Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Terry 'Hulk' Hogan, Mister T, Brigitte Nielsen, Michael Pataki, Sage Stallone

Director: John G. Avildsen

Summary: A Box Set containing 'Rocky 1 - Special Edition', 'Rocky 2', 'Rocky 3', 'Rocky 4' and 'Rocky 5'.

This box set commemorates the release of the original ROCKY features--all five films in the series. See individual titles for further details.
ROCKY: The sleeper hit that made its star, Sylvester Stallone, a household name. Italian-American underdog Rocky Balboa gets a one-in-a-million chance at boxing glory when the handlers for heavyweight champion Apollo Creed decide to set up a sure-win title bout with a born loser. It's all part of a bicentennial public relations stunt, but, unfortunately for them, Rocky trains for the fight like a man whose life depends on the outcome--which, in a way, it does.
ROCKY II: The Italian Stallion returns for a rematch with Apollo Creed, hoping, finally, to capture the heavyweight title. This time, even his girlfriend, Adrian, gives Rocky her blessing.
ROCKY III: Heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa faces his toughest opponent yet: complacency. After 10 successful title defenses, Rocky gets a little soft and loses his belt to brutal up-and-comer Clubber Lang. Will former foe, now trainer, Apollo Creed be able to put the fire back in Balboa's belly

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Americans love the underdog. Anytime someone is beating the odds, fighting his or her way to the top, like The Little Engine That Could, it resonates well with U.S. audiences; it's in their nature. Sylvester Stallone knew that in 1976, when Rockywas a monstrous hit and established itself in the American cultural lexicon. His low-budget tale of a young boxer who came from the slums of Philadelphia and worked his way to the championship recalls Capra characters such as Mr. Smith or John Doe as he worked his way to fame and self-respect. Like Capra's films from 30 years before, Rockypushed emotional buttons with audiences, but in a somewhat less maudlin, obvious way; it's possible to enjoy Rockywithout feeling embarrassed about it, even in these cynical times. It ranks respectably among the best boxing pictures, such as The Set-Upor Somebody Up There Likes Me. The story paralleled Stallone's own, from a relative unknown to a star with one breakthrough picture. Rocky II(1979) carries on the story line, playing on the rivalry between Rocky Balboa and nemesis Apollo Creed, while Balboa's wife fights for her life. Mainly, though, the sequel seems like a link between the first film and Rocky III, in which an aging Rocky takes on big, bad Clubber Lang (the near-forgotten Mr. T). While playing on the same emotional capital as the first movie, Rocky IIIis the high-water mark of the sequels; by the next movie, Stallone had turned into a near-self-parody of the original character. Rocky IVfinds the underdog taking on an oversized, blond Russian boxer (Dolph Lundgren) in a cold war scenario (Rocky literally wraps himself in the American flag). The series mercifully played out by 1990, as embarrassingly punch-drunk as the Rocky character himself by that point. Given the way the American pop-culture continuum seems to work, it's probably due time for the later sequels to be plucked from the compost heap of '80s flotsam and revived as high camp; the Reagan-era hyperpatriotism of Rocky IVis as dated as in junk like Red Dawnor the dreadful Invasion U.S.A.Still, the first three films pack a satisfying emotional wallop without giving the viewer the urge to crawl under the couch. The last two... well, use your judgment. They will soon be good for an '80s nostalgia party. --Jerry Renshaw, Amazon.com

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary, Interview - 1. Sylvester Stallone - Star, Featurettes, Trailers, TV Spots, Easter Egg
Year:	1976
Release Date:	July 11, 2001
Runtime:	510 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	20656 C R D V D
Keywords:	Action, Box, General, Edition, Rocky, Set, Limited, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure