Rocky V

Rocky V
Rocky V 1990 movie poster
Directed by	John G. Avildsen
Written by	Sylvester Stallone
Produced by	Robert Chartoff Irwin Winkler
Starring	Sylvester Stallone Talia Shire Burt Young Sage Stallone Burgess Meredith Tommy Morrison Tony Burton
Cinematography	Steven B. Poster
Edited by	John G. Avildsen Robert A. Ferretti Michael N. Knue
Music by	Bill Conti
Distributed by	United Artists United International Pictures
Release dates	November 16, 1990
Running time	104 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Rocky V is the fifth film in the Rocky film saga. It was released on November 16, 1990. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Stallone's real life son Sage Stallone and real life boxer Tommy Morrison as boxer Tommy Gunn, an ingrate character who only uses Rocky for his connections and to try to win the world Heavyweight title. Sage Stallone played Rocky Jr., whose attempt to learn how to box also turned out to be an attempt to try to get his father's attention. The film earned $14 million on its opening weekend and $40 million in total US box-office sales, about one-third of its predecessor's take.

Plot synopsis

In the film, Rocky returns home from Russia (following his battle with Ivan Drago in Rocky IV) to find out that Paulie had signed 'power of attorney' over to Balboa's accountant, who had in turn squandered most of his money on real estate flipping. To make matters worse, the fights have taken a toll on Rocky, leaving him in a condition that forces his retirement and miss title bouts, purses that may have saved him from bankruptcy. With very few options, the family moves back to the old neighborhood and learns to live with little to nothing again. A fighter named Union Cane wins the vacant heavyweight title.

Things briefly look up when a young fighter from small-town Oklahoma named Tommy Gunn seeks Rocky to help him win the title. Taking in the young fighter gives Rocky a sense of purpose, and he slowly helps Tommy fight his way up the ladder to become a top contender. The cost of this new friendship results in Rocky paying little attention to his son Robert, who becomes withdrawn and angry. Robert also falls in the wrong crowd. In one scene, Rocky sees him smoke a cigarette with his friends. He talks to him and immediatly gets him to stop. Their relationship problem is resolved and Robert is no longer in the wrong crowd. Rocky seeing his son smoke made him realize that he wasn't paying enough attention to his son.

Tommy's rise through the ranks catches the eye of promoter George Washington Duke (a parody of boxing promoter Don King), who had been harassing Rocky about facing Union Cane in Tokyo, shortly after he flew back from Russia. Duke uses the promise of a title shot and Tommy's own anger at being compared stylistically to Balboa to convince him to leave Rocky. When Rocky tries to tell Tommy that it's the road to the title and not the title itself that makes a great fighter, Tommy drives off in a huff, leaving Rocky for good. Rocky realizes that Tommy has the skills, but not the heart of a great fighter. He also realizes his mistake with his son and reconciles with him on what is really important to him—his son.

Under Duke, Tommy does indeed win the heavyweight title by knocking out Union Cane in the first round using the training that Rocky taught him. However, it is an empty victory as the crowd chants Rocky's name instead, much to Tommy's bemusement. The press tells Tommy that Cane was nothing more than a paper champion, and Tommy himself is "...a second-rate fighter with so much glass in his chin he should be a chandelier." and that "he may win a few fights but he's no Rocky Balboa." Duke tells him that the public will never consider him the real champion because he never fought Balboa. Tommy decides to end matters once and for all by going to Rocky's neighborhood and challenging him to a fight. At first, Rocky declines, but when Paulie intervenes and is punched out by Gunn, the stage is set for a brawl. During the course of the fight, when Rocky thinks he is going down, he sees Mickey, his old mentor, cheer him on from beyond the grave. Mickey tells Rocky, "Get up you son of a bitch! Cuz Mickey loves ya." Out in the street, it is a different ball game than in the ring as Rocky uses his street skills to knock out Tommy and prove who the real champion is. He does this indeed by humiliating both Tommy and Duke with the whole neighborhood and Robert and Paulie supporting him.

Critical reaction

In addition to its disappointing numbers at the box office, this segment in the Rocky series left a sour taste in hardcore fans' mouths as it left the hero back where he started, arguably with nothing to show for it. The film departed from the standard Rocky formula on display in the previous four films and that made it extremely unpopular with the audience that was drawn to sequels. Sylvester Stallone himself had gone on record in saying he wasn't satisfied with the finished product, saying "I wanted to finish the series on a high and emotional note and Rocky V didn't do that."

As a result of, and in response to, Rocky V's poor box office performance (and the general dissatisfaction with the end of the franchise), Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in Rocky Balboa, the sixth and final chapter to the saga released 16 years after this movie, in an attempt to redeem the character for a final chance to comeback as a hero again, and do the story justice by bringing it full circle.

Fourtunately, Rocky Balboa is widely regarded as the best sequel in the series.

Soundtrack

The Rocky V Soundtrack is quite different from the previous films. This soundtrack is not an origial motion picture score, but rather has music from and inspired by the film. This soundtrack features Joey B. Ellis, Elton John, MC Hammer, 7A3, MC Tab, Rob Base, and Bill Conti. Most of the soundtrack is rap music, rather than classic Bill Conti tunes.

Trivia

• The condition Rocky has that forcibly retires him from boxing is called cavum septum pellucidum.
• The film contains cameos by several sportswriters and boxing analysts, most notably Al Bernstein and Philadelphia's own Stan Hochman & Al Meltzer.
• Some of the fight sequences were filmed at the The Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, a venue which was a mecca for boxing in the city during the 1970s.
• In the TV Show, Full House," Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) refers to Rocky saying "That's like saying we've seen the last Rocky movie.
• Sportscaster Stu Nahan makes his fifth appearance in the Rocky series, this time as a sports journalist.
• Rocky's priest friend Father Carmine (Paul Micale) makes his second of two appearances in the Rocky series, the first being in Rocky II.
• The character "Tommy Gunn" was played by real-life boxer Tommy Morrison. Morrison's nickname in boxing was "The Duke similar to George Washington Duke who becomes his manager in the movie.
• George Washington Duke is based on Don King. Coincidentally, six years after the movie's release, Morrison signed with Don King.
• The image of Gunn's first professional fight, the pullback from the mural of Jesus over the boxing ring, mirrors the opening shot of the first Rocky movie.
• In the TV series The Simpsons, Bart refers to Rocky V in the episode Lemon of Troy. Bart is in a place where every door has Roman numerals. All the doors have man eating tigers except door number 7. Having walked out of the class when that subject was taught earlier in the episode, Bart says to himself, "Where have you seen Roman numerals? Wait a minute! I know! Rocky V! That was the fifth one. So Rocky V + Rocky II...equals...Rocky VII: Adrian's Revenge!"
• Even the long running advocate and supporter of the Rocky series Al Glasgow described Rocky V as both "terrible" and "disappointing."
• In the movie right before Rocky Jr. knocks out the kid that is bullying him the kid refers to him as Stallone, instead of Balboa.
• The speech Mickey gives to Rocky in the flashback sequence is based on an interview with Cus D'Amato given in 1985, shortly after Mike Tyson's first professional bout.
• The golden glove necklace featured so prominently in this film was first seen in Rocky III, then again throughout Rocky IV. As a promotional gimmick, replicas of the necklace were distributed to moviegoers at the Hollywood premiere of Rocky V at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
• Michael Williams (III), like Tommy Morrison, was a real-life boxer. He and Morrison were to have an actual match about a month after ROCKY V was released, but had to be canceled when Williams was hurt. The match was being hyped as "The Real Cane vs. Gunn Match."
• The famous red, white and blue boxing trunks first worn by Apollo Creed in his fight with Rocky in the first film make their fifth and final appearance in this film.
• Jodi Letizia, who played street kid Marie in the original Rocky (1976), was supposed to reprise her role here. Her character was shown to have ended up as Rocky predicted she would: a whore, but the scene ended up on the cutting room floor. The character would eventually reappear in Rocky Balboa (2006), as a bartender and confidante to the aging Rocky. Actress Geraldine Hughes took over the role.
• Scenes with Mickey, played by Burgess Meredith, were trimmed in the final film when Rocky fights Tommy. Mickey appeared in ghost form on top of the railway bridge, giving words of encouragement. In the final film, this was made into flashbacks.
• Adrian goes back to working at the pet shop she first worked at in the original "Rocky."
• Sylvester Stallone originally intended for Rocky to die after defeating Tommy Gunn in their streetfight, however, he had second thoughts and rewrote the ending, claiming "it would be like killing off Superman."
• The Ring Magazine belt in Rocky's basement and the identical belt Morrison wins in the ring have changed slightly from the previous movies; they are missing the four side panels showing famous champions George Foreman, James J. Corbett, James J. Braddock, and Jersey Joe Walcott.
• According to Sylvester Stallone, pro wrestling legend Terry Funk helped choreograph much of the street fight between Rocky and Tommy Gunn.
• Kevin Connolly, who gained success as Eric Murphy on HBO's Entourage, was in his first acting role as neighborhood bully Chickie.

U.S. Box Office

• Rocky V: US$40.9 million

Anticipated to be one of the big hits of the 1990 holiday season, Rocky V finished second in its opening weekend to Home Alone and never recovered.

Rocky V made twice as much overseas and thereby a total of $119.9 million Worldwide.

External links

• Official MGM site
• Rocky V at IMDb