The Best Picture of 1976 is…..”Rocky,” the rags-to-riches story of a small-time club boxer who rises to get a shot at the world heavyweight championship. The film was the brainchild of Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the screenplay and seems to personify the title character. Director John Avildsen (“Save the Tiger” 1973) did an outstanding job at the helm of the project that has gone on to become what is undoubtedly the most revered sports classic movie of all time. He won the Oscar for Best Director, with a third Academy Award going to Best Film Editing.
The strong supporting cast includes Talia Shire as girlfriend Adriana Pennino, Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Burgess Meredith as Rocky’s trainer, and Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed. Others include Thayer David, Joe Spinell, Tony Burton, Pedro Lovell, Stan Shaw, Frank Stallone (brother of Sly), and boxer Joe Frazier and sportscaster Stu Nahan as themselves.
“Rocky” was the highest grossing film of 1976 for Chartoff-Winkler Productions and United Artists. It spawned eight sequels released in 1979, 1982, 1985, 1990, 2006, 2015, 2018, and 2023. Rocky expressions such as “Yo Adrian” have entered the lexicon of the English language. And in 1982, a statue of Stallone as Rocky was placed at the top of the “Rocky steps” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Rocky (1976)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1976 is…..”Rocky,” the rags-to-riches story of a small-time club boxer who rises to get a shot at the world heavyweight championship. The film was the brainchild of Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the screenplay and seems to personify the title character. Director John Avildsen (“Save the Tiger” 1973) did an outstanding job at the helm of the project that has gone on to become what is undoubtedly the most revered sports classic movie of all time. He won the Oscar for Best Director, with a third Academy Award going to Best Film Editing.
The strong supporting cast includes Talia Shire as girlfriend Adriana Pennino, Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Burgess Meredith as Rocky’s trainer, and Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed. Others include Thayer David, Joe Spinell, Tony Burton, Pedro Lovell, Stan Shaw, Frank Stallone (brother of Sly), and boxer Joe Frazier and sportscaster Stu Nahan as themselves.
“Rocky” was the highest grossing film of 1976 for Chartoff-Winkler Productions and United Artists. It spawned eight sequels released in 1979, 1982, 1985, 1990, 2006, 2015, 2018, and 2023. Rocky expressions such as “Yo Adrian” have entered the lexicon of the English language. And in 1982, a statue of Stallone as Rocky was placed at the top of the “Rocky steps” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.