Rocky 5 (1990)

Rocky V is a 1990 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen (the first time since the first film of the franchise), written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to Rocky IV (1985) and is the fifth installment in the Rocky franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone, Tommy Morrison and Burgess Meredith. In the film, a financially struggling Rocky Balboa (Stallone) agrees to train protégé Tommy Gunn (Morrison) at the gym once owned by Balboa’s trainer, Mickey Goldmill (Meredith). Development for the film began in 1989, after Stallone completed the screenplay. Avildsen, who directed the first installment, was soon confirmed to return and principal photography began in January 1990, being largely filmed on location around Philadelphia.

The filmmakers encountered creative differences with MGM/UA and were disallowed to include darker elements of Stallone’s original screenplay, who had envisioned Rocky V as the final film in the franchise. The film also marks the final appearances of Shire and Meredith in the franchise. Rocky V was theatrically released in the United States by MGM/UA on November 16, 1990. The film received mostly negative reviews, with criticism for its screenplay, characterization, continuity errors and medical inaccuracies; Stallone later expressed regret over the outcome of the film. Rocky V also underperformed expectations at the box office, grossing $120 million worldwide, making it the lowest grossing film in the franchise. A sequel, Rocky Balboa, was released in 2006.

Plot.

In the aftermath of his victory over Ivan Drago in Moscow, Rocky finds himself experiencing physical complications from the fight. Rocky, his wife Adrian, his brother-in-law Paulie, and his trainer Tony “Duke” Evers return to the United States where they are greeted by Rocky’s son, Robert Jr. At a press conference, boxing promoter George Washington Duke attempts to goad Rocky into fighting his boxer, Union Cane, who is the top-rated challenger, but Rocky declines. After returning home, Rocky and Adrian discover they are bankrupt after Paulie was fooled into signing a “power of attorney” over to Rocky’s accountant, who squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour and failed to pay Rocky’s taxes over the previous six years. His mansion has been mortgaged by $400,000, but his attorney tells Rocky that it is fixable with a few more fights. Rocky initially accepts the fight with Cane, but Adrian urges him to see a doctor, and he is diagnosed with cavum septum pellucidum.

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Reluctantly, Rocky retires from boxing. His home and belongings are sold to pay the debt and the Balboas move back to their old working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia. Rocky visits Mighty Mick’s Gym (willed to his son by his old trainer Mickey Goldmill), which has fallen into disrepair. Seeing a vision of himself and Mickey from years past, Rocky draws inspiration to become a trainer himself and reopens the gym. Rocky and Paulie meet a young fighter from Oklahoma named Tommy Gunn. Rocky agrees to become his manager. Training him gives Rocky a sense of purpose, and Tommy rises to become a top contender. Distracted with Tommy’s training, Rocky neglects Robert, who is being bullied at school. After learning to defend himself, Robert falls in with the wrong crowd and becomes withdrawn from his family.

Filming.

Filming began in mid-January 1990. Some of the fight sequences were filmed at The Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, a venue which was a mecca for boxing in the city during the 1970s. The Rocky statue, which was commissioned for Rocky III, had since been gifted to the city of Philadelphia and moved to the entrance of the Spectrum, and so had to be moved back to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the filming. Scenes with Mickey, played by Burgess Meredith, were trimmed in the final film when Rocky fights Tommy. Mickey appeared in ghost form on top of the railway bridge, giving words of encouragement. In the final film, this was made into flashbacks. The speech Mickey gives to Rocky in the flashback sequence is based on an interview with Cus D’Amato given in 1985, shortly after Mike Tyson’s first professional bout.

As a promotional gimmick, replicas of the golden glove necklace featured so prominently in the film were distributed to moviegoers at the Hollywood premiere of Rocky V at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Professional wrestling veteran Terry Funk helped choreograph much of the street fight between Rocky and Tommy Gunn. In the original script, Rocky is killed during the final fight with Tommy, dying in Adrian’s arms in the street. According to Stallone, the director and the studio had second thoughts. Eventually, Stallone rewrote the ending, saying that he decided to change it because Rocky was supposed to be about perseverance and redemption, and having him die in a street brawl would be against the roots of the series.

Continuity.

In the years following the film’s release, Stallone acknowledged that the injury which forces Rocky to retire, referenced in the film as a potentially lethal form of ‘brain damage’, was inaccurate. Stallone stated that having discussed the story with many boxing medical professionals, the injury Rocky suffered was a milder form of brain damage, similar to that of a long term concussion that many boxers suffer from and by modern-day standards are still able to gain licenses to box. It would not have prevented Rocky from gaining a license to box nor killed him. Tony Burton briefly reprises his role as Duke at the beginning of the film. However, during his scenes, Rocky refers to him as “Tony”. In the credits, Burton is credited as playing “Tony”, as opposed to “Duke” (possibly to avoid confusion with the George Washington Duke character).

Rocky V is the third time in the series to do so, with the first being Rocky II as Apollo asked “What are you afraid of, Tony?”, and the second time during Rocky IV after receiving a pep talk in the former Soviet Union, “Thanks, Tony.” Rocky Balboa names Burton’s character “Duke Evers”. Sage Stallone, Sylvester’s real-life son, portrays his character’s son in the film. In Rocky IV, he was portrayed as a nine-year-old child whereas Sage was 14 at the time of filming, making him a teenager in Rocky V, despite it taking place just days after the events of Rocky IV.

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Box office.

Anticipated to be one of the big hits of the 1990 holiday season, Rocky V finished third in its opening weekend, trailing Dances with Wolves and Home Alone, and never recovered. The film earned US$14 million on its opening weekend and $41 million in total in the US and Canada, about one-third of its predecessor’s take. Rocky V however made almost twice as much overseas with a gross of $79 million, for a total of $120 million worldwide.

Cast:

Sylvester StalloneasRobert “Rocky” Balboa
Talia ShireasAdrian Balboa: Rocky’s wife.
Burt YoungasPaulie Pennino: Rocky’s friend.
Sage StalloneasRobert “Rocky” Balboa Jr.:
Tommy MorrisonasTommy “The Machine” Gunn:
Burgess MeredithasMickey Goldmill:
Richard GantasGeorge Washington Duke:
Tony BurtonasTony “Duke” Evers:
Paul J. Micale as Father Carmine
Michael WilliamsasUnion Cane:

Rocky 5 (1990) Biography, Plot, Filming, Box office, Scene.