BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: It's the film that inspired a nation - and won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director! Audiences everywhere cheered this American success story of an "everyman" triumphing over all odds. As boxer Rocky Balboa (in a screenplay penned by the "Italian Stallion" himself!), Sylvester Stallone comes out swinging with heart, humour and unforgettable power. Rocky is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere, but as fate would have it, World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) chooses him to be his next opponent. For Creed, the match is little more than an exhibition, but for Rocky it's a shot at the big time. While preparing for the bout under the watchful eye of his trainer (Burgess Meredith), Rocky romances Adrian (Talia Shire), a shy young woman who exposes the tenderness beneath his tough exterior. Their love blossoms as the fight approaches, giving Rocky even more strength and purpose to "go the distance" against his brutal adversary. Featuring a dynamic musical score, a thrilling fight sequence and four Oscar-nominated performances, this rousing crowd-pleaser will send spirits soaring. Fighting for love, glory and self respect, Rocky scores an exultant knockout!

FILM REVIEW: "Rocky" is the ultimate underdog story. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is the average man who gets a shot at the title and has the chance to do something truly extraordinary. It's a story that anyone can be inspired by and runs parallels with Stallone's own career as he was very much an unlikely choice for movie stardom (as happened after Rocky became a big hit). Rocky is the perfect character for Stallone; he's never better as the title character and his drive and enthusiasm to make this film really comes through in every frame. Stallone is amicably assisted by a stellar supporting cast, with Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith being the standouts. Director John Avildsen shoots in a very realistic, documentary style fashion which gives the film a very authentic, gritty look. "Rocky" is a landmark film; it may be a bit slow compared to today's films but it still has the same timeless resonance.

Rocky Balboa is a down-on-his-luck would be boxer. He resorts to being a loan shark to make money and his life is generally going nowhere. But he has a heart of gold, despite his tough exterior and mangled speech. Fate happens to drop an opportunity in his lap when flamboyant boxing champion Apollo Creed (played by an excellent Carl Weathers) offers to give Rocky a shot at the title. Rocky starts out on a journey which sees him actually going the distance with the champ and stunning the world.

"Rocky" is one of those films that just aren't made any more. It's story and characters; that's it. It's simple, yet strong. This type of story isn't really new but the way it's done is fresh, original and authentic. There's the sense that everyone working on this film was working on 'the little engine that could'. In a case of life imitating art (or vice versa, whichever came first!), "Rocky" is a representation of a drive in all of us to realise our dreams, and what it means not to. On this level, most people can identify and enjoy a film like this even if they have no interest in boxing. It could have been about anything (the boxing is just a plot point), but the boxing motif does introduce the idea of literally fighting for your dream.

"Rocky" was one of the first films to use a steadicam. Cameraman James Crabe is somewhat critical in the audio commentary of his early work with the steadicam in this film which he feels is quite rough but it does give the film an documentary-style authenticity that you couldn't stage. And given the low budget nature of the film, the steadicam actually gives it much more production value in a number of scenes. The final fight sequence looks fabulous, and Avildsen does a great job of recreating a fight as opposed to glossing it up Hollywood style.

Carl Weathers is great to watch. He leaps off the screen and perfectly captures the larger-than-life Apollo Creed who is inspired by the real life boxer Mohammad Ali. Burgess Meredith is truly authentic as Rocky's manager Mickey. His voice, his mannerisms, even his walk are just perfect. These guys are these characters. Talia Shire does very well as the shy and reserved Adrian who is literally the opposite of Rocky. Burt Young is also superb, if not likeable as the irritating Paulie, Adrian's brother. But the star of the film, Sylvester Stallone deserves the most credit, portraying an empathic, realistic character in Rocky Balboa. This film is all about Sylvester Stallone and what he accomplished with this film.

"Rocky" is a piece of inspiration. It's slow by today's standards but it's still great entertainment with strong characters that you can relate to.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is reasonable but not great. The picture is soft and grainy for a lot of the time; thankfully there aren’t many film scratches or jumps but the colours are a bit muted. It is an old film, that also had a very low budget so perhaps it wasn't possible to improve the picture. The audio track is of comparable quality, not rising much above its original mix. Overall, it’s okay but it would have been good if it was better.

EXTRAS REVIEW: There are a number of extras on the disc. The standout extra is the audio commentary which features the director John Avildsen who has a lot of great information about the film, as do the producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, and some amusing anecdotes from Talia Shire, Carl Weather and Burt Young who makes the timely comment over the end credits that sometimes you need to listen to inspired amateurs because sometimes they've got gold, as was the case with Rocky. There is a video commentary with Sylvester Stallone; the information he imparts is very good and insightful, but the way it's shot is a bit odd - front on with Sly looking directly in to the camera. It's a little off-putting and an interview style shot might have been better. There are a number of featurettes. A making-of featurette with 8mm footage from John Avildsen is quite interesting, as are the two tributes to Burgess Meredith and cameraman James Crabe. There are also a number of trailers and TV spots, as well as a number of subtitles (Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Portuguese, Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew, Turkish, English for the hearing impaired). Overall, it's an insightful, informative collection of extras, if not the most fancy.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.