Released: November 21, 1976 (New York)
Director: John G. Avildsen
*****
I'll admit, I put off watching this 1976 Best Picture winner for a long, long time. Frankly, boxing pictures hold little allure for me and Sly Stallone isn't exactly at the top of any acting list.
But a strange thing happened during Rocky: I grew to admire everything about the production. The much-heralded boxing aspects of the film never clouded the storyline and when Rocky makes his triumphant run up steps with the theme playing, we feel it.
Rocky is touted as an underdog story and it certainly is, but that storyline isn't front and center as it maybe should be. Sure, we see Rocky wooing Adrian (Talia Shire) and eventually working his way into a fight with World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed. It's the finale, a cacophony of noise, that let's us all down. After a brutal 15 round bout, we want Rocky to win the fight. All we really know is that it was a split decision. If Rocky is to be a true hero for the audience, we need to know if he won the fight or not. It's not enough for him to get the girl and $150k purse. It's not enough to gain the respect of his hoodlum "employer" or the arrogant Creed. After 2+ hours of build up, we require the terms of the contract to be fulfilled. Did Rocky win?
The treatment of the lone major female in the film (Shire) is disconcerting at best. At various times, both Rocky and her brother Paulie (Burt Young) treat her as nothing more than a slave to them. They both come around at the end, but endless scenes of her being put down, relgated to a cook and nurse are just painful to watch today.
The Academy went a bit overboard with the Oscars for the film. Best Picture over Network, All the President's Men and Taxi Driver? Doubtful, though Rocky taps into a time in American history when people needed a hero, someone like them, to show they could pull themselves up. Rocky was that person. And in that context, there's not much more to expect out of a film.