Dolph Lundgren was not acting during the "Living in America" sequence. In an interview, he said that he was genuinely in shock and awe about what he was seeing.
Fun Fact: Burt Young (Paulie) dropped out of school at 15 and joined the Marines. He was a professional boxer and appeared in 14 professional boxing matches, all of which he won. He even boxed with legend Muhammad Ali for charity (the two became good friends).
Fun fact: Paulie was actually having cybersex with that robot off camera. He taught it to make sex noises and say things like, "your dick is so big." These lines were cut from the final edit.
Carl Weathers improvised the final twitch on the canvas at the end of his fight. Because he had told nobody he was gonna do that and it wasn't in the script, the film crew actually thought he was seriously hurt.
I still miss Carl Weathers. Was so upset to hear that he died this past winter. Just seemed like such a fun actor to be around, and always he seemed to appreciate his fans.
The lion's name is Leo. He was born in the Dublin Zoo in 1956 and has been used for most MGM movies since 1957. He took over from George who had only been the official lion for about a year. Before George they started with 2 lions whose names are not known followed by Slats, Jackie, Bill, Telly, Coffee and Tanner. Today they use a CGI version based on Leo.
Dolph Lundgren: 6’5” Swedish giant with an IQ of 160, a masters degree in chemical engineering, a full bright scholarship from MIT, has a black belt in karate with two championship wins, and speaks five languages… Only nine lines of full dialogue in his first breakout role. Wild story, that one.
Stallone didn't use a dialect coach to "improve" his speech pattern, because he didn't actually speak like Rocky in real life anyway. It was simply an acting choice. In this film, Stallone made Rocky slightly more articulate to imply a bit more sophistication and growth of the character.
Just for information in case u don’t know (u meaning the people watching Rocky) Sly’s speech (non Rocky) is the way it is because he was injured at birth. The doctor used forceps and cut a nerve on the left side of Sly’s face. It why his lip droops a bit and his speech is affected because part of his tongue is paralyzed. He eventually had to have a doctor do work on the left side of his face cause he lost so much weight for Rocky and Rambo that it drooped more so he had a doctor bring it up level to the right side.
there's a touching reason why the robot was included in Rocky 4. Originally, Sico was developed to entertain Seargeoh Stallone, one of Stallone's sons who has autism. Sico is an acronym that stands for "socio-psychological phenomenon" and is used as a tool to help facilitate and develop bonds with people who are neurodivergent. His appearance in the movie helped introduce him to a much wider audience who may have never heard about his abilities in the area of mental health.
@@xtremejay2000 was created by Robert Doornick CEO of international robotics, he also did the voice - there's plenty of articles around rocky 4 - mainly for the reasoning why the robot was dropped from the directors cut of 2021
Touching, maybe, but imo still not reason to put it in a movie you are hoping to be taken seriously. Not to mention, I don't see how the robot's portrayal in the movie would introduce him to the people who could benefit from him; I mean, it's portrayed as basically being a servant/toy (and later a creepy toy). Most people watching the film would think "okay, this is a weird, fictional robot in a movie", much like Simone and George did. I don't know that anyone's first thought would be "Wow - I bet that robot's real, and I can get one for my child (if I can afford it)." It would have made more sense to me (and made a better film) if they just spent a few minutes having Rocky visit a center for children with autism, and have the robot there, showing off what it can do to help the kids. Then the movie wouldn't be saddled with trying to fit it into the story.
@@tomflorio3639yes almost 4 decades AFTER the robot was a thing. Not only are you not thinking about why something like that wouldn’t be relevant for people in the modern day to know but you also assume that the robot being a bit makes people not take it seriously. If people heard it was a thing and looked into it they would find out why it was actually used leaving a very positive impact on the brand. You’re extremely full of it. Just say you dislike it, don’t try to be so cynical because you didn’t like it LOL
In Fallout 2, you can become an... "adult performer", and, you get to choose a stage name from a list of hilarious options. One of the options is "The Count of Monte Fisto".
@@cassu6 you can also kill an old man, marry his daughter at gunpoint and then sell her to a p0rn studio. you can also join a mafia family, and impregnate his wife and his daughter. 😁game's wild.
@@cassu6 you can also kill an old man, marry his daughter at gunpoint and then sell her to a p0rn studio. you can also join a mafia family, and impregnate his wife and his daughter. 😁game's wild.
i think people forget or don't really understand that Rocky 4 isn't just about America vs Russia but it also talks about fear of aging and change not wanting to lose what you feel is your purpouse it essentially not letting go of the past sure it wasn't as developped but it's clearly a theme with Rocky and Appolo in this one
"YOU SEE?!? HE'S NOT A MACHINE! HE'S A MAN!" - to this day, that line never fails to move me. A motivational, hopeful and inspirational line that is just SO powerful.
One of my absolute favorite details in this movie is in the training montage. Rocky literally does not stop moving until he reaches the top of the mountain whereas Drago eventually gave up when the incline on the treadmill got too high. Shows the difference between the two of them.
Dolph Lundgren is 6' 7" tall, and was valedictorian of his high school class, and graduated from an engineering school with major honors and was considered near genius level man-beast. He stars with Stallone in the Expendables series of films as well.
The thing with the equipment is they are made to exercise very specific muscles, where as the free weights or training rocky does exercises multiple muscle groups at once. Free weights vs machines is a huge debate in the gym community actually lol
As long as you use a wide variety of machines, you get better results than free weights BECAUSE of their specificity. If you don't, then you will get uneven development and set yourself up for injuries when a relatively weak muscle is recruited into a complex exercise. For example, if you only ever use a pectoral machine, then try doing a barbell lift using your trapezius, you could easily tear it if you try lifting the same weight you can move on the pec machine.
@@hulkslayer626 Yes machines are safer _during the act of exercise_ . That safety comes at the price of your body not recruiting all the stabilizing muscles it would if you were lifting a free weight or anything normally in the real world. Think of it like building a wall out of bricks but using chewing gum instead of mortar. Despite the strength of each individual brick it's not going to be a strong wall is it?
@@hulkslayer626 Actually I've heard that you are more likely to injure yourself on a machine, because it makes you go through a forced range of motion rather than your body's natural movement. Either way, you have proven the OP's point.
I saw this opening night with my brother. The Rocky/Drago fight was insane; like watching a real fight. Everyone was on their feet yelling at the screen, cheering Rocky.
Me too, with a group of friends. The theater was packed and people were losing their minds by the end of the movie. To this day it is still one of the rowdiest, craziest movie going experience of my life.
Regarding the robot, my dad in the 80's would always bring home some new gadget or tech and we didn't have much money. It would be completely normal for a rich dad in the 80's to do the same.
Those robots were an actual thing when I was a kid! I remember walking past one, in Toys R Us, shortly after seeing this movie, and BEGGING MY MOTHER to buy one for me! She of course took one look at the price tag, then looked at me, and said: "You'll get over it." And dragged me out of the store, even as I wailed at the top of my lungs (as 8 year olds, who don't get what they want in the moment do, lol).
fair enough! what threw us off about the robot is that anytime it was on screen, it felt like like a scene from a different movie. to paraphrase someone else with the same thought, "yes guns exists in the harry potter universe but it would feel really jarring if in one of those movies a death eater pulls out an uzi, just because it existed doenst mean it fits the tone".
I’m not sure if you guys understand how amazing it was for us in the 80’s to watch that full James Brown performance at Apollo’s final fight, it was exhilarating! Remember there was not internet, so this was an exhibition! Also, this Russian guy, it was all very foreign and mysterious…Again no internet or traveling as much as today so as a child or teen, this was scary and he looked like a machine! The robot thing I know it looks silly today but at the time was very cool. Hope you guys continue, so excited for you guys to see Rocky 5, it gets more interesting!!!! Continue the saga in order please!
You have to watch Rocky 5, there is part in the movie that changes Rockys life forever, and it would explain alot for Rocky 6 and Creed. And the movie itself is not that bad, I think people got caught up in the boxing storyline that they over looked the personal story. That is why they dont like it. In Rocky 5 its goes back to where they started from and it will be the last time you see an important character that wont be in any other rocky or creed movies.
Rocky 5's main issue is the antagonist isn't very good. Creed, Clubber Lang and Drago were all not only impressive from a fighting point of view, but could be held up as mirrors to the issues in Rocky's life at the time. Tommy is neither of those things, and his biggest impact on Rocky is to make him neglect his son, which feels out of character for Rocky. It's certainly not the worst movie, just not as good as it's esteemed brothers.
@@shawnmiller4781 That's a good point, Duke is every bit the antagonist alongside Tommy. The way he's able to drag Rocky away from his values is just as bad and while it's satisfying to see him get knocked down, I don't feel like Rocky grows in the way he does in the other movies. Rocky's opposition to Duke doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know about him.
The thing about Rocky V that I mentioned in another post is that large chunks of it were basically ignored/wrtten over for Rocky VI. Its not a horrible movie, but it one of the weakest along with II, and parts of it are almost non-canon. VI is a banger though, and brings kind of a mature wisdom to close things down. Makes me wonder if Creed will ever learn that your main character has to actually lose/be expected to lose if you want to create the hero's arc.
I was in high school (7-12) from 82-88. We still had school paddlings, hide under the desk drills and monthly "bomb shelter" drills, where we all lined up, single file, to go through the boiler room to the bunker. It weighed heavily on us, and at the same time, we knew nothing else and it was part of everyday life.
That's kinda crazy, cause my parents finished high school in 79 and 82, had no bomb shelter drills and had zero worry about nuclear war... they were living in USSR. You would think authoritarian regime would focus more on fear mongering or valid preparation depends on how you look at it. I mean, if one officer followed the orders half of the world wouldn't exist in 1983. "It weighed heavily on us" This part I don't get at all. Why US was more openly worried about nukes or at least wasn't putting kids mind at ease during Cold War. Why *cultivate anxiety* in kids, about situation that none of them could do anything about? I'm not saying that adults in USSR didn't fear the possibility of nuclear war, judging by jokes like this one: - What do you do in case a nuclear bomb goes off? - Just wrap yourself in a white sheet and slowly crawl to the nearest cemetery. - Why slowly? - To not create panic.
@@trekkiejunk As I said, a lot of people do, but not all, and that's fine, but let's face it, culture, fashion, music, political stands , all are very much present in this movie, and to be fair not a single of those things actually define an 80s movie, it is the feel of the 80s , the cringe, the over the top everything, the americanism, the absurdity that actually characterize an 80s movies, some of my favorite movies from the 80s like Aliens or back to the future, or Raiders of the lost ark, etc... are amazing movies, but not 80s movies at all, they are timeless and could be inserted in pretty much any decade with slight changes, 80s movies could have almost everything from music, to fashion, to culture changed , up to a point of course, and still be obviously an 80s movie, and this is one of those movies, probably the most 80s of these movies , even though Ferris Buller's day off or Goonies for instance or some other movies would be absolutely good picks.
@@trekkiejunkThink about it from the standpoint of 1985.... This was the age of the Cold War when the "free world" was largely united in opposition to the communist East. The 70's and 80's were decades in which the consensus was that the Capitalist West had much greater cultural and political freedom than the communists of the East.
So, the robot was included was SICO designed to help autistic children, Stallone wanted to feature and create awareness of the programme, which he himself used for his son. There is also a director's cut version of Rocky 4 called Rocky Vs Drago with a very different tone that is more inline with the first two movies.
You will absolutely need to watch the next 2 Rocky movies. Rocky 5 is not great, but sets up a lot of context of where the characters will be during the Creed films.
I once heard a joking theory that Stallone did not tell Carl Weathers that there was a robot in this movie, as a prank. It's not a serious theory, but it would explain how his jaw almost drops open when he sees that thing and then does his best to pretend that didn't just happen when it leaves.
During one of the boxing scenes, Sylvester wanted Dolph to go full bore for 20 seconds and Dolph actually put Sylvester in the hospital/ICU for 4 days because he hit him so hard. Dolph is a legitimate bad ass
The crazy thing is why he went to the hospital. It wasn't just that he hit him hard. He hit him so hard it made Stallone's heart swell up and almost caused cardiac arrest. That's insane.
I always forget about the robot wife, maybe because I watch the Director's Cut, which removes that thing entirely. The Creed movies are great, but you need to watch the two last Rocky movies before them to really understand everything. Also, while Drago is of course not much of a character in the film, I do really like when he gets upset and declares that he will win for himself-a great character moment for someone who, until this point, was just a literal muscle for his superiors.
15:44 - Yes. You absolutely need to watch Rocky 5 and Rocky Balboa. 5 is not my favorite, but it builds some stuff for Balboa, so Rocky 6 will hit much harder if you have watched 5. Also, those two will help build more world for the Creed series. Def dont skip.
This movie single-handedly ended the Cold War. Gorbachev saw his doppelgänger and thought “Yes. Rocky is right. I, too, can change”. After Reagan won a second term in 1984, three of the most American Reagan-era movies ever made were released. Rambo II and this one in 1985, and then Top Gun the next year.
yep, it really really surprised us and what threw us off about the robot is that anytime it was on screen, it felt like like a scene from a different movie. to paraphrase someone else with the same thought, "yes guns exists in the harry potter universe but it would feel really jarring if in one of those movies a death eater pulls out an uzi, just because it existed doenst mean it fits the tone".
@@CineBingeReact I can see that. Since I watched it as a kid, critical thinking wasn't that big a part of my movie experience. I just thought, "Remote control 🤖! Cool gift!" And didn't spare it another thought.
@@CineBingeReact It was an 80's blockbuster...EVERY movie had to have some kind of signature whiz-bang element. Those were just the times. That being said it was probably overdone, but they felt the need to inject some type of comic relief into such a serious series. Blockbusters couldn't be 100% serious like the first Rocky film by the mid 80's as it was a very uplifting time to be an American (despite the "cold war" going on in the background).
You guys still don't understand Paulie. Rocky and Adrian are the only people who could ever love him and it speaks to their characters almost as much as the rest of the stuff in the franchise. Pauly isn't annoying to Rocky, he's comforted by him and he wouldn't ever give up on him no matter how much he fucks up or complains. Paulie is Rock's family just as much as Mick or Apollo.
not to mention for all his flaws, to have a friend willing to walk into a Russian arena with the American flag draped around himself in the hight of the cold war...thats a brother
Of course he would…rocky is the breadwinner so to speak. Paulie didn’t lift a finger to help Rocky in his boxing career until Rocky started fighting in championships.
Doesn't change the fact that Paulie's still a piece of shit. Speaks volumes about Rocky & Adrian being suuuuper nice and tolerant, but Paulie is just a walking fail. I mean, for fuck's sake he's the reason why shit falls apart for the family in the next movie lol.
I always thought the robot was just a display of Rocky's immense wealth by that point in his life. Kinda like an upgraded version of what he bought after his first fight with Apollo.
I just looked up Burgess Meredith, can't believe he lived 12 years after this film came out. (I know he was killed off in the earlier films.) And jeez, Burt Young looked almost 83 in 1985. He (Burt Young) was 44/45 here!!??👀
@@johnsmith-nn2hs NO he was born 1907 so he was 69 in Rocky 1 (1976) & 72 in Rocky 2 (1979) Mickey died in Rocky 3 was 75 (1982) & (he wasn't in Rocky 4 but would've been 78 (1985) then died in 1997 at 89
Russian from Moscow, born in 1991 here. - Movie was pretty popular actually. We had these 'tv salons', where it was like a movie theater, but smaller and with as big tv as could be found, putting in vhs tapes, usually dubbed by one guy. That's also why particular certain films, genres and actors were, and by heredetary culture still are, more popular here. - Announcer is speaking pretty clear russian, with a proper petersburgian accent. One baffling mistake though, when Rocky does his 'better 2 than 20 million' speech, announcer says 'better than 20 million dollars'. Why - I have no idea.
I was a extra in the crowd in the fifht scene at the end,it was filmed in Vancouver BC Canada. Winter in Canada is winter in Russia both are in northern hemisphere
As someone who was born in the 70's and lived through the 80's, the idea of the "household robot" was huge in the mid-80's. There were so many toy robots when I was a kid, and they were ridiculously expensive even for the 80's. Probably why it died off.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. It was a crazy, typical 80s crowd. Everyone was standing up creaming and cheering at the fight like it was a real live boxing match. By far the most surreal movie going experience I ever had
DON'T SKIP trust me!, The Directors Cut of Rocky 4 came out in 2021 and it's a lot more grounded and a much more better cut of the movie with more drama and no robot. Rocky 5 is the worst in the series but still a good movie it's defiantly worth watching. Rocky Balboa is a GREAT movie and in my opinion as good as the first and the perfect ending to the original films. Grab tissues for this one.
I still prefer the theatrical version of Rocky IV. The Directors cut had some good moments but they cut way too much out of the theatrical cut for my liking.
Agreed, thou I did like at Apollo's Funeral that Duke gave the main Speech than Rocky as it made more sense, plus more screen time for Duke is always a good thing. Personally I never had a problem with the robot was of its time 😂
The fact Dolph Lundgren has two degrees in Chemical Emgineering and yet looks convincing as someone who can kill Rocky makes me think he was the inspiration for Jules in Twins, the whole brains with brawn combo.
RIP Apollo/Its extra sad since we lost Carl Weathers 😢 On a happier note/Fun fact: The fight between Rocky and Drago was filmed in Vancouver BC 🇨🇦 at the old PNE Agrodome. However Rocky's snowy winter training in "Russia" was actually filmed in Wyoming USA . Probably because we don't get that much snow in Vancouver. Also Love the sound track. Stallone was married to Brigitte Nielsen who played Drago's wife.
I think you could skip 5, but I'm also not gonna say you should or or shouldn't. I do think it is referenced, tho.. but I wouldn't blame anyone for skipping it. I feel like a lot of the people who recently reacted to the whole series were confused by it... and that it took away from Rocky Balboa with his Son's development.. I really don't know how much is lost by skipping it.
This movie came out around the Same time as Short Circuit and also when technology was innovating at express rates and how robots were going to take over including jobs like AI today.
One of the things that you guys missed was that Dolph Lundgren hit Stallone so hard in his ribs that he broke two of them and caused him to collapse his lung. He had to be rushed to the hospital where the doctor thought he'd been in a car accident.
There was a line in National Treasure 2 that said before Lincoln , we said “The United States are…”. We became “The United States is…”. In the current time, as we are fractured some as a country, it helps to know that in 1985, we were in full “The United States is…” mode. National pride was high, and having a rival like the USSR pulled us all together in that regard.
@@JeffKelly03 A Fulbright scholarship is indicative of ambition and academic prowess, absolutely, but says nothing about whether or not you're a "genius", whatever that nebulous term is taken to mean. There are orders of magnitude more Fulbright scholars than there are geniuses, in the currently employed definition of the word. He has a master's degree in chemical engineering and and speaks two languages fluently (Swedish and English, which wasn't super uncommon even in the 80s) as opposed to the 6-7 which have often been tossed around. He's an ambitious, bright, academically inclined person with a more "cerebral" background than most action stars of the time, which was then inflated over the years because it sounded cool and interesting.
Rocky IV is a product of its time. The 1980s - Communism, robots, MTV music videos. A lot of the songs were made specifically for this movie because of the success they had with "Eye of the Tiger" in Rocky III. When watching older movies, it helps me to think about the zeitgeist during that period.
Had no real interest in boxing prior to my Dad showing me this movie around 14 years old; I was in a boxing gym within the same week afterwards. Went on to compete for ~5 years and actually came out to Drago’s theme for my second fight lol. Drago is still my favourite movie character of all time. Great memories purchasing the VHS box set and watching through the rest of the series with my dad. The soundtrack and montages in this movie are some of the best scenes put to film. Thank you Rocky and thank you Drago! 👊🏻 “I must break you”
I was in a bar one time, and they had this playing on a TV. At the end the entire bar quoted with him "If I can change, and you can change, then we all can change!" it was hysterical.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO ON! ROCKY 6 is the best movie in the whole series next to ROCKY 1, also very close to ROCKY 1. And yes, 6 is necessary to go into Creed. Really necessary.
Ernie Shavers, who was a boxer with one of the hardest punches ever, credited chopping down trees and chopping logs for his punching power. Likely he was just born with a lot of power and that was just a form of conditioning, but lots of boxers of that era gave credence to his claim.
All joking aside. That robot is perfect for Paulie, if you take a moment too consider his character arch throughout the early franchise. He early relationship with Adrien et al, is one of a guilty, angry, resentful and deeply damaged man; He only knows how to lash out or use his fists because of a learnt behaviour, which he confesses to Rocky. Then we see the Paulie in this movie. And boy what a transformation. Paulie in the end is able to express himself in a way only Paulie could, about his love and respect for everyone who he truly loves. The robot is an important aspect to helping Paulie make those changes. It's also important for him, that this 'therapy robot' doesn't have a more 'human' form. Something that is pertinent in 2024; 'Play the next song Alexa'. Peace All
20:15 So yes George it is helpful to have the specialized equipment… sort of. The problem is all the micro muscles. When I was a runner and got hurt, my physical therapist pointed out that all my muscles beyond running straight were way underdeveloped. So working out like chopping a tree uses a bunch of muscle groups.
Trivia: Lundgren pursued a decidedly academic path, moving to the United States to study chemical engineering at Washington State University and Clemson University on an academic scholarship before returning to Sweden to complete his degree at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Lundgren then moved to Sydney, Australia, where he completed a master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Sydney. However, during the course of his higher education, Lundgren continued studying martial arts, competing as the captain of Sweden's Kyokushin karate team at the 1979 World Open Tournament, winning the European championships in 1980 and 1981, and winning a heavyweight tournament in Australia in 1982. In addition to both his academic and extra-curricular interests,
You absolutely need to finish the Rocky series before starting Creed. The events of Rocky six lay the groundwork for where Creed begins, so it’s imperative, that what happens in that movie isn’t spoiled by watching Creed first
Yes they thought that it would be an excellent idea to have a Robot in a rocky film. I mean, I had one from Radio Shack that wasn’t even an 10th as cool as this one. It was like two feet tall and could serve drinks, and you could program it to talk through the remote control recording system. I think that a lot of folks in 1985 thought that by now, we would have had robots in every household:)
@@prollins6443 yea, i understand skipping Rocky V for some people if the series had ended, but since they made more, I think you need it now to progress through
And with that, Rocky, single-handedly ended the Cold War. Some would say that the dissolution of the USSR started with the Chernobyl Accident of 1986 but, it truly started in 1985 when Rocky IV was release around the world.
There is a Director's Cut of Rocky 4 that takes out the robot entirely. Surprised you didn't get more requests for that. It's story is pretty interesting, as is why it was cut.
Harder training conditions make for more mental endurance. Yes there are better methods to train specific parts of your body for maximum potential, but the idea is if you can break and rebuild your mentality to the point of teaching yourself to practically chew off your arm if needed in order to win, then I don't care how perfectly trained the other person is, the first guy will always be tougher.
This movie(1985) did happen shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall(1989), which many equate with the fall of the Soviet Union. The movie was indeed banned in the Soviet Union, and the government did complain about always being cast as bad guys in American movies. However, according to my Russian friend, many Russians actually love the movie and had illegal vhs tapes of it in their homes. They also loved American blue jeans(Levis in particular) and American cigarettes (Marlboro Reds being their favorite) also considered contraband by the Soviets, who made it illegal for Russians to purchase anything American.
My dad drove haulage trucks through eastern europe in the early 90s and said that the best currency for getting shit done over there was either Deutschmarks or Marlboros. You want your trailer unloading fast just jump out of the cab with a carton of Marlboros and you'll get ten guys unloading you as fast as they can for two packs of cigs each.
Rocky IV wasn't banned. You gotta understand how foreign films got distribution rights in USSR. It usually were adventures and comedies from France, Italy, India etc. Even Rocky (1976) that showed shitty quality of life in USA wasn't picked up by Soviet cinemas. Rare American film would get on Soviet screens in general. It got better around 1985, but there would be delay ranging from 2 to 5 years between when film was first released and when it would get into theaters anyway. And finally why would you show 4th instalment when no one seen first 3 films? fyi, In 1986 top foreign films in USSR were: - La Femme d'à côté (1981) - France; - Sexmission (1983) - Poland; - Les Ripoux (1984) - France; - The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) - USA. Nah, party workers wouldn't even know that they should have being outrage by Rocky IV. Rambo in Afghanistan helping Taliban on the other hand... that got some small talk from politicians, but that was around the time when you could talk about some pop-culture bs. Rocky got really popular later, in the 90s. Mostly first one and, yes, this one. Same as Red Heat and Police Academy whichever one set in Russia. Those types of films were beloved for having so much klyukva in it. As in having so many overthetop stereotypes, incomprehensible Russian, weird alphabet etc. Rambo, Die Hard, Bloodsport - those were popular in the 80s thanks to VHS pirated and dubbed copies.
@@viceman8152 where do you get your info? Did Rocky 1-3 was shown in USSR? No, it wasn't. So what would be the need to ban film, that was part of franchise that wasn't available in USSR in the first place?!
Personal opinion watch all the rocky films before creed. It helps understand exactly why he does all he does and how he does it. You could make the jump and it wouldn’t exactly hurt but there can be small details that could leave questions. It will help in the pay off 👍🏻🥊
Fun fact time: In 2009 some robbers broke into a house in Spain, tied up the woman they found, and terrorised her to tell them the location of any valuables. The robbers then saw her wedding photos, realised she was married to Dolph Lundgren, and immediately fled the scene.
The interesting thing about Drago is that you're not really supposed to hate him by the end. Hes a powerful fighter, but you can tell thats hes also not totally confident and he doesnt like the reasons why hes fighting.
Some ironic trivia to consider with this movie: 1. While Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago, was an actual trained fighter and European martial arts champion who never, to the best of my knowledge, relied on synthetic performance enhancers, Sylvester Stallone (contra Rocky) has used them a lot, and even faced legal charges for possessing such a large number of controlled substances. 2. While the climactic fight in this movie shows them fighting on a similar level, during production, at the latter's invitation, Dolph Lundgren actually did hit Sylvester Stallone in the chest and that one punch landed him in the hospital for an extended period. Also, even if the two were somehow comparable in terms of strength and skill, Ludgren/Drago's height and reach advantage would almost certainly make it impossible for Stallone/Rocky to land any significant blows.
While true I'd like for them to at least see several G1 cartoon episodes to they can get the same whiplash we did back then. I've noticed that reactors don't quite react how some would expect since they're going in blind and the movie was for those who had knowledge of the show.
@@Windrave I get where you're coming from with this and appreciate how vague you're being to give nothing away all the while saying enough that I know where you're coming from haha
There is a cut of the film that fully deletes the Robot. Way better. Also, watch ALL the movies. Rocky V isn't great, but important context happens. Rocky Balboa is really good. & the Creed films are phenomenal.
Look up Dolph Lundgren, the actor who played Drago. He's much more than the Russian robot character in the movie. For example, he's got a masters degree in chemical engineering, is a 4th degree black belt, and speaks five languages fluently. There's a lot more to him.
Dolph Lundgren was not acting during the "Living in America" sequence. In an interview, he said that he was genuinely in shock and awe about what he was seeing.
Fun Fact: Burt Young (Paulie) dropped out of school at 15 and joined the Marines. He was a professional boxer and appeared in 14 professional boxing matches, all of which he won. He even boxed with legend Muhammad Ali for charity (the two became good friends).
Burt Young was also trained as a fighter by Angelo Dundee, who was also Ali trainer.
That is fascinating-didn’t realize that Mr. Young has such a history.
Another fun fact....Dolph is a trained chemical engineer
@@philCTO yep, built like a superhero and extremely smart. And here I am eating cheetos lol
Fun fact: Paulie was actually having cybersex with that robot off camera. He taught it to make sex noises and say things like, "your dick is so big." These lines were cut from the final edit.
Carl Weathers improvised the final twitch on the canvas at the end of his fight. Because he had told nobody he was gonna do that and it wasn't in the script, the film crew actually thought he was seriously hurt.
Fuckin legend
I still miss Carl Weathers. Was so upset to hear that he died this past winter. Just seemed like such a fun actor to be around, and always he seemed to appreciate his fans.
The lion's name is Leo. He was born in the Dublin Zoo in 1956 and has been used for most MGM movies since 1957. He took over from George who had only been the official lion for about a year. Before George they started with 2 lions whose names are not known followed by Slats, Jackie, Bill, Telly, Coffee and Tanner. Today they use a CGI version based on Leo.
Rocky 4 - the gold standard for training montages.
The Golden Ratio for movie success: 50% montage, 25% flashbacks, 25% musclebound oafs punching each other in the head
Dolph Lundgren: 6’5” Swedish giant with an IQ of 160, a masters degree in chemical engineering, a full bright scholarship from MIT, has a black belt in karate with two championship wins, and speaks five languages… Only nine lines of full dialogue in his first breakout role.
Wild story, that one.
Stallone didn't use a dialect coach to "improve" his speech pattern, because he didn't actually speak like Rocky in real life anyway. It was simply an acting choice. In this film, Stallone made Rocky slightly more articulate to imply a bit more sophistication and growth of the character.
Just for information in case u don’t know (u meaning the people watching Rocky) Sly’s speech (non Rocky) is the way it is because he was injured at birth. The doctor used forceps and cut a nerve on the left side of Sly’s face. It why his lip droops a bit and his speech is affected because part of his tongue is paralyzed. He eventually had to have a doctor do work on the left side of his face cause he lost so much weight for Rocky and Rambo that it drooped more so he had a doctor bring it up level to the right side.
there's a touching reason why the robot was included in Rocky 4. Originally, Sico was developed to entertain Seargeoh Stallone, one of Stallone's sons who has autism. Sico is an acronym that stands for "socio-psychological phenomenon" and is used as a tool to help facilitate and develop bonds with people who are neurodivergent. His appearance in the movie helped introduce him to a much wider audience who may have never heard about his abilities in the area of mental health.
@@xtremejay2000 was created by Robert Doornick CEO of international robotics, he also did the voice - there's plenty of articles around rocky 4 - mainly for the reasoning why the robot was dropped from the directors cut of 2021
Touching, maybe, but imo still not reason to put it in a movie you are hoping to be taken seriously. Not to mention, I don't see how the robot's portrayal in the movie would introduce him to the people who could benefit from him; I mean, it's portrayed as basically being a servant/toy (and later a creepy toy). Most people watching the film would think "okay, this is a weird, fictional robot in a movie", much like Simone and George did. I don't know that anyone's first thought would be "Wow - I bet that robot's real, and I can get one for my child (if I can afford it)." It would have made more sense to me (and made a better film) if they just spent a few minutes having Rocky visit a center for children with autism, and have the robot there, showing off what it can do to help the kids. Then the movie wouldn't be saddled with trying to fit it into the story.
@@tomflorio3639 for sure, it was done weirdly in the film, most likely why it was removed in directors cut, it hasn't aged well
@@tomflorio3639yes almost 4 decades AFTER the robot was a thing. Not only are you not thinking about why something like that wouldn’t be relevant for people in the modern day to know but you also assume that the robot being a bit makes people not take it seriously. If people heard it was a thing and looked into it they would find out why it was actually used leaving a very positive impact on the brand. You’re extremely full of it. Just say you dislike it, don’t try to be so cynical because you didn’t like it LOL
@@jinxysaberk You speak in riddles. Seek help.
"I must break you." LEGENDARY line!
In Fallout 2, you can become an... "adult performer", and, you get to choose a stage name from a list of hilarious options. One of the options is "The Count of Monte Fisto".
@@ExUSSailor I've been trying to get the motivation to start Fallout 2 and I think you just gave me it XD
these , Goggles do nothing, my eyes Burn.
@@cassu6 you can also kill an old man, marry his daughter at gunpoint and then sell her to a p0rn studio. you can also join a mafia family, and impregnate his wife and his daughter. 😁game's wild.
@@cassu6 you can also kill an old man, marry his daughter at gunpoint and then sell her to a p0rn studio. you can also join a mafia family, and impregnate his wife and his daughter. 😁game's wild.
i think people forget or don't really understand that Rocky 4 isn't just about America vs Russia but it also talks about fear of aging and change not wanting to lose what you feel is your purpouse it essentially not letting go of the past sure it wasn't as developped but it's clearly a theme with Rocky and Appolo in this one
Being 18 yrs old then, I would disagree. Sure, now, at 58, I would agree. Lol
"YOU SEE?!? HE'S NOT A MACHINE! HE'S A MAN!" - to this day, that line never fails to move me.
A motivational, hopeful and inspirational line that is just SO powerful.
with severe conviction
Duke was telling himself along with Rocky. Everyone doubted the Russian could be damaged. His excitement and hope in that line is so powerful.
NO PAIN ! NO PAIN !
YOU CUT HIM! YOU HURT HIM! YOU SEE! Absolutely. Just Awesome.
Which is followed immediately by Drago's corner saying "he's not human. He's like a piece of iron."
One of my absolute favorite details in this movie is in the training montage. Rocky literally does not stop moving until he reaches the top of the mountain whereas Drago eventually gave up when the incline on the treadmill got too high. Shows the difference between the two of them.
I’ve used the stairclimber to the soundtrack
I can't believe "if he dies he dies" didn't make the edit. Copyright? Or no reaction? That's the quote of the film.
Dolph Lundgren is 6' 7" tall, and was valedictorian of his high school class, and graduated from an engineering school with major honors and was considered near genius level man-beast. He stars with Stallone in the Expendables series of films as well.
people who met daulph in real life all said that he's 6'3 max
@@achrafslama997People also shrink with age though, and he’s getting up there.
@@masamune2984 good point man .. very true
He went to MIT as a chemical engineer and was a fulbright scholar.
Don't skip a single movie in this franchise.
Agreed.
"He took my room!"
“No guys ain’t no pie eating contest” funniest insult joke yet also protecting them at the same time line ever. 🤣🤣🤣
Exactly! All are mandatory
Absolutely agree even tho Rocky V was not the greatest
Rocky 4 came out in November 85. The Berlin Wall fell in November 89, so yes Rocky helped end the Cold War.
And on Christmas Day
The thing with the equipment is they are made to exercise very specific muscles, where as the free weights or training rocky does exercises multiple muscle groups at once. Free weights vs machines is a huge debate in the gym community actually lol
As long as you use a wide variety of machines, you get better results than free weights BECAUSE of their specificity. If you don't, then you will get uneven development and set yourself up for injuries when a relatively weak muscle is recruited into a complex exercise. For example, if you only ever use a pectoral machine, then try doing a barbell lift using your trapezius, you could easily tear it if you try lifting the same weight you can move on the pec machine.
Machines are safer. Free weights work stabilizer muscles. It's best to use both styles.
@@hulkslayer626 Yes machines are safer _during the act of exercise_ . That safety comes at the price of your body not recruiting all the stabilizing muscles it would if you were lifting a free weight or anything normally in the real world. Think of it like building a wall out of bricks but using chewing gum instead of mortar. Despite the strength of each individual brick it's not going to be a strong wall is it?
@@fredfredburger5150 I know... I said that. ?
@@hulkslayer626 Actually I've heard that you are more likely to injure yourself on a machine, because it makes you go through a forced range of motion rather than your body's natural movement. Either way, you have proven the OP's point.
I saw this opening night with my brother. The Rocky/Drago fight was insane; like watching a real fight. Everyone was on their feet yelling at the screen, cheering Rocky.
Me too, with a group of friends. The theater was packed and people were losing their minds by the end of the movie. To this day it is still one of the rowdiest, craziest movie going experience of my life.
Always watch in release order! So yes, watch 5 and 6! They will set up the Creed movies.
The progression of Rocky as a character is truly phenomenal. He went from not even being able to read to single-handedly ending the Cold War.
Regarding the robot, my dad in the 80's would always bring home some new gadget or tech and we didn't have much money. It would be completely normal for a rich dad in the 80's to do the same.
Those robots were an actual thing when I was a kid! I remember walking past one, in Toys R Us, shortly after seeing this movie, and BEGGING MY MOTHER to buy one for me! She of course took one look at the price tag, then looked at me, and said: "You'll get over it." And dragged me out of the store, even as I wailed at the top of my lungs (as 8 year olds, who don't get what they want in the moment do, lol).
fair enough!
what threw us off about the robot is that anytime it was on screen, it felt like like a scene from a different movie. to paraphrase someone else with the same thought, "yes guns exists in the harry potter universe but it would feel really jarring if in one of those movies a death eater pulls out an uzi, just because it existed doenst mean it fits the tone".
I’m not sure if you guys understand how amazing it was for us in the 80’s to watch that full James Brown performance at Apollo’s final fight, it was exhilarating! Remember there was not internet, so this was an exhibition! Also, this Russian guy, it was all very foreign and mysterious…Again no internet or traveling as much as today so as a child or teen, this was scary and he looked like a machine! The robot thing I know it looks silly today but at the time was very cool. Hope you guys continue, so excited for you guys to see Rocky 5, it gets more interesting!!!! Continue the saga in order please!
You have to watch Rocky 5, there is part in the movie that changes Rockys life forever, and it would explain alot for Rocky 6 and Creed. And the movie itself is not that bad, I think people got caught up in the boxing storyline that they over looked the personal story. That is why they dont like it. In Rocky 5 its goes back to where they started from and it will be the last time you see an important character that wont be in any other rocky or creed movies.
Rocky 5's main issue is the antagonist isn't very good. Creed, Clubber Lang and Drago were all not only impressive from a fighting point of view, but could be held up as mirrors to the issues in Rocky's life at the time. Tommy is neither of those things, and his biggest impact on Rocky is to make him neglect his son, which feels out of character for Rocky.
It's certainly not the worst movie, just not as good as it's esteemed brothers.
@@dmore Interestingly enough, Thomas Morrison (Tommy Gunn) was an actual boxer and not a pretend one like the rest of the people you mentioned lol.
@@dmorebut was Tommy the antagonist or was it the Don King act like guy?
@@shawnmiller4781 That's a good point, Duke is every bit the antagonist alongside Tommy. The way he's able to drag Rocky away from his values is just as bad and while it's satisfying to see him get knocked down, I don't feel like Rocky grows in the way he does in the other movies. Rocky's opposition to Duke doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know about him.
The thing about Rocky V that I mentioned in another post is that large chunks of it were basically ignored/wrtten over for Rocky VI. Its not a horrible movie, but it one of the weakest along with II, and parts of it are almost non-canon. VI is a banger though, and brings kind of a mature wisdom to close things down. Makes me wonder if Creed will ever learn that your main character has to actually lose/be expected to lose if you want to create the hero's arc.
I was in high school (7-12) from 82-88. We still had school paddlings, hide under the desk drills and monthly "bomb shelter" drills, where we all lined up, single file, to go through the boiler room to the bunker. It weighed heavily on us, and at the same time, we knew nothing else and it was part of everyday life.
That's kinda crazy, cause my parents finished high school in 79 and 82, had no bomb shelter drills and had zero worry about nuclear war... they were living in USSR.
You would think authoritarian regime would focus more on fear mongering or valid preparation depends on how you look at it. I mean, if one officer followed the orders half of the world wouldn't exist in 1983.
"It weighed heavily on us"
This part I don't get at all. Why US was more openly worried about nukes or at least wasn't putting kids mind at ease during Cold War. Why *cultivate anxiety* in kids, about situation that none of them could do anything about?
I'm not saying that adults in USSR didn't fear the possibility of nuclear war, judging by jokes like this one:
- What do you do in case a nuclear bomb goes off?
- Just wrap yourself in a white sheet and slowly crawl to the nearest cemetery.
- Why slowly?
- To not create panic.
You guys never have to ask again "What's the most American movie we've ever seen?" It's Rocky 4.
Right
Merca....fuck yeah
This and Rambo 2 or 3. Stallone was big in getting America's patriot boner fully erect in the 80s
Yeah, you’re right.
I don't know about that.... "Red Dawn" has lots of guns and explosions....
Best soundtrack of any movie , and nothing makes me want to workout more then the training montage of Rocky 4
This is considered by many the most 80s movie ever made, the personification of the spirit of what an 80s movie is.
M.T.V.
This was at the height of the MTV era, so it's as if the movies throws in several segments that are little more than Music Videos.
@@trekkiejunk As I said, a lot of people do, but not all, and that's fine, but let's face it, culture, fashion, music, political stands , all are very much present in this movie, and to be fair not a single of those things actually define an 80s movie, it is the feel of the 80s , the cringe, the over the top everything, the americanism, the absurdity that actually characterize an 80s movies, some of my favorite movies from the 80s like Aliens or back to the future, or Raiders of the lost ark, etc... are amazing movies, but not 80s movies at all, they are timeless and could be inserted in pretty much any decade with slight changes, 80s movies could have almost everything from music, to fashion, to culture changed , up to a point of course, and still be obviously an 80s movie, and this is one of those movies, probably the most 80s of these movies , even though Ferris Buller's day off or Goonies for instance or some other movies would be absolutely good picks.
@@trekkiejunkThink about it from the standpoint of 1985.... This was the age of the Cold War when the "free world" was largely united in opposition to the communist East. The 70's and 80's were decades in which the consensus was that the Capitalist West had much greater cultural and political freedom than the communists of the East.
First they call him Kid Gorgeous. Later on it was Kid Presentable, then Kid Gruesome, and finally Kid George.
I like that Drago does not want the fight to be about USA vs Soviet Union, he just wants to win
So, the robot was included was SICO designed to help autistic children, Stallone wanted to feature and create awareness of the programme, which he himself used for his son.
There is also a director's cut version of Rocky 4 called Rocky Vs Drago with a very different tone that is more inline with the first two movies.
You will absolutely need to watch the next 2 Rocky movies. Rocky 5 is not great, but sets up a lot of context of where the characters will be during the Creed films.
Rocky 5 is my guilty pleasure, is not a great film, but there are very good moments
“Not great” is one way of putting it. 😂😂
Rocky/Creed is Rocky's life story..... can't skip out in the middle!
100% agree. There's important back story with his son that plays into Rocky's motivations in Creed, plus his son's problems in Rocky Balboa.
@@gohan3366 It's the weakest Rocky movie, but still pretty good.
I once heard a joking theory that Stallone did not tell Carl Weathers that there was a robot in this movie, as a prank. It's not a serious theory, but it would explain how his jaw almost drops open when he sees that thing and then does his best to pretend that didn't just happen when it leaves.
During one of the boxing scenes, Sylvester wanted Dolph to go full bore for 20 seconds and Dolph actually put Sylvester in the hospital/ICU for 4 days because he hit him so hard. Dolph is a legitimate bad ass
And Stallone's insurance almost wouldn't cover it, thinking no human could hit that hard.
The crazy thing is why he went to the hospital. It wasn't just that he hit him hard. He hit him so hard it made Stallone's heart swell up and almost caused cardiac arrest. That's insane.
if i'm not mistaken after those 4 days in the ICU...the line "I must break you" was added in the film to mark solidity to what happened to Sylvester
I might be getting the stories mixed up, but didn't the doctors first assume Stallone had been hit by a car? I dunno.
@@phj223 It was the insurance company.
This is the film that started Dolph Lundgren's film career. You should watch now Masters of the Universe AND The Punisher!
And "Showdown in Little Tokyo" !
This was the first Rocky movie I saw back in High School that made me get into weight training.
Dolph really was perfect casting for Drago, he had so much presence while barely speaking
I love how historically accurate this movie is.
The "heart's on fire" montage is the greatest montage in any movie, ever, ever, ever, ever, forever.
I always forget about the robot wife, maybe because I watch the Director's Cut, which removes that thing entirely.
The Creed movies are great, but you need to watch the two last Rocky movies before them to really understand everything.
Also, while Drago is of course not much of a character in the film, I do really like when he gets upset and declares that he will win for himself-a great character moment for someone who, until this point, was just a literal muscle for his superiors.
15:44 - Yes. You absolutely need to watch Rocky 5 and Rocky Balboa. 5 is not my favorite, but it builds some stuff for Balboa, so Rocky 6 will hit much harder if you have watched 5.
Also, those two will help build more world for the Creed series. Def dont skip.
This movie single-handedly ended the Cold War. Gorbachev saw his doppelgänger and thought “Yes. Rocky is right. I, too, can change”.
After Reagan won a second term in 1984, three of the most American Reagan-era movies ever made were released. Rambo II and this one in 1985, and then Top Gun the next year.
I have never seen anyone who's ever watched this movie focus on the robot to even 100th of the degree that you do.
yep, it really really surprised us and what threw us off about the robot is that anytime it was on screen, it felt like like a scene from a different movie. to paraphrase someone else with the same thought, "yes guns exists in the harry potter universe but it would feel really jarring if in one of those movies a death eater pulls out an uzi, just because it existed doenst mean it fits the tone".
@@CineBingeReact I can see that. Since I watched it as a kid, critical thinking wasn't that big a part of my movie experience. I just thought, "Remote control 🤖! Cool gift!" And didn't spare it another thought.
@@CineBingeReact It was an 80's blockbuster...EVERY movie had to have some kind of signature whiz-bang element. Those were just the times. That being said it was probably overdone, but they felt the need to inject some type of comic relief into such a serious series. Blockbusters couldn't be 100% serious like the first Rocky film by the mid 80's as it was a very uplifting time to be an American (despite the "cold war" going on in the background).
You guys still don't understand Paulie. Rocky and Adrian are the only people who could ever love him and it speaks to their characters almost as much as the rest of the stuff in the franchise. Pauly isn't annoying to Rocky, he's comforted by him and he wouldn't ever give up on him no matter how much he fucks up or complains. Paulie is Rock's family just as much as Mick or Apollo.
not to mention for all his flaws, to have a friend willing to walk into a Russian arena with the American flag draped around himself in the hight of the cold war...thats a brother
@@80snead right, he'd follow Rocky into hell if he had to, and he'd complain the whole time haha
Of course he would…rocky is the breadwinner so to speak. Paulie didn’t lift a finger to help Rocky in his boxing career until Rocky started fighting in championships.
@@marvymarv959 yeah it's almost like Paulie is a complete ignorant screwed up drunk only the two nicest most forgiving people could ever love
Doesn't change the fact that Paulie's still a piece of shit. Speaks volumes about Rocky & Adrian being suuuuper nice and tolerant, but Paulie is just a walking fail. I mean, for fuck's sake he's the reason why shit falls apart for the family in the next movie lol.
I always thought the robot was just a display of Rocky's immense wealth by that point in his life. Kinda like an upgraded version of what he bought after his first fight with Apollo.
*#RIP** Carl Weathers/Apollo Creed Feb. 2, 2024 (76)* Cardiovascular Disease
*#RIP** Burt Young/Paulie Pennino Oct. 8, 2023 (83)* Cardiac Arrest
*#RIP** Anthony Burton/Tony "Duke" Evers Feb. 25, 2016 (aged 78)* Pneumonia
*#RIP** Burgess Meredith/Mickey Goldmill Sept. 9, 1997 (89)* Alzheimer's Disease
I just looked up Burgess Meredith, can't believe he lived 12 years after this film came out. (I know he was killed off in the earlier films.) And jeez, Burt Young looked almost 83 in 1985. He (Burt Young) was 44/45 here!!??👀
And Tony Burton (Duke) passed several years ago too
@@johnsmith-nn2hs added Duke's death...
But I was surprised Carl Weathers who was in the best shape of all of them died the youngest
@@johnsmith-nn2hs NO he was born 1907 so he was 69 in Rocky 1 (1976) & 72 in Rocky 2 (1979) Mickey died in Rocky 3 was 75 (1982) & (he wasn't in Rocky 4 but would've been 78 (1985) then died in 1997 at 89
I edited my comment for clarity. Pauly/Burt Young was 44/45 in Rocky IV but looked much older (jokingly 83, his age when he died in 2023).
Russian from Moscow, born in 1991 here.
- Movie was pretty popular actually. We had these 'tv salons', where it was like a movie theater, but smaller and with as big tv as could be found, putting in vhs tapes, usually dubbed by one guy. That's also why particular certain films, genres and actors were, and by heredetary culture still are, more popular here.
- Announcer is speaking pretty clear russian, with a proper petersburgian accent. One baffling mistake though, when Rocky does his 'better 2 than 20 million' speech, announcer says 'better than 20 million dollars'. Why - I have no idea.
I was a extra in the crowd in the fifht scene at the end,it was filmed in Vancouver BC Canada. Winter in Canada is winter in Russia both are in northern hemisphere
As someone who was born in the 70's and lived through the 80's, the idea of the "household robot" was huge in the mid-80's. There were so many toy robots when I was a kid, and they were ridiculously expensive even for the 80's. Probably why it died off.
6:46..."If he dies, he dies."
"Daniel, you're the best" and "You can't win!" are some of the best set ups for some of the best training/action montages ever.
We need a montage! Even Rocky had a montage!
I saw this in the theater when it came out. It was a crazy, typical 80s crowd. Everyone was standing up creaming and cheering at the fight like it was a real live boxing match. By far the most surreal movie going experience I ever had
Likewise. I remember the theater my dad took us to like it was yesterday.
"No easy way out" is the best moody drive song
DON'T SKIP trust me!, The Directors Cut of Rocky 4 came out in 2021 and it's a lot more grounded and a much more better cut of the movie with more drama and no robot.
Rocky 5 is the worst in the series but still a good movie it's defiantly worth watching.
Rocky Balboa is a GREAT movie and in my opinion as good as the first and the perfect ending to the original films. Grab tissues for this one.
I still prefer the theatrical version of Rocky IV. The Directors cut had some good moments but they cut way too much out of the theatrical cut for my liking.
Agreed, thou I did like at Apollo's Funeral that Duke gave the main Speech than Rocky as it made more sense, plus more screen time for Duke is always a good thing. Personally I never had a problem with the robot was of its time 😂
The fact Dolph Lundgren has two degrees in Chemical Emgineering and yet looks convincing as someone who can kill Rocky makes me think he was the inspiration for Jules in Twins, the whole brains with brawn combo.
Well, he did punch Stallone for real and hospitalized him. It's a bananas story.
RIP Apollo/Its extra sad since we lost Carl Weathers 😢
On a happier note/Fun fact: The fight between Rocky and Drago was filmed in Vancouver BC 🇨🇦 at the old PNE Agrodome. However Rocky's snowy winter training in "Russia" was actually filmed in Wyoming USA . Probably because we don't get that much snow in Vancouver.
Also Love the sound track.
Stallone was married to Brigitte Nielsen who played Drago's wife.
You have to finish all the rocky movies. It doesn’t matter what people say about the next one. It’s in the saga and part of the rocky story.
I think you could skip 5, but I'm also not gonna say you should or or shouldn't.
I do think it is referenced, tho.. but I wouldn't blame anyone for skipping it. I feel like a lot of the people who recently reacted to the whole series were confused by it... and that it took away from Rocky Balboa with his Son's development..
I really don't know how much is lost by skipping it.
Yes. Plus, 5 sets up alot as to what the franchise is now with the Creed movies. So bad or not, it still matters.
Carl weather's actually improvised the twitch when Apollo died and everyone actually thought he was really hurt
This movie came out around the Same time as Short Circuit and also when technology was innovating at express rates and how robots were going to take over including jobs like AI today.
One of the things that you guys missed was that Dolph Lundgren hit Stallone so hard in his ribs that he broke two of them and caused him to collapse his lung. He had to be rushed to the hospital where the doctor thought he'd been in a car accident.
That’s rather terrifying.
Simone is definetly reading Lore Olympus
There was a line in National Treasure 2 that said before Lincoln , we said “The United States are…”. We became “The United States is…”. In the current time, as we are fractured some as a country, it helps to know that in 1985, we were in full “The United States is…” mode. National pride was high, and having a rival like the USSR pulled us all together in that regard.
Just waiting for that one random person that has to tell the whole world that Dolph Lundgren is actually Swedish and some kind of genius 😂😂😂😂
Not just kind of a genius - an actual genius. He had a full scholarship to MIT but got into modeling and then acting instead.
Also sent Stalone to the hospital
4 years of clown college
Also, smells crime and walks around on all fours.
@@JeffKelly03 A Fulbright scholarship is indicative of ambition and academic prowess, absolutely, but says nothing about whether or not you're a "genius", whatever that nebulous term is taken to mean. There are orders of magnitude more Fulbright scholars than there are geniuses, in the currently employed definition of the word. He has a master's degree in chemical engineering and and speaks two languages fluently (Swedish and English, which wasn't super uncommon even in the 80s) as opposed to the 6-7 which have often been tossed around. He's an ambitious, bright, academically inclined person with a more "cerebral" background than most action stars of the time, which was then inflated over the years because it sounded cool and interesting.
24:49 his Russian is perfect. No accent, nothing. He is native speaker.
Rocky IV is a product of its time. The 1980s - Communism, robots, MTV music videos. A lot of the songs were made specifically for this movie because of the success they had with "Eye of the Tiger" in Rocky III. When watching older movies, it helps me to think about the zeitgeist during that period.
Had no real interest in boxing prior to my Dad showing me this movie around 14 years old; I was in a boxing gym within the same week afterwards. Went on to compete for ~5 years and actually came out to Drago’s theme for my second fight lol. Drago is still my favourite movie character of all time. Great memories purchasing the VHS box set and watching through the rest of the series with my dad. The soundtrack and montages in this movie are some of the best scenes put to film.
Thank you Rocky and thank you Drago! 👊🏻
“I must break you”
For Rocky's full journey, you need to watch both 5 and Rocky Balboa before Creed.
I was in a bar one time, and they had this playing on a TV. At the end the entire bar quoted with him "If I can change, and you can change, then we all can change!" it was hysterical.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO ON! ROCKY 6 is the best movie in the whole series next to ROCKY 1, also very close to ROCKY 1. And yes, 6 is necessary to go into Creed. Really necessary.
Ernie Shavers, who was a boxer with one of the hardest punches ever, credited chopping down trees and chopping logs for his punching power. Likely he was just born with a lot of power and that was just a form of conditioning, but lots of boxers of that era gave credence to his claim.
You have to watch all Rocky films before the Creed films to understand where Rocky is at in the time of his life
All joking aside. That robot is perfect for Paulie, if you take a moment too consider his character arch throughout the early franchise. He early relationship with Adrien et al, is one of a guilty, angry, resentful and deeply damaged man; He only knows how to lash out or use his fists because of a learnt behaviour, which he confesses to Rocky. Then we see the Paulie in this movie. And boy what a transformation. Paulie in the end is able to express himself in a way only Paulie could, about his love and respect for everyone who he truly loves. The robot is an important aspect to helping Paulie make those changes. It's also important for him, that this 'therapy robot' doesn't have a more 'human' form. Something that is pertinent in 2024; 'Play the next song Alexa'. Peace All
I’ve never heard the party story, I’ve always heard the robot was included because Stallone was using it to help his son with Autism, who enjoyed it.
Now that you've seen this movie with the James Brown song, you have to watch Weird Al's song: Living with a Hernia.
20:15 So yes George it is helpful to have the specialized equipment… sort of. The problem is all the micro muscles. When I was a runner and got hurt, my physical therapist pointed out that all my muscles beyond running straight were way underdeveloped. So working out like chopping a tree uses a bunch of muscle groups.
Big difference between having developed muscles and being strong.
@@eXpriestTotally agree. And “strong” to do what? If it’s to keep lifting on that machine, then fine. But the micro muscles mean everything.
i remember the crowd in the theater applauded at the final speech of peace. I was 5 years old and was blown away by everyone's reaction.
Trivia: Lundgren pursued a decidedly academic path, moving to the United States to study chemical engineering at Washington State University and Clemson University on an academic scholarship before returning to Sweden to complete his degree at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Lundgren then moved to Sydney, Australia, where he completed a master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Sydney. However, during the course of his higher education, Lundgren continued studying martial arts, competing as the captain of Sweden's Kyokushin karate team at the 1979 World Open Tournament, winning the European championships in 1980 and 1981, and winning a heavyweight tournament in Australia in 1982. In addition to both his academic and extra-curricular interests,
You absolutely need to finish the Rocky series before starting Creed. The events of Rocky six lay the groundwork for where Creed begins, so it’s imperative, that what happens in that movie isn’t spoiled by watching Creed first
Yes. The Rocky franchise started out as a love story. By the time we get to Rocky III and Rocky IV, they become action films. 😂
Rocky Balboa firmly returns to it's roots at least.
Yes they thought that it would be an excellent idea to have a Robot in a rocky film. I mean, I had one from Radio Shack that wasn’t even an 10th as cool as this one. It was like two feet tall and could serve drinks, and you could program it to talk through the remote control recording system. I think that a lot of folks in 1985 thought that by now, we would have had robots in every household:)
Yeah you gotta do Rocky 5 and Balboa first before Creed. It’s a franchise for a reason. Trust me it matters for a complete story
absolutely. even if you dont like it, it is very important to the continuation
Agreed, even though i HATE Rocky 5, it does matter to the series!
@@prollins6443 yea, i understand skipping Rocky V for some people if the series had ended, but since they made more, I think you need it now to progress through
And with that, Rocky, single-handedly ended the Cold War. Some would say that the dissolution of the USSR started with the Chernobyl Accident of 1986 but, it truly started in 1985 when Rocky IV was release around the world.
There is a Director's Cut of Rocky 4 that takes out the robot entirely. Surprised you didn't get more requests for that. It's story is pretty interesting, as is why it was cut.
Harder training conditions make for more mental endurance. Yes there are better methods to train specific parts of your body for maximum potential, but the idea is if you can break and rebuild your mentality to the point of teaching yourself to practically chew off your arm if needed in order to win, then I don't care how perfectly trained the other person is, the first guy will always be tougher.
This movie(1985) did happen shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall(1989), which many equate with the fall of the Soviet Union. The movie was indeed banned in the Soviet Union, and the government did complain about always being cast as bad guys in American movies. However, according to my Russian friend, many Russians actually love the movie and had illegal vhs tapes of it in their homes. They also loved American blue jeans(Levis in particular) and American cigarettes (Marlboro Reds being their favorite) also considered contraband by the Soviets, who made it illegal for Russians to purchase anything American.
My dad drove haulage trucks through eastern europe in the early 90s and said that the best currency for getting shit done over there was either Deutschmarks or Marlboros. You want your trailer unloading fast just jump out of the cab with a carton of Marlboros and you'll get ten guys unloading you as fast as they can for two packs of cigs each.
@@daved2352 LOL Marlboro reds costed me about 3 dollars a pack back in the early 90's. That's some cheap labor cost. 😁
Rocky IV wasn't banned. You gotta understand how foreign films got distribution rights in USSR. It usually were adventures and comedies from France, Italy, India etc. Even Rocky (1976) that showed shitty quality of life in USA wasn't picked up by Soviet cinemas.
Rare American film would get on Soviet screens in general. It got better around 1985, but there would be delay ranging from 2 to 5 years between when film was first released and when it would get into theaters anyway. And finally why would you show 4th instalment when no one seen first 3 films?
fyi, In 1986 top foreign films in USSR were:
- La Femme d'à côté (1981) - France;
- Sexmission (1983) - Poland;
- Les Ripoux (1984) - France;
- The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) - USA.
Nah, party workers wouldn't even know that they should have being outrage by Rocky IV. Rambo in Afghanistan helping Taliban on the other hand... that got some small talk from politicians, but that was around the time when you could talk about some pop-culture bs.
Rocky got really popular later, in the 90s. Mostly first one and, yes, this one. Same as Red Heat and Police Academy whichever one set in Russia. Those types of films were beloved for having so much klyukva in it. As in having so many overthetop stereotypes, incomprehensible Russian, weird alphabet etc.
Rambo, Die Hard, Bloodsport - those were popular in the 80s thanks to VHS pirated and dubbed copies.
@@somestuff7876 The Soviets banned the distribution of the film when it was released in 1985.
@@viceman8152 where do you get your info? Did Rocky 1-3 was shown in USSR? No, it wasn't. So what would be the need to ban film, that was part of franchise that wasn't available in USSR in the first place?!
For sure you guys should watch the next two rocky movies, especially Rocky 6 (Balboa). It’s essentially the ending to Rocky’s story.
Personal opinion watch all the rocky films before creed. It helps understand exactly why he does all he does and how he does it. You could make the jump and it wouldn’t exactly hurt but there can be small details that could leave questions. It will help in the pay off 👍🏻🥊
I'm gonna say it. This training montage is the best training montage.
Fun fact time:
In 2009 some robbers broke into a house in Spain, tied up the woman they found, and terrorised her to tell them the location of any valuables.
The robbers then saw her wedding photos, realised she was married to Dolph Lundgren, and immediately fled the scene.
The interesting thing about Drago is that you're not really supposed to hate him by the end. Hes a powerful fighter, but you can tell thats hes also not totally confident and he doesnt like the reasons why hes fighting.
I imagine George and Simone reacting to the fact that Dolph Lundgren is kind of a real life genius like how they react to a plot twist in a movie
Some ironic trivia to consider with this movie:
1. While Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago, was an actual trained fighter and European martial arts champion who never, to the best of my knowledge, relied on synthetic performance enhancers, Sylvester Stallone (contra Rocky) has used them a lot, and even faced legal charges for possessing such a large number of controlled substances.
2. While the climactic fight in this movie shows them fighting on a similar level, during production, at the latter's invitation, Dolph Lundgren actually did hit Sylvester Stallone in the chest and that one punch landed him in the hospital for an extended period. Also, even if the two were somehow comparable in terms of strength and skill, Ludgren/Drago's height and reach advantage would almost certainly make it impossible for Stallone/Rocky to land any significant blows.
That montage is iconic.
You guys should definetly watch the next 2 Rocky movies, the 5th is heartbreaking at the beginning while the last Rocky movie is just heartbreaking
Shout out to Vince Dicola for his score... that synth is so freaking great
Transformers The Movie should be watched next just for more Vince
While true I'd like for them to at least see several G1 cartoon episodes to they can get the same whiplash we did back then. I've noticed that reactors don't quite react how some would expect since they're going in blind and the movie was for those who had knowledge of the show.
@@Windrave I get where you're coming from with this and appreciate how vague you're being to give nothing away all the while saying enough that I know where you're coming from haha
Rocky IV has one of the best soundtracks ever, both score and songs!
There is a cut of the film that fully deletes the Robot. Way better. Also, watch ALL the movies. Rocky V isn't great, but important context happens. Rocky Balboa is really good. & the Creed films are phenomenal.
This was exactly what happened in 1980 with the Americans beating Russia in the winter olympics in hockey.
Drago’s wife in the movie (Brigette Nielsen) was Sylvester Stallone’s real life wife at the time.
RIP, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, James Brown, and Tony Burton.
Look up Dolph Lundgren, the actor who played Drago. He's much more than the Russian robot character in the movie. For example, he's got a masters degree in chemical engineering, is a 4th degree black belt, and speaks five languages fluently. There's a lot more to him.