old
trainer, "Duke" Evers (Tony Burton). Duke tells Rocky that, since his body is much too old
and beginning to deteriorate, he cannot train for speed. Instead, Rocky must train to build power ("buildin' some hurtin'
bombs"), and use sheer brute force ("blunt force trauma") as his main weapon against Dixon.
The turning point in the relationship between Rocky and his son occurs one evening when Robert arrives at Adrian's to speak
with his father. Once they step outside Robert makes every effort to discourage him from fighting, claiming that it's hard enough
to live under his father's shadow, this recent publicity will make it even worse. His son even goes so far as to ask whether or
not his father cares about him. Rocky is noticeably saddened. He says he remembers when Robert could fit in the palm of his hand
and as he grew up he knew that his son could do anything. He goes on to say that at some point his son lost his way, and started
blaming other things and people for his own misfortune. Telling him:
| “ |
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and
rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You,
me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving
forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go
out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are
because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!" |
” |
The actual bout is a back-and-forth affair. Dixon dominates for the first round and the first half of the second round, but
midway through the second round, he injures his hand on a mis-timed punch to Rocky's left hip. This allows Rocky to move in and
pummel Dixon for the remainder of the round, even knocking him down. The remainder of the fight up to the end of the tenth round
is shown in cut-scenes, with Rocky out-performing Dixon due to his injured hand for the next three. In the tenth round (or, as
Paulie says to Rocky, "the last round of [his] life!"), it appears Dixon now has a measure of respect for Rocky, stating "You're
one crazy old man" just prior to the start of the round, to which Rocky replies "You'll get there." At first it appears that
Dixon will outlast the tired Balboa, with Dixon out-performing Balboa. A hard hook sends Rocky to a knee, where he has a
flashback to a moment he had with his son only a few weeks prior. He remembers the words and lesson of perseverance that he gave
to Robert along with memories of Adrian, and in this, Rocky finds the strength to continue. He fights back against Dixon for the
remainder of the round; the fighters end up trading punches in the center of the ring, with Balboa landing the last few hits of
the fight.
As a salute to the first film, Rocky loses the fight in a split decision (in the alternate ending, it is Rocky who wins by
split decision). However, he exits the arena as the decision is read - the outcome does not matter to him. It is the mere fact
that he went the distance with a much younger and faster opponent that has helped
Rocky to drive out the demons inside. The movie ends with Rocky speaking at Adrian's graveside; and says to her the famous line
from Rocky II which he said to Adrian when winning the Boxing World Championship from Apollo Creed in their rematch, "Yo, Adrian,
we did it." He leaves a bouquet of roses on her headstone, kisses it, and walks away. As the film (and series) concludes, the
final image sees Rocky, in a distance, waving to Adrian's grave (and, in effect, the audience) before finally fading out himself.
The credits roll next to real-life footage of individuals running up the steps of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, and finally ending with Rocky running up the steps one last time as the credits freeze with a background of
Rocky facing outward from the museum.
Cast
- Sylvester Stallone as Rocky
Balboa, a retired boxer and former heavyweight champion.
- Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Rocky's
brother-in-law and best friend.
- Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky Balboa Jr., Rocky's only son.
- Geraldine Hughes as Marie, a woman whom Rocky originally met over thirty years ago
(as seen in the first installment of the movie series).
- James Francis Kelly III as Stephenson a.k.a. Steps, Marie's son whom Rocky befriends.
- Tony Burton as Tony "Duke" Evers, Rocky's
trainer who has been his head cornerman since Balboa's fight with Ivan Drago in
Rocky IV. Duke previously trained Apollo Creed,
who was Rocky's nemesis in the first two films of the series and his head trainer in the third film.
- Antonio Tarver as Mason "The Line"
Dixon, Rocky's opponent in this film. Dixon is shown as the current heavyweight champion of the world, but a fighter who
is not shown the same respect as Rocky was when he was the world champion.
Filming and production
Budget and timeline
Filming began in December 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It then moved to
Los Angeles, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as 2006 progressed.[3] The production budget on the 38-day shoot was projected to be $24 million. The
film was scheduled for release during the President's Day holiday in
2007, but was moved up to right before Christmas, 2006.[4]
In late March 2006, the first movie teaser was released on the Internet. The full-length trailer accompanied the theatrical
release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
on July 7 in select theaters and was also released on Yahoo! on July
10, where it was one of the most watched trailers on Yahoo.[5]
Casting
Rocky Balboa is notable in the series for its nods to previous installments via the casting of the film. The most
obvious of these is the return of Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, and Tony Burton to the series - the only three actors to
portray the same characters in all six installments of the series. Also notable is the inclusion of Antonio Tarver as Balboa's opponent in the movie. Tarver's appearance in the movie marks the fifth time
an active professional boxer has appeared in an installment of the series. Previously, Joe
Frazier (Rocky), Pedro Lovell (Rocky), Roberto Duran (Rocky II), and Tommy Morrison (Rocky
V) have appeared in the series. Stallone initially wanted Roy Jones, Jr. to portray
Dixon, but after Jones did not return Stallone's phone calls, he tapped Antonio Tarver to
fill the role.[6] Notably, Tarver accidentally knocked out
Stallone during the filming of one of the segments of the fight.[7]
The character of Marie appeared in the original Rocky; however, in the original movie she was portrayed by Jody Letizia. In the final movie, Marie is portrayed by Geraldine
Hughes. (Although Letizia did reprise the role for Rocky V, the sole scene in which she
appeared was deleted. In it, Marie was homeless on the streets of Philadelphia.) Another recognizable character who appeared in
the previous five movies, Stu Nahan, provided the commentary for the computer-generated fight
between Dixon and Balboa. Nahan was part of the ringside commentary team during all the bouts in the first three movies. Finally,
Pedro Lovell, who portrayed Spider Rico in the original movie, returns to the role in Rocky
Balboa.
Additionally, a number of notable sports personalities portray themselves in the film. Jim
Lampley, Larry Merchant, and Max Kellerman
comprise the ringside commentary team for the final bout (all three are commentators for HBO Boxing, although Kellerman's appearances are less frequent than those of Lampley and
Merchant). Bernard Fernandez was given a part in the movie but an appearance by the Philadelphia Daily News sportswriter never came to fruition.[8] As for actual professional boxers, Mike Tyson
(who has retired by the film's release) makes a cameo appearance as himself, taunting Dixon at ringside as the fighter enters the
ring. Lou DiBella, a real-life boxing promoter, portrays himself as Dixon's promoter in the
movie. Several of ESPN's personalities also portray themselves. SportsCenter anchor Brian Kenny is the host of the
fictional Then and Now series, while Cold Pizza and 1st and 10 hosts Jay Crawford, Dana Jacobson, Skip Bayless, and Woody
Paige (credited as Woodrow W. Paige) also appear. The fight announcer was played by real-life announcer Michael Buffer, and real-life referee Joe Cortez played himself as
referee. In addition, Jacobson's voice can be heard asking Dixon questions during the pre-fight press conference. Ironically,
though they all appear in Cold Pizza (Paige has since left the show), there are no real-life airings of neither
Pizza nor 1st and 10 during the evenings, when the scene featuring the shows take place.
DiBella's appearance is also notable because the pre-fight scenes at ringside and ring entrances were shot on the weekend of
the second Bernard Hopkins-Jermain Taylor bout.
The DiBella/Golden Boy Promotions banners and logos can be clearly seen in many of the shots. Also, a continuity error is
produced as a result of the actual bout being filmed at a different time - during the entrances, the ring has a logo featuring
the GoldenPalace.com website. During the actual fight, the ring canvas boasts a
"Rockstar" Energy Drink logo.
Stallone asked Carl Weathers, Mr. T, and
Dolph Lundgren for permission to use footage from their appearances in the earlier Rocky
movies. Mr. T and Dolph Lundgren gave him their graces, however Carl Weathers wanted an actual part in the movie, even though his
character died in Rocky IV stated by Stallone on Jimmy Kimmel Live December
21, 2006. Stallone refused and Weathers decided not to allow Stallone to use his image for Rocky flashbacks from the previous
movies. They instead decided to use new footage of a fighter who looks similar to Weathers.
Items and references from previous films
Several items of note also appear at certain points in the movie. In the opening sequence of the film, before leaving his
house, Rocky feeds two turtles in a tank. These are assumed to be Cuff and Link, two small turtles that Rocky purchased from
Adrian at her pet shop before the first film. They have grown considerably in size.
The Ring Magazine belt that Rocky Balboa was awarded for winning the championship
is displayed in his restaurant, along with the actual WBC, WBA, and IBF Heavyweight Championship
belts, which were not mentioned in previous films. The WBC belt shows a WBC logo of 1990s vintage. Also in the restaurant is the
Leroy Neiman painting of Rocky and Apollo Creed shown
during the end credits of Rocky III. Various still photographs from previous Balboa fights are on the walls of the
restaurant, as well.
There is also a reference to the statue of Rocky being removed from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art -- Paulie's
line about the statue being removed parallels the real life removal of the statue from the steps, its relocation to the Sports
Complex in South Philadelphia, and later reinstallation at the Museum of Art, albeit not at the top of the steps where it
appeared in Rocky III.
Unlike the other four sequels, Rocky Balboa does not begin with a scene from the previous film's climactic fight. In
fact, the only reference to Rocky V comes in a throwaway line between Rocky and his son, when Rocky talks about their
relationship and mentions "home team." This was their code phrase in Rocky V for father-son bonding.
Much like Stallone's inspiration for the first movie (a fight between Chuck Wepner and
Muhammad Ali in which Wepner nearly went the distance with Ali), the inspiration for this
final movie came from the story of George Foreman's final comeback.[9]
A plot element brought about in the fifth movie is never resolved, however -- Rocky is diagnosed to have brain damage and
advised never to fight again. Stallone clarified this apparent inconsistency in an interview, remarking:
"When Rocky was diagnosed with brain damage, it must be noted that many athletes have a form of brain damage including
football players, soccer players, and other individuals in contact sports such as rugby, etc. Rocky never went for a second
opinion and yielded to his wife's wishes to stop. So with the advent of new research techniques into brain damage, Rocky was
found to be normal among fighters, and he was suffering the results of a severe concussion. By today's standards Rocky Balboa
would be given a clean bill of health for fighters."[10]
During Rocky's training sequence, he runs with his dog Punchy up the steps and picks him up when he reaches the top. This may
be a reference to a dropped idea from the first film where Rocky was going to carry his dog while running up the steps. This idea
was dropped when Stallone was physically unable to carry the large dog while running uphill. In Rocky III, Adrian was told
that the boxers in Apollo's gym had nicknamed Rocky "Punchy."
During the scene where Rocky admonishes his son for living under his father's shadow, Rocky is seen wearing a sweater under
his blazer, which reads "Dempsey." This refers to the "You Need a Manager" scene from the original film, in which Mickey's
character reveals that his own knockout was overshadowed by Dempsey's victory because, in Mickey's words, "he had a manager."
"Take You Back", the song that plays in the beginning of the film, first appeared as a song performed by Frank Stallone and a group of men on a street corner in the original Rocky.
The end of the fight is much like the end of the Rocky/Apollo match in the first film, as earlier mentioned. Worth noting here
is the similarity of Rocky's actions in both films: having accomplished his goals just by lasting through the fight, he does not
care to hear the final results of the judge's voting. In Rocky, he searches for and embraces Adrian while the ring
announcer declares the winner. In Rocky Balboa, he makes a quick exit from the ring with his friends and family and is
nearly into the arena tunnel when the announcement is made.
Cinematography and fight choreography
While the dramatic portions of the movie are shot in an obviously cinematic style, the bout between Balboa and Dixon is shot
in a number of different ways. The lead-in to the bout, as well as the first two rounds, are shot in a style similar to a major
pay-per-view broadcast. Clips from fights in previous Rocky movies are used during the introductory teaser to introduce
Balboa, while stock footage from actual Tarver fights, as well as footage from Dixon's previous fight (shown at the beginning of
the film) are used as clips for Dixon's part of the teaser. The fight itself was shot in High Definition to further enhance the
TV-style look of the fight.[11]
After the first two rounds, the bout is shot in a more "cinematic" style, reminiscent of the way the fights in the other
Rocky films were shot. However, unlike the other films in the series, the fight is less choreographed and more improvised
than previous installments and is closer to an actual boxing match than a choreographed fight.[12] This is a departure from the previous films, where every punch, feint, and step
was carefully scripted and practiced.[13]
The film's DVD, during the making of sequences, state that there were slight continuity problems during the filming of the
fight. This was said to have been due to the fact that real punches were thrown by both Stallone and Tarver, resulting in some
swelling and nosebleeds earlier than scripted.
Music
Composed by Academy Award winner Bill Conti, the
Rocky Balboa film score is both an updated composition of Rocky music and a
tribute to the music that has been featured in previous Rocky films. Conti, who has acted as composer on every Rocky film except
Rocky IV, chose to compose the score almost entirely from musical themes used in the previous movies. Only one original
theme was written specifically for Rocky Balboa and that is the theme written to represent the character of Marie.
The roughly 40 minute score was recorded in the summer of 2006 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California. Conti chose to pre-record the string, brass and piano tracks
and then have those tracks mixed with the work of a 44 piece orchestra which he conducted. He also performed all of the piano
work himself which is something he has done with each movie for which he has composed the score. Stallone also was involved in
every part of the process and attended several of the recording sessions.[14]
In addition to the score the film features original tracks performed by Natasha
Bedingfield, Three 6 Mafia and Frank
Stallone as well as classic tracks such as Frank Sinatra's High Hopes and Smokey Robinson's Ooh Baby Baby.[15] Of the original
tracks the most significant is the Diane Warren song “Still Here”, performed by
Bedingfield, which was reported to be the film’s theme in early articles.[16] Though it is still listed in the credits the song now appears to have been dropped from the
film.
Distribution
Rocky Balboa represents a partnership between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Revolution Studios, and Columbia Pictures
(Columbia's corporate parent Sony holds a 20% stake in MGM). Since the Rocky series was originally produced and distributed by United
Artists (now MGM's subsidiary studio), the partners jointly decided that the film could and should take advantage of MGM's
newly reinvigorated domestic distribution apparatus.[17]
20th Century Fox handles its theatrical and DVD distributions outside of the
United States and Canada, while Sony Pictures Home Entertainment handled its American and Canadian video distributions. Warner Bros. handles its theatrical distributions in Philippines and
Switzerland (under the Fox-Warner label).
In Japan, the motion picture has been promoted on Fox as "Rocky The Final". It opened across Japan April 20, 2007.[18]
Critical response
The film was very well received, with most reviews being positive. On Ebert &
Roeper, both Richard Roeper and guest reviewer Aisha Tyler gave the movie an enthusiastic thumbs up.[19] Among other positive reviews were from Variety,[20] David Eldstien of New York Magazine,[21] Ethan Alter of Premier Magazine,[22] Victoria Alexander of Filmsinreview.com,[23] Michelle Alexandria of ECLIPSE Magazine,[24] Palo Alto Weekly,[25] Brett
Buckalew of Filmstew.com,[26] Robert W. Butler of Kansas
City Star[27] , JR Jones of Chicago Reader,[28] Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,[29] Hollywood Reporter,[30] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly,[31] Samrat Sharma of fullhyd.com,[32] and StarBlabber.com, who called the fight sequence "by far the best".[33] Some criticism came from Christy Lemire, who describes the movie as
self-parody.[34]
The film has received a certified "Fresh" rating of 76% on the movie site Rotten
Tomatoes (with a 79% Cream of the Crop Rating from major news outlets),a Must Go! on Fandango, a 7.6 out of 10 on IMDB, and a 4.8 out of 5 star
rating on Netflix.
The movie was greeted warmly by the majority of the boxing community, with many experts believing the Rocky character is still
a key symbol of the sport and that the boxing scenes were the most realistic of any movie. On the DVD, Stallone attributes this
to the fact that he used realistic sound-effects (the previous installments had become notorious for their unrealistic and loud
sounds of punches landing) and the fact that both Stallone and Tarver threw real punches at each other.[35]
Box office
Statistics based on figures obtained from boxofficemojo.com
| Week # |
Start Date |
End Date |
Week Total |
Cumulative Total |
Weekend Rank |
| 1 |
December 20, 2006 |
December 26, 2006 |
$31,197,000 |
$31,197,000 |
# 3 |
| 2 |
December 27, 2006 |
January 2, 2007 |
$21,444,449 |
$52,641,449 |
# 5 |
| 3 |
January 3, 2007 |
January 9, 2007 |
$8,835,985 |
$61,477,434 |
# 9 |
| 4 |
January 10, 2007 |
January 16, 2007 |
$4,309,801 |
$65,787,235 |
# 13 |
| 5 |
January 17, 2007 |
January 23, 2007 |
$2,156,162 |
$67,943,397 |
# 18 |
| 6 |
January 24, 2007 |
January 30, 2007 |
$839,753 |
$68,783,150 |
# 30 |
| 7 |
January 31, 2007 |
February 6, 2007 |
$579,110 |
$69,362,260 |
# 27 |
| 8 |
February 7, 2007 |
February 13, 2007 |
$387,233 |
$69,749,493 |
# 31 |
| 9 |
February 14, 2007 |
February 20, 2007 |
$257,101 |
$70,006,594 |
# 40 |
| 10 |
February 21, 2007 |
February 27, 2007 |
$23,315 |
$70,029,909 |
# 66 |
| 11 |
February 28, 2007 |
March 6, 2007 |
$139,167 |
$70,169,076 |
# 41 |
| 12 |
March 7, 2007 |
March 13, 2007 |
$69,851 |
$70,238,927 |
# 55 |
| 13 |
March 14, 2007 |
March 20, 2007 |
$25,237 |
$70,264,164 |
# 73 |
| 14 |
March 21, 2007 |
March 27, 2007 |
$5,390 |
$70,269,554 |
# 92 |
| 15 * |
March 28, 2007 |
March 29, 2007 |
$345 |
$70,269,899 |
N/A |
* Movie was no longer in theaters as of March 29, 2007
According to Stallone the movie has exceeded studio expectations grossing over three times the opening night estimates of (at
best) $2,000,000 and doing so despite a harsh spell of winter weather.[36] The film not only finished third in its opening weekend, grossing $12,540,000,[37] but eventually became Stallone's most successful starring role since
1993's Cliffhanger[38] and the sixth highest grossing boxing movie of all time, topped only by the first Rocky through IV
and Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar
Baby.[39]
The total US box office gross for Rocky Balboa as of March 29, 2007 stands at $70,269,899 while the international gross stands at $85,093,432 making for a total worldwide gross
of $155,363,331.[40]
Soundtrack
-
Whether the film Rocky Balboa has a soundtrack is subject to some debate. On December
26th, 2006 Capitol Records released a CD titled
“Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky” which had a logo and cover art that
was identical to the film’s theatrical poster.
The CD itself contains short dialogue clips and musical tracks, some of which are remixes, from all the Rocky films. Notable
though is that only 3 of its 19 total tracks are from the Rocky Balboa film, 2 dialogue tracks and the Three 6 Mafia song “It’s a Fight” (The UK version contains the additional
Track "Still Here" by Natasha Bedingfield). This has led some to categorize the CD
as a compilation while others suggest that it is a soundtrack and that the use of past material simply reflects the film's
extensive use of flashbacks.
Relevant to this debate is the complete absence of any compositions by Rocky IV composer
Vince DiCola. DiCola is the only person, other than Bill Conti, to act as composer on a
Rocky film and his work was used extensively on the 1991 compilation CD “The Rocky Story: Songs From The Rocky Movies”. The
missing DiCola tracks are the only tracks on the 1991 CD that are not present on the new CD which indicates an effort to use only
Rocky Balboa composer Conti's tracks.[41][42][43]
Home release
Rocky Balboa is available in three formats: DVD, Blu-Ray Disc and
UMD. Features on the DVD include:
- Deleted Scenes including an alternate ending
- Boxing Bloopers
- Skill vs. Will: The Making of Rocky Balboa
- Reality in the Ring: Filming Rocky’s Final Fight
- Audio Commentary with Sylvester Stallone
- Virtual Champion: Creating the Computer Fight
In addition, the Blu-Ray version features all of the DVD's content in 1080p High Definition
Video[44].
It was released in Region 1 on March 20 and Region 2 on May
21 2007.
Video game
On December 13, 2006, it was officially announced by
Ubisoft and MGM that a new Rocky video game, titled Rocky Balboa, was to be made
exclusively for the PlayStation Portable handheld console. It was released on
March 20, 2007, to coincide with the DVD release.[45]
Trivia
- Extras in Philadelphia were used for the end credits, where fans run up the Rocky Steps and do their Rocky imitations.
- The Philadelphia Phillies' mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, is listed in the end credits.
- The DVD release features an alternate ending where Rocky wins the fight. The ending seen in the film was written so the fans
would not expect another Rocky film. If Rocky had won the fight that would show he was still in his prime and would be able to
hit the boxing circuit again.
- The only film in the Rocky series that actually plays "Gonna Fly Now" under the closing credits.
- According to Stallone, the final shot of Rocky standing alone on the museum steps before the second set of end credits was
actually filmed without him even knowing. Thus, the audience is metaphorically seeing Stallone standing alone rather than
Rocky.
- Milo Ventimiglia originally wanted to turn down the role, but his agent convinced him the movie would do well.
- Additionally, Stallone's real life son Sage Stallone, who played Rocky Jr. in Rocky
V, turned down the role due to commitments with his film release company.
- Mr. T was originally supposed to reprise his role as James "Clubber" Lang in the movie
as a commentator, but due to scheduling issues, Mike Tyson stepped in and took his place.
- Early drafts of the story had Adrian still alive with Rocky running a youth center in Philadelphia, and Rocky starts fighting
again to raise money for the center. Stallone dropped this idea because he said it was "a lot of plot, and not a lot of
character."
- Deleted scenes of the film reveal that Paulie was originally supposed to have a girlfriend and to be roommates with
Rocky.
- By the film's release, Stallone had recently celebrated his sixtieth birthday, which he coincidentally shares with President
George W. Bush. Stallone is also Bush's favorite actor.
- The numerous veins seen on the right side of Stallone's chest during the film are a result of an accident in a bench pressing
competition with Franco Columbu.
- With the partial exception of Tommy Morrison, this is the first time Rocky/Stallone got to fight against a real life fighter
(Tarver) in the ring.
References
External links
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