Rocky – The Undisputed Collection (MGM Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B/B/B/B+/B/A- Sound: B/B/B/B+/B+/A- Extras: B+ Films:
Rocky (1976)
Film: A-
People
tend to dismiss Rocky too quickly as
they think more of it as an overplayed 6-film series; rather than remembering
the great film that it was in 1976. Rocky is an epic underdog story that
overflows with depth, gritty comedy, heart and an overall greatness that not
many films demonstrate. Rocky was Sylvester Stallone’s big
break; as no one expected a little known actor to write and star in one of the
best films of all time. Rocky is a classic film through and
through; beginning to end; no doubt.
The film
was directed by John G. Avildsen who did an excellent job of restoring the
peoples’ faith in film; creating a vision that showed that even in the worst
circumstances there can be victory in the end.
The end of the film being so heavily emotional that you would have to be
made of stone not to get chills.
Rocky rolls with the punches (pun
intended) with the story gradually develops as a beaten down nobody from the
streets of Philadelphia
rises to the ranks of a star. The film
goes beyond the simple archetype of the underdog vs. the alpha male or even a
“feel good” sports film; Rocky is
the exploration of a man and what he wants from life. Rocky wants love, Rocky wants victory and
simply put Rocky wants it all. It is
almost as if the beginning of the film is the birth of the man; everything
before the events of the film Rocky floated through life lost, but with the
start of the film (a fight) Rocky hits a turning point that emphasizes that he
will not die another ‘bum’ from Philadelphia.
As the
story goes, Rocky earns a once in a lifetime chance to fight for Heavy Weight
Championship against defending champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). While Rocky trains his body for the fight of
his life he also attempts to strengthen his life by slowly nurturing a
relationship with a young pet shop clerk named Adrian (Talia Shire).
As we
watch the mental and physical anguish Rocky fights through on his path to the
Championship Match a tension builds unlike any other. Rocky puts all his eggs in one basic as he
internally breaks down as his life and emotions are held together by a
thread. The film has a cast of characters
that include Rocky’s old time friend Paulie (Burt Young) who has an alcohol
problem and the crabby 79 year old Mickey (Burgess Meredith) who runs the gym
Rocky has trained at for years. Never
particularly nice to Rocky, Mickey starts to train the young boxer as he
prepares for the Championship match.
Rocky was a film that just happened at
the right time with all the best elements coming together in the form of cast,
script and director. With this single
film a dramatic genre was taken to the next level that in the end would change
the film world forever.
Rocky II (1979)
Film: B
Unlike
the following sequels, Rocky II
managed to hold on the dark, gritty nature of the original; while maintaining
the heart the film brought the ring. At
the same time the film is more or less a rehashing of the first film as the Philadelphia nobody (now
the underdog hero) sets out to have a simpler life; but after the life changing
events of the first film, that was not going to happen.
The film
picks up at the end of the first film with Rocky and Creed being rolled into a
hospital amidst a barrage of reporters and photographers. Creed is bitter that Rocky went the distance
with him and Rocky just wishes to settle down with his girl and newly banked
cash. Sad to say, Rocky and Adrian go on a reckless
spending spree, while Rocky finds it hard to keep his endorsers happy; in the
end landing Rocky back at the meat packing plant. Creed unsatisfied with the way the last match
sets out to strong arm Rocky back into the ring with a smear campaign; and even
after Mickey and Adrian ask Rock not to, he prepares for his Thanksgiving Day
battle.
The film
boasts of the “feel good” moments as the first one and has much of the same
depth; but it is the obnoxious montage moments that irk this reviewer the
most. Yes, I feel those moments are
classic (Philadelphia Art Museum anyone?) but at the same time as I think about
how unrealistic it is for a crowd of hundreds to follow Rocky through the
streets of Philly, I cringe. Nevertheless,
Rocky II is essentially Rocky revamped; and the simple rehash
of a classic is still a rehash, regardless of how good it is.
Rocky III (1982)
Film: B
With Rocky III we start to feel and view the
downward spiral of a classic. I would
like to say that the story continued and new developments were made, but
Stallone and crew unabashedly continued to milk the same old formula for all it
was worth. I assume they figured if they
wait 3 years in between each film they could catch fans off guard.
Five years
after the events of Rocky II the
film casts Rocky as the defending champ who has defended his crown ten times
and is a worldwide star. Rocky is rich,
famous and ready to retire. As Rocky is
about to announce his retirement an up and coming boxer named Clubber Lang (Mr.
“I pity the fool” T) challenges Rocky’s title.
Rocky agrees to the bout, but is shortly thereafter discouraged when
Mick informs Rock that his status as champ is only defined by ‘cherry picked’
opponents, put in place to ensure he kept his title. Mick refuses to help Rocky train and then unexpectedly
suffers a fatal heart attack. Rocky is
put through the emotional ringer; later suffering a K.O. in the second round
against Clubber Lang. Rocky having lost
his ‘fighting spirit’ needs a redeeming moment and in a surprise turn of events
his old nemesis Apollo Creed steps in to train the champ back to his former
glory.
The death
of Mick really added a level of emotion to the film, but at the same time the
film went from spiritually gritty to overwhelmingly serious; that seriousness
putting a true damper on the film. Sure
we had Mr. T and a Hulk Hogan appearance, but Rocky’s down-in-the-dumps
attitude, coupled with a death only demonstrated a premise showing its age.
As “Eye
of the Tiger” blares at the films key moment you can’t help but get chills, but
at the same time Rocky III would
have been a good time to throw in the towel.
Rocky IV (1985)
Film: B-
Where to
start? How about with, why? Every three years we were getting a Rocky film and fans (who were still
buying tickets) were noticing that the once classic had devolved into a
caricature of itself. Now I must admit
that on some sick level I enjoy this film; maybe it is because I am a product
of the 1980’s or perhaps there is just something refreshing about kicking
Soviet butt. Nevertheless, Rocky IV had long abandoned the depth
and soul of the original; trading in class for Hollywood.
It was
the 1980’s and be hated the Soviets; enough said. Rocky
IV took the overwhelmingly anti-Soviet mindset and used it to its benefit
like an Olympic match-up. Ivan Drago
(Dolph Lundgren) is our villain this time around; arriving in America as a
wolf in sheep’s clothing. Ivan and his
team supposedly are here to promote goodwill, but instead emphasize Russian
technological and athletic superiority.
Apollo
Creed sees Ivan’s arrival as a challenge on America and sets up an exhibition
match against the Russian giant. After
appearing in the ring dressed as Uncle Sam, Apollo Creed is beaten to a pulp by
Ivan and killed in the ring. Rocky,
seeing the need to avenge his old friend’s death, sets out to the Russian
wilderness to train for a match against Ivan in Moscow on Christmas Day.
Rocky IV for all intents and purposes is
absurd. It contains workout montage
after workout montage. It features a
beer delivering robot. And once in Russia the
absurdity only worsens with “epic” speeches and horrible acting.
I like Rocky IV for its Hollywood
ridiculousness and its disregard for reality; but that doesn’t dismiss the fact
that it is not even half of what the original film was.
Rocky V (1990)
Film: C
By the
time Rocky V rolled out in 1990
enough was enough. In a nutshell, after
returning from Russia Rocky learns that his amassed wealth is gone after a
shady deal by his accountant goes wrong.
Rocky, Adrian and their son Robert (played by real life Sage Stallone)
move pack to Philly where their life began; Adrian goes back to the pet shop and Rocky
reopens Mick’s gym. While running the
gym Rocky takes on Tommy Gun (Tommy Morrison) as his newest student. Eventually Tommy drifts away from Rocky and
ends up with a Don King-type manager; when soon after Tommy challenges his old
teacher to a match. In the process of
training Tommy, Rocky lost his family along the way; as his son is beat up at
school and feels neglected by his father.
After Tommy kicks Rock to the curb, Rocky attempts to make amends with
his son. The bout between Tommy Gun and
Rocky ends in an odd manner; not giving the champ (and film series) the respect
he deserves.
The film
felt awkward from beginning to end. The
script coming full circle back to Philly was very good; but everything else
went so obnoxiously wrong. The acting
was poor, the concept was ‘blah’ and in the end I could dismiss the film as if
it never happened.
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Film: B
Hopefully
the last film in the series, Rocky
Balboa arrived 16 years after Rocky
V and did a much better job at capping off the Rocky epic than Rocky V even
remotely did. A part of me is still
bitter about the new Hollywood trend of oddly
naming sequels things like “the beginning” or after a main character (as in
this case); but I guess I can eventually get over it. On top of digging up classics from the grave
like Rocky, Rambo and Indiana Jones and then idiotically renaming them; the
creators have somehow managed to leave fans apathetic. The films were neither wonderful, nor
horrible; but instead left fans unfilled with their heroes only being a shell
of their former selves.
Rocky Balboa, of the aforementioned new
sequels, is probably the best done.
Indiana Jones had the cast, crew and money but a horrible contrived
script. Rambo was lacking substance and
only enjoyable due to its ultra violent nature.
Rocky Balboa actually reminded
me of the heart and soul the Rocky series
once had.
Rocky is
on his own now as Adrian
had passed away of “the woman cancer” in 2002 and he barely sees his son
Robert. Rocky spends most of his time
running his restaurant and keeping Paulie at bay. Seemingly out of no where an ESPN computer
mock up fight asks the question, what if Rocky Balboa was pitted against the
new young champ Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver)?
The computer predicted that Rocky would crush Dixon;
of course not sitting well with the champ, Dixon’s manager sees a payday and sets up a
charity match with Rocky.
Rocky had
been for most part keeping to himself and doing his part in helping out the
locals, as well as the city of Philadelphia; but deep down inside he knows he
has one good fight in himself. My guess
is that he forgot about all the concussions that could kill him explained in Rocky V; but oh well! The film is quite gray (even the color
scheme) as Rocky mourns the death of his past, but by the films end somehow
sees that the future holds even more for this old champ than past ever did.
Picture/Sound:
Rocky I-V + Rocky Balboa
Picture:
B/B/B/B+/B/A- Sound: B/B/B/B+/B+/A-
The first
film is the same as the 2006 release of Rocky
with the picture presented in a lackluster 1080p/MPEG-2 transfer; with the
rest of the films (besides Rocky Balboa)
following in a similar manner. The
picture of Rocky on Blu-ray is
better than the film has looked before, but in all honesty the film from 1976
needs a major overhaul. The Blu-ray
slides by as adequate with dreary colors, a soft image, poor texture and weak
blacks. The film’s picture is a bit of a mess and whereas the grit and grime of
South Philly needs to be there; the film also needs a good deal of restoration. Rocky
II-IV are presented in a 1080p/AV-encoded transfer that look very similar
to that of the picture on Rocky, but
at the same time are a clear upgrade.
The picture on Rocky II is an
upgrade in clarity, color and black presentation; but seems to have some source
material errors as white dots jump across the screen. The detail is improved for Rocky III as I see every hair and sweat
drop, but at the same time the white specs still appears, the colors aren’t
perfect and the blacks could be better. Rocky IV is the best looking of the
bunch with vivid colors, greater detail and contrast that is nicely stepped
up. The American colors ‘pop’ from
beginning to end and as a contrast the bland/cold Russian palette gets its job
done as well. Finally, (besides Rocky Balboa) Rocky V oddly enough is somewhat of a downgrade from Rocky IV as the 1080p AVC-encoded
transfer is a bit soft, grittier than IV
and does not have the same color flare. Being a newer film that the creators
knew would go to Blu-ray the film is very pristine as the 1080p AVC encoded
picture shows off great colors (even with a mournful grey backdrop), inky
blacks, solid contrast and an overall impressive image quality. It is obvious that Stallone put the time and
effort into making sure the image looked right; there is a fine amount of grit
that should be present in any Rocky film.
The whole presentation feels real and clean without being overly
fabricated.
The sound
quality on Rocky I-III is
unremarkable and somewhat inconsistent; even with a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround
track. There is good directionality on
the three films, but the lack in every other way as the balance is off, voices
are at times muffled and the crispness is just not there. Rocky
IV (once again in DTS HD Master Audio) is a tad better as the crispness is
more so there and the voices are crisp again.
Rocky IV as well as Rocky V demonstrates a fullness and
depth unlike the first three films; and as the music booms from the speakers
you really get a chance to here the films audio range.
Rocky Balboa, once again being a new film, is
nearly perfect on the sound front. In a
previous review on this site a reviewer did not look so favorably on the audio
presentation, but perhaps those issued were fixed as this reviewer finds the
presentation commendable. The film has
crisp dialogue, great directionality, a solid bass track, nice music and a
quality use of ambience. Overall, the films Uncompressed PCM track is solid as
ever and lets the film come alive.
Extras:
Extras on
Rocky I-IV: B+ Rocky Balboa Extras:
B+
** Extras
for all films are contained on a seventh Bonus Disc; Rocky Balboa has some bonus features of its own.
This
Blu-ray set nicely contains all of the extras that were featured on the huge Rocky: 2-Disc Special Edition set; but
sadly does not upgrade any of those features to High Definition. Extras included on a separate Blu-ray Disc
are as follows:
- Feeling Strong Now Game in
1080p
- The only new High Def
feature is essentially a trivia game where you battle Rocky’s old
opponents with your reservoir of trivial knowledge about the classic
films.
- Three Rounds with Legendary
Trainer Lou Duva
- Interview with a Legend Bert
Sugar: Author, Commentator and Historian
- The Opponents
- In the Ring: Three Part
Making of Documentary
- Steadicam: Then and Now with
Garrett Brown
- Make Up! The Art and Form
with Michael Westmore
- Staccato: A Composer’s
Notebook with Bill Conti
- The Ring of Truth
- Behind the Scenes with John
Avildsen
- Tribute to Burgess Meredith
- Tribute to James Crabe
- Video Commentary with
Sylvester Stallone
- Sylvester Stallone on Dinah!
1976
- Rocky Anthology Trailers
- Rocky TV Spots
The Rocky Balboa extras are contained on
the Rocky Balboa Blu-ray disc and are the same as those of the previous single
release. Follow the link below to learn
more about these extras:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5127/Rocky+Balboa+%28Blu-ray+++DVD-Vi
All in
all I would have to recommend this set.
It is the best the films have ever looked and they are all contained on
one fantastic Blu-ray set.
For more
on the franchise, try these links:
Rocky Anthology DVD Set + Rocky
(1976) Blu-ray single
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4797/Rocky+Anthology+(One
Rocky Balboa Theatrical Film
Review
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4762/Rocky+Balboa+(Theatrical+Film+Revie
- Michael P. Dougherty II
