You’ve got to hand it to these distributors. Every time they’ve put out the Rocky franchise in anew format they come up with an equally appropriate boxing name. I’ve had the Undisputed collection, rhe Heavyweight collection, the Knockout collection and now the Ultimate Knockout Collection.
This time I’m in it for V and VI. Rocky Balboa now has a director’s cut. While it’s not as drastic as Stallone’s new cut of Rocky IV, Rocky Vs. Drago, 15 additional minutes is significant. We’ve seen those deleted scenes before, but in context it builds to the new Rocky. He can’t hold down raw eggs anymore and he lets Paulie live wtih him. It doesn’t change the tone of the movie but it’s additive.
As the first Rocky of the new millennium, Balboa looks the most different on 4K. You still see the dark corners of boxing arenas and the Philadelphia night sky. You see the breath in the air as Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) does his annual historic tour. They used HBO cameras for the climactic fight which were HD at the time. Upscale only goes so far and those shots stand out.
The score fill surround speakers too. You’ll also hear fireworks in the Mandaay Bay and crowd cheers behind you.
Rocky V really looks as good as I – IV and it’s nice to finally see the maligned sequel treated like a real movie. You are in the streets of Philadelphia with Stallone.
I’ve always been a Rocky V defender. The Don King stand-in, George Washington Duke (Richard Gant) is a little heavy handed, but that’s what was going on in boxing at the time. The late Tommy Morrison may not have been much of an actor but it suits his rookie character.
The theme of Rocky V is sound. You can teach someone to box but you can’t give them ethics or good values. This one really gives Adrian (Talia Shire) a lot to do too between standing up to Duke, warning Rocky about Tommy and trying to bridge the gap between Rocky and their son (Sage Stallone). I hope people will give it another shot.