Rocky IV is a 1985 American sports drama film starring and directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote. It is the sequel to Rocky III (1982) and is the fourth installment in the Rocky franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Brigitte Nielsen, and Dolph Lundgren. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone) fights Ivan Drago (Lundgren), a Soviet boxer responsible for causing a personal tragedy. Rocky IV was Dolph Lundgren’s first American film debut, and Stallone’s last directorial effort until 2006.
Development for a fourth Rocky film began soon after the success of Rocky III, which faced controversy after it was subject to a copyright lawsuit. Principal photography began in 1984, with filming locations including Philadelphia, Wyoming, and Vancouver. Stallone and Ludgren engaged in authentic punching in their fight, which led to Stallone being admitted to intensive care. Filming also featured new special effects and bona fide and groundbreaking sport methods and equipment, some of which were years removed from public use.
Rocky IV is known for its strong Cold War themes, and for its successful theme songs “Burning Heart” and “Living in America”.
Rocky IV premiered in Los Angeles on November 21, 1985, and was theatrically released in the United States by MGM/UA on November 27. The film received mixed to negative reviews, with criticism for its predictable screenplay and Cold War themes, which some critics deemed as propaganda and facilitating negative portrayals of Russians. However, there was some praise for Drago’s credibility as a villain. Despite its reception, the film was a box office success, grossing $300 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film in the franchise and the third highest grossing film of 1985. In 2021, a director’s cut was released with the title Rocky IV: Rocky vs Drago, receiving positive reviews from critics. The sequel, Rocky V, was released in 1990.
Plot.
In 1985, Soviet boxer Ivan Drago arrives in the United States with his wife, Ludmilla, a Soviet swimmer, and a team of trainers from the Soviet Union and Cuba. His manager, Nicolai Koloff, takes every opportunity to promote Drago’s athleticism as a hallmark of Soviet superiority. Motivated by patriotism and an innate desire to prove himself, former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed challenges Drago to an exhibition bout. Rocky has reservations but agrees to help train Apollo for the match. During a press conference regarding the match, hostility sparks between Apollo’s and Drago’s respective camps. The boxing exhibition takes place at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Apollo enters the ring in an over-the-top patriotic entrance with James Brown performing “Living in America” complete with showgirls. The bout starts tamely with Apollo landing several punches that are ineffective against Drago, but Drago suddenly retaliates with devastating effects.
By the end of the first round, Rocky and Apollo’s trainer, Duke, plead with him to stop the match, but Apollo refuses to do so and tells Rocky to not stop the match “no matter what.” Drago continues to pummel him in the second round and Duke begs Rocky to throw in the towel. Rocky honors Apollo’s wishes, which allows Drago to beat Apollo to death in the ring. In the aftermath, Drago displays no sense of contrition, commenting to the assembled media: “If he dies, he dies.”
Frustrated by the Soviets’ cold indifference, Rocky decides to challenge Drago himself, but has to surrender his championship to do so. Drago’s camp agrees to an unsanctioned 15-round fight in the Soviet Union on Christmas Day, an arrangement meant to protect Drago from the threats of violence he has been receiving in the United States.
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Rocky travels to the Soviet Union without his wife Adrian due to her disapproval of the match, setting up his training base in a remote cabin in Krasnogourbinsk with only Duke and Paulie to accompany him. Duke opens up to Rocky, stating that he actually raised Apollo and that his death felt like a father losing his son, and expresses his faith in Rocky that he will emerge victorious. To prepare for the match, Drago uses high-tech equipment, a team of trainers and doctors monitoring his every movement, and regular doses of anabolic steroids. Rocky, on the other hand, does roadwork in deep snow over mountainous terrain and workouts utilizing antiquated farm equipment. Adrian arrives unexpectedly to give Rocky her support, which gives Rocky a new vigor.
Casting.
Sportscaster Stu Nahan makes his fourth appearance in the series as commentator for the Creed–Drago fight. Warner Wolf replaces Bill Baldwin, who died following filming for Rocky III, as co-commentator. For the fight between Rocky and Drago, commentators Barry Tompkins and Al Bandiero portray themselves as USA Network broadcasters. Apollo Creed’s wife Mary Anne (Sylvia Meals) made her second appearance in the series, the first being Rocky II, although the character was mainly featured in Rocky II. Stallone’s future wife, Brigitte Nielsen, appeared as Drago’s wife, Ludmilla. The Soviet premier in the sky box during the Rocky–Drago match, played by David Lloyd Austin, strongly resembles contemporary Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Austin later played Gorbachev in The Naked Gun, and Russian characters in other films.
Filming.
Wyoming doubled for the frozen expanse of the Soviet Union. The small farm where Rocky lived and trained was in Jackson Hole, and Grand Teton National Park was used for filming many of the outdoor sequences in the Soviet Union. The PNE Agrodome at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia served as the location of Rocky’s Soviet bout. Sylvester Stallone has stated that the original punching scenes filmed between him and Dolph Lundgren in the first portion of the fight are completely authentic. Stallone wanted to capture a realistic scene and Lundgren agreed that they would engage in legitimate sparring. One particularly forceful Lundgren punch to Stallone’s chest slammed his heart against his breastbone, causing the heart to swell. Stallone, suffering from labored breathing and a blood pressure over 200, was flown from the set in Canada to Saint John’s Regional Medical Center in Santa Monica, and was forced into intensive care for eight days. Stallone later commented that he believed Lundgren had the athletic ability and talent to fight in the professional heavyweight division of boxing.
Producer Winkler describes the exact same event in his autobiography, observing not Lundgren, rather, “Sly took a punch from a stand-in fighter and ended up in the emergency room with his blood pressure dangerously high.”
Additionally, Stallone has stated that Lundgren nearly forced Carl Weathers to quit during the filming of the Apollo-vs.-Drago “exhibition” fight. At one point in the filming of the scene, Lundgren tossed Weathers into the corner of the boxing ring. Weathers shouted profanities at Lundgren while leaving the ring, and announcing that he was calling his agent and quitting the movie. Only after Stallone forced the two actors to reconcile did filming continue. The event caused a four-day work stoppage, while Weathers was talked back into the part and Lundgren agreed to tone down his aggressiveness.
Post-production.
Rocky IV is one of the few sport movies that applies genuine sound effects from actual punches, bona fide training methods created by boxing consultants, and a bevy of other new special effects. The film is recognized as being ahead of its time in its demonstration of groundbreaking high-tech sporting equipment, some of which was experimental and 20 years from public use. In 2012, Olympians Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte noted that the training sequences in Rocky IV inspired them to use a cabin similar to what the resourceful Balboa utilized in the film. Paulie’s robot, a character that through the years has enjoyed a cult following of its own, was created by International Robotics Inc. in New York City. The robot’s initial voice was that of the company’s CEO, Robert Doornick. The robot is identified by its engineers as “SICO” and is/was a member of the Screen Actors Guild. It toured with James Brown in the 1980s. The robot was written into the movie after it had been used to help treat Stallone’s autistic son, Seargeoh.RELATED:
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