I let my son Joseph pick the movie he wanted to see for our Film After 11 podcast this week, so long as the title began with the letter “R.” He chose well with Rocky, Sylvester Stallone’s ever-popular boxing drama and surprise Best Picture Oscar winner (beating out All the President’s Men, Network, and Taxi Driver – all great classics in their own rights). It’s hard to go wrong with this movie, and Joseph liked it a lot, though I don’t think it was exactly what he expected, as we discuss in the conversation afterward.
For the launch title in what would become a long-running blockbuster franchise, the original Rocky is an unexpectedly quiet, unassuming, and thoughtful character drama that avoids most of the sports movie formula clichés many of its follow-ups would succumb to. The film is bookended by just two fight scenes, with long stretches of character development and a gentle romance between them, punctuated only by that famous training montage, which is still as rousing as ever.
Carl Weathers is of course also terrific playing Apollo Creed as a very savvy businessman who knows exactly what he’s doing by carefully crafting an image with all his showboating antics in the ring.
| Title: | Rocky |
| Year of Release: | 1976 |
| Director: | John G. Avildsen |
| Watched On: | Fandango at Home (rental) |
| Also Available On: | 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Blu-ray AMC+ Various VOD rental and purchase platforms/ |
Video Streaming
Rocky was a fairly early title on the Blu-ray format, first appearing in late 2006 with a video transfer that wasn’t particularly well-regarded at the time. A bunch of re-releases later, I frankly didn’t pay enough attention to know if any of them were ever remastered.
The film made its way to 4K Ultra HD in 2023, available either on its own as a limited edition SteelBook or bundled with its first three sequels, parts II through IV, in a set called the Knockout Collection. The later two sequels followed the next year, in 2024, along with an even bigger box set called the Ultimate Knockout Collection. I’m sure if we wait long enough, we’re bound to see one more set adding the three Creed spinoffs, to be called the Most Ultimate Knockout Collection.
Aside from the SteelBook, the first Rocky hasn’t yet appeared separately in a regular keepcase, though that may happen eventually. The SteelBook quickly went out of print and now fetches a high price on the secondary market. Because I don’t personally have a lot of interest in the sequels, I had to resort to a streaming rental from Fandango at Home.
The 4K streaming version may not look like a stunner at first. The 1.85:1 image is pretty grainy and has drab colors, but that’s appropriate to both the movie and the era in which it was made. Much like Rocky himself, the longer you stick with the transfer the more it may impress you. The picture is pretty sharp and detailed for the most part. and colors are actually better defined when you pay attention to them. The HDR grade has nice contrast and highlights, lending a strong sense of depth.
On streaming, the soundtrack only comes in Dolby Digital 5.1, with no representation for the original mono mix. Fortunately, the remix is pretty subtle, keeping most of the audio in the front of the room with the musical score spread a little wider. Surround usage is mild.
Rocky is a surprisingly quiet movie, with a lot of mumbled dialogue that nonetheless comes though cleanly. The track doesn’t have much dynamic range, but the music sounds good and sound effects such as the boxing round bell clang are very effective when they’re meant to be.
Related
- Sylvester Stallone
- Carl Weathers
- Burgess Meredith
Note: All screenshots on this page were grabbed off a web browser, and came out looking much softer than actually watching the movie from a proper streaming device. They are used for illustration purposes only.
The Video File Blog 