Available at Amazon.com
Directors:
John G. Avildsen (Rocky and Rocky V)
and
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV)
Starring:
Rocky II
Sylvester Stallone ………. Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire ………. Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino
Burt Young ………. Paulie
Carl Weathers ………. Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith ………. Mickey Goldmill
Rocky II
Sylvester Stallone ………. Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire ………. Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino
Burt Young ………. Paulie
Carl Weathers ………. Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith ………. Mickey Goldmill
Tony Burton ………. Duke (Apollo’s Trainer)
Rocky III
Sylvester Stallone ………. Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire ………. Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino
Burt Young ………. Paulie
Carl Weathers ………. Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith ………. Mickey Goldmill
Tony Burton ………. Duke
Mr. T ………. Clubber Lang
Hulk Hogan ………. Thunderlips
Ian Fried ………. Rocky Junior
Rocky IV
Sylvester Stallone ………. Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire ………. Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino
Burt Young ………. Paulie
Carl Weathers ………. Apollo Creed
Brigitte Nielsen ………. Ludmilla Vobet Drago
Dolph Lundgren ………. Captain Ivan Drago
Tony Burton ………. Duke
Rocky Krakoff ………. Rocky Junior
Rocky V
Sylvester Stallone ………. Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire ………. Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino
Burt Young ………. Paulie
Sage Stallone ………. Rocky Balboa Junior
Burgess Meredith ………. Mickey Goldmill
Tommy Morrison ………. Tommy “Machine” Gunn
Tony Burton ………. Duke
The Anthology
In my review of the new two-disc collector’s edition of the original Rocky, I mentioned something about “double-dipping”. Studios re-release films on DVD with new features. Some are worth it like Rocky as I said in my review. Others aren’t so great. But where would the COMPLETE set of Rocky films fit into this discussion?
This is the second release of the “Rocky Anthology”. It contains all five of the Rocky movies and it goes along with the release of the sixth movie that hits theaters on Wednesday, December 20. We all know that Rocky I is a classic. It’s about an underdog boxer getting the shot of his life against the heavyweight champion of the world. Of course, the movie is more about boxing. It’s about inspiration to all.
At the end of Rocky, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) battles Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) to a draw. He went the distance with the champ to the surprise of everyone. Rocky II features a rematch between those two men, even though neither wanted one at the end of the first film. I guess a few years (in real life) changed their minds. This time they fight and Rocky wins. He becomes the heavyweight champion of the world.
That’s all well and good and some say this is where this franchise should have ended. However, Stallone wanted more. He was making his career making these movies. So Rocky III comes out and this time it features Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. This movie wasn’t that bad either. Rocky actually loses to Lane early in the film and then beats him later. He uses the death of his trainer, Mickey, as motivation and it makes the film a little better as a result. So Rocky is champ again and this is where the franchise should have ended.
Not for Stallone, though. Around this time, the USA was in the “Cold War” with the Soviet Union. Stallone wanted to deliver a message, so Rocky IV came out with Rocky facing a powerful boxer from Russia. It should be noted that Rocky wants to retire in every movie, but always has a reason to come back. This time his reason is to avenge the death of his enemy-turned-friend, Apollo Creed, who is killed by that big Russian, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). The series was getting a little tired by this point, but this movie was still fairly good due to Apollo’s death. This should have been the last Rocky movie made, though.
But it wasn’t. Rocky V came out a few years later and it lost head-to-head to Home Alone at the box office in 1990. This film became a disappointment as it strayed away from the traditional formula of the other films. In this film, Rocky has finally retired. He is training young boxers now and one in particular named Tommy “Machine” Gunn (Tommy Morrison). We get the cliche story of “student turns on teacher after teacher teaches student everything he knows”. Tommy uses Rocky’s fame to get somewhere in the boxing world. This leads to a street fight between the two. They never face in the ring and that’s what made this film a failure. There was no “hook”. Rocky’s son, who had been featured in the past three films, was more involved in this story. However, the only way Rocky V would have worked, is if Rocky’s son would have died because of Tommy somehow. That would have given the film the emotional depth that the others had. Sadly, that didn’t happen and this is how the franchise ended.
That’s not entirely true, though. That ends this anthology, but since the sixth movie is coming to theaters soon that will be the true final ending to this franchise. Only time will tell if the sixth movie is a better or worse way to end things than the fifth movie.
The whole reason this set was released again was to go along with the new two-disc version of the first film and the new movie in theaters. The question is this release necessary? What usually happens with “double-dipping” is that you get new features. However, the first anothlogy didn’t have any special features at all. So if you are expecting at least one or two features on this second release of the anthology, think again! There is nothing here other than the movies. Yes, the movies look a little better with the “special” digital transfer. Is that worth a re-release of all 5 movies? Not really. But if you want every Rocky out on DVD right now, then here you go. From the great (Rocky) to the bad (Rocky V), they are all here but don’t expect anything else.
The Video:
The video for all five movies is given in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen color. The picture has been digitally remastered again. It definitely looks better than the original version that came out earlier, but really how much better can the picture get when you remaster a film over and over again?
The Audio:
The audio for Rocky is available in either English DTS Dolby 5.1 Surround sound, the original Dolby Digital 1.0 sound, French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, and Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 sound. For Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV, the audio is available in either English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 sound, and French Dolby Digital 1.0 sond. For Rocky V, the audio is available in either English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound, French Dolby Digital Surround sound, and Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French for all five films as well. No problems here either. Probably not much difference between previous releases, though.
The Extras:
NOTHING!!!! Not a single thing, which is disappointing to say the least. I wasn’t expecting anything special for the first film, since they just did that with a new release of that film. But special features on the other 4 films would have been nice, especially since they are not as good as the original. Maybe they are saving them for the third release of this set when Rocky VI comes out on DVD.
If you already have the complete set of Rocky films, then there is no need to get this version. There is not much difference between the two. A little better picture quality, but if you don’t have a high-definition TV set then there is no point. What you get here is a mixed bad. Most of the films are good enough to get to the entire set. But if you just want to stick with the best of the bunch, then go get the collector’s edition of Rocky that I reviewed earlier.
