Rocky Box Set

    The Rocky Box Set is a collection of the five films that make up the Rocky franchise, presented in Transparent Amaray cases within a nice cardboard slip case. There are no extra supplementals compared to what you'd get if you bought the Rocky: Special Edition disc. As a matter of fact, the solitary theatrical trailer that is included with each sequel is also included with the Special Edition of Rocky. This means that the boxed set will only appeal to those who want every sequel as well as the original, which includes anyone who is as interested in the reasons behind a fight as well as the fight itself. Well, okay, so the reasons behind the fights in Rocky IV are pretty ludicrous, but I can allow it some slack since the other sequels, especially the last one, have excellent stories to tell. It doesn't hurt either that each video transfer is as good as it's ever going to get, barring similar quality being applied to an eventual HD-DVD master, which is unlikely. The only aspect that even slightly disappoints is the audio transfers, which could have used a little more effort in the restoration and remix departments. Each film is presented on an RSDL-formatted disc, although it still isn't clear whether each one will have a case of their own, like they deserve. At a retail price of $129.95, however, there is no better way to buy the Rocky films.
 

Overall Boxed Set Ratings

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Overall | Rocky: Special Edition | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V

Rocky: Special Edition

Released Wednesday, August 08, 2001

This review is sponsored by

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Main Menu Audio & Animation
Audio Commentary-John Avildsen (Director) et al
Featurette-Video Commentary (Sylvester Stallone)
Featurette-Behind The Scenes
Featurette-Tribute To Burgess Meredith
Featurette-Tribute To James Crabe
Teaser Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
Trailer-Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V
TV Spots-3
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1976
Running Time 114:24
RSDL/Flipper RSDL (95:04) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By John G. Avildsen
Studio
Distributor
Fox Home Entertainment
Starring Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burgess Meredith
Burt Young
Carl Weathers
Case ?
RPI Individual Disc: $36.95
Box Set: $129.95
Music Bill Conti

 
Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0  (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
Dutch
Swedish
French
Norwegian
Danish
Portuguese
Polish
Greek
Hungarian
Hebrew
Turkish
Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

Plot Synopsis

    In 1976, an actor by the name of Sylvester Stallone, previously only known for his appearances in such trash as Party At Kitty And Stud's (which resides in the IMDB "Bottom 100" list) and Death-Race 2000, appeared in Rocky. The film's production was as much a battle as the boxing match it depicts, with Stallone himself having to get drunk in order to do what he felt was the most important scene of the film in the only take that the shooting schedule allowed. Of course, while it is easy to dismiss Rocky as being just another film about boxing, there is so much more to it than that, and knowing that the making of the film was as much a million-to-one shot for its star as the match is for its title character makes it all the more uplifting.

    Rocky is the story of a two-bit thug by the name of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who ekes out a living in amateur boxing matches, and by working as an enforcer for Gazzo (Joe Spinell), the local loan shark. When he isn't busy beating fellow boxers or twisting the arms of fellow Philadelphia residents who can't pay their debts, he's trying to socialize with Adrian (Talia Shire), a shy, reserved young woman who works in the local pet store, and her brother, Paulie (Burt Young). Rocky's existence is very plain and ordinary, but soon he gets the chance of a lifetime when current world heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) finds himself in a tricky situation. Apollo's next scheduled opponent has cancelled at the last minute, and he needs to find any boxer who is willing to get in the ring with him for the offered fee. This is when he gets the idea that giving a low-ranked boxer the chance to fight in an exhibition match with him would be a great publicity stunt, and literally picks Rocky's name out of a book.

    Okay, so that last plot detail requires a slight suspension of disbelief, but I'm more than willing to do that since it is important to the plot. As Rocky continues to fight for peanuts and collect debts, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), the coach at his local boxing club, hands him a business card from Apollo's agent. Rocky assumes that they're just looking for a sparring partner, but you can imagine his surprise when Jergens (Thayer David) offers him the chance to fight for the title. Mickey, of course, continues to insult and goad Rocky until Rocky becomes determined to win respect from everyone he knows, and more importantly himself. The media, of course, are taking as many cheap shots at him as they possibly can, but Rocky takes it all in his stride in spite of how it bothers him. As the night of the big fight approaches, the question isn't so much whether he can win, but whether he can win the respect of his opponent, the powers that be, and the people who actually know him.

    Sadly, the weight of some very ordinary sequels and a great number of imitations has tarnished Rocky, and diminished its impact over time, although one has to bear in mind that most of the sequels are nothing at all like the original. Indeed, after the three sequels that were directed by Sylvester Stallone got progressively worse, director John G. Avildsen was brought back to direct Rocky V (more on this later). Keep your eyes open for cameo appearances by Joe Frazier and Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufman (this is pointed out in the commentary), then marvel at the truly three-dimensional characters that make this film a classic about one man's determination.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Readers may recall that I took it upon myself to take a look at the original release of Rocky a long time ago, and the transfer it received was not a pretty one. This new twenty-fifth anniversary edition sees MGM going right back to the telecine stage and creating a whole new 16x9 Enhanced transfer, one that is noticeably better than the original 4x3 transfer, but still not without its flaws.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and it is 16x9 Enhanced. It is also encoded with Automatic Pan-and-Scan information so you can miss out on about twenty-five percent of the picture if that's what your heart desires.

    The sharpness of this transfer is good, but not great, with fine details in the background still lacking. It is, however, quite an improvement on the previous DVD of Rocky, and I would hasten to add that this may well be as good as it's ever going to get, barring an expensive clean-up of the original negatives, which may no longer exist. The shadow detail is generally poor, with such scenes as Rocky's entry to his squalid home at 6:54 being so dark and hard to make out that one is almost thankful when the light does get switched on. This is probably inherent in the source material, given the age of the film. There is no low-level noise.

    The colours of this film were generally quite muted and dull, even during the boxing match, and the transfer reflects this. Part of this can be associated with the film stock and the way the film itself has aged, but it is all perfectly fine since the transfer is pretty accurate in this respect.

    MPEG artefacts were not noticed during the transfer. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some very minor aliasing that only got distracting at 13:53, 15:20, 33:42, and 59:36. Some telecine wobble was noticed at 69:43, and this would probably be the most distracting artefact of the lot, although it is forgivable since it only lasts a few seconds. Unfortunately, more wobble is apparent in the overhead shots during the fight, which is less distracting and less severe, but noticeably more persistent. Film artefacts are still fairly abundant in this transfer, but the size and number of them was acceptable given the vintage of the film.

    This disc makes use of the RSDL format, with the layer change taking place towards the end of Chapter 20, after the end of Rocky's speech about going the distance. It is somewhat noticeable at 95:04, and this is surprisingly late in the film, but aside from those things, it is an acceptably rendered layer change.
 

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Unfortunately, the audio transfer is much the same as the video transfer that was afforded to the original, plain-Jane version of Rocky. This is not necessarily bad, since most of the faults are related to the source material, but it would have been nice if there had been more of an effort to clean it up in some places.

    There are two soundtracks to be found on this DVD: the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1 with a bitrate of 448 kilobits per second, and an English Audio Commentary in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround-encoding and a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second. I listened to both of these soundtracks, thankful that there isn't an overabundance of dubs to detract from either the video or audio quality.

    The dialogue is usually clear and easy to understand, but there are some important exceptions to this. The first occurs at 25:59, when Rocky is trying to pass some advice on to one of the neighbourhood's youngsters, and her voice becomes inaudible as they pass through a gate. This line is not particularly important to the overall film, but the inability to make it out properly is rather distracting. The dialogue becomes distorted during Rocky's visit to the meat packing plant where Paulie works at 71:07, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that this is because said dialogue was captured on location. Finally, some distortion is apparent at 106:42, and much of the dialogue during the title match is difficult to make out due to the limitations of the methods used to capture it. Again, this is a relatively minor complaint because the really important pieces of dialogue are easy to understand, but it would have been nice if they'd spent some time cleaning the problem areas up.

    So where do I begin when I talk about the music in this film? Well, there's the score by Bill Conti, of course, but the essence of the film is captured in a song by the name of Gonna Fly Now, which begins at 86:54. Clichéd it may have become since it was released, but in spite of that, it is still very uplifting and powerful, as well as able to make most viewers want to cheer Rocky on. That's not to say that Conti's score doesn't add its own contribution, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks more of Carol Connors' and Ayn Robbins' lyrics in spite of the fact that Conti also provided the music they are imposed over. You can't really ask for more than that with music for a film that was put together under such stressful conditions.

    The surround channels barely make a peep for most of the film, only really coming to life during the aforementioned moment when Rocky's run through the streets and up the stairs is accompanied by Gonna Fly Now, and when Apollo Creed enters the ring. The surround channels are very active during these moments, but there are no split or directional effects at all in this film. Given that the original sound mix of this film was monaural, I'm generally willing to overlook this, although it is somewhat disappointing that there wasn't at least a little effort to make the mix more immersive. The subwoofer was used to support the music and the boxing matches that bookend the film, but it too was used sporadically, though it didn't call any attention to itself when it really got active.
 

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    Rocky: Special Edition sports a very good collection of extras for a twenty-five year old film that still captures the essence of the human spirit. It is interesting to hear how much the critics raved about Sylvester Stallone in his early days, making for an interesting contrast to how they take so many unfair and cheap shots at him these days.

Menu

    The menu is heavily animated, accompanied by Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, introduced in a nicely thematic manner, and 16x9 Enhanced. The only complaint I have about it is that it boots the user out to the film once the audio accompaniment is finished, a practise I wish the authors would quit it with.

Audio Commentary - John G. Avildsen (Director), Irwin Winkler (Producer), Robert Chartoff (Producer), Talia Shire (Actor), Carl Weathers (Actor), Garrett Brown (Steadicam Operator), Burt Young (Actor)

    With some narration by Burt Young, this commentary is basically edited together from multiple comments by cast and crew members about how Rocky was made. It is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround-encoding, and the original soundtrack mixed in at a lower volume. Like the English dialogue soundtrack, it is biased towards the front channels. Unlike most commentaries that are pasted together from multiple sources with multiple commentators, this one is very screen specific and very interesting, especially if you're interested in the technical aspects of each commentator's jobs.

Featurette - Video Commentary by Sylvester Stallone (Actor/Writer)

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital sound, this twenty-eight minute and fifty-two second featurette contains an interview with Sylvester Stallone covering various aspects of how Rocky was made, with footage from the film to embellish upon what he is talking about. As much as I hate to say this, I actually preferred this short video commentary to the full-length audio commentary, because it is straight-to-the-point and it is (naturally) easy to follow who is talking about what.

Featurette - Behind The Scenes

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, this eleven minute and fifty-two second featurette begins with the director explaining how he planned, and prepared the actors for, the shooting of the finale. We are then shown eight millimetre footage of Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers boxing or posing in costume (complete with make-up), and it doesn't look too bad when you consider the source material. The only sound during this footage is that of a projector running, which is an annoying distraction that would have been better off if it had been replaced with commentary. Overall, however, it is worth a look if you're interested in seeing the difference between the rehearsals and the finished product.

Featurette - Tribute To Burgess Meredith

    Astute readers will no doubt be aware that Burgess Meredith died in 1997 at the age of eighty-nine. This seven minute and twenty-five second featurette is a tribute to one fine actor who contributed immeasurably to the first three Rocky episodes, and demands that one take the time to watch it. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, which comprises some sound from the film and comments from other members of the Rocky cast and other individuals who knew Burgess. Said people include Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Lee Grant, who all have plenty of interesting things to say.

Featurette - Tribute To James Crabe

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, this is a tribute to the cinematographer on Rocky, with director John G. Avildsen talking about the contribution he made to the film.

Teaser Trailer

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, this ninety-three second trailer talks more about the star than the film itself. It is in rather surprisingly good condition to boot.

Theatrical Trailer

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, 16x9 Enhancement, and Automatic Pan and Scan information, this three minute and twenty-five second trailer embellishes a little more on what the film is about. The quality is slightly poorer than the feature, but still quite respectable given its age. Unfortunately, it seems more a compilation of some of the best lines in the film rather than a proper theatrical trailer, so I don't recommend watching it before the feature.

Trailer - Rocky II

   This two minute and thirty-seven second trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, and it is not 16x9 Enhanced. The audio and video quality are both pretty ordinary, with hiss and scratches being present enough to be slightly distracting. The backgrounds are also looking a tad too grainy for my liking, but I'm overly sensitive to this.

Trailer - Rocky III

   This two minute and twenty-five second trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. The scratches and hiss that detracted from the previous trailer are present and accounted for here, and the graininess in the backgrounds is more pronounced.

Trailer - Rocky IV

   This two minute and one second trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, and it is not 16x9 Enhanced. The video and audio quality of this trailer are a considerable improvement over the other three, but still nothing to rave about, with tape hiss still being audible at the end.

Trailer - Rocky V

   This one minute and fifty-nine second trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 16x9 Enhancement, Automatic Pan and Scan information, and Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. The video and audio quality are also much better than the first three trailers, and that tape hiss that can be heard at the end of the previous four is mostly gone.

TV Spots

    A collection of three TV Spots under their own menu, titled Critical Acclaim, Introducing Sylvester Stallone, and Critical Acclaim (again). The first two two spots run for thirty seconds, the last runs for sixty seconds, and they are all presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

Easter Egg - Rocky Meets Stallone

    From the main menu, press the up key once, and you should see the word Rocky, highlighted in red, in the top right corner. Press enter, and a two-minute and fifty-two second, 1.33:1, Dolby Digital 2.0 featurette should commence. As the title suggests, this is basically a mock-up of the character meeting his creator, and a very amusing one it is, combining footage of Sylvester Stallone in and out of costume. The volume of the audio transfer is a little low compared to the main menu, but this is otherwise, in keeping with the rest of the extras, an enriching inclusion.

R4 vs R1

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;     The Region 1 version of the disc may be a consideration if you are fussy about having the original sound mix, but there is reportedly little difference between the two versions. The local version is cheaper, PAL formatted, and as close to reference quality as it's going to get with this film.

Summary

    Just as Sylvester Stallone has struggled for the respect of a media that takes easy shots at him over a lazy eye and a speech problem that happen to be birth defects, Rocky depicts a struggle for respect that is truly uplifting to watch. It's easy to see why the film won three Academy Awards out of nine nominations, and there are few films that even come close to this one for showcasing spirit or determination. I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who wants to see a drama or a film about a man who is determined to take his one chance and do the best he can with it.

    The video transfer is still flawed, but good considering the age of the film.

    The audio transfer is flawed, but acceptable considering the age of the film and the conditions under which the sound was recorded.

    The extras are comprehensive and enriching.
 

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Dean McIntosh (my bio... read it)
Thursday, August 09, 2001
Review Equipment
DVD Toshiba 2109, using S-Video output
Display Samsung CS-823AMF (80cm). Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of The Ultimate DVD Platinum.
Audio Decoder Built in to amplifier. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of The Ultimate DVD Platinum.
Amplification Sony STR DE-835
Speakers Yamaha NS-45 Front Speakers, Yamaha NS-90 Rear Speakers, Yamaha NSC-120 Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Active Subwoofer


Overall | Rocky: Special Edition | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V

Rocky II

This review is sponsored by

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Details At A Glance

General
Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating ?
Year Released 1979
Running Time 112:04 Minutes
RSDL/Flipper RSDL (72:35)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Selection then Menu
Region 2, 4 Director Sylvester Stallone
Studio
Distributor
UnitedArtists.gif (10720 bytes)
Fox Home Entertainment
Starring Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Carl Weathers
Burgess Meredith
Tony Burton
Joe Spinell
Case ?
RPI Box Set: $129.95 Music Bill Conti

 
Video
Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded English (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
German (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9Yes.jpg (4536 bytes)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Miscellaneous
Macrovision Yes Smoking Yes
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
German
German for the Hearing Impaired
French
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Swedish
Finnish
Norwegian
Danish
Portuguese
Polish
Hungarian
Greek
Turkish
Hebrew
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

Plot Synopsis

    "Do you have a criminal record?"
    "Nothing worth braggin' about."

    After the runaway success of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone briefly tried his hand at other projects such as F.I.S.T. and Paradise Alley, but both of these efforts were overlooked by the Academy and the media at large, prompting him to go back to more familiar ground in the shape of Rocky II. Described in the trailer as "the most electrifying rematch in motion picture history", Rocky II is a nice attempt to recapture the electrifying celebration of the human spirit that made the original so great. There seem to be two camps when rating this film: one that see the film as being too slow and languid, and another that appreciates it for being more about drama than boxing.

    Rocky II picks up immediately after the end of Rocky, showing us the end of the boxing match that closed the original before getting on with the story. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) are taken to the hospital, where they are treated for the injuries they inflicted upon each other and hounded by the press. Apollo is adamant that Rocky simply got lucky, and Rocky is adamant that he just wants to go back to living a normal life away from the scrutiny of the media. To this end, he marries Adrian (Talia Shire) and gets Paulie (Burt Young) to put him on at the local meat packing plant while he buys a new house and gets offers to do product endorsements. Paulie once again gets Rocky to put in a word for him to Gazzo (Joe Spinell), who is in need of a new debt collector after Rocky has decided to do more legitimate work. Unfortunately, Rocky's ability to manage his financial resources is not the greatest, and he soon has thoughts of returning to the ring.

    Meanwhile, Apollo is literally drowning in letters from people who felt that Rocky was the real winner of their title fight, and one letter that he reads to his wife, Mary Anne (Sylvia Meals) even goes as far as accusing him of taking financial incentives to let the challenger go the fifteen rounds with him. With the media and the boxing world at large accusing him of fixing the fight, Apollo decides to begin a campaign to draw Rocky out and accept his challenge for a rematch. Mickey (Burgess Meredith) comes to Rocky and proposes that they go and knock Apollo's block off, but the training schedule doesn't go too smoothly at first, with a pregnant Adrian voicing her concerns that he could be permanently injured. The serious question, of course, is not whether Rocky can get in the ring again, but whether he can regain the fighting spirit that kept him on his feet for fifteen rounds in the last match.

    As far as sequels go, this is actually quite a good one as long as you keep your impressions of the other three sequels from dampening your experience of this one. The heart and soul that made Rocky such a big hit are still present and accounted for, and the story moves surprisingly quickly, despite what some critics would have you believe. All-in-all, I recommend watching this particular sequel at least once.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The best phrase to describe the quality of this transfer is "variable, but good overall". At times, the picture looks almost like it was photographed yesterday, while there are other moments when it shows every one of its twenty-two years.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and it is 16x9 Enhanced. Once again, it is encoded with Automatic Pan and Scan information for those of you who feel the need to miss out on a significant portion of the image.

    The sharpness of this transfer varies from shot to shot, which can be partially blamed upon the techniques and film stock used to photograph it. There are four moments when the sharpness is simply excellent, these being Carl Weather's speech at 47:22, a shot of Burgess Meredith at 63:41, a shot of Talia Shire acting comatose at 75:38, and when Sylvester Stallone is surrounded by cheering extras at 85:58. Funnily enough, the one shot where the transfer's sharpness takes a nose dive into almost VHS territory comes right after the last moment of Rocky's run up those stairs to the tune of a more insipid rendition of Gonna Fly Now, at 86:01. The hazy, grainy look of this shot appears to be inherent in the source material. It is a minor improvement on any other medium I've seen this film on through, but it's still pretty shocking to see the quality of the picture go from so great to so poor so quickly.

    The shadow detail of this transfer is still generally poor, although a minor improvement on the previous film. The almost-total blackout of the picture occurs again with a shot of the interior of Rocky's home at 43:34 and the moment when Rocky and Mickey are watching footage of the previous title fight at 61:05 is mostly murky blacks with little discernible detail. Low-level noise is not a problem in this transfer, but minor grain is still apparent a lot of the time.

    The colours in this film are still generally muted and dull until we get to the boxing match at the end, when the colours become larger than life, as you would expect from a boxing match. There were no composite artefacts, bleeding, or misregistration, so we can't really complain here.

    MPEG artefacts were nowhere to be found in this transfer. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some minor aliasing in power cables, ring cables, and other such linear objects, but there were only a dozen noticeable instances in the entire film. Film artefacts consisted of numerous marks and scratches on the picture, and I am sure Carl Weathers wouldn't be impressed by the big circular scratch that appears over his face for one frame at 92:50. Aside from those minor caveats, this is an excellent representation of the original film image that is unlikely to get significantly better.

    This disc is also RSDL formatted, with the layer change taking place between Chapters 9 and 10, at 72:35. This is just after Rocky asks the nurse if they have a chapel in the hospital, and probably the best place the film itself allows for any pause. The pause itself is very brief and easy to miss if your amplifier's display doesn't change during some layer changes with Pro-Logic soundtracks like mine does.

Audio

    Oddly enough, the matrixed audio transfer for Rocky II is noticeably better than the discrete one that was afforded to Rocky. It is not a great one by any means, but it gets the job done well enough.

    There are five soundtracks on this DVD, all of which are in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround-encoding and a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second. In order, there is the original English dialogue, then dubs in German, French, Italian, and Spanish. I listened to the English dialogue, as well as significant portions of the German and Spanish dubs. The German dub sounds about as natural as you can reasonably expect, but the voices in the Spanish dub sound metallic enough to suggest it was sourced from materials of less than ideal quality.

    The dialogue in the English soundtrack is clear and easy to understand at all times, with no lines being lost due to the recording techniques of this film. Even Sylvester Stallone's naturally slurred speech is pretty easy to understand, as is most of the speech during the fight. There were no subjectively discernible problems with audio sync.

    The music in this film is mostly the work of Bill Conti, and it sounds pretty similar to that which was used in the original Rocky. With liberal use of themes that are larger than life, the score music does an excellent job of augmenting the mood of the film. On the other hand, the new rendition of Gonna Fly Now, which was undoubtedly the peak of the music's performance during the original Rocky, is pretty insipid and irritating. Whether this is because of the addition of too many new instruments or the performance of the vocalists, I will leave to the individual viewer to decide.

    The surround channels were used a fair amount during this film to support the music, Rocky's car, and the boxing match, pretty much like the discrete mix found on Rocky, but this soundtrack was a little more active and immersive in nature. This mostly seemed to be because the surround channel usage was noticeably more consistent than was the case with Rocky, as there are no directional or split surround effects. Given that this film was re-recorded in Dolby Stereo at some point, I would have expected a little more out the surrounds, but the soundtrack is generally quite pleasing in spite of the lack of any serious workout in the rears. The subwoofer was not specifically used by this soundtrack, and there was surprisingly little information for my amplifier to redirect to it. It only really came to life during the scenes with the car, musical cues, and the boxing match.

Extras

Menu

    The menu is static, 16x9 Enhanced, and easy to navigate.

Theatrical Trailer

    This is literally identical to the one that is included on the Rocky: Special Edition disc.

Censorship

    There are no specific censorship issues with this title.

R4 vs R1

    The Region 1 verison of this disc misses out on;     The Region 4 version of this disc wins by virtue of its higher resolution and the fact that it is transferred with the future display
unit shape in mind.

Summary

    Rocky II is an interesting and exciting follow-up to what was very much one of the most uplifting films of the 1970s.

    The video transfer is good.

    The audio transfer is good.

    The extras are minimal.
 

Ratings (out of 5)

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Audio sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
Extras srh.gif (874 bytes)
Plot sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
Overall sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
© Dean McIntosh (my bio... read it)
August 9, 2001
Review Equipment
   
DVD Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm) in 16:9 and 4:3 modes, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification Sony STR-DE835, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Speakers Yamaha NS-45 Front Speakers, DTX Digital 5.6T Rear Speakers, Yamaha NS-C120 Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Active Subwoofer

Overall | Rocky: Special Edition | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V

Rocky III

This review is sponsored by

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Details At A Glance

General
Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating ?
Year Released 1982
Running Time 95:12 Minutes
RSDL/Flipper RSDL (52:44)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Selection then Menu
Region 2, 4 Director Sylvester Stallone
Studio
Distributor
UnitedArtists.gif (10720 bytes)
Fox Home Video
Starring Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Carl Weathers
Burgess Meredith
Lawrence "Mr. T" Tureaud
Case ?
RPI Box Set: $129.95 Music Bill Conti

 
Video
Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s)
German (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9Yes.jpg (4536 bytes)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Miscellaneous
Macrovision Yes Smoking No
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
German
German for the Hearing Impaired
French
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Swedish
Finnish
Norwegian
Danish
Portuguese
Polish
Hungarian
Greek
Turkish
Hebrew
Annoying Product Placement Yes
Action In or After Credits No

Plot Synopsis

    Rocky III sees Sylvester Stallone returning once again to the formula that made him a star, and the subject of this film is one that will probably hit close to home for a lot of people. Essentially, this is a film about the world champion losing his edge, and the struggle he fights through in order to get it back, or something along those lines. While this is nowhere near as bad as Rocky IV, the loss of heart and soul that is evident both in the character and in the filmmaking does give the film a sort of "enough already" feel.

    Rocky III begins with a reprisal of the fight that ended Rocky II before going forward about three years, showing some significant changes in Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) as he defends his title from numerous challengers. While Rocky is trying to cope with his new-found fame, and to cope with Paulie (Burt Young) as Paulie generally gets himself into as much trouble as he can, the media is buzzing around him like a swarm of flies. As Rocky fights the opponents that he hand-picks, however, he is being watched by a young hopeful who goes by the name of Clubber Lang (Lawrence "Mr. T" Tureaud). As Clubber knocks out opponent after opponent, he is baying for Rocky's blood while Rocky himself fights a charity match with a wrestler who goes by the name of Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan). At the unveiling of a statue of Rocky (which is still standing, apparently), Clubber comes out and insults Rocky in front of the gathered press, even going so far as to insult Adrian (Talia Shire), before Rocky decides to give the man what he wants: a shot at the title.

    While Rocky is training with the media circus in full swing around him, Clubber is training in the same basic, down-to-earth manner that Rocky used in the last two films. Indeed, Rocky's training regime seems more concerned at first with hamming it up for the cameras than doing any serious workouts, and the results speak for themselves in the resultant bout. Mickey (Burgess Meredith) suffers a heart attack during the match while Rocky gets knocked out in the second round, and Rocky isn't quite sure which event haunts him more. Eventually, Rocky's old nemesis, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) comes to visit and offers to train Rocky for various reasons that aren't fully explained until the very end. Rocky's problem, as Apollo sees it, is that he has lost what he calls the "eye of the tiger", the need and hunger that drives bums from the neighbourhood to become boxers, and drives boxers to become champions. Apollo's aim is to help Rocky get it back and use it to beat Clubber back into the obscurity that both of them see as being his rightful place. The question in this episode of the Rocky franchise, of course, is whether a man who has gotten used to having the world laid out at his feet can regain the fighting spirit he needs to beat a man who obviously fights because he has little other choice.

    Yes, this formula made Sylvester Stallone famous, and one cannot blame him for returning to it since his efforts to expand beyond it have consistently met with failure, but Rocky III sees the franchise getting a tad stale. While the premise is very interesting, the characters are becoming more like cardboard cut-outs, and the use of Adrian as the catalyst for that vital change Rocky needs to win the latest battle of his life is getting a tad repetitive. Call me cynical, but my experience in fighting battles that would make the average boxing champion scream for their mothers tells me that it takes a lot more than a good talking to from a beautiful woman to change a man who has lost his edge into a fighting machine. Nonetheless, if feel-good movies based around a controversial sport are your thing, then Rocky III will almost certainly be to your liking. I've got to admit that in spite of these flaws, I still feel quite enriched by the sight of Sylvester Stallone running to the tune of Gonna Fly Now, and you can't ask for more than that from any film.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Rocky III is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and it is 16x9 Enhanced. Again, it is encoded with Automatic Pan and Scan information for the benefit of those who are so keen to miss out on a significant fraction of the picture. It is also a noticeable improvement upon the transfer afforded to Rocky II, although it is still a bit of a way away from reference quality.

    Again, the sharpness of this transfer varies a little from shot to shot, although not as noticeably as was the case in Rocky II. The same occurrences of razor-sharp shots being followed by grainy-looking, soft shots can be noticed here, although the contrast between the two is not as great, and the variations are not as frequent. The shadow detail is generally poor, although it occasionally gets to be average in some shots, too. There is no low-level noise.

    Again, the colours in this film are mostly muted and dull, although the shots around the Balboa mansion and during Rocky's laughable training programme for his first fight with Clubber provide a bright sort of contrast. Again, there are no problems with composite artefacts, bleeding, or misregistration, problems that have plagued every other media I've seen this film through.

    Artefacts are where the most immediate improvement over the previous two transfers lies. MPEG artefacts are not a problem in this transfer, as you'd expect from a ninety-five minute film that has been spread over two layers. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some mild aliasing in light fixtures, car chrome, and ring cables, much in the same quality and quantity as has been the case in the previous two transfers, which is not too bad considering the age of the film. Film artefacts consisted of the usual spots and scratches upon the picture, none of which were particularly distracting, and there were no such marks directly over any actor's faces this time.

    Ralph magazine once commented in their listing of the top twenty fight scenes of all time that the verbal confrontation between Rocky and Clubber during the final match requires subtitles to understand. Now, thanks to the miracle of selectable subtitles, you can understand what they're on about even if you don't speak English.

    This disc is RSDL formatted, with the layer change taking place during Chapter 9, after Sylvester Stallone says "who's that?" at 52:44. Although the layer change is noticeable, this is more because of its position than the length of time it takes. Owners of players that do a better job of minimizing the pause than entry-level Toshiba players will be hard-pressed to notice it at all.

Audio

    There are five soundtracks on this DVD: the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1 with a bitrate of 448 kilobits per second, with dubs in German, French, Italian, and Spanish, all of which are in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second. I listened to the English soundtrack, passing on the chance to compare the dubs this time due to exhaustion with watching Rocky films.

    The dialogue is mostly clear and easy to understand, with the only real exception being during the boxing matches between Rocky and Clubber, both of which really need subtitles to be understood as has already been mentioned. There is nothing really important to the story in these matches other than who wins or loses, so this is readily acceptable. There are no subjectively discernible problems with audio sync.

    The music in this film generally consists of Bill Conti's score music, with a rendition of Gonna Fly Now that more closely resembles the basic version that was heard during the original Rocky. Again, the music augments the mood of the film, which alternates between defeat and triumph in such a fashion that it really makes the film worth watching on its own.

    The surround channels are intermittently used, but in a nice and rather aggressive fashion that ensures the scenes which demand their use are given the fullest possible support. The sounds of cars, cheering audiences, and music generally give the surrounds an aggressive workout, and the boxing matches feel noticeably more immersive with this surround mix than they did with the surround mixes that were provided for the previous two instalments. The best surround channel usage comes during Burt Young's walk along the street at 7:51, the unveiling of the statue at 23:23, and the first visit to the gym in Los Angeles at 58:38. There are no serious split or directional effects in this mix, but if you want to hear the main boxing matches the way a member of the audience would hear them, you can't go wrong with this remix. The subwoofer was used to support the boxing matches and the music, but it was otherwise pretty much unutilised, although this is not really too disappointing given that most of the rest of the film is rather dialogue-heavy.

Extras

Menu

    The menu is static, 16x9 Enhanced, and easy to navigate.

Theatrical Trailer

    Again, this trailer is literally identical to the one that is included in the Rocky: Special Edition disc.

Censorship

    This disc is uncensored.

R4 vs R1

    Like the local version of the disc, Rocky III is only available as part of the boxed set in Region 1. Given that the transfers appear to be pretty much the same, and there are no serious extras missing, I'm inclined to make the call in favour of the local disc.

Summary

    Rocky III in terms of serious plot is the start of a nose-dive for this franchise, although it is still quite a wonderful piece of feel-good sports action for those who can put their critical minds in neutral for ninety-five minutes.

    The video transfer is quite good.

    The audio transfer is quite good.

    The extras are minimal.
 

Ratings (out of 5)

Video sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
Audio sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
Extras srh.gif (874 bytes)
Plot sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)
Overall sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
© Dean McIntosh (my bio... read it)
August 9, 2001
Review Equipment
   
DVD Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm) in 16:9 and 4:3 modes, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification Sony STR-DE835, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Speakers Yamaha NS-45 Front Speakers, Yamaha NS-90 Rear Speakers, Yamaha NS-C120 Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Active Subwoofer

Overall | Rocky: Special Edition | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V

Rocky IV

This review is sponsored by

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Details At A Glance

General
Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating ?
Year Released 1985
Running Time 87:45 Minutes
RSDL/Flipper RSDL (51:09)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Selection then Menu
Region 2, 4 Director Sylvester Stallone
Studio
Distributor
UnitedArtists.gif (10720 bytes)
Fox Home Entertainment
Starring Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Carl Weathers
Brigitte Nielsen
Dolph Lundgren
Case ?
RPI Box Set: $129.95 Music Vince DiCola

 
Video
Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s)
German (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 256 Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9Yes.jpg (4536 bytes)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Miscellaneous
Macrovision Yes Smoking Yes
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
German
German for the Hearing Impaired
French
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Swedish
Finnish
Norwegian
Danish
Portuguese
Polish
Hungarian
Greek
Turkish
Hebrew
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

Plot Synopsis

    Rocky IV, or Rocky's Just Getting Silly Now, as I like to call it, saw Sylvester Stallone mixing his usual action meat and potatoes with a certain kind of ham-fisted political statement, much like what we were presented with a few years later in Rambo III. The problem with Rocky IV is that the characters have become so one-dimensional in nature that it is hard to give a damn about any of them, even the so-called good guys. While Mr. T's portrayal of Clubber Lang in Rocky III was pretty superficial and shallow in nature, Dolph Lundgren's portrayal of Ivan Drago in this instalment takes the one-dimensional bad guy to a new depth. I also have trouble believing that any legally sanctioned boxing federation would put a man of Sylvester Stallone's or Carl Weathers' sizes in the ring with a man of Dolph Lundgren's height and weight. Granted, Hulk Hogan is about the same size, but the match he and Stallone fought early in Rocky III was very much made out to be a put-on for the sake of charity. The match between Apollo and Drago in this film doesn't even have that redeeming factor. Anyone with the most basic knowledge of contact sports will know that if you put someone who is six-foot-six in the ring with someone who is five-foot-eight, you can bet vital parts of your anatomy that someone will either get killed or put in a state very close to it.

    Rocky IV begins with a repeat of the impromptu match between Apollo (Carl Weathers) and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) that closed Rocky III, and quickly forwards to a birthday party for Paulie (Burt Young). Paulie, of course, is his usual annoying self, but Rocky and Adrian (Talia Shire) put up with him as only a good brother-in-law and sister, respectively, can do. Apollo is swimming in his backyard pool when the news being displayed on a nearby television cuts to a story about Russia's top amateur boxer, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) entering the professional boxing world. His wife, Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen), and supervising coach Nicoli Koloff (Michael Pataki) do all the speaking for him, proclaiming him to be the most perfectly trained athlete in the world, and that he prefers to do all his talking with his fists. Apollo decides against all his better judgement to step into the ring with Drago, mainly through the fear of getting old, and the match results in Apollo getting killed, which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about professional fighting.

    The basic thrust of this film is that Rocky feels guilty because, as Apollo's cornerman, he could have stopped the fight and saved Apollo, as Mary Anne (Sylvia Meals) and Duke (Tony Burton), Apollo's wife and trainer respectively were screaming for him to do, but instead chose to follow Apollo's orders not to do so. It is this guilt that drives him to challenge Drago to a boxing match on the following Christmas Day, and he specifically makes it a condition that the fight be fought in Russia. Paulie thinks Rocky must be out of his mind, and Adrian is mortified with fear that Rocky will get himself killed. As the big fight approaches, Ivan trains in an ultra-modern gym that the Soviet workers' sweat paid for, while Rocky trains in an ultra-basic manner than makes the conditions he trained under in Rocky III look luxurious. Okay, so it's his film and there's a sequel, so you know Rocky is going to win the big fight, but he soon makes you wish he wouldn't with one of the most ham-fisted post-fight speeches that has ever been seen in a boxing film. If there was a moral to this story, it has not only been lost in the collapse of the Soviet Union, but under the weight of its own delivery.

    Needless to say, Rocky IV copped a roasting from the critics, and it is in a lot of opinions, mine included, the absolute nadir of the series, which had been in a decline since the second episode to begin with. However, if you suspend all of your intelligence and most of your sense, you may be able to enjoy the film in spite of all its flag-waving and right-wing American propaganda. Given that Dolph Lundgren (his real given name is Hans, making one wonder why he would adopt a stage name like Dolph) has a degree in chemical engineering (from the University of Sydney, no less), one can't help but feel this role is very beneath him. I would have recommended this film to those who are crazy about boxing matches, but as I've already made clear, the preposterous nature of the ones in this film makes it hard to recommend even for that purpose.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Again, the video transfer afforded to this episode is an improvement upon the previous one, but it is still not perfect.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is 16x9 Enhanced. Again, those who are hankering to miss out on a significant portion of the picture will be happy to know that it is encoded with Automatic Pan and Scan information.

    The sharpness of this transfer is variable, with the best portions of the film being sharp enough to suggest they were photographed yesterday. The lens flares that can be found at such moments as the press conferences at 18:55 and 34:48 are quite annoying and detrimental to the overall sharpness. There are also moments when what should be the focal point of the shot, such as when Brigitte Nielsen and Michael Pataki are speaking in the background at 21:15, is quite grainy and mildly blocky. These faults aren't specifically with the transfer, however. The shadow detail is average, but a better average than what was afforded to the previous three films, with slightly more details being discernible in the dark areas of low-lit shots. There is no low-level noise, but some shots such as that of Sylvester Stallone climbing the mountain at 60:59still look pretty granular.

    The colour saturation of this transfer is still fairly dull and muted, with only the boxing match in Las Vegas having any real brightness in it. This is because most of the locations being simulated are naturally quite dark, and the transfer merely reflects this. There are no problems with oversaturation or composite artefacts.

    MPEG artefacts were not overly apparent in this transfer, although the aforementioned shot at 21:15 did appear to have some very slight macro-blocking in the background. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some minor aliasing that generally only lasted a few frames, and I really only noticed a total of four instances in the whole feature. Film artefacts consisted of some minor scratches and marks on the negative, but nothing that was overly distracting or noteworthy, which is a good effort for a sixteen year old film.

    Those who have problems understanding James Brown (which usually means everyone aside from him), who makes an appearance at the Las Vegas fight, will be happy to know that the English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles also include translations of what he is singing.

    This disc is RSDL formatted, with the layer change taking place during Chapter 11 at 51:09. This is right after Sylvester Stallone puts a mock newspaper photo of Dolph Lundgren on the mirror, and although it is noticeable, it does not disrupt the film.

Audio

    There are five soundtracks on this DVD, with the first and default soundtrack being the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1 with a bitrate of 448 kilobits per second. There are three dubs in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, these being German, French, and Italian, then there is a Spanish dub in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround encoding and the higher bitrate of 256 kilobits per second. I stuck to the original English dialogue in this one, although it would have been interesting to hear all of the nationalistic crap that is spewed at the end of the film in Spanish, something I will probably do once I am finished with the rest of the boxed set.

    The dialogue is generally very clear and easy to understand, with the paper-thin Russian accents put on by Brigitte Nielsen and Dolph Lundgren posing no problems. The only real problem is that the few lines Dolph Lundgren has are spoken in a very quiet, deadpan voice that can be hard to hear over the other sounds in those scenes. There are no discernible problems with audio sync.

    The score music in this film is credited to Vince DiCola, and it is a slightly different beast to the score music provided by Bill Conti for the previous three films. A very significant portion of the overall music in this film, however, is simply recycled from the previous three films, with Eye Of The Tiger and Gonna Fly Now making another appearance. Given that the only other films credited to this person are Staying Alive (he was actually only credited in the IMDB for this one) and The Transformers: The Movie, I'm not surprised that the score here left very little impression upon me.

    The surround channels are aggressively utilized during a significant portion of the film to support the music and such sounds as audiences cheering and booing. The soundtrack overall is more immersive compared to that of Rocky III, but there are still no serious split or directional surround effects, as is to be expected, since Dolby Digital was still a few years on the horizon in 1985. The subwoofer gets a respectable workout to support the music and the sounds of men punching one another, and it does a nice job of supporting these effects without being conspicuous.

Extras

    I have to say I am a little disappointed, because the teaser trailer that features Dolph Lundgren making a speech in character is a real corker, and some kind of commentary by someone involved in the making of this film, or by people associated with boxing, would have been quite enthralling. Sadly, all we get is a theatrical trailer that can already be found on the Rocky: Special Edition disc.

Menu

    The menu is static, based around a still from the film, 16x9 Enhanced, and easy to navigate.

Theatrical Trailer

    Again, this is identical to the one presented on the Rocky: Special Edition disc, right down to the ordinary video transfer and hissing audio transfer.

Censorship

    This disc is uncensored.

R4 vs R1

    The Region 1 verison of this disc misses out on;     Once again, the Region 4 version of this disc wins by virtue of its higher resolution and the fact that it is transferred with the
future display unit shape in mind.

Summary

    Rocky IV is a mindless, thoughtless piece of crap, although the energy of the boxing matches is still very infectious if you enjoy that sort of thing.

    The video transfer is very good.

    The audio transfer is very good.

    The extras are minimal.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)
Audio sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)
Extras srh.gif (874 bytes)
Plot sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
Overall sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sg.gif (100 bytes)sgh.gif (874 bytes)
© Dean McIntosh (my bio... read it)
August 10, 2001
Review Equipment
   
DVD Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm) in 16:9 and 4:3 modes, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification Sony STR-DE835, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Speakers Yamaha NS-45 Front Speakers, Yamaha NS-90 Rear Speakers, Yamaha NS-C120 Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Active Subwoofer

Overall | Rocky: Special Edition | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V

Rocky V

This review is sponsored by

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Details At A Glance

General
Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating ?
Year Released 1990
Running Time 99:51 Minutes
RSDL/Flipper RSDL (66:35)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Selection then Menu
Region 2, 4 Director John G. Avildsen
Studio
Distributor
UnitedArtists.gif (10720 bytes)
Fox Home Entertainment
Starring Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Sage Stallone
Burgess Meredith
Tommy Morrison
Richard Gant
Case ?
RPI Box Set: $129.95 Music Bill Conti

 
Video
Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded English (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
German (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0, 192 Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9Yes.jpg (4536 bytes)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Miscellaneous
Macrovision Yes Smoking Yes
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
German
German for the Hearing Impaired
French
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Swedish
Finnish
Norwegian
Danish
Portuguese
Polish
Hungarian
Greek
Turkish
Hebrew
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, a montage of stills throughout the credits

Plot Synopsis

    With the recent calls from medical associations for boxing to be banned, the question I have to ask these doctors who had the opportunity to go to school and learn how to make a decent living is "can you imagine what boxers like Mike Tyson would have been doing if they couldn't box?" or something like that. Rocky V poses the question in a slightly different manner, by taking Rocky's world and turning it upside down, but more on this in a moment.

    Rocky V begins with a reprise of the match in Russia that closed Rocky IV, before showing Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) in the shower, having a shouted conversation with Duke (Tony Burton), which ends with him calling for Adrian (Talia Shire). When Adrian comes to see what Rocky wants, not only is he having problems stopping his hands from twitching, but he addresses her as Mickey at the end of the conversation. Understandably, she wants to take him to a doctor, but Rocky just wants to go home and settle back into his family life, so he flies home where he greets Rocky Junior (Sage Stallone). The Rocky Junior shown watching the fight at the end of Rocky IV would have been roughly six or seven years old, but this one looks like he is eleven or twelve, making him the fastest growing human I've ever heard of. Anyway, Rocky gives a press conference where Adrian strongly hints that he is retiring, but the proceedings are interrupted by a shady promoter named George Washington Duke (Richard Gant) who commandeers the conference and challenges Rocky to fight his rising star, Union Cane (Michael Williams).

    Rocky just shrugs these things off and goes home, where he starts behaving a little differently than usual, but all seems well while he is putting his son to bed. The next thing he does, however, is overhear a heated conversation between Adrian and her idiot brother, Paulie (Burt Young), and the words being exchanged are worrying. It seems that Paulie signed power of attorney over to the family's accountant, who thought he could take the money, invest it in real estate, make a tidy profit, and replace the money before the Balboas even know it was gone. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out that way, and to cap that all off, Rocky has debt payment on the property, the tax returns haven't been paid, and the mortgage that Adrian thought was paid off still has a substantial amount still outstanding. The only thing of Rocky's that isn't under threat is the gym that Mickey (Burgess Meredith) willed to Rocky Junior before he died, and Rocky decides that he's got problems and he has to fight. Adrian insists that he go and see a doctor first, who tells Rocky that the constant beatings he has taken have resulted in brain damage, and that another fight could kill him.

    After the auction of his estate, Rocky goes for a walk and eventually goes into Mickey's old gym, where he remembers a conversation he had with Mickey about motivation and its importance to living. So while Adrian takes a part time job in the pet store where she used to work, and Rocky Junior attempts to settle into school, Rocky decides to reopen Mickey's gym. He is approached by a young fighter who goes by the name of Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison), who he eventually agrees to train and manage as a professional boxer. Meanwhile, Rocky Junior meets a nice girl by the name of Jewel (Elisebeth Peters) in between getting bullied, and decides to learn how to box. Unfortunately, Rocky Senior is overlooking his son more and more while concentrating on training Tommy for the big time, and the press is constantly referring to Tommy as Rocky's robot until Tommy ditches Rocky and goes with Duke to win the championship. This results in the press calling Tommy a paper champion, and the public are turning their back on Tommy because of his ingrate nature, so Tommy becomes driven to fight Rocky.

    Sylvester Stallone had taken much of the criticism of Rocky IV to heart, and went back to director John G. Avildsen for this episode, which was intended to end on a much more downbeat note. Unfortunately, the studio responded to test audiences and their unfavourable reaction to the original ending by ordering a different ending (the original ending called for Rocky's death). However, this is a film with a story to tell, and that story has a moral that is a very valid one in light of how the professional boxing world as run by Don King is sinking to new lows. If you're tired of watching Rocky fight cartoon characters, and want an episode with the heart of the original, then Rocky V is the sequel to go for.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Rocky V enjoys the best transfer of the series, although it is still not without its small flaws.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and it is 16x9 Enhanced. Like the other four films in the franchise, it is encoded with Automatic Pan and Scan information for the benefit of those who can't watch the whole film.

    The sharpness of this transfer is excellent, and more consistently so than the other four films. There are still issues with grain in some shots, such as that of Sage Stallone outside the ring at 57:33, but grainy shots like these appear much less frequently in this film. There are some shots that are very hazy and grainy, but I would guess that this is on purpose since they are used to show what is going through Rocky's head when the brain damage manifests itself. The shot of the boxing gym at 37:34, and the shot of Duke's Christmas party at 61:51, are so sharp that you can make out the grey hairs on Tommy Morrison's head in the case of the latter shot. The shadow detail is good, although not great, and there is no low-level noise.

    The colours in this transfer are quite vibrant compared to the last four films, and there is still the occasional instance of lens flare. John G. Avildsen makes one very interesting comment about the lighting and colour of this film during his commentary on the Rocky: Special Edition disc about the cinematographer having overlit this film, and that's one I agree with wholeheartedly. Interestingly, one of the men credited with cinematography on this film, Victor Hammer is responsible for the cinematography on a certain overly bright, overrated television series by the name of Malcolm In The Middle. Again, there are no problems with composite artefacts or oversaturation here.

    MPEG artefacts are not a problem in this transfer. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some aliasing on fine lines in the picture that was mainly restricted to the first thirty-three minutes of the film. Most of the instances of aliasing in this film are only borderline noticeable, and easy to ignore. Film artefacts consisted of some minor black and white marks on the picture, the most noticeable one being a black mark over Sylvester Stallone's face at 63:19.

    This disc is RSDL formatted, with the layer change taking place at 66:35, just after Rocky Junior gives Rocky Senior a good talking to. The pause is brief, but still noticeable.

Audio

    It still continues to amaze me how a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded mix can sound more enveloping and powerful than a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix when it is done the right way.

    There are five soundtracks on this DVD. The first, and default soundtrack, is the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround encoding and a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second. The German dub is also in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround encoding and a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second, while the French dub is in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second. The Italian dub is in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround encoding and a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second, and the last of the soundtracks, the requisite Spanish dub, is in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with a bitrate of 192 kilobits per second. I listened to the English dialogue, and compared the Spanish dub, which sounds much more natural than the Spanish dubs on the other discs where I took the time to listen to it.

    The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times, as one tends to expect with a film that places more emphasis on the dialogue, although Sylvester Stallone's natural slur is slightly more pronounced. There are no subjectively discernible problems with audio sync.

    The score music in this film is credited to Bill Conti, and it is a far more moving and powerful beast than any of the other sequels, especially the insipid and bland effort that was afforded to Rocky IV. There are also a few more contemporary numbers, but the only noteworthy one is the Elton John number that can be heard during the closing credits, and succeeded in keeping me watching throughout its run. The cue that can be heard when Rocky returns to the old gym at 21:37 is truly comparable to the moving efforts of composers like Basil Poledouris, and even the great John Williams. This whole scene is one of the most memorable pieces of cinema that has ever been produced in the last two decades, one that does the late Burgess Meredith proud.

    The surround channels are used to support the music, and boy does the music use them to the fullest, more than any other element of the soundtracks in any part of the other films in this franchise. Aside from the musical cue I've already mentioned, the cue when we first learn about Rocky's brain injuries at 18:14, and the moment when these injuries manifest themselves both visually and aurally at 70:35 make this one of the best examples of a matrixed soundtrack I've heard in some time. These three moments in the film make me wonder what would have happened if someone had gone back to the original source materials and created a new 5.1 remix with them.

    The biggest surprise, however, comes when Sylvester Stallone hits the punching bag at 77:13 while he and Burt Young are watching the fight. I know that the Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded format is not supposed to use the subwoofer, but I'll be damned if the redirected signal that my amplifier sent to mine didn't almost make me jump out of my seat. Along with the mild signal from the surround channels at this moment in the film, it truly made me understand how the character of Paulie was supposed to feel at this point. If the subwoofer had been specifically encoded into this soundtrack, then I would pity the fool who watches this film without one, to borrow the phrase from Rocky III.

Extras

    This is very disappointing, considering that we could have had notes or even raw footage of the original ending that Sylvester Stallone had envisioned. Notes or Public Service Announcements from Tommy Morrison (who is John Wayne's grandnephew, a former professional boxer, and also announced that he was HIV positive in 1996) would have been very good. Instead, all we get is a singular theatrical trailer. Pfft.

Menu

    The menu is static, 16x9 Enhanced, and easy to navigate.

Theatrical Trailer

    Again, the same trailer can be found on the Rocky Special Edition disc.

Censorship

    Again, it's hard to imagine that this disc has been censored compared to the theatrical exhibition.

R4 vs R1

    The Region 1 version of this disc is similarly bereft of the extras that I would have liked to see.

Summary

    Rocky V is the best sequel in the franchise, end of story. Critics will have you believe it was as bad, possibly worse, than Rocky IV, but the fact of the matter is that it has a story with a moral to tell, and that moral is just as important as the one Rocky told. A boxing champion can win every title there is to win, but if he hasn't won the battles he needs to win outside of the ring, then he'll still be a loser, and Sylvester Stallone should be commended for how well the last film in the franchise that made him a star states that fact.

    The video transfer is excellent, just a couple of steps short of reference quality.

    The audio transfer is one of the best 2.0 surround mixes you're ever going to hear.

    Sadly, the only extra we get is a theatrical trailer.

Ratings (out of 5)

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© Dean McIntosh (my bio... read it)
August 10, 2001.
Review Equipment
   
DVD Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm) in 16:9 and 4:3 modes, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification Sony STR-DE835, calibrated using the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Speakers Yamaha NS-45 Front Speakers, Yamaha NS-90 Rear Speakers, Yamaha NS-C120 Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Active Subwoofer

Overall | Rocky: Special Edition | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V