 "This movie has heart." | 2008-09-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3UHOON35DEPSE |
| This movie has heart: it has the look and feel of inner-city or working class Philadelphia. The characters are rich in texture. As I watched the movie, I felt for all of them. They are the kind of people that I grew up with: uneducated, loud-mouthed, prone to emotional outbursts-but each has a secret tragedy underneath their blaring exterior. The acting is, in that regard, brilliant; from the lead players (Rocky and Adrian) to the supporting characters like Paulie, Mickey, even the antagonist Apollo Creed. The writing is not overdone; not too obvious. Compared to this poignant melodrama the other Rocky movies seem contrived and the characters in those other movies are more one-dimensional. br /br /This movie also has a certain "tone"; not the blockbuster "Rocky saves the day" tone of the other Rocky movies. In this original Rocky, he is a man against himself. The tone is low-key, slower, and it is more about interesting characters than "Rocky vs. the Evil Clubber Lang" or "Rocky vs. the Evil Russian". In the original Rocky, he is not a superstar, but rather a talented amateur with the heart to go the distance of someone truly out of his league.br /br /There is also powerful message here; concerning the love Rocky and his girlfriend Adrian have for each other.br / |
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 "Great film, bad cover" | 2008-09-09 |
| - Reviewed By michelle17 |
| It's happening again. I'm watching movies in completely the wrong order. I watched Back To The Future in the wrong order (three, two and then one!), and now I'm watching the Rocky movies in the wrong order. The first one I saw was Rocky Balboa, and then the one with Dolph Lundgren. And now I've seen the first one.br /br /In my current workplace, we have these talking keychains, tacky stuff that insist on charging a fortune for, and they feature lines from popular films. We've had Dirty Dancing, Scarface, Star Wars, Rocky and a couple of others. Customers press the buttons (constantly), but the one I seem to constantly hear is "Yo Adrian! It's me, Rocky!" So I smiled whenever I heard one of the six lines that features on the keychain. br /br /The story's pretty simplistic, but effective, so I won't repeat what millions of other reviewers have said before me. What was astonishing is that it was written by Mr Stallone himself. That I was surprised at. Congratulations to him, he's made a good franchise out of it (except for part five apparently - I originally thought Rocky Balboa was part five!)br /br /I really didn't like the cover to this blu ray edition. Yes, we know that Rocky is a movie about boxing, but do we really need to see a bruised and bloodied Stallone on the cover? I said that as soon as I saw the cover, I just don't like it.br /br /Apart from all the boxing scenes, there's a genuine love story going on too. I went all gooey when I saw the scenes between Stallone and Talia Shire, who played the afore mentioned Adrian. The scenes where Rocky is trying to get the shy girl to talk to him and trying to impress her, was excellent, and made me really go all soft and gooey inside. And the gradual change in Adrian's character was brilliant too. But she literally does not talk much throughout the movie.br /br /Stallone was really good in this. His body is not as pumped up as it is in later movies (obviously before he really got into the whole body building scene), and it looks a lot more natural. More preferable in my opinion. He's still hubba hubba. And the sad puppydog eyes are still there. I always feel shockingly maternal when I watch Stallone movies - I just want to protect him.br /br /The blu ray looks fantastic, it's still grainy which gives the film a certain edge, and obviously there's so much that can be done in high definition to a film that's meant to look grainy. Who wants clean and shiny movies all the time? The boxing scenes (choreographed by Stallone himself) are frighteningly realistic, bloody and will make the viewer wince at every hit. The fight scene was filmed in reverse order apparently, starting with the fifteenth round, and lots of makeup, and gradually moving the makeup with each scene until it was back to round one. Rocky actually won an Oscar for film editing because of this.br /br /The Rocky movies are always brilliant to watch, and I do really like watching them. Maybe it's something about Sylvester, because the whole boxing thing really does scare me. Yes, lets beat each other to a bloody pulp for money. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. No thanks. But I'll still watch the movies. |
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| "Rocky" | 2008-08-23 |
| - Reviewed By armyscifiguy |
| Good picture. How can you make Rocky bad? Probably should have waited for the box set, but good movie. |
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| "ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME" | 2008-05-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A14Z3N2QDCEFNV |
| Rocky has got to be my favorite movie of all time. A true inspirational story and a very well written screen play by Sylvester Stallone. Totally recommended. |
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| "Film-making at its Best" | 2008-02-19 |
| - Reviewed By couz7204 |
A first-time screenplay by Sylvester Stallone directed and realized by John Advilson and behind the images a great score by Bill Conti.The results were a realistic,original and certainly a trully great American film that succeeds on every level,eventually winning the Oscar for best film,director and editing for 1976 Academy Awards.A boxing movie is too restrictive of a description of this excellent film....its a great drama with realistic performances by one of motion pictures the most incredible casts ever assembled.Its a story about love,friendship and of the triumph of the human spirit against all odds.There is not one wasted moment in this film,ever.
You should own it already.If not,go and buy it.One of the best films of all time.Believe it. |
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 "Blu Letdown - What was the studio Thinking" | 2008-02-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2O8X56BA6Q2TQ |
How could they NOT include extras or an extra disc in a $30 Blu Ray release?
There's a 30 minute interview with Stallone on the DVD version that is one of the best extras I've ever seen included in a film. Why they would leave that out is beyond me.
Listen up, studio execs - give the customer what he expects, especially for an item priced at a premium. |
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 "Rocky Video" | 2008-01-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A298N9R7JD87QK |
| Excellent product, very pleased. Overnight shipping was a bit shakey. The item was delivered to the wrong house. It seems that some of the drivers do not pay attention to detail, such as Road and Drive. If I wasn't watching the online shipping status I would still be waiting for the item to arrive. |
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| "Fantastic and timeless" | 2008-01-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1NWS306MQYXM5 |
perpetually-rewatchable with such a fantastic message: the underdog with a heart of gold, who sees the good in everything (even in a frigid, garbage-strewn Philadelphia), finally going the distance, but being content with just having lasted through the battle with the ultimate opponent. Man, I love this film. Everything about it, from the filthiness of Rocky's Philadelphia, to the creepy characters Rocky interacts with (all strangely devoid of strong profanity -- anyone notice that?) to the touching romance between Rocky and Adrianne.
A great and timeless story, and very inspiring. |
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| "Alpha Of Inspirationals" | 2008-01-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A29XAPII3AIQPG |
Most people I talk to today do not realize that Sly wrote this story (among others). I am in no wise forgiving Sly for his crucial mishaps in later sequels, but some credit must be given here. This film won Oscars and other film awards on a budget of less than a million dollars and with (considered) b-rate actors. A lot of credit, then, must be given to the actual material. Thank you, Sly.
The film starts out well with interesting and suggestive cinematography, with excellent direction in the first fight sequence. You must pay attention to the first five or six sequences, they are masterful in character development and really set the tone for the rest of the movie. This movie does not get past eight stars, however, as it will take more genius than a few memorable moments and good character development to make up for the irreducibly simplistic and underdeveloped plot. A good one, sure, but far too common, even by 1976 standards.
This movie was blessed with the presence of great character actors, for without them, I do not think this movie would have succeeded. Kudos to casting. Burt Young, Talia Shire, and Carl Weathers are in top form and prove irreplaceable. Even the extras are good.
Just a very gritty and occasionally poetic film that has stood the test of time. It will live on.
Recommended. |
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| "Rocky not Rocky" | 2007-07-14 |
| - Reviewed By tjkaza |
| Surprisingly good picture for a movie that looks poorly on analog or digital TV. I guess they have an old print. |
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