Perfect, but you skipped over my absolute favorite moment of the film. Adrian sneaks into the ring and, before they kiss, he asks, “Where’s your hat?!” Through swollen mostly closed eyes, rendered near useless from having GONE THE DISTANCE with Creed, he still sees her and notices that her hat has fallen off.
Well written and gets to the heart of why Rocky is so unique. It was an indie film before that was an aesthetic. I do wonder how you would account for the fact that this story itself was only legible because its plot lifted from the Ali/Wepner fight. There was already a form for Stallone to point to. If the movie was only about him fighting some regional champ just so he could get enough money to buy a house for Adrian and him, it wouldn't have been made.
Your recapitulation of this film made me cry as it delivered and amplified its original impact on me. Thank you for bringing it back into my attention. I was 15 years old when it was released and it injected the spirit of my youth with rocket fuel. I happened to visit Philly just a few months later as a young actor in my first touring experience. Me and a few cast mates ran up those steps to throw our fists in the air. You capture how Rocky isn't really a story at all. It's the root of us laid real and bare and raw. Truly extraordinary.
For me the greatest moment in the movie is Talia Shire burning the screen off of the wall with her “I’m not a loser!” speech. He can’t talk, but she can talk for him; for all of us, and it’s magnificent.
Perfect, but you skipped over my absolute favorite moment of the film. Adrian sneaks into the ring and, before they kiss, he asks, “Where’s your hat?!” Through swollen mostly closed eyes, rendered near useless from having GONE THE DISTANCE with Creed, he still sees her and notices that her hat has fallen off.
Well written and gets to the heart of why Rocky is so unique. It was an indie film before that was an aesthetic. I do wonder how you would account for the fact that this story itself was only legible because its plot lifted from the Ali/Wepner fight. There was already a form for Stallone to point to. If the movie was only about him fighting some regional champ just so he could get enough money to buy a house for Adrian and him, it wouldn't have been made.
This whole embodiment thing is really vivid and real and you write about it better than anyone here, thanks for doing this
Thanks for this. It’s a new perspective I hadn’t realised was there. (But should have! All the beats match up. I hate missing big obvious clues. 😅)
This may be the best essay about a movie I have ever read.
Your recapitulation of this film made me cry as it delivered and amplified its original impact on me. Thank you for bringing it back into my attention. I was 15 years old when it was released and it injected the spirit of my youth with rocket fuel. I happened to visit Philly just a few months later as a young actor in my first touring experience. Me and a few cast mates ran up those steps to throw our fists in the air. You capture how Rocky isn't really a story at all. It's the root of us laid real and bare and raw. Truly extraordinary.
For me the greatest moment in the movie is Talia Shire burning the screen off of the wall with her “I’m not a loser!” speech. He can’t talk, but she can talk for him; for all of us, and it’s magnificent.
I never saw that character as "Apollo's Groupie", he seemed to me to be an old neighborhood friend whose advice was no longer heeded.
Stoked! Gonna fly now.
WOW. With capital letters. This is the most stupendously amazing review I ever read. Of any thing.