Drama
American
1976 · Directed by John G. Avildsen · 120 min
Rocky Balboa is a small-time Philadelphia boxer who also collects debts for a loan shark, and his life has settled into a quiet rut. An unlikely opportunity arrives, and with it a chance to be taken seriously. A modest, warm film about a lonely man and the people near him.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of mid-1970s American cinema: it brought the gritty, location-based look of New Hollywood together with old-fashioned crowd-pleasing storytelling, and set the template for the modern sports movie.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a character study of a lonely man first, and a boxing film second.
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