Written by Jacob Ethan Sapp!
When Rocky hit the scene in 1976, it introduced the world to the one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema, won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, and became America’s favorite underdog story. It’s almost crazy to think about how well received the original film was nearly 40 years later.
There were no early warning signs, this movie just struck out of the blue. Produced on a modest budget (by the same team Winkler-Chertoff pairing that produced every subsequent film), and starring a virtually unknown lead actor/Writer in Sylvester Stallone, this film could easily have been overlooked as an amusing, but insignificant character piece in a year otherwise dominated by Scorsese’s seminal masterpiece, Taxi Driver, or the truly terrific, Network. The film didn’t boast cutting edge effects, a big-name composer such as John Williams, (who at the time was probably working on a little picture he assumed nobody would ever watch called Star Wars), there were no big action set pieces, or shocking twists. It’s not a glamorous affair, as such Rocky’s success hinged on the old-school fundamentals of great storytelling, genuinely terrific acting, and a steady-handed director. Continue reading
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