Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article/October 2008

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 are Talia Shire as Adrian, Burt Young as Adrian's brother Paulie, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey Goldmill, and Carl Weathers as champion Apollo Creed. The film, made for only US$1.2 million and shot in just 28 days, was a sleeper hit; it made over US$117.2 million, won three Oscars, including Best Picture, to good reviews, and launched Stallone's career into the stratosphere. The film spawned five sequels, Rocky II, III, IV, V, and Rocky Balboa.