Rocky: The Undisputed Collection – Blu-ray Review

Rocky

Times like these, I hate reviewing classic films. What can I add that hasn’t already been said or covered about the 1976 Best Picture winner? Well, other than what film should have won it, but Rocky is a more than worthy candidate for the statue. It sometimes gets criticism for not showing enough of the epic fight at the end, but I feel that’s a brilliant move as we know these men will go the distance. The performances are excellent, the direction is up to par, and the story is a timeless classic. Truthfully, the alternate ending where Rocky throws the fight would have been interesting to see.

9/10

Rocky II

I’d forgotten what a depressing trip this was, which makes Rocky’s eventual win that much sweeter by the end of the film. This marked Sylvester Stallone’s second directorial debut and for the most part he does a very solid job with keeping things in line from the first film. Rocky II doesn’t feel so much like a sequel than it does a continuation of an already great story. The acting and dialogue remains consistently the same from the first film, yet the real winner is how Stallone tells the story. Rocky goes through all of this torture through the film where you almost expect him to lose to Apollo again. He doesn’t, and we’re happy to see it happen. Rocky II is good filmmaking, and gives us the ending we wanted the first time out.

8/10

Rocky III

Things began to get overly cheesy with this entry, and some say this is where the series went “downhill”. Quality wise, those voices may be right but Rocky III is still a fun entry into the franchise. The film’s highlighted be a fun performance from Mr. T’s Clubber Lang who shouts out gold every time he opens his mouth. Stallone again returned to direct and turns in a decent job, even if the themes of the first two films didn’t translate over. Aside from a tragic scene (and the scene I personally hate most in this series,) Rocky III remains consistently fun and while not exactly furthering the characters, it does put them in interesting places. Not as good as II, but nothing as atrocious as what was to come.

7/10

Rocky IV

Personally, this is my favorite of the sequels and maybe of the Rocky films. It was the first one I’d ever watched and the pure cheese of it appealed to me. Looking back on the film, I appreciate it’s pure goofiness even more and love how it just tosses montage after montage complete with gloriously bad music. Dolph Lundgren makes for a formidable opponent and it’s both heart-warming and hilarious to see Rocky single-handedly win the Cold War and avenging the death of Apollo Creed. It’s not a great film, but it’s sure as hell a fun one with some very quotable lines from the bulk of the characters.

7/10

Rocky V

“My mother told me if I had nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
-Some Kid, Some Time

This is one of the rare times I’m going to adhere to that.

2/10

Rocky Balboa

This one is on par, if not better than the first film. Yes, I said it. The franchise gets back on track to what made Rocky a classic series. Instead of being about the big boss fight at the end (even though Mason “The Line” Dixon proves to be a formidable foe,) this entry was about Rocky’s struggles with being alone after the glory. Stallone returns to direct and does a very admirable job of handling this story as it’s easily the best shot entry. The performances are all-around solid, but it’s the story that’s the real winner here. It may have taken almost thirty years, but the series finally returned to glory, much like it’s protagonist.

9/10

Series Average Score: 7 out of 10

The Video

Each film in the collection is presented in it’s original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and are respectable for what they are given their age. Grain is noticeable in the darker scenes, while flickering does become something of a problem (i.e. – the opening scene in Rocky III.) But to be honest, I don’t remember the films looking this good, and Rocky Balboa has no problems to really speak of. While the middle films will probably never be given a proper restoration, this will do and at the end of the day, it’s alright. Like the films, the score is averaged.

6 out of 10

The Audio

5.1 DTS Master Audio is what you get across all six movies and the results are very, very solid. Dialogue mostly came in clear and unmuddled, while the music always boomed at the right points (especially during Rocky IV.) The fight scenes will engulf you as you are a spectator as boos and cheers surround you. Also no slouch are the gym and training sequences with every punch, rope jump and bag hit coming with precision. No major complaints here, just great audio.

8 out of 10

Packaging and Extras

Rocky: The Undisputed Collection comes in a big slipsleeve cover that houses a double-thick Blu-ray case that houses all seven discs. The seventh disc is where most of the extras appear.

It begins things with the Blu-ray exclusive feature “Feeling Strong Now! Interactive Game” which has you as Rocky going through the different bouts he faced in the films. You’ll answer trivia, then compete in a mock boxing match by entering different combinations of boxing moves, then unlocking a quick clip to answer a final question. It’s a fun little game that’s really harmless. I enjoyed it.

“Three Rounds With Legendary Trainer Lou Duva” runs around four minutes and is a quick discussion on Duva’s philosophy on the sport. Interesting and entertaining, it’s funny to hear Duva compare himself to Mickey.

“Interview With a Legend – Bert Sugar: Author/Historian” features the sports writer with his fedora and cigar and recollects how he’s proud of the legend of Rocky Balboa and talks about boxing’s impact on cinema. This runs close to seven minutes and has some nice comments from Bert as he talks about the film’s impact on the sport.

“The Opponents” runs around sixteen minutes takes a look at Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, and Tommy Gunn. All of the actors who portrayed these guys are on display, except for Mr T. It’s a nice little reflection on all of the villains Rocky faced over the course of the first five films with some pretty nice comments from Dolph Lundgren, Tommy Morrison, and Carl Weathers.

“In the Ring: Three-Part Making Of Documentary” clocks in at one hour, fifteen minutes and features Stallone, Talia Shire, Weathers, producer Robert Chartoff, and director of films I and V John Avildsen. All reminisce on making the movie, complimented by clips, photos and even home movies Avildsen had from the production. The only downside is that this piece sticks mostly to the first film and not the five sequels. Otherwise, there’s solid information here and is a really great documentary.

“Steadicam: Then and Now With Garrett Brown” runs seventeen minutes and features the cinematographer and inventor of steadicam discussing how he invented the technique. For an aspiring filmmaker like myself, this is a wonderful and informative piece.

“Make Up! The Art and Form with Michael Westmore” clocks in at fifteen minutes features the make-up artist discussing how he became involved with Rocky and his development of the various injuries to the fighters over the course of the films. It’s a pretty (or not) look into the creation of the scars.

“Stacatto: A Composer’s Notebook with Bill Conti” is eleven minutes and has Conti talking about how he came up with the now infamous Rocky score. Bill reflects on talking with John Avildsen while drinking and playing Beethoven and how the score evolved from there. Conti’s fun to listen to, and appears passionate about the score he created over the films. No one told him, but he’s doing a great Martin Scorsese impression.

“The Ring of Truth” runs about nine minutes and has set designer James Spencer talking about how he designed the sets. Spencer offers up his comments on how he made the sets representative of the characters, particularly Rocky’s decrepit home. It’s an informative piece that offers up enough information on Spencer’s methods and choices.

“Behind the Scenes with John Avildsen” runs around twelve and a half minutes and gives a longer look at the director’s home movies and features make-up tests and rehearsals from the boxing matches. It’s a good look at the creation of what would become the eventual final fight in the first Rocky.

“Tribute to Burgess Meredith” clocks in under eight minutes and has comments from Stallone and other players discussing what it was like to work with Meredith and how he really was perfect as Mickey Goldmill. As a fan of both Meredith and the character, this is a depressing but decent tribute.

“Tribute to James Crabe” highlights the cinematographer’s work and legacy and has Avildsen discussing how he appreciated the work Crabe added to his film in this very classy piece.

“Video Commentary with Sylvester Stallone” clocks in around twenty-nine minutes and has the actor talking about the genesis of this project. This is a wonderful piece, that features Stallone discussing how the project evolved into what it was and his struggle with getting the character and film to be made. It’s one of the big highlights of this package.

“Sylvester Stallone on Dinah!” features the full appearance on Dinah Shore’s 1976 talk show. Fun and nostalgic, there’s some fun laughs to be had from Stallone’s suit.

Finally, Trailers for all the films are available in addition to TV Spots for the first movie.

But wait, there’s more, as the disc of Rocky Balboa is the same disc that saw release in 2007. Which means the following features are included:

First is an audio commentary by Sylvester Stallone. It’s a glorious listen, as Stallone is gleefully energetic and offers some solid information on the film, Rocky’s journey and his own personal one. Most definitely worth a listen.

This is followed by seven deleted scenes and an alternate ending, all of which don’t add any real merit to the already great movie. And while the alternate ending is nice, the one in the finished film is much better.

“Boxing Bloopers” runs a minute and a half and offers some entertaining laughs with a good outtakes reel.

“Skill vs. Will: The Making of Rocky Balboa” clocks in below eighteen minutes and is a fluff piece on the making of the film. However, it does feature some great behind-the-scenes material and decent comments from various crew and cast members.

“Reality in the Ring: Filming Rocky’s Final Fight” runs around fifteen minutes and goes into detail how Stallone and company went to great depth to make sure Rocky went out the right way. The piece entertains while offering up great information as to what went into creating this sequence.

“Virtual Champion: Creating the Computer Fight” runs five minutes and goes over how Stallone and Antonio Tarver were plastered up and scanned at Gentle Giant Studios for the computer simulated fight that’s featured in the film. They also give us the full simulated fight at the end of the piece. Harmless and fun, this is an interesting look.

The disc is rounded out by previews for other Sony Blu-ray titles.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the extras that this set has to offer. However, I do have two complaints. One, the commentaries from the 2006 “Collector’s Edition” DVD aren’t present and while the extras are plentiful, we don’t get many focusing on the middle sequels. Not that one of them needs to be focused on, but more would have been nice. Otherwise, what’s here is really great work and doesn’t feel like fluff. Even though most are repeats, this is still a solid collection of features.

8 out of 10

Overall

Rocky is a series I grew up with so these films do hold some sentimental value for me. All six range from great, to fun, to outright terrible, but it’s cemented it’s place in cinema history and I’m happy to have this thing in my collection. This new Undisputed Collection is a fine set that presents the films with some fine video and audio presentations. Again, it would have been nice to have extras for each film, but what’s here is plentiful and almost makes up for it. Fans of the series should definitely pick this set up without hesitation. Even if you hate Rocky V like I do.

Blu-ray Overall Rating – 7 out of 10

Rocky: The Undisputed Collection - Blu-ray Review5.051