The Film
Way before Sylvester Stallone was Expendable, he was Rocky Balboa -- in a total of six movies. The original Rocky launched the entire franchise, as well as Stallone's career.
It's hard to believe that Rocky was an aging boxer in the first film, but that's the gist of the story. As his first and last grasp at glory, Rocky agrees to take on heavyweight champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), all while dealing with feisty trainer Mickey (Meredith Burgess), his day job as a thug, and a budding romance with Adrian (Talia Shire).
Some 35 years later, there are certainly portions of Rocky that are a bit dated and overacted. However, without a doubt (or a Mr. T sighting), Rocky is still one of the greatest boxing films and one of the greatest sports films of all time. It's also the best thing that Stallone has ever done, as well as his only Oscar nominee (it won Best Picture, but Stallone lost out on screenwriting and acting nods).
The Picture
Rocky is old, which means that this 1.85:1 transfer is grainy, gritty, and dim in some spots. It's also fantastic. Even today, some of those Philly streets aren't all that colorful, and that is reflected here with a fairly muted palette. However, the climactic fight scene offers some wonderful reds, blues, and sparkles.
The Sound
When that iconic theme belts out in DTS-HD Master Audio, you may want to race up those classic steps and cheer this audio track. Don't get too excited, though; Rocky is sort of inconsistent when it comes to the audio. It's pretty quiet for the most part. The dialogue is low and the soundtrack is loud. The surrounds are used, but barely. You'll catch the occasional ring of a bell, crowd chatter, trains and other street sounds. It's not exactly an immersive experience, but it's more than acceptable, especially given this film's age and budget.
The Extras
This is one of MGM's "digibook" releases. That means, they've taken a perfectly good, available Blu-ray, and re-released it with a special booklet. This one has 24 pages of photos, facts and bios. It's nothing that anyone needs to own, and certainly not worthy of an upgrade. Otherwise, this single disc just offers up the film's theatrical trailer.
Final Thoughts
Yo Adrian, we love rooting for the underdog as much as the next sports movie fan. That said, it's hard to recommend the Rocky digibook, when there's a perfectly good Rocky Blu-ray on Amazon for significantly less. MGM missed the boat by not offering a few extra features, which could have made for a knockout 35th anniversary edition.
Product Details
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