[.ca] Rocky Anthology

From Amazon.com:
Americans love the underdog. Anytime someone is beating the odds, fighting his or her way to the top, like the Little Engine That Could, it resonates well with U.S. audiences; it's in their nature. Sylvester Stallone knew that in 1976, when Rocky was a monstrous hit and established itself in the American cultural lexicon. His low-budget tale of a young boxer who came from the slums of Philadelphia and worked his way to the championship recalls Capra characters such as Mr. Smith or John Doe as he worked his way to fame and self-respect. Like Capra's films from 30 years before, Rocky pushed emotional buttons with audiences, but in a somewhat less maudlin, obvious way; it's possible to enjoy Rocky without feeling embarrassed about it, even in the cynical, postironic '90s. It ranks respectably among the best boxing pictures, such as The Set-Up or Somebody Up There Likes Me. The story paralleled Stallone's own, from a relative unknown to a star with one breakthrough picture. Rocky II (1979) carries on the story line, playing on the rivalry between Rocky Balboa and nemesis Apollo Creed, while Balboa's wife fights for her life. Mainly, though, the sequel seems like a link between the first film and Rocky III, in which an aging Rocky takes on big, bad Clubber Lang (the near-forgotten Mr. T). While playing on the same emotional capital as the first movie, Rocky III is the high-water mark of the sequels; by the next movie, Stallone had turned into a near-self-parody of the original character. Rocky IV finds the underdog taking on an oversized, blond Russian boxer (Dolph Lundgren) in a cold war scenario (Rocky literally wraps himself in the American flag). The series mercifully played out by 1990, as embarrassingly punch-drunk as the Rocky character himself by that point. Given the way the American pop-culture continuum seems to work, it's probably due time for the later sequels to be plucked from the compost heap of '80s flotsam and revived as high camp; the Reagan-era hyperpatriotism of Rocky IV is as dated as in junk like Red Dawn or the dreadful Invasion U.S.A. Still, the first three films pack a satisfying emotional wallop without giving the viewer the urge to crawl under the couch. The last two... well, use your judgment. They will soon be good for an '80s nostalgia party. --Jerry Renshaw

Great Movies, OK DVDs:
Let me start by saying that Rocky is my favorite movie series of all time. I won't give a short description of each movie since many reviewers have already done so. My ratings of each movie: ROCKY 1: 5/5; This is definitely the best movie in the series. ROCKY 2: 4.5/5; Just about as good as the first one. ROCKY 3: 4/5; This movie was OK. A little too 80's, but still a good movie. ROCKY 4: 4.5/5; Not as good as the first one, but better than number 3. The only thing I didn't like about this movie is that it's a little short. 1 & 2 are 2 hours long, while this one is about 90 minutes, so it's over too soon. ROCKY 5: 3/5; Not a bad movie, but my least favorite of the series. I kind of felt that this sequel was a bit unnecessary. It doesn't really help the series in any way, but I don't think it hurts it either. Now that I've given my opinion of the movies, let me give my opinion of the DVD's: ROCKY 1: Great picture quality, and great bonus features. I love watching the interview with stallone about the movie and it's nice watching Stallone and Carl Weathers practicing the fighting sequence. I also enjoy the audio commentary. ROCKY 2: OK picture. It doesn't seem like they tried at all to clean up this movie. Also, there are just a few scenes where the audio sounds strange (when Rocky proposes) and the sound is fine on the VHS. Also, NO SPECIAL FEATURES! There have to have been scenes that were cut out, interviews, photos, SOMETHING! ROCKY 3: Great picture and sound quality. But just like number 2, NO SPECIAL FEATURES! ROCKY 4: Good sound, again it doesn't seem like they even attempted to clean up the picture and, again, NO SPECIAL FEATURES! ROCKY 5: Great picture, great sound. Only one complaint. Can you guess what it is? NO SPECIAL FEATURES! All in all, I love this series and I am so glad that it is on DVD; I just think they could have put more effort into releasing it. I mean, this is an MGM series. I always thought that Paramount and Warner Brothers were the only companies that put hardly any effort into their DVDs.

WOW!:
I-5 stars-an underdog story II-5 stars-the rematch III-5 stars-he gets soft then he gets mad IV-5 stars-do you believe in miracles?stupid soviets V-3 stars-it wasnt that good it teaches you to beileve and never give up-its about heart once i saw them i got some boxing gloves and started beating up my best friends. and i dont get what u yankees and people dont like about #IV, its better than #V and just as good as the other ones. dont like my review? say it to my face!

Awsome Series:
I luv all 5 Rocky movies. It was by far one of the best series I have ever seen; along with all Star Track, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings!!! I just finished watching them all this 4th of July weekend when and most of them I watched twice!!! It was an all day Rocky Fest on AMC. I watched them with my girls and they loved it just as much as I did. The movies had a moral to every storyline althrough sometimes repeating itself...It was still good. It was just like I saw it for the first time. I luved it!!

His Entire Life Was A Million To One Shot:
American classics only come along once in awhile. Films like Star Wars, The Godfather, and The Terminator are among many. Sometimes you say to yourself, "If that movie never existed, it would have a real effect on culture today." And you're quite right. Star Wars brought us immortal lines like "Luke, I AM your father." and "May the force be with you." The Godfather brought the American fascination with the mafia to life. Just think, No Godfather, No Sopranos. And The Terminator established Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron's careers as well as the "technology gone wrong" and "I'm from the future" genres. Yes, films like these have believe it or not had an effect on everyone. And who can forget the world's sporting people. Everyone who participates in sports has to train hard and balance their personal lives with their professional lives. When I played basketball in high school, I had to. And we all need something to motivate us. To drive us. And being a film fanatic, I got my inspiration from a movie. That movie Was Rocky. Sylvester Stallone's masterwork series that showed us the stages of a man's life through his sport of boxing. From his one shot that put him on the map (Part 1), to his rematch that won him a world title (Part 2), to a rise and settlement, loss, and redemption (Part 3), to a burning vengeance (Part 4), to a retirement, betrayal, and final fight(Part 5). This series shows us that you can be the poorest, dumbest guy in the country, and become a legend just by taking your one chance. Now these movies are on DVD in a beautifully crafted boxed set. Now you can enjoy one man's journey from zero to hero anytime with a great DVD transfer and good special features on the first disc only (didn't understand that one.). This movie can change your life. Now, I recommend the first Rocky over them all because it's very realistic and humanistic. I recommend Rocky 2 as a good sequel with a shocking conclusion. Rocky 3 was the best sequel not only because of the performances of Hulk Hogan and the talented Mr. T, but because it shows how fame can cloud your mind and how putting bitter rivalries and materials behind to regain your drive can help you overcome. Rocky 4 was my least favorite not only for a far fetched storyline and that damned robot, but because it lost it's humanism to go for the revenge plot.Plus it was Stallone's blatant "let's end the Cold War" peace offering. It was saved by good performances, a great fight sequence, a cool villianous contender, and good 80's music. It also screws up the timeline of the story a bit. Rocky 5 regained the humanism and returned Rocky and Adrian back to their roots and it was good because it was different. Rocky had one fight, and it was one hell a fight- on the street. Plus it showed how quick trusting someone else in the fighting game can destroy you. These movies are all good but if you have to see any of them I rank them 1,3,2,5,4.

GAG ME!:
I can't beleive that this series has gotten 4 1/2 stars! Rocky was tired and old when it first came out. All the sequels just proved that Stallone can only play 1 dimensional characters. Puhleese! These movies need to be shelved for good. Bottom line: Dont waste your money!