For this week’s “Throwback Thursday” film, we’re headed back to 1976.
Full disclosure, I was a little kid during the bicentennial and my memories from the 1970s are a little hazy because I was still in the single digits.
Even as a kid, though, I used to go to the movie theaters in Pittsburgh all the time. Back then — believe it or not — movies were an economic way to have a good time. While I grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs and frequented the North Hills movie theaters — North Hills Village Theatre, McKnight Cinemas and eventually Showcase Cinemas (all gone now) — I used to go to downtown Pittsburgh quite often with my mom, Uncle David and Aunt Lisa. There, we would see movies at the larger-than-life movie theaters. There was the Warner Theatre, the Fulton Theatre, the Chatham Cinema, the Fiesta Theatre and the Bank Cinemas (also all gone now). The Bank Cinemas were one of my favorites to attend because it was located in an old bank and you had to walk through an old-time vault to get to it.
Enough reminiscing, though. It was in one of the downtown Pittsburgh theaters — I can’t recall which — that I first saw “Rocky.”
If you haven’t ever seen “Rocky” or any of the films in the “Rocky” series, I assume you’ve made a concerted effort to avoid them. “Rocky,” which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1976, is one of the best films of all time. It tells the story of Rocky Balboa (a young Sylvester Stallone), an underdog boxer from Philadelphia who works his way up the ranks to get a title shot against heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
“Rocky” is a true rags-to-riches story — in more ways than one. Stallone wrote the screenplay for “Rocky” in three and a half days. According to film lore, he wrote the script after watching the championship match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner that took place at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio, on March 24, 1975. In that fight, Wepner was TKO’d in the 15th round by Ali, with few expecting him to last as long as he did. Stallone later denied that Wepner was the inspiration for “Rocky.”
Stallone pitched the script and, while movie executives loved it, they wanted someone else to play the role. Robert Redford, James Caan, Ryan O’Neal and Burt Reynolds are some of names that have been rumored for “Rocky.” Can you even imagine? If one of those stars had been cast, chances are that “Rocky II” through “Creed III” never get made.
Thank goodness Stallone refused to budge. He made sure he got the starring role.
We first see Rocky as a down-on-his-luck loser who makes a living boxing and collecting money for a Philadelphia loan shark. The film is set in 1975 and Creed is looking to defend his title on New Year’s Day 1976, to coincide with the bicentennial. When his opponent goes down with a broken hand, Creed decides to find a local boxer to fight him.
Enter Rocky.
While “Rocky” is without a doubt a boxing film, there’s a love story, too. Rocky falls in love with Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), a shy woman who runs the local pet shop. She lives with her brother, Paulie (Burt Young), who operates a local meat packing business. There’s also a love-hate relationship between Rocky and his trainer, Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith).
There are some famous scenes in “Rocky,” of course. During the training sequences, he downs a glass filled with raw eggs, punches a large side of beef, runs through the streets of Philadelphia and, of course, runs the steps of the art museum (something I did with my own kids when we visited the city).
As the film goes on, Rocky realizes he likely has no shot against Apollo but just wants to go the distance against him. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I won’t give away the ending. And while the boxing scenes aren’t exactly realistic, they do make for a good movie.
“Rocky” launched Stallone into superstardom, inspired several sequels and even a couple of videogames. The most recent films in the franchise are the “Creed” films, which have been box office hits.
Once you watch “Rocky,” you’ll want more. With the exception of “Rocky V,” all of the films in the series are solid. In a future column, I will rank the Rocky films, all the way through “Rocky Balboa.”
Watching “Rocky” on television won’t be the same as in the ornate theaters of the 1970s, but it will still be a good time.
“Rocky” is rated PG for language and some bloody boxing sequences. It’s available OnDemand.
Chris Morelli is the assistant editor of The Centre County Gazette.
