A short biography of the life of Stallone and the success of Rocky.  This is a good resource for one looking for quick information on the successes and failures of Stallone.  By D. Goldstein

This criticism offers a small synopsis and background history of the film and its creation.  Like Rocky’s other critics, Leab describes the title character as “The Great White Hope.”  He claims that the success of the film rested on its reception by America’s White working class and that the film rejected the prejudices and fears of the Black movement toward equality in the 70’s.  It is interesting that the move to a “Bicentennial America” meant a move toward racism.  Again, I assume Stallone did not intend for this connection when he wrote Rocky’s script, but I’m sure the culture of the era influenced Stallone to unintentionally include the racist elements of the film such as Rocky’s degradation at the hands of an arrogant Black reporter.  By D. Goldstein

Camby expresses his distaste for optimism in movies such as Rocky.  He satirizes the optimism of Rocky and a number of other ‘feel good’ films through extrapolation of the events in the movie to a pessimistic outcome.  For example, he claims that Rocky should end with Rocky being exposed as a pedophile.  It is interesting to note that this is exactly the type of movie that Sylvester Stallone didn’t want to make when he wrote Rocky.  By D. Goldstein

Stallone writes a very detailed synopsis of the training for his part as a boxer in Rocky.  The article explains how Stallone learned the art of boxing, the pain of filming his intense training sequences in Philadelphia, and how he came upon Carl Weathers for the role of Apollo Creed.  Stallone also details the arduous process of writing and choreographing the nine-minute final fight scene, which he claims took 35 hours of practice.  Obviously, the time spent in producing a film does not correlate to the length of the final product.  By D. Goldstein

This article previews Rocky two months before its debut in November.  The article details Stallone’s background from the “sleazy sections” of Philadelphia and notes Stallone’s opposition against the “realistic,” cynical movies that dominated the 1970s Vietnam war era.  This article also quotes Stallone saying that an actor needed to look his/her part as much as be able to act it.  By D. Goldstein

This article describes a number of things including:  Audience reception of Rocky as a classic underdog story, Alvidsen’s acceptance speech for Best Director at the 1977 Oscar Awards, comparisons between Stallone and Marlon Brando, to a moderately long biography of Stallone’s life.  Kasindorf’s opinion of Stallone’s acting contrasts with New York Times critic Vincent Camby, showing that Stallone’s acting was well received by some within the critics’ circle.  By D. Goldstein

This article gives a brief history of Stallone’s creative inspiration for creating Rocky.  It also discusses the numerous problems that Alvidsen and his team ran into while filming the movie in Philadelphia, such as lack of a sufficient budget, extreme weather conditions, and lack of equipment.  The article describes how people threw food at Stallone while Alvidsen filmed Rocky jogging through the streets of Philadelphia.  It is apparent that most people did not know they were witnessing the production of a future blockbuster.  By D. Goldstein

This article is the original Philadelphia Inquirer review of Rocky.  The article praises the film thoroughly.  It interestingly notes that much of Rocky was filmed in the “Fishtown” section of Philadelphia and also that Stallone chose the city for its Bicentennial theme.   The fact that the review comes from a Philadelphia newspaper probably explains why every aspect of the film was praised.  By D. Goldstein

This is Sports Illustrated’s original review of Rocky.  Coursen criticizes Rocky’s unrealistic boxing scenes and concludes the movie is purely fantasy.  He finds the scene of Apollo Creed’s entrance as George Washington crossing the Delaware particularly amusing.  From what I have read of Stallone’s interviews, his motive to create Rocky was not as an homage to the sport of boxing but rather as a Cinderella story of hope.  By D. Goldstein

This is Ebert’s original review of the film Rocky.  Most of the review is a synopsis of the movie.  Ebert compares Stallone to Marlon Brando from On The Waterfront and points out that Alvidsen purposely filmed Stallone in conspicuously deserted streets in Philadelphia in order to detract from the sensation of the film feeling like a documentary.  By D. Goldstein

Camby basically writes a negative review of the film Rocky.  Like Ray Elson, Camby points out the anachronistic qualities of the film and calls it “make-believe of the 1930’s.”  For the most part, Camby lambastes Stallone and Weather’s acting and praises Shire’s portrayal of Adrian.  Again, the acting in Rocky wasn’t what made it a success but rather it’s “feel good” message at a time when the country was cynical after Vietnam and Watergate.  By D. Goldstein

Stallone discusses the artistic processes that went into writing Rocky.  Klemesrud also describes the history of the movie from its conception and the debate over who should play Rocky to the details of the script and the choreography of Rocky’s final fight with Apollo Creed.  Klemesrud also reveals Stallone’s adamancy against the protest culture of the post-Vietnam war era.  I’m sure such a popular film as Rocky with an upbeat, optimistic ending would have had effects on films made afterwards.  By D. Goldstein

In this article, Elson categorizes Stallone’s portrayal of Rocky as an anachronistic boxer from the 1930’s or 40’s.  He claims that the fighter’s persona as a slow-talking, dimwitted boxer from the dirty streets of Philadelphia has tainted the ways people perceive boxers.  By D. Goldstein

This article describes how Rocky increased levels of self-pride for Philadelphians.  The article discusses a number of Philadelphia’s problems in the late 1970s.  The article also states that Philadelphians were proud of the example Stallone set for the city when he made Rocky and that he is a symbol of hope for the city.  The photograph of the man jogging the steps at the Art Museum is perhaps a reference to the influence Rocky had on citizens’ awareness for the need to exercise.  By D. Goldstein

 A review of Stallone’s acting in the movie Rocky.  Camby basically states that Stallone’s acting is not up to par with the other actors of his era, saying that Stallone is basically “impersonating” rather than “acting.”  By D. Goldstein

Ad for Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, playing at the Eric Twin Rittenhouse Square at 1907 Chestnut; ad for Network, playing at the Eric Mark 1 at 18^th and Market.  By A. Solether