Now Viewing: rockyTag type: Copyright Tag refers to any image referencing the iconic underdog sports film series. It is a series of sports drama films created by Sylvester_Stallone who wrote and directed most of the films, except for the first and fifth film, which were directed by John G. Avildsen, and the seventh film, Creed, which was directed by Ryan Coogler. Creed is also the first Rocky film to not be written by Stallone. Sylvester Stallone stars as Rocky Balboa as well as the first film where Stallone is not the lead, instead starring Michael B. Jordan as new hero Adonis Johnson. They tell the story of an impoverished young Italian American and Philadelphia native Rocky Balboa who makes his living as an enforcer for a loan shark in spite of his gentle nature. He also has feelings for a shy bespectacled young woman named Adrian who works at the local pet store. While he has experience in fighting and boxing, he seems to have little chance of ever rising out of his poverty nor does he believe that he will ever become great. Rocky suddenly gets an unexpected opportunity when superstar boxer Apollo Creed decides to have a match with a local underdog after his original opponent drops out. Apollo selects Rocky to be his opponent purely because he likes Rocky's nickname Italian Stallion. Aging gym owner Mickey, who believes Rocky is wasting his potential as a mob enforcer, decides to train Rocky for the upcoming fight. The series follows Rocky's rise to stardom in spite of the odds stacked against him through his determination as well as the support of the friends he gains. The series notably has strong parallels with Stallone's life and career. The first film became a surprise hit and launched Stallone's film career when he was previously a struggling impoverished actor. The 2006 movie Rocky Balboa focuses on an aged Rocky having one last fight to help cleanse his inner demons, a decision faced with skepticism due to his age, but he ultimately surpasses all expectations. This film revived Stallone's film career after a series of failures. The seventh movie Creed is effectively a passing of the torch from Stallone to Jordan/Coogler like the film's story, involving Rocky training Adonis. Real life boxers have also been involved with the films and many of the characters are based off of real life boxers. In the West, the series is often considered to be the definitive inspirational underdog story and many other fictional and real life underdog stories as well as miraculous comebacks are compared to Rocky. Director Avildsen would go on to make many other inspirational films after the first Rocky's success with his most well known work besides Rocky being The Karate Kid franchise. The films were very well received in Philadelphia and the characters Rocky and Adrian are treated and revered almost like real life people. The steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which Rocky ran up while training, is also a popular tourist spot and fans often replicate Rocky's running up the steps from the original film. This has happened so often that it inspired a 1996 book called Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope, and Happiness at America's Most Famous Steps. The ending credits of Rocky Balboa is made up of footage of real life fans running on the steps. A statue of Rocky, originally built for Rocky III, still stands in the city. Adrian Balboa also gets her own grave even though her actress Talia Shire is still alive. The series' soundtrack, both instrumental and vocal songs, is also iconic and often homaged especially the theme song for the series Gonna Fly Now, composed by Bill Conti. The franchise is also famous for its training montages, with each film having at least one, which usually depict Rocky undergoing rigorous training while preparing for the film's main fight with inspirational music playing throughout. Said montages are often homaged and parodied by other works. Other Wiki Information Last updated: 07/02/16 11:37 PM by jojosstand This entry is not locked and you can edit it as you see fit. |
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