Rocky

Rocky
Directed byJohn G. Avildsen
Written bySylvester Stallone
Produced byRobert Chartoff
Irwin Winkler
StarringSylvester Stallone
Burgess Meredith
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Carl Weathers
CinematographyJames Crabe
Edited byRichard Halsey
Scott Conrad
Music byBill Conti
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • November 21, 1976 (1976-11-21) (New York City premiere)
  • December 3, 1976 (1976-12-03) (US)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million
Box office$225,000,000[1]

Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama movie. It was written by, and starred, Sylvester Stallone. The movie is about a man living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who is trying to become a great boxer.

It won three Academy Awards and was ranked #78 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list. It was followed by 5 sequels, the most recent came out in 2006.

The movie was made on a budget of less than $1 million.[2][3] It was shot in 28 days. Many people liked the movie. It turned Stallone into a major star.[4]

Cast

  • Sylvester Stallone as Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr., an enforcer for a loan shark by day and a semi-pro boxer by night. He is given the chance at the heavyweight title.
  • Talia Shire as Adrian Pennino, Rocky's love interest; a quiet pet store clerk who falls in love with Rocky and supports him through his training.
  • Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Adrian's brother; a meat-packing plant worker by trade, Paulie lets Rocky train in the freezer.
  • Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed, Rocky's opponent and heavyweight champion. The character was based on real-life boxing great Muhammad Ali.[5]
  • Burgess Meredith as Mickey Goldmill: Rocky's manager and trainer, a former bantamweight fighter from the 1920s and the owner of the local boxing gym.
  • Thayer David as George Jergens: the fight promoter who has "promoted fights all over the world".
  • Joe Spinnell as Tony Gazzo, loan shark and Rocky's employer.

Boxer Joe Frazier has a cameo appearance in the movie. Due to the movie's low budget, members of Stallone's family played minor roles. Michael Dorn made his acting debut as Creed's bodyguard.[6]

Awards

Rocky received ten Academy Awards nominations in nine categories, winning three:[7]

Award Result Nominee
Best Picture Won Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler
Best Director Won John G. Avildsen
Best Actor Nominated Sylvester Stallone
Best Actress Nominated Talia Shire
Best Original Screenplay Nominated Sylvester Stallone
Best Supporting Actor Nominated Burgess Meredith
Best Supporting Actor Nominated Burt Young
Best Film Editing Won Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad
Best Music (Original Song) for Gonna Fly Now Nominated Bill Conti
Carol Connors
Ayn Robbins
Best Sound Mixing Nominated Harry Warren Tetrick (posthumous)
William McCaughey
Lyle J. Burbridge
Bud Alper

The Directors Guild of America awarded Rocky its annual award for best movie of the year. It was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. The Writers Guild of America Award selected it as the 78th best screenplay of all time.[8]

Sequels

References

  1. ↑ "Movie Rocky – Box Office Data, News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  2. ↑ "'Rocky'". The New York Times. November 1, 1976. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  3. ↑ Nashawaty, Chris (February 19, 2002). "The Right Hook". EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Inside the Actors Studio with Sylvester Stallone". Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
  5. ↑ "Cast and Crew bios for Rocky". Archived from the original on 13 November 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
  6. ↑ "Star Trek Database - Dorn, Michael". Star Trek Database. CBS Entertainment. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2014-10-01. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  8. ↑ "The 101 Freatest Screenplays". Writers Guild of America, West. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2006-08-24.

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