Rocky III (1982)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Sylvester Stallone

Writer:

Sylvester Stallone (written by)

Release Date:

28 May 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sport

Tagline:

His life is happy, his fights have seemed easy. Now a young upstart is going to make him prove just how far he can still go...

Plot:

When Rocky is defeated by a brutal challenger, Apollo Creed offers to retrain him in order to regain his fighting spirit.

Plot Keywords:

Champion | Rematch | Death | Boxing | Charity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire	...	Adrianna 'Adrian' Pennino Balboa
Burt Young	...	Paulie
Carl Weathers	...	Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith	...	Mickey Goldmill
Tony Burton	...	Duke
Mr. T	...	Clubber Lang
Hulk Hogan	...	Thunderlips
Ian Fried	...	Rocky Junior
Al Silvani	...	Al
Wally Taylor	...	Clubber Lang's manager
Jim Hill	...	Sportscaster
Don Sherman	...	Andy
Dennis James	...	Wrestling commentator
Jim Healy	...	Wrestling commentator

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | 70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Alberta) (re-rating) (1999) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | Mexico:A | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | Peru:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:18 (1982) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

During the making of Rocky III (1982), a 9ft tall, 1500-pound bronze statue designed by A. Thomas Schomberg was placed at the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts. After filming wrapped, Sylvester Stallone tried to donate the statue to the museum but they said they didn't want it, sparking a huge debate between the Museum and the City's Art Commission about what constituted 'art'. The museum claimed the statue was nothing more than a "movie prop", and didn't want it. Local people were outraged, and the statue was ultimately placed in front of the Wachovia Spectrum in South Philadelphia. It was later returned to the Art Museum for the filming of Rocky V (1990), after which it was again moved to the front of the Spectrum. Later the statue was put into storage, and then moved to a park at the foot of the famous stairs leading up to the Philadelphia Museum of Arts.

Goofs:

Continuity: In Rocky's first title defense, he begins the fight with golden gloves, but at the end of the fight, his gloves are black.

Quotes:

Clubber Lang: [to Rocky Right Before The Final Fight] Hey fool! You ready for another beating? You shoulda never came back!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sports Night: April Is the Cruelest Month (#2.19)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Take You Back

Be nice, it ain't that bad.....

Clearly the most entertaining of the Rocky films due to its perfect pacing and well-choreographed matches. Stallone is at his best when playing Rocky--it is his vision and his creation--and, despite what Hollywood wants us to think, he is not a bad director either.

What he masters are "subtleties" (my term): certain facial expressions or small actions/reactions at perhaps less-than-pivotal moments which reveal his skill. They need to be really looked for to be seen, which is why only those who without the ability to look deeper than the surface find him so mediocre.

I don't want to give them all away, but here's one example of a subtlety that shows just how human he can make his characters (especially Rocky): in this film, in the break between the end of Round 2 and the beginning of Round 3, he is sitting in his corner getting a mouthful from Apollo. An assistant starts to spray something in his face (probably something to coagulate the blood, I don't know), but Rocky, who is focused intently on Apollo's furious coaching, opens his mouth as if he is expecting water to be sprayed in. He suddenly flinches in disgust as the spray goes in his mouth and stings his face. It's just a tiny tiny humorous moment that speaks loudly about attention to detail.

Or how about in Rocky 2, at the beginning of the match when they meet in the center of the ring and Apollo starts making his bravado-laden threats, we see Rocky just sort of nod and half-smile at him politely, then next you see a side-on shot of him turning to walk back to his corner, and the look on his face says "What a prick." Priceless.

I'm not a fan of boxing, or the first Rocky movie (too slow), or the last Rocky movie (huh?), but this one is extremely enjoyable for me to watch as a human being who faces challenges just like anyone else, and who needs that occasional inspiration to give me a dose of determination to overcome them.