You’ve got “Yo, Adrian”, punching sides of beef, “Gettin’ strong now, gonna fly now”, drinking raw eggs and – most of all – Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) hauling ass up the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. All good stuff, but if you can let yourself see the parts of Rocky that these moments overshadow and forget the escalating scale of its sequels, you see a truly great, whole film. A class-conscious movie with a lot of debt to directors like Frank Capra and Elia Kazan. Classic Hollywood stuff.
Director: John G Avildsen
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
Rating: PG
Genre: Sports