Connor Bynum // Film Critic
ROCKY: THE KNOCKOUT COLLECTION (4K)
The ROCKY film franchise has been around for a shocking forty-seven years. To add some perspective, the first film in the series came out in 1976, a full year before the original STAR WARS. However, unlike STAR WARS, the ROCKY franchise still receives new theatrical releases, with Michael B. Jordan’s CREED III (2023) being the latest installment. Therefore, it only seems fitting for the Rocky films to be the series that simply refuses to throw in the towel.
To celebrate the franchise’s ongoing success, Warner Bros. has released the first four ROCKY films in one package dubbed “The Knockout Collection.”
ROCKY (1976): A
The original ROCKY may be the best film Sylvester Stalone has done. Not only did Stalone deliver an Oscar-nominated performance, but he also wrote the film’s screenplay, for which he received a second Oscar nomination. The film’s story follows Rocky Balboa, a down-on-his-luck professional boxer who can’t seem to catch a break. The fights he’s given clearly aren’t getting him anywhere in his career, and they barely pay enough to survive. He has to work a second job as a debt collector for a local mobster, the girl he likes is too shy to tell him she likes him back, and his best friend is an absolute loser. All in all, it’s safe to say many people can relate to Rocky’s situation.
However, as luck would have it Rocky is given a life-changing opportunity by the reigning Champion of the World, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), to fight for the title. While certainly an odd choice, Creed knows that there’s nothing audience’s like more than a good underdog story. And what better way to celebrate the USA’s 200th anniversary than to offer the proverbial David to fight his Goliath and achieve the so-called American Dream?
In a way, the film’s reception poetically reflects the film’s story. After being turned away from nearly every studio and finally getting to make the film under absurd budget restrictions, Sylvester Stalone’s masterpiece went on to receive ten Oscar nominations, of which it won three, including Best Picture. Its story is timeless and will likely touch the hearts of many generations to come.
ROCKY II (1979): B
While the first film was more than capable of existing on its own, a sequel was inevitable after its predecessor’s resounding success. Opening with the final fight from the first film between Rocky and Apollo Creed, the sequel follows the aftermath of that legendary bout. Creed demands a rematch with Rocky after feeling that his victory by split decision was not fully earned and only given to him because of his celebrity status. On the other hand, Rocky is perfectly happy to retire from boxing altogether, marry his girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire) and squander his winnings under the promise of future commercial deals capitalizing on the popularity of his fight with Creed. Only after he realizes that he’s not fit for much besides fighting, Rocky reluctantly accepts Creed’s challenge for a rematch to see who really is the Champion of the World.
Stalone reprises his role with the same charm and depth as before, but also steps in as the film’s director this time (a role he carries for the third and fourth films). Following a film as highly regarded as the original ROCKY is certainly no easy task, and ROCKY II, for the most part, is a serviceable follow-up that ties up a few loose ends, even if it wasn’t entirely necessary in the first place.
ROCKY III (1982): B-
Having emerged victorious from his rematch with Creed, Rocky is challenged by a loud-mouthed and downright iconic antagonist, Clubber Lang (A role only Mr. T could ever dream of playing successfully). Enlisting the help of Apollo Creed to be his new trainer, Rocky must prove he has the eye of the tiger if he wants to have any hope of defending his newly won title.
After ROCKY II brought some closure to the open-ended nature of the first film, one might say that ROCKY III is where the “franchise” nature of these films started to take hold. The somewhat Saturday morning cartoon portrayal of its villains and more action-heavy fighting sequences feel less in line with the more subdued and thoughtful presentation found in the first two films. Nevertheless, the film is watchable and often enjoyable. It’s just important to point out that this is likely where audiences will start to feel they’re getting some diminishing returns as the franchise continues.
ROCKY IV (1985): C+
This is the entry in the series where the groundwork for an outright saga truly comes to fruition. After a boxing match between Apollo Creed and a hulking new contender from the Soviet Union, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) causes the death of Rocky’s former rival turned lifelong friend. Rocky vows to avenge his fallen brother the only way he knows how: in the ring.
Made during the height of the Cold War, it’s no surprise that the film’s antagonist originates from the Soviet Union. Moreover, the film doesn’t really attempt any form of subtlety as it beats the audience over the head with its allegorical symbolism of America vs. the Soviets. Even though ROCKY IV stands as my personal least favorite in the collection, the film is still regarded as the most financially successful entry in the series, with a worldwide box office return of over $300,000,000. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that future storylines in the Creed franchise pull heavily from the events of ROCKY IV.
ROCKY IV: ROCKY VS DRAGO – THE ULTIMATE DIRECTOR’S CUT (2021): B
As a bonus for longtime fans of the franchise, the recently released 2021 rework of ROCKY IV by removing quite a few original scenes while adding 38 minutes of previously unseen material resulting in a mere two-minute increase in the film’s overall runtime.
Overall, this is a much more cohesive and character-focused film, with much of the new material focusing on the depth of Rocky’s friendship with Creed before his untimely demise. Also, it can’t be praised enough that this version of the film completely removes the cringe-inducing side story involving Paully (Burt Young) getting a robot.
It’s difficult to recommend watching the original version of ROCKY IV when considering this far superior cut is also included in The Knockout Collection, if not only to offer even further appreciation for this new cut’s improvements.
Video/Audio
All four films are presented in native 4K resolution and come with a flashy (if not restrained) coat of HDR10 paint. Similar to the films’ quality, the results are a mixed bag. Additionally, all four films come with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix, but we’ll get into that whole can of worms later.
ROCKY (1976) & ROCKY II (1979): C+
For starters, it can’t be stated enough that the first film was made under an impossibly tiny budget of $960,000, where often the cast and crew didn’t have the luxury of doing dozens of takes for every scene. This makes it slightly easier to forgive the fact that multiple shots occasionally appear out of focus. It’s not that the increased resolution degrades the quality of the image; rather, it causes flaws to be significantly more apparent. There is a heavy amount of film grain on nearly every shot, which is often considered a positive detail for film enthusiasts, but there are multiple instances where the line between film grain and digital noise begins to blur. The iconic training montage ending with Rocky triumphantly running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum is particularly gritty, but these visual hiccups, fortunately, add to the film’s charm and complement the underdog themes quite nicely.
The HDR10 color spectrum is particularly noticeable when it highlights the bright red tones of the ropes around the boxing ring or the boxing gloves themselves. Additionally, some of the film’s more darkly lit scenes, like the confrontation between Rocky and Mickey in an apartment stairwell, are excellently balanced and don’t feel even slightly crushed. Ultimately, even with all its technical flaws, it’s hard to imagine ROCKY ever looking any better than it does on this disc.
ROCKY II fares about the same as its predecessor on a visual level. There are still heavy amounts of film grain throughout, and the color palette remains aesthetically pleasing, if not a little muted, when not featuring the same bright reds of the ring.
If the above score was purely based on visual quality, these two films would sit closer to a B, but the audio tracks, unfortunately, keep these discs from achieving greatness. I can’t quite remember the last time I was this disappointed with an audio presentation on a 4K release. The first film advertises a newly remastered DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, but I don’t think it utilized the left or right rear channels at all during my screening. This would be acceptable and perhaps even forgivable if this more subdued audio usage was left exclusively to the film’s quieter, more dialogue-heavy scenes. Still, even the boxing scenes are left feeling oddly empty, whereas having the audio for the crowd fill the surrounding channels would have been far more immersive.
The audio situation for ROCKY II is no better and potentially even worse. Other publications have reported a noticeable drop in pitch across the board when compared to previous releases, which is off-putting, to say the least. I personally do not have previous releases of ROCKY II to perform a comparison myself. Viewers who have not seen the film before might not notice the pitch alteration but true fans of the series (i.e., the people most likely to buy this collection) will almost certainly pick up on it.
ROCKY III (1982) & ROCKY IV (1985) [BOTH CUTS]: B-
The third and fourth films maintain the same grainy aesthetic of the previous installments while maintaining the visual clarity one would hope to see in 4K UHD. These two films are rated slightly lower than the first two films due to a noticeable level of compression and digital artifacting that the first two discs simply didn’t seem to have. The HDR10 for these two films is also slightly less subtle than before, adding a heightened sense of “pop” to the color palette as a whole, making them stand out as less on brand with the look of the films that came before. The Director’s Cut of ROCKY IV is mostly unaltered but a minor improvement over the original in terms of color grading as well as a slight uptick in quality for the darker scenes with less compression than before.
The audio for the third and fourth films at least doesn’t suffer from the pitching issue from ROCKY II and even manages to implement some minor uses for the rear channels. However, the same “tinny” effect found in most older films is still very much present.
Even though the grainy look may be a turn-off for some, purists will be pleased that this collection wasn’t tampered with beyond recognition. The same just can’t be said for the audio which leaves far too much to be desired for what was supposed to be the definitive collection of these films.
Extras: B-
The Knockout Collection does not come with any standard Blu-ray copies of the films but does include one Blu-ray disc for the bonus materials. The 4K disc for ROCKY (1976) offers three commentary tracks, but all other bonus features are relegated to the bonus disc. The majority of these features are unfortunately recycled from previous releases except the nearly one-hour documentary “The Making of ‘Rocky vs. Drago’: Keep Punching which should be a fun watch for those interested to learn more about the making of the new cut. The collection also comes with a digital copy of all four films, but it’s worth noting that this code is only for VUDU and Movies Anywhere, while Apple users will be out of luck.
Bonus features are broken down below:
- 8MM Home Movies of “Rocky” (12:32)
- 3 Rounds with Lou Duva (4:34)
- Steadicam: Then and Now with Garrett Brown (17:26)
- Make-Up! The Art and Form with Michael Westmore (15:11)
- Staccato: A Composer’s Notebook with Bill Conti (11:30)
- The Ring of Truth (9:37)
- A Tribute to Burgess Meredith (7:53)
- Stallone Meets Rocky (3:00)
- The Making of “Rocky vs. Drago”: Keep Punching (58:29)
- Trailers (14:05 total)
Final Grade: B-
ROCKY: THE KNOCKOUT COLLECTION is a textbook example of the old adage “Two steps forward, one step back”. Its exclusion of the critically panned ROCKY V (1990) is a clear gesture of good faith to fans. The lack of over-modernization in its 4K restoration, found far too often in new releases of older films, is a definite sign of respect for film preservation. Still, the painful audio presentation for these films may be a deal breaker for some. Viewers who don’t own previous releases or newcomers who want to get caught up before diving into the Creed films will likely find more to enjoy than returning customers. I really wanted this collection to be a knockout, but I guess I’ll have to settle for a split decision.
