Rocky IV is the fourth and most successful movie, in terms of box office gross, of the Rocky franchise.[1] Rocky Balboa (played again by Sylvester Stallone),
has said he plans to retire from boxing after recovering his title from Clubber Lang in
Rocky III. A new sensation from the Soviet Union,
Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren), however,
begins to emerge as a top contender.
Plot
The year is 1985 and following another friendly sparring match with Apollo Creed, Rocky returns to his home in Philadelphia to celebrate Paulie's birthday. Its also Rocky and Adrian's (almost) 9 year
anniversary. Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a highly
intimidating 261 pound Soviet boxer, arrives in America with his wife Ludmilla, his
manager, Nicolai Koloff, and a team of trainers headed by Igor Rimsky to challenge the best American fighters. Apollo Creed, motivated by patriotism and a
desire to prove himself after retirement, quickly jumps at the chance to step back into the ring in an exhibition bout against
Drago. Despite apprehension from Rocky, who eventually agrees to help train him, Apollo sets the match between himself and Drago
in Las Vegas. With Rocky in his corner, Apollo flamboyantly makes his way to the ring
with a bigger show than when he first fought Rocky, which includes fireworks, James Brown performing "Living in
America," and a patriotic theme, including a crowd implacably hostile to the visiting Soviet boxer. The match, which
apparently was supposed to be for fun, ends in tragedy in the second round as Apollo, who took an unmerciful beating from Drago
and refused to allow Rocky to throw in the towel, is killed in the ring by one final hard shot from Drago.
Rocky Balboa faces up to Ivan Drago in
Rocky IV
After Apollo's funeral, feeling wracked with grief over not stopping the fight, and incensed by Drago's cold indifference to
killing Apollo, ("If he dies, he dies.") Rocky decides he must avenge Apollo's death and sets a match with the Russian. The match
is set for Christmas Day, in Moscow, but neither Rocky's title
is on the line nor is there any purse because the boxing commission refuses to sanction the fight. Furthermore, Rocky must give
up his title because Drago is technically still an amateur boxer. Adrian initially cannot understand why Rocky would fight,
fearing for his life. Rocky flies to a remote and rustic part of the Soviet Union to train; to help with his training he brings
Apollo's former trainer Tony "Duke" Evers and his brother-in-law Paulie. Training runs for several months, with Rocky using more
humble methods like chopping wood, running up snowy embankments, and lifting huge rocks; Drago is using the most modern equipment
coupled with regular injections of what are implied to be anabolic steroids. During one
of his runs, Rocky returns to find Adrian waiting for him. With Adrian finally showing her support and providing more reason to
succeed, Rocky begins to train even harder.
Image:Dragopunched.PNG
Rocky Balboa delivers the "turning point" of the match.
After intense preparation for both fighters, the two men finally meet in the ring. The match set in Moscow, before the
Politburo, and is
broadcast throughout the globe. Much like the Americans did in the previous fight, the Soviets introduce Drago with an elaborate,
patriotic ceremony that puts the attending audience squarely on the side of Drago, leaving Rocky to be fiercely booed, much like
the American crowd cheered Creed and booed Drago in Las Vegas. After the ring introductions, an impassive Drago tells Rocky, "I
must break you." After a pummeling first round, with the Russian easily winning, Rocky comes back toward the end of the second
and cuts Drago just below his eye. With Drago's confidence shaken by the injury and Rocky's apparently limitless endurance and
resilience, this is a turning point as Rocky and his trainers see that Drago is not superhuman as he appears, conversely while
Drago describes Rocky as non-human and a "piece of iron."
The fight degenerates into a brutal battle of stamina and will across all fifteen rounds. Towards the end, the Soviet crowd
has been won over by Rocky's determination and endurance, and have begun chanting his name. Koloff, angered by the crowd's change
in mood and fearful of retribution from the Soviet premier, gets up from the premier's box and goes to Drago's corner to berate
his performance. Drago clutches Koloff by the throat, lifts him off the ground, and tosses him aside, saying "I fight to
win...for me...FOR ME....!" (the last part directed at the premier) In the fifteenth and final round, both fighters batter at
each other, but Drago's endurance finally runs out, while Rocky finds his last burst of strength and lands one final signature
left hook that finally knocks out the Russian.
Following his victory, Rocky gives an impassioned speech to the crowd, acknowledging their initial and mutual disdain for each
other, and how they've come to respect and admire each other during the fight. Saying that the brutal battle between him and
Drago in the ring was better than war between their two countries, he brings the crowd, including the Politburo, to its feet in
applause, by claiming that "if I can change... and you can change... everyone can change!"
Production
Wyoming doubled for the frozen expanse of the Soviet Union. The small farm where Rocky lived
and trained was located in Jackson Hole, and the Grand Teton National Park was used for filming many of the outdoor sequences in Russia. The
PNE Forum at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, served as the location of Rocky's
Soviet bout. Ironically, the site would later house production of another U.S.-Soviet sports film, Miracle.
Sylvester Stallone has stated that the punching between him and Dolph Lundgren in the first portion of the fight is completely
authentic. One particularly forceful punch to Stallone's chest slammed his heart against his breastbone, causing the heart to
swell and his breathing to become labored. Stallone, suffering from labored breathing and a blood pressure over 200, was flown
from the set in Canada to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica and was kept in intensive care for eight days.[2]
Additionally, Stallone claims that Lundgren nearly forced Carl Weathers to quit in the middle of filming the Apollo versus
Drago exhibition fight. Lungdren tossed Weathers into the corner of the boxing ring, prompting Weathers to leave the ring and
announce that he was quitting and calling his agent.[3]
Music
The soundtrack for the movie included "Living in America" by James Brown;
the film's music was composed by Vince DiCola, and also included songs by John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band, Survivor,
Kenny Loggins, and Robert Tepper. Rocky IV
is the only film in the series not to feature Bill Conti. Go
West wrote "One Way Street" for the movie by request of Sylvester
Stallone.
U.S. Box Office
When compared to the other Rocky installments, Rocky IV is the most successful in terms of non-adjusted box
office gross.[4]
These figures only reflect movie theater ticket sales in the United States. The most profitable of the films by far was the
original Rocky, which only spent a production budget of US$1.1 million.
Worldwide reception
Rocky IV made US$175 million outside of the U.S. grossing an overall US$300 million worldwide, the most out of any
Rocky film. Additionally, Rocky IV is the most successful sports film of all time in terms of Box Office Adjusted
for Inflation.
Trivia
- Artist LeRoy Neiman makes his second appearance in the Rocky series as a ring
announcer for the Apollo Creed/Ivan Drago exhibition fight.
- Sportscaster Stu Nahan makes his fourth appearance in the series as commentator for the
Apollo/Drago fight. Warner Wolf replaces Bill Baldwin
(who had died in 1982) as co-commentator.
- Apollo Creed's wife (Sylvia Meals) make her second of two appearances in the series, the first being in Rocky II.
- It is the only movie of the series not to begin with the moving "Rocky" logo and not to feature a new score by
Bill Conti.
- Stallone's then-wife, Brigitte Nielsen, appeared as Drago's wife, Ludmilla.
- Two Scandinavian actors (Danish Brigitte
Nielsen and Swedish Dolph Lundgren) play Russian characters in the film.
- In the 1987 film Spaceballs, the lengthy
nature of the Rocky franchise was jokingly referenced (specifically that they had made four films already) when a TV newscaster
said, "Next up, Pongo's review of Rocky Five... Thousand!"
- The addition of a lengthy flashback to Rocky's previous films
during the famous "car drive" sequence marks the only time in the franchise that the movie has two montages as opposed to just the lengthy training sequences.
- The original ending was supposed to have Rocky being killed during his fight with Drago.
- This is the only Rocky film that does not feature "Gonna Fly Now" as the training montage music.
References
External links
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