Rocky: The Undisputed Collection – Blu-ray Disc Review

November 14, 2009 – 11:11 PM - Posted by: Brendan Surpless

Tags: Antonio Tarver, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Dolph Lundgren, FOX, Geraldine Hughes, Hulk Hogan, James Brown, James Francis Kelly III, John G. Avildsen, MGM, Milo Ventimiglia, Mr. T, Richard Gant, Rocky, Sage Stallone, Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Tommy Morrison, Tony Burton

rated 8.0, 6.7, 6.2, 5.9, 4.4 & 7.4 on IMDb
1080p in MPEG-2 & AVC on SIX discs
DTS-HD 5.1 MA & PCM 5.1
includes an extra disc with new content
– &
– 1976, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1990 & 2006
– 119, 119, 99, 91, 104 & 102 minutes
– MGM
–

Overall Verdict – Definitely Recommended for Fans

Buy it for $47.99 @ Amazon.com

— Review by: Brendan Surpless & James Segars —

Trailer for “Rocky“:



The Movies Themselves

“Rocky”

The year is 1975 and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer and loan shark. Rocky is young, eager and wants to do more with his life but the only problem is that he never finished high school so many places won’t hire without a degree. This brings Rocky back to the boxing world. We move to 1976 and current reigning world champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) decides to pick a local, young boxer after his scheduled opponent is injured. Creed picks Rocky because he likes his name ‘The Italian Stallion’. Creed bills it as ‘Apollo Creed meets ‘The Italian Stallion’. This leads Rocky to train with Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith). During the training, Rocky beings to court Adrian (Talia Shire), sister of Paulie (Burt Young). Even though Rocky trains quite hard, he confides to Adrian that he doesn’t expect to ever win the fight against Creed. Now it’s up to Rocky to go the distance against Creed and prove ‘that he isn’t another bum from the neighborhood’. What results is the sheer definition of the classic ‘rise of the underdog’ story.

Winner of the Best Picture statue in 1976, the film “Rocky” is quite the excellent film, perhaps one of the best ever made. It’s not just the concept of the underdog story that makes this one memorable. Rather, at least for myself, it’s the ending that the film took. Instead of having Rocky win and make this a simple one story shot, the film ends with neither man winning. Throughout the course of the movie, one might believe that Rocky will easily win as he trains incredibly hard while Creed tends to do….well…..nothing as he doesn’t think Rocky will be a worthy opponent. He views this as another simple exhibition bout that will add a ‘W’ to his record. As the two fight, Creed realizes that Rocky isn’t just another local bum but rather someone who is determined in making this one shot, this one opportunity all he can. Items like that are what make “Rocky” really powerful. The concept of giving it all you have no matter what, always trying your hardest despite the odds being stacked against you. Even though I’m clearly not a boxer, I fully believe in this message and fully use this in my life. “Rocky” is a moving, powerful and all-around well-made film that will have you cheering along ringside for the underdog. My Rating: 5/5.

“Rocky II”

“Rocky II” continues right were the first left off. Rocky (Stallone) and Apollo (Weathers) are in the hospital, both badly bruised and beaten. The interest aspect is that while Creed demands that he wants another chance to knock out Rocky to the news channels, he declares to Rocky that he gave him his best. Even though Creed says this to Rocky, he continues to pressure Rocky into a rematch, mostly due to the negative fan mail he receives. His trainer, Duke, feels that Rocky doesn’t deserve another chance but Apollo feels differently. He wants to prove to everyone that he isn’t afraid of Rocky. Rocky eventually agrees and the two begin to train for what is sure to be the fight of all fights.

For myself, while this is a great sequel to the excellent first film, I find this to be the most depressing of the 6 films. Rocky, having just lost his first fight (barely I might add), is now struggling to make ends meet. Adrian is pregnant with their child, goes into a coma, leaving Rocky to attempt to figure life out without her by his side. As we learn, Rocky is not good at anything minus fighting. He doesn’t have the intellectual smarts nor the basic know how to get by. It seems like everything is going down until Adrian wakes up and we hear the infamous line “do one favor for me…..WIN…” This prompts his trainer Micky to yell out “Well what are we waiting FOR?!?!” “Rocky II“, while not as good as the original, is still entertaining and is a heart-warming story if only because it shows Rocky living through the hells of life, trying to prove to everyone that he truly is something. My Rating: 4.5/5.

“Rocky III”

“Rocky III” beings shortly after the conclusion of the second film. Rocky (Stallone) has defeated Creed (Weathers) and is the new reigning world champion. Riding on the success of this, Rocky catapults into stardom shooting numerous commercials and winning bout after bout, making those wonder who exactly might be a worthy opponent for Rocky. Enter Clubber Lang (Mr.T), a brute, savage boxer who uses his raw power and quickness to dominate his opponents. He beings to track Rocky, occasionally showing up as he conferences and press appearances declaring that Rocky isn’t a true champion as he has yet to fight Lang. This makes Rocky feel that he should fight Lang. A lot is running through Rocky’s mind, including the health of his trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith), who is slowly fading due to a bad heart. Rocky eventually agrees to this fight and the day arrives. When traveling to the ring area, the press invades both boxers. Mickey defends Rocky and Lang proceeds to push Mickey into the rail, prompting Mickey to have a heart attack. With Mickey on the table, Rocky decides he wants to call the match off, but Mickey says he must fight otherwise Lang will be proven right. Obviously Rocky’s mind isn’t in the fight and Lang decimates him, causing Rocky to lose the match. Mickey, sadly, dies and Rocky is an utter mess.

Clearly destroyed both mentally and physically, Rocky retreats to his home and decides to give up boxing forever as he doesn’t feel he can do anything without Rocky. This is where the film goes from quite sad, to rather surprising. Rocky’s old boxing friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) convinces Rocky to snap out of it and demand a rematch against Lang as this is what both Rocky needs to do and what Mickey would want him to do. To sum this up, “Rocky III” continues the Rocky saga in a rather enjoyable manner. Even though the film does have its sad moments, the movie is able to mix humor (the whole “how much do you think he eats? About 202 pounds” bit when he fights Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan) is downright hilarious), emotion, great music, acting and story all into one. My Rating: 4/4.

“Rocky IV”

“Rocky IV” begins shortly after the ending of the third film. Rocky, having defeated Clubber Lang and having regained the world title, decides it’s time to hang up the gloves as he has nothing left to prove. With his son growing and his wife wanting her husband around more, Rocky feels this is the best decision. With Rocky’s name known around the world, every country wants to have the boxer that can challenge and defeat Rocky. Enter Russia and their boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). His trainer declares that Drago will defeat any boxer, anywhere. This prompts Rocky’s old friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) to challenge the Russian. Clearing making remarks that were meant to kind of poke fun at the US vs. Russia at the release of the film, Creed declares that he will easily defeat the Russian. Upon fighting Drago, his trainers shout at Drago prompting the boxer to absolutely destroy Creed, resulting in the boxer’s untimely death. With Rocky feeling this is his fault and wanting to continue on Apollo’s name, Rocky says he will fight Drago in his Russia on December 25th.

Now this is the first “Rocky” film where fans feel the series started to become really crappy. Myself, however, am on a different boat. While clearly not the best of the series, I find “Rocky IV” to be the most entertaining if not simply because the film has excellent music and it basically plays out like one big music video. Writing this reminds me of that South Park episode where the boys go up to a Denver mountain and Stan ends up battling it out with a random person over a girl. There is a point in the episode where Trey and Matt (the creators) are singing in the background (as Stan trains) “all you need is a montage.” But it’s also that the manner in which “Rocky IV” portrays the Rocky vs. Drago fight so over the top, that makes this film so much of the cult classic it has become. No one will declare that this is as good as the first three, but I always find myself watching the training sequences over and over again. The scenes are well shot, the music is classic and the fights are ferocious. The punches and hits look like they could take a man’s head off (“and the Russian throws Balboa 15ft across the ring.”) While clearly not a really ‘good’ movie, I can’t really find much to fault in “Rocky IV” as the film does easily succeed in its main goal of making an entertaining movie. My Rating: 3.5/5.

“Rocky V”

“Rocky V” begins shortly after the end of the last film. Rocky, having successfully defeated Drago, has returned to the US a battered but victorious champion. By battered I mean that Rocky, as we learn in an opening scene, has suffered brain damage (evidence is that he can’t stop shaking his hands). To make matters worse, Rocky finds out that all of his money has disappeared thanks in part to a get rich quick scheme his investor decided to do. With nothing left in the bank, Rocky and his family returns to the streets where he grew up, good old Philadelphia. It’s here that Rocky goes back to training boxers, soon gaining the attention of a young, hungry man by the name of Tommy Gunn (real life boxer Tommy Morrison). Even though everyone thinks Tommy is up to no good and is a bum, Rocky gives him a chance because he seems him 20 years ago. He was in the same position as Tommy is now and wouldn’t have gotten to where he got to if Mickey hadn’t given him that chance. With Tommy now being Rocky’s new apprentice, Rocky starts to spend all his time with Tommy, who is rising up the boxing world. Instead of seeing what his family sees, Rocky doesn’t pay attention and is able to realize when Tommy begins to walk all over him.

Akin to that of the 4th film in the series, many call “Rocky V” a complete and utter joke of a film, a real shame to the entire series. While I will easily call this the worse of the series, I can’t ever begin to the label the movie as ‘bad’ or ‘terrible’. Now perhaps this is because of what the “Rocky” films mean to me as a whole (I grew up on all of these films and have seen them all countless times). But I think it’s more in that “Rocky V” brings us back to the first film, only with Rocky playing the role of Mickey and Tommy playing Rocky. Each were hungry boxers who wanted a chance in the world when no one else would give them one. Granted Rocky never betrayed Mickey like Tommy does to Rocky, but I certainly found the similarity between the two. Also another point to notice is that I find the ending fight between Rocky and Tommy to be one of the best fights found in the entire series. As each fight in the streets, the real sense of standing up for what you believe in, not changing for that corporate goat and fighting until the end is brought to the forefront. I might be in the minority here, but I found “Rocky V” to be as entertaining as its always been. My Rating: 3/5.

“Rocky Balboa” (written by James Segars)

The film opens with a very dark and foreboding tone. Rocky, is still coping with the loss of his wife — having lost her to cancer four years prior — and in many ways he is disconnected from himself and those around him. Also, his attempts to bond with his son are in vain, largely due to his son’s own feelings of inadequacy and lack of self-image. It isn’t until Rocky run’s into an old acquaintance, Marie – a bit-character from the first film who Rocky walks home – that he begins to form new and meaningful connections that help pave the way for his ascension to the Rocky we all know and love.

In many ways, this film is the perfect end to a much beloved franchise, but beyond that I believe that it also manages to reach new emotional highs and lows that have never quite been reached in any of the previous films. In fact, it just might be my favorite in the series as it seems far more resonant than its predecessors because more is at stake for the title character. Naturally, Rocky Balboa is as much Rocky’s journey to prove his own self worth, as it is Stallone’s, and ultimately both achieve what they set out to do – to prove to us that it most definitely isn’t over ‘till it’s over. James’ rating – 4.5/5.

In closing, the “Rocky” series have their name cemented in cinemas history not only because of how much of a classic and how important the original film, but also because every single one of the films are pure entertainment. While there is clearly debate on the quality of the later films (with the exception of the final one), with “Rocky Balboa“, Sylvester Stallone has brought the series to a close in a manner that addresses all the films on their own level. Honestly I feel that’s the best way to handle these films. If you go into, for example, “Rocky IV” and expect a movie as good as “Rocky“, you’ll be disappointed. Each film is good in its own way and has earned its place in cinema history for different reasons. If for SOME reason you haven’t checked out this series, please do as I feel you’ll be quite stunned at just how good these movies truly are.

Video Quality on this release varies from film to film in terms of video codec and disc size but is in full 1080p for each film, all using the 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

“Rocky” is the original release and is not remastered. It is on a BD-25 (25 gigabyte single layer Blu-ray Disc) using MPEG-2. The film’s color palette complements the 1970s feel to it, resulting in a rather gritty, urban feel. This all but defines not only the era but also the Philadelphia locale. The palette is muted featuring only a few dominant bright colors (like blues and reds) while the darker side of the spectrum do feature somewhat solid darks. The darks aren’t the most solid darks I’ve seen before, but are acceptable for the age of the film. The film’s print is in decent condition but does have a few blips and specs here and there. The grain level is heavy at times but that’s more a side of what some films of the age looked like not necessarily the film being in poor condition. While certainly looking far better than any of its DVD counterparts, a classic like “Rocky” needs a complete rehaul, a restoration. All in all this earns a fair “2.5 Star Rating“.

“Rocky II” is on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) using AVC MPEG-4. Fairing better and starting the rise in the transfer column is “Rocky II“. As the first of the 6 films to sport an AVC MPEG-4 codec, the film’s color palette tends to focus on brighter colors during Rocky’s time after the fight (the golds of the church and blacks of his new bike), while the middle sports a somewhat subdued look as the film’s tone completely changes. Blacks are strong throughout with deep, bold darks while the detail is also quite impressive. The ending fight between Rocky and Apollo is stunning at times, with not only accurate fleshtones but also excellent detail that at times bolds our favorite statement “3-D pop”. The issue here, which stops this from being truly great, is the film’s print. The print, certainly crying for a restoration like the 1st film, has a lot of what appears to be white blips and specks throughout. While not completely annoying, this did result in a grade decline. Still, all in all fans will like what is presented. This earns a “3.5 Star Rating“.

“Rocky III” is on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) using AVC MPEG-4. I remember the DVD of “Rocky III” always being the worst of the batch of films. Unfortunately this Blu-ray stems from the same problems. While I clearly do like the film, I found the transfer to be rather inconsistent. Perhaps this is more the film’s thematic elements or the film’s print being in bad condition, but I was turned off here. The issue is that we have instances (like closeups of any character) that literally pop off the screen, but then the next scene lacks any real definition. I believe the issue, like the first 2 films, stems from a need to have a complete restoration done to the film. The little specks and blips that I commented on about the 2nd film, are present here again. On the bright side, the film’s color palette does feature solid, deep darks that do have a good amount of detail to them. But I couldn’t get over the issues that were still prevalent here. Consider this to be quite the disappointment here. All in all this earns a “3 Star Rating“.

“Rocky IV” is on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) using AVC MPEG-4. Certainly having a much brighter look to it over the DVD counterpart, “Rocky IV” has a pretty good transfer. In particular, the film’s color palette is solid with instances that show off the film’s thematic elements perfectly. Take in point the varying locales. We have the bright and hazy look to the Las Vegas fight, the rather drab, dark and snowy of the Russian landscape and the green, military like look of the final fight. Detail does tend to waver though from quite impressive (really the final fight showcases bright colors and solid fleshtones) to somewhat questioning (I found that Apollo’s funeral lacked definition and looked rather, well, blurry at times). All in all, however, “Rocky IV” earns a “4 Star Rating” with the kind of transfer that will please fans.

“Rocky V” is on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) using AVC MPEG-4. Taking a slight step back is the transfer to “Rocky V“. Not this is not necessarily due to the film’s print, which is in good condition, but rather that so much of the film looks rather depressing. Now keep in mind this was down more to bring the Philadelphia streets home. Colors aren’t as bright nor as impressive or bold as the previous entry. Grain is present and does tend to waver from scene to scene, with some having more film noise than actual film grain. Detail is solid though. My favorite scene of the film, the final fight with Tommy Gunn, features excellent detail. This is definitely a great part of the transfer as this street fight is fought in the low-lit parts of the Philadelphia streets, so detail was lost on the DVD. Here, however, the detail is great. All in all this earns a “3.5 Star Rating” that does accurately bring home the themes of “Rocky V“.

“Rocky Balboa” is on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) using AVC MPEG-4 (written by James Segars). The quality on this release is rather astounding. While Stallone never allows the camera to sneak up close enough to any of the principal actors’ faces for us to glimpse the finest of details in their faces, fine object detail remains very appealing nonetheless. Rocky Balboa is particularly unique in its usage of HD cameras for the exhibition fight sequence – a choice that eventually polarized the viewers in some circles. Personally I found it slightly jarring, as I wasn’t expecting the switch, but having listened to Stallone’s justification on the supplemental materials, I’m far more forgiving of his directorial choice. Basically, if you left the theater wondering why the end looked “funny” this was the reason behind your discontent.

Ultimately I think the film achieves a great deal of realism, despite the heavy-handed post processing that gives the film the very cold and depressed feel Stallone was going for. Being a very recent film, the movie was destined to be released on HD, and its fresh age contributes to a very stable and detailed image overall. Sure the digital color timing is a bit heavy handed – you need only seek out the deleted scenes to see how different the raw footage is from the final picture – but it is a means to an end, and I think that end is definitely justified.

The 35mm print is flawless as far as I can tell, and the transfer to Blu-ray is predictably flawless as well. The film is given more than ample room to breathe on the 50gb disc, and the AVC Mpeg 4 encoding really handles the film with ease. All in all this earns an almost-perfect “4.5 Star Rating“.

Disc Usage:

Disc 1 uses 20.1GB for the movie out of 21.5GB total.
Disc 2 uses 36.5GB for the movie out of 36.8GB total.
Disc 3 uses 29.1GB for the movie out of 29.3GB total.
Disc 4 uses 28.2GB for the movie out of 28.6GB total.
Disc 5 uses 33.0GB for the movie out of 33.4GB total.
Disc 6 uses 26.3GB for the movie out of 43.1GB total.
Disc 7 uses 17.2GB total.

Audio Quality on this release varies from film to film in terms of audio codec.

“Rocky” uses English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Clearly being a film from the 1970s, it’s obvious that we really shouldn’t expect all that much from the provided DTS-HD track. Originally recorded as a Mono track, this 5.1 setup doesn’t really add that much to the sound field here as a lot of the new effects felt added in. Granted it does widen the field a bit (we can hear cars passing, children playing, crowd cheering), but I’d rather have the mono track (which is included BTW). The film’s dialogue is delivered just fine with no instance of drop out. However, there are a few instances (perhaps because of the limitations and budget of the movie) where the volume does need to be changed. This isn’t the biggest issue as I remembered having to do that with the DVD. When it comes to the closing fight, the bout between Apollo and Rocky does sound better than it ever has, but too many of the effects felt tiny and not as powering as they should have been. Still, I guess we can’t expect that much here. All in all this earns a decent “2.5 Star Rating“.

“Rocky II” uses English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Fairing better than its predecessor is the accompanied DTS-HD track for “Rocky II“. Even though this isn’t the enveloping sound event we might hope for, what is presented is rather good. The film’s dialogue is reproduced fine but unlike the original, I didn’t find any volume problems here. Dynamics are a bit more profound here as we can hear more background activity in the meat plants than in the 1st film. This is probably due to the bigger budget and success of the first film. Here we can make out the machinery as well as other characters dialogue. The score by Bill Conti has never sounded better, with a solid presentation of his excellent work. All in all this earns a “3.5 Star Rating“.

“Rocky III” uses English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Akin to that of the aforementioned video quality, the provided DTS-HD track is a bit problematic as well. While the dialogue does sound fine, I found that there were all too many sequences where I couldn’t really understand what was being said. Granted I’ve seen the film more than a handful of times so I knew what was being said, but this would be a major annoyance for newcomers to the film. In particular, look at the hilarious charity match between Rocky and Thunderlips. The way this sound field sounds, we would think that both are fighting in an empty arena. There isn’t any real surround activity except for a boo here and there. On the bright side the film’s score by Bill Conti as well as the classic “Eye of the Tiger” both sound great with a solid presentation for each. The ending bout between Rocky and Mr.T does sound fine, but again I thought there wasn’t enough activity from the rears. Now I’m not sure if this is a source or budget issue, but for whatever reason this lossless presentation of “Rocky III” is lacking. All in all this earns an okay “3 Star Rating“.

“Rocky IV” uses English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. One aspect that I’ve always found about the sound design of “Rocky IV” is that the whole film is meant to pump you up. For as long as I can remember, I’ve found myself using either the song selections or the score by Vince DiCola as a great work out tool. That’s not only because the music is excellent but also because it makes me think of the great scenes that accompany the music. Take in case the cue entitled ‘War’. This 6 minute piece (on the soundtrack) features a synthesized-heavy tone that sounds terrific here. The film’s dialogue is reproduced fine as well. No instance of drop out or any complications. When these musical selections do occur, the sound field does tend to open a bit. In particular the initial battle between Creed and Drago in Las Vegas. Not only do we hear the varying effects from James Brown’s performance, but also the background chatter of the crowd. LFE is also solid in the fight sequences thanks in part to the over exaggerated punches. As this is one of my favorite and most watched “Rocky” films, I found the provided DTS-HD track to be great. All in all this earns a “4 Star Rating“.

“Rocky V” uses English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Right from the opening moments of “Rocky V“, the provided DTS-HD track prepare us for what is to come. The film’s score by Bill Conti features both a mix of hip-hop/rap selections as well as one excellent piece by Elton John, all of which are presented perfectly. The film’s dialogue is reproduced fine with no instance of drop out. Some of the best use of surround activity comes during the film’s final fight between Rocky and Tommy. Here, in particular when Rocky’s start to have trauma flashbacks, the rear channels showcase not only the sound of what is his brain lapsing but also solid LFE in present thanks in part to a few heavy punches. Mickey’s voice comes through in a powering manner that all but gets us ready for the fight. From here on Conti’s score kicks in with the kind of music that is all but appropriate. High-energy music that has us cheering along side Rocky. I found this track to be quite good, a real improvement over the DVD. All in all this earns a “4 Star Rating“.

“Rocky Balboa” uses English PCM 5.1 Uncompressed (written by James Segars). This PCM 5.1 track deftly handles the film’s dialogue, score, and effects with ease. Not once was a I straining to hear the dialogue. With that in mind, the films is very much a drama — in truth its about two thirds drama, one third action – and as such the mix is often times very front heavy, with minimal surround bleed that is reserved for musical cues and ambiance. I’d even go so far as to label this a tame mix, but that would effectively sell the final third of the film short. As soon as Rocky begins to train, the soundscape blooms and booms simultaneously. The LFE channel springs to life as weights are dropped and the surrounds fire up with the instantly recognizable Rocky theme resounding triumphantly to herald the return of cinema’s greatest underdog.

Some viewers might take note of the fact that most of the punches in the fight don’t pack a huge wallop, but this was intentional, as Stallone notes in his commentary. Realism was the ultimate goal, and he wanted it to both look and sound like a real pay-per-view fight one might find on HBO or elsewhere. Therefore, you shouldn’t head directly for the exhibition to demo your system, but instead head for the training montage if anything.

Overall, this audio presentation is very truthful to the theatrical experience, and in the end, while it sounds as good as you might expect, it isn’t quite the disc you’d reach for to showcase your system – sonically that is. This earns a near perfect 4.5 Star Rating.

Bonus Materials on this release are presented in a mixture of High Definition and Standard Definition video

• Interactive Game: Feeling Strong Now!: This is a type of game where you are billed against the varying opponents Rocky has fought over the course of the six films. The goal is to answer trivia questions in order to gain energy to knock them out! The second area is a kind of rock-paper-scissor section where you have to pick the right series of punches in order to win. The final area shows you a series of videos based on the features and then asks a few questions. All in all this is a nice extra but one you probably won’t revisit more than once.
• Three Rounds with Trainer Lou Dava: This runs 4min44sec and features a somewhat brief interview with Dava as he discusses the training aspects of boxing.
• Interview with a Legend: This runs 6min56sec and features an interview with Legend Bert Sugar as he discusses how “Rocky” helped transform boxing into what it has become.
• The Opponents: Running 16min23sec, this feature has series producer Robert Chartoff discuss how every single one of Rocky’s opponents have always taken a more than human feel to them.
• In The Ring: This is a three-part documentary that runs 1h15min52sec. Covering nearly every aspect of the making of the original film from casting to the production schedule, I found this one to be highly informative and a must-see for fans of the film or series.
• Steadicam: This feature runs 17min25sec showing steadicam-inventor Garrett Brown and his footage of the original film.
• Make Up!: This runs 15min08sec and has makeup designer Michael Westmore give us a glance into the makeup design of the series.
• Staccato: This is a 11min26sec feature on Bill Conti, the series composer and how he created some of the more unique themes.
• The Ring of Truth: This runs 9min48sec and looks into the varying locales Rocky shot in.
• Behind The Scenes: Here in 12min26sec, Director John Avildsen takes us through some of the earlier shots of the original film including some of the initial sketches he made.
• Tribute to Burgess Meredith: Here is a 7min56sec tribute to Meredith and the career he had in Hollywood.
• Tribute to James Crabe: Here is a 3min46sec to “Rocky” cameraman Crabe. In particular his attention to detail is spoken of.
• Video Commentary with Stallone: Here in 28min56sec, Stallone tells us how he created the original story for “Rocky“, down to the hero vs. villain, and the reception the film received upon release.
• Stallone on Dinah!: This is a somewhat funny 70s appearance Stallone made to promote the film.
• Trailers: Here we get trailers for all the films in the series.
• TV Spots: Here are a few brief TV Spots.

Overall the bonus materials are lengthy and are certainly a watch for fans of the series. In particular make sure you check out the included making-of, which is a fabulous look into the first film.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

Screenshots:

“Rocky” :

“Rocky II” :

“Rocky III” :

“Rocky IV” :

“Rocky V” :

“Rocky Balboa” :

NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.

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