Rocky is a
1976 film written by and starring
Sylvester Stallone and directed by
John G. Avildsen. It tells the
rags-to-riches American Dream story of
Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but good-hearted
debt collector for a
loan shark in
Philadelphia. Balboa is also a club fighter who gets a shot at the
world heavyweight championship when the scheduled contender breaks his hand. Also starring in
Rocky are
Talia Shire as Adrian,
Burt Young as Adrian's brother Paulie,
Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer
Mickey Goldmill, and
Carl Weathers as the champion,
Apollo Creed.
The film, made for only $1.1 million
and shot relatively quickly (28 days), was a
sleeper hit; it made over US$117.2 million,
the highest grossing film of 1976 for US, and won three
Oscars, including
Best Picture. The film received many positive reviews and turned Stallone into a major star.
It spawned
five sequels:
Rocky II, III, IV, V and Rocky Balboa.
