Rocky Balboa (2006)
Rocky Balboa is a 2006 American sports drama film written and directed by, and also starring, Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to Rocky V (1990) and is the sixth installment in the Rocky franchise. It also stars Burt Young and Antonio Tarver. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), now an aging small restaurant owner, is challenged to an exhibition fight by hothead boxer Mason Dixon (Tarver). Rocky Balboa was Antonio Tarver’s first film only, and Stallone’s first film as directed since 1985. Development for a sixth Rocky film began after Stallone expressed regret of the outcome of Rocky V, which was viewed as a disappointing conclusion to the end of the franchise. Rocky Balboa includes references to characters and objects from previous installments, and Stallone was inspired by recent personal struggles and triumphs when writing the film. Principal photography began in December 2005 and lasted until January 2006, with filming locations including Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
In contrast to previous entries in the franchise, the fight choreography in Rocky Balboa was less scripted, featuring real punches thrown by Stallone and Tarver. The film marks the final appearance of Young in the franchise.
Rocky Balboa was theatrically released by MGM Distribution Co. and Sony Pictures Releasing in the United States on December 20, 2006, thirty years after the release of the first film. Rocky Balboa received generally positive reviews, with praise for its screenplay, Stallone’s performance, and heartfelt exploration of Balboa’s character, with many critics labelling the film one of the best entries in the franchise. It grossed over $156 million worldwide, subverting expectations to rebound from the box office performance of its predecessor. A sequel and spin-off, Creed, was released in 2015.
Plot.
In 2006, Rocky Balboa, now in his 50s and retired from boxing, lives a quiet life as a widower, his wife Adrian having died from cancer four years prior. He now runs a small but successful Italian restaurant named after her, where he regales patrons with tales from his past. He also battles personal demons involving his grief over Adrian’s death and his eroding relationship with his son Robert, now a struggling corporate employee. Paulie, Rocky’s best friend and brother-in-law, continues to support him whenever he can, but is guilt-ridden over his past poor treatment toward his late sister and accuses Rocky of living in the past. Late one night, Rocky meets a woman named Marie, who was once a troublesome young girl Rocky had escorted home 30 years ago. Marie now is a single parent of a teenage son named Stephenson and nicknamed “Steps”, born out of wedlock. Rocky’s friendship with Marie quickly blossoms over the following weeks and he meets and bonds with Steps, providing him with a much-needed buffer for his anguish.
Meanwhile, on the professional boxing circuit, Mason “The Line” Dixon reigns as the undefeated yet unpopular heavyweight world champion, often ridiculed for having never fought a true contender. This leads to tension with the public and his promoters, and encourages him to return to his roots: the small gym he first trained in and his old trainer who sagely tells him that, inevitably, he will earn back his respect through a true opponent that will test him. ESPN later broadcasts a computer simulation of a fight between Rocky (in his prime) and Mason—likened to a modern-day version of The Super Fight—that ends in a disputed KO victory for Balboa, further riling the champ. In contrast, the simulation inspires Rocky to take up boxing again, an intention that goes public when he successfully renews his boxing license.
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Dixon’s promoters pitch the idea of holding a charity exhibition bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to bolster Dixon’s floundering popularity.
With some hesitation, both men agree to the match, creating a media buzz that stabs at Rocky’s age and Dixon’s credibility. Robert later makes an effort to discourage Rocky from fighting, blaming his own personal failings on his father’s celebrity shadow, but Rocky rebukes him with some profound advice: that to succeed in life “it ain’t about how hard you hit – it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward,” and that blaming others will not help him. The next day, father and son meet over Adrian’s grave and reconcile; Robert has quit his job to be at Rocky’s side.
Development.
A plot element from the fifth film is not addressed in Rocky Balboa’s plot. In the previous film, Rocky was diagnosed with brain damage and advised never to fight again. Stallone clarified this apparent inconsistency in an interview, remarking: When Rocky was diagnosed with brain damage, it must be noted that many athletes have a form of brain damage including football players, soccer players, and other individuals in contact sports such as rugby, etc. Rocky never went for a second opinion and yielded to his wife’s wishes to stop. So with the advent of new research techniques into brain damage, Rocky was found to be normal among fighters, and he was suffering the results of a severe concussion. By today’s standards Rocky Balboa would be given a clean bill of health for fighters.
Pre-production.
Rocky Balboa gives nods to previous installments via the casting. The most obvious is the return of Stallone, Young, and Burton—the only actors to portray the same characters in all six installments. Tarver’s appearance in the film marks the sixth time an active professional boxer has appeared in the series. Previously, Joe Frazier (Rocky), Pedro Lovell (Rocky), Roberto Durán (Rocky II), Tommy Morrison (Rocky V) and Michael Williams (Rocky V) have appeared in the series. Stallone initially wanted Roy Jones, Jr. to portray Dixon, but after Jones did not return Stallone’s phone calls, he tapped Antonio Tarver to fill the role. Tarver accidentally knocked out Stallone during the filming of one of the segments of the fight. The character Marie appeared in the original Rocky; she was portrayed by Jodi Letizia. For the final film, Marie is portrayed by Geraldine Hughes.
(Although Letizia did reprise the role for Rocky V, the sole scene in which she appeared was deleted. In it, Marie was homeless on the streets of Philadelphia.) Another recognizable character who appeared in the previous five films, sportscaster Stu Nahan, provided the commentary for the computer-generated fight between Dixon and Balboa. Nahan was part of the ringside commentary team during all the bouts in the first three films and the Apollo Creed-Ivan Drago fight in Rocky IV. He was diagnosed with lymphoma during the Rocky Balboa filming, though, and died on December 26, 2007. Finally, Pedro Lovell, who portrayed Spider Rico in the original film, returns to the role in Rocky Balboa as a guest and later employee at Rocky’s restaurant.
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Filming.
Filming began in December 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2006, it moved to Los Angeles, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Scenes in Philadelphia were set in staples such as the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and South Philadelphia, while Center City was featured more prominently due to Rocky Jr.’s job as an attorney. The scene where Rocky and his son were talking while walking down a quiet block was filmed between 20th–21st Streets on Walnut, just after dawn on a Sunday morning. The production budget on the 38-day shoot was projected to be $23.5 million.
Cinematography and fight choreography.
While the dramatic portions of the movie are shot in an obviously cinematic style, the bout between Balboa and Dixon is shot in a number of different ways. The lead-in to the bout, as well as the first two rounds, are shot in a style similar to a major pay-per-view broadcast. Clips from fights in previous Rocky movies are used during the introductory teaser to introduce Balboa, while stock footage from actual Tarver fights, as well as footage from Dixon’s previous fight (shown at the beginning of the film) are used as clips for Dixon’s part of the teaser. The fight itself was shot in High Definition to further enhance the TV-style look of the fight. After the first two rounds, the bout is shot in a more “cinematic” style, reminiscent of the way the fights in the other Rocky films were shot. However, unlike the other films in the series, the fight is less choreographed and more improvised than previous installments and is closer to an actual boxing match than a choreographed fight. This is a departure from the previous films, where every punch, feint, and step was carefully scripted and practiced.
Marketing, Theatrical, Home media.
In late March 2006, the first movie teaser was released on the Internet. The full-length trailer accompanied the theatrical release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on July 7 in select theaters. The film was scheduled for release during the Presidents’ Day holiday in 2007, but was moved up to right before Christmas 2006. Rocky Balboa is available in three formats: Blu-ray Disc, DVD and UMD. It was released in Region 1 on March 20 and Region 2 on May 21, 2007. The film has made $35,622,998 in DVD sales. Features on the Blu-ray Disc and DVD include deleted scenes along with an alternate ending (where Rocky wins the split decision), bloopers, a commentary and several featurettes. In addition, the Blu-ray version features all of the DVD’s content in 1080p high definition video.