Rocky V
Encyclopedia
Rocky V is an American film released as the fifth film in the Rocky series
in 1990. It stars Sylvester Stallone
, Talia Shire
, Stallone's real life son Sage
, and real life boxer
Tommy Morrison
as boxer Tommy Gunn, a talented yet raw boxer. Sage played Robert Balboa, whose relationship with his famous father is explored.
After Stallone directed the second through fourth films in the series, Rocky V saw the return of director John G. Avildsen
, whose direction of the first film
won him an Academy Award for Best Director.
) and his trainer Tony "Duke" Evers (Tony Burton
) in their dressing room after the Drago
fight. Tony praises Rocky for his victory, but Rocky, seen to be in some form of physical discomfort, asks Tony to summon his wife Adrian (Talia Shire
). His hands are shaking, and he cannot make them stop. In distress, he mistakenly calls out for "Mick", the name of his deceased former trainer.
Rocky returns home from the Soviet Union
and is greeted by his son, Robert (Sage Stallone
). At the following press conference, a crooked promoter named George Washington Duke (Richard Gant
) tries to goad Rocky into fighting the new #1 contender to his championship Union Cane (Michael Williams III) in Tokyo. Duke sees this as a great opportunity with Rocky in such a vulnerable state, but with Adrian insisting on her husband's retirement, Rocky decides, at least for the time being, not to take the fight with Cane.
Rocky, Adrian and Paulie (Burt Young
) return to their lavish Philadelphia home to find out that Paulie had Rocky unknowingly sign 'power of attorney' over to Balboa's accountant, who had, in turn, squandered all of Rocky's money on bad business deals and disappeared (it is also revealed the accountant had not paid Rocky's income taxes in 6 years). As a result, Rocky immediately decides to take the fight against Cane to earn money. However, the years of fighting have taken a toll on him (especially the last one with Drago) and after a physical evaluation, it is determined that Rocky has suffered significant brain damage, and that he can no longer fight without further risking his health. Rocky is forced to vacate the championship (a brief scene shows Cane winning the vacant title) and move back into his old working-class Philadelphia neighborhood, where he and the family must try to start their lives over again. Now bankrupt, Rocky is humiliatingly forced to sell his house and watch all of his expensive belongings be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The only thing Rocky doesn't lose is Mickey's gym, which Mickey had willed to Rocky's son, Robert (making it untouchable to the IRS). Rocky then begins training boxers at Mickey's gym, Adrian gets her old job back at the pet store across the street and Paulie goes back to the meat packing plant.
Things start to look up for them when Rocky meets a hungry young fighter from Oklahoma
named Thomas "Tommy" Gunn (Tommy Morrison
) and takes him under his wing. Training the young fighter gives Rocky a sense of purpose, and he slowly helps Tommy fight his way up the ladder to become a top contender. He eventually becomes so distracted with Tommy's training that he winds up neglecting his own son Robert who becomes withdrawn and angry. He eventually falls in with the wrong crowd at school and as a result, he begins acting out at home.
Tommy's impressive rise through the ranks catches the eye of Duke, who uses the promise of a title shot against Cane (now the champion) and Tommy's own resentment at being compared to his trainer to lure him away from Rocky. Duke pulls up outside the Balboa house with Tommy in tow, who has now been deceived into thinking that Rocky doesn't have his best interests in mind. When Rocky tries to convince his friend otherwise, an ungrateful Tommy drives off in a huff, leaving Rocky for good.
As he watches Tommy’s car speed off into the night, his head suddenly pounds with nightmarish flashbacks of his fight with Drago. When Adrian attempts to comfort him, Rocky's frustrations finally boil over. He confesses that his life had meaning again when he was able to live vicariously through Tommy's success. She reasons with him, telling him that Tommy never had his heart and spirit – that it was something he could never learn. When this realization hits him, an emotional Rocky embraces his wife and they begin to pick up the pieces. After finding Robert hanging out on a street corner, Rocky apologizes to his son and they mend their broken relationship.
On January 1, 1990, Tommy wins the heavyweight title by knocking out Union Cane in the first round, but is booed by spectators throughout the fight and hounded by reporters afterward. They insist that Cane was nothing but a "paper champion", because Cane didn't win the title from Balboa. Therefore, the public would never consider Tommy the real champion unless he fights a worthy opponent. With Tommy enraged by the press's reaction, Duke senses an opportunity and tells Tommy that he needs to fight Rocky man to man and settle once and for all who is the best.
Duke and Tommy show up at a local bar to goad Rocky into accepting a fight where Rocky initially declines. But after Tommy hits Paulie, Rocky agrees but instead challenges Tommy to a street fight on the spot. Despite Duke's warnings to keep the fight in the ring, Tommy accepts the challenge.
Despite gaining the upper hand early in the fight, Rocky is eventually beaten down by Tommy and is seemingly out for the count. His head once again pounds with hellish visions of the fight with Drago and Mickey’s funeral. He then hears the voice of his mentor Mickey (Burgess Meredith
) urging him to get back in the fight, to go just "one more round". Rocky gets back up after hearing Mickey's words "Get up you son of a bitch cause Mickey loves ya", and with his family and the entire neighborhood cheering him on, utilizes his vast street fighting knowledge to defeat Tommy, knocking him into the grill of a bus with his final blow. After the fight, Tommy gets arrested and Duke commends Rocky and tries to appeal to him, but Rocky has heard enough. Duke threatens to sue if Rocky touches him. But after a brief hesitation, Rocky punches him in the gut anyway knocking him onto the hood of a car. The crowd cheers as the bankrupt Rocky shrugs and quips "Sue me for what?"
The next day, Rocky and Robert take a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art
, and Rocky gives his son Rocky Marciano's cuff-link, given to him years ago as a gift from Mickey. The film ends with a shot of Rocky's statue looking out over Philadelphia.
The film contains cameos by several sportswriters and boxing analysts, most notably Al Bernstein
, Stan Hochman and Al Meltzer. Sportscaster Stu Nahan
makes his fifth appearance in the Rocky series, this time as a sports journalist.
Rocky's priest friend Father Carmine (Paul Micale) makes his second of two appearances in the Rocky series, the first being in Rocky II.
The character "Tommy Gunn" was played by Tommy Morrison. Morrison's nickname in boxing was "The Duke" similar to George Washington Duke, who becomes his manager in the movie. Morrison has claimed to be the grandnephew of John "The Duke" Wayne
.
Michael Williams (III), who plays Union Cane, was also a real-life boxer. He and Morrison were to have an actual match about a month after Rocky V was released, but had to be canceled when Williams was hurt. The match was being hyped as "The Real Cane vs. Gunn Match".
George Washington Duke (Richard Gant
) is the main antagonist of the film, and based on Don King.
Tony Burton
briefly reprises his role as Duke at the beginning of the film. However, during his scenes, Rocky refers to him as "Tony". In the credits, Burton is credited as playing "Tony," as opposed to "Duke" (perhaps to avoid confusion with the George Washington Duke character) Rocky V is the second time in the series to do so, with the first being Rocky II as Apollo asked "What are you afraid of, Tony?" Rocky Balboa
names Burton's character, "Duke Evers". Most fans take this to imply that his name is Tony 'Duke' Evers.
Scenes with Mickey, played by Burgess Meredith
, were trimmed in the final film when Rocky fights Tommy. Mickey appeared in ghost form on top of the railway bridge, giving words of encouragement. In the final film, this was made into flashbacks. The speech Mickey gives to Rocky in the flashback sequence is based on an interview with Cus D'Amato
given in 1985, shortly after Mike Tyson
's first professional bout.
Jodi Letizia, who played street kid Marie in the original Rocky (1976), was supposed to reprise her role here. Her character was shown to have ended up as Rocky predicted she would: a whore, but the scene ended up on the cutting room floor. The character would eventually reappear in Rocky Balboa (2006), as a bartender and confidante to the aging Rocky. Actress Geraldine Hughes took over the role.
Kevin Connolly, who gained success as Eric Murphy
on HBO's Entourage
, was in his first acting role as neighborhood bully Chickie.
is not an original motion picture score, but rather has music from and inspired by the film. This soundtrack features Joey B. Ellis, MC Hammer
, 7A3, MC Tab, Rob Base, and Bill Conti
. Most of the soundtrack is rap music, rather than Bill Conti tunes. Also, two of the scores from Rocky IV were featured in this film's trailer, but were not present in the actual film. "Measure of a Man" was written by Alan Menken
and performed by Elton John
.
Like Rocky IV, a full version of "Gonna Fly Now
" with lyrics is not heard in the film. However an instrumental horn version is played during the early scene where Rocky gets off the airplane, and at the end of the move after Rocky defeats Tommy, the first few seconds of the original version can be heard – though it never makes it to the lyrics.
in Philadelphia, a venue which was a mecca for boxing in the city during the 1970s.
The image of Gunn's first professional fight, the pullback from the mural of Jesus over the boxing ring, mirrors the opening shot of the first Rocky movie. Adrian goes back to working at the pet shop she first worked at in the original Rocky.
The golden glove necklace featured so prominently in this film was first seen in Rocky II (worn by Apollo Creed), then again throughout Rocky III and IV. As a promotional gimmick, replicas of the necklace were distributed to moviegoers at the Hollywood premiere of Rocky V at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The famous red, white and blue boxing trunks first worn by Apollo Creed in his fight with Rocky in the first film make their fifth and final appearance in this film. Rocky's leather coat introduced in Rocky IV makes its second and final appearance in the franchise at the start of the movie.
The Ring Magazine belt in Rocky's basement and the identical belt Morrison wins in the ring have changed slightly from the previous movies; they are missing the four side panels showing famous champions George Foreman
, James J. Corbett
, James J. Braddock
, and Floyd Patterson
.
According to Stallone, pro wrestling legend Terry Funk
helped choreograph much of the street fight between Rocky and Tommy Gunn.
In the original script, Rocky is killed during the final fight with Tommy. Through most of the filming and production, this was to be the outcome; it wasn't until the film was nearing completion that Stallone decided to nix Rocky's death and went with the current ending. According to him, the director, and the studio had second thoughts. Eventually, Stallone rewrote the ending, saying that he decided to change it because Rocky was supposed to be about perseverance and redemption, and having him die in a street brawl would be against the roots of the series.
14 million on its opening weekend and $40 million in total US box-office sales, about one-third of its predecessor's take. Rocky V however made almost twice as much overseas and thereby a total of $119.9 million worldwide.
In addition to its disappointing numbers at the box office, this segment in the Rocky series left a sour taste in some fans' mouths, as it left the hero back where he started, arguably with nothing to show for it. Rotten Tomatoes
gives Rocky V a 24% "rotten" rating on its site. The film departed from the standard Rocky formula on display in the previous four films, and that made it extremely unpopular with the audiences that had been drawn to the previous sequels. Stallone himself has gone on record in agreeing that he wasn't satisfied with the finished product, saying "I wanted to finish the series on a high and emotional note, and Rocky V didn't do that". However, Stallone was praised for his performance and the film received some positive feedback from some fans, while the Los Angeles Times regarded it as the best of the Rocky sequels.
, the sixth and final chapter to the saga. The sixth film was an attempt to redeem the character for a final chance to come back as a hero again, and do the story justice by bringing it full circle; as for Rocky's ability to fight again, Stallone suggested that advances in medical science during the period between the films had shown that the "career-ending" injuries mentioned in Rocky V were less debilitating than once thought, and that he would receive a "clean bill of health" today. It succeeded by grossing over $70 million at the US box office as well, and $85 million abroad, and getting largely positive reviews from both fans and critics.
On July 8, 2010, in an interview with The Sun, Stallone was asked about the Rocky films. When he came to Rocky V, Stallone replied he made it out of greed, and reiterated that this was part of his motivation in making Rocky Balboa.
Rocky (film series)
Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky , Rocky II , Rocky III , Rocky IV , Rocky V and Rocky Balboa...
in 1990. It stars Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, Talia Shire
Talia Shire
Talia Shire is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series.-Personal life:...
, Stallone's real life son Sage
Sage Stallone
Sage Moonblood Stallone is an American actor, director, producer and writer.-Early life:Stallone is the son of Sasha Czack and actor Sylvester Stallone. He is the brother of Seargeoh Stallone, and half-brother of Sistine, Sophia and Scarlet Stallone. His uncle is actor/singer Frank Stallone and...
, and real life boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Tommy Morrison
Tommy Morrison
Tommy David Morrison is an American heavyweight boxer and a former World Boxing Organization champion. He lost only three out of a total of 52 professional fights. Morrison's nickname, "The Duke," is based on disputed claims that he is a grandnephew of Hollywood star John Wayne...
as boxer Tommy Gunn, a talented yet raw boxer. Sage played Robert Balboa, whose relationship with his famous father is explored.
After Stallone directed the second through fourth films in the series, Rocky V saw the return of director John G. Avildsen
John G. Avildsen
John Guilbert Avildsen is an American film director.-Life and career:Avildsen was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Ivy and Clarence John Avildsen...
, whose direction of the first film
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
won him an Academy Award for Best Director.
Plot summary
Rocky V begins with Rocky (Sylvester StalloneSylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
) and his trainer Tony "Duke" Evers (Tony Burton
Tony Burton
Anthony "Tony" Burton is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky series, and is one of three actors who have appeared in all six Rocky films....
) in their dressing room after the Drago
Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1985 film Rocky IV. He is portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. The character and his catchphrases have gone on to inspire multiple mentions in popular culture like Clubber Lang , including in the Family Guy episode "Brian...
fight. Tony praises Rocky for his victory, but Rocky, seen to be in some form of physical discomfort, asks Tony to summon his wife Adrian (Talia Shire
Talia Shire
Talia Shire is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series.-Personal life:...
). His hands are shaking, and he cannot make them stop. In distress, he mistakenly calls out for "Mick", the name of his deceased former trainer.
Rocky returns home from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and is greeted by his son, Robert (Sage Stallone
Sage Stallone
Sage Moonblood Stallone is an American actor, director, producer and writer.-Early life:Stallone is the son of Sasha Czack and actor Sylvester Stallone. He is the brother of Seargeoh Stallone, and half-brother of Sistine, Sophia and Scarlet Stallone. His uncle is actor/singer Frank Stallone and...
). At the following press conference, a crooked promoter named George Washington Duke (Richard Gant
Richard Gant
Richard E. Gant is an American film and television actor. His credits include the films Rocky V , as a possessed cornoner in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday , Deadwood, Babylon 5, Special Unit 2, NYPD Blue, Living Single, Posse and Charmed...
) tries to goad Rocky into fighting the new #1 contender to his championship Union Cane (Michael Williams III) in Tokyo. Duke sees this as a great opportunity with Rocky in such a vulnerable state, but with Adrian insisting on her husband's retirement, Rocky decides, at least for the time being, not to take the fight with Cane.
Rocky, Adrian and Paulie (Burt Young
Burt Young
Burt Young is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.-Personal life:...
) return to their lavish Philadelphia home to find out that Paulie had Rocky unknowingly sign 'power of attorney' over to Balboa's accountant, who had, in turn, squandered all of Rocky's money on bad business deals and disappeared (it is also revealed the accountant had not paid Rocky's income taxes in 6 years). As a result, Rocky immediately decides to take the fight against Cane to earn money. However, the years of fighting have taken a toll on him (especially the last one with Drago) and after a physical evaluation, it is determined that Rocky has suffered significant brain damage, and that he can no longer fight without further risking his health. Rocky is forced to vacate the championship (a brief scene shows Cane winning the vacant title) and move back into his old working-class Philadelphia neighborhood, where he and the family must try to start their lives over again. Now bankrupt, Rocky is humiliatingly forced to sell his house and watch all of his expensive belongings be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The only thing Rocky doesn't lose is Mickey's gym, which Mickey had willed to Rocky's son, Robert (making it untouchable to the IRS). Rocky then begins training boxers at Mickey's gym, Adrian gets her old job back at the pet store across the street and Paulie goes back to the meat packing plant.
Things start to look up for them when Rocky meets a hungry young fighter from Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
named Thomas "Tommy" Gunn (Tommy Morrison
Tommy Morrison
Tommy David Morrison is an American heavyweight boxer and a former World Boxing Organization champion. He lost only three out of a total of 52 professional fights. Morrison's nickname, "The Duke," is based on disputed claims that he is a grandnephew of Hollywood star John Wayne...
) and takes him under his wing. Training the young fighter gives Rocky a sense of purpose, and he slowly helps Tommy fight his way up the ladder to become a top contender. He eventually becomes so distracted with Tommy's training that he winds up neglecting his own son Robert who becomes withdrawn and angry. He eventually falls in with the wrong crowd at school and as a result, he begins acting out at home.
Tommy's impressive rise through the ranks catches the eye of Duke, who uses the promise of a title shot against Cane (now the champion) and Tommy's own resentment at being compared to his trainer to lure him away from Rocky. Duke pulls up outside the Balboa house with Tommy in tow, who has now been deceived into thinking that Rocky doesn't have his best interests in mind. When Rocky tries to convince his friend otherwise, an ungrateful Tommy drives off in a huff, leaving Rocky for good.
As he watches Tommy’s car speed off into the night, his head suddenly pounds with nightmarish flashbacks of his fight with Drago. When Adrian attempts to comfort him, Rocky's frustrations finally boil over. He confesses that his life had meaning again when he was able to live vicariously through Tommy's success. She reasons with him, telling him that Tommy never had his heart and spirit – that it was something he could never learn. When this realization hits him, an emotional Rocky embraces his wife and they begin to pick up the pieces. After finding Robert hanging out on a street corner, Rocky apologizes to his son and they mend their broken relationship.
On January 1, 1990, Tommy wins the heavyweight title by knocking out Union Cane in the first round, but is booed by spectators throughout the fight and hounded by reporters afterward. They insist that Cane was nothing but a "paper champion", because Cane didn't win the title from Balboa. Therefore, the public would never consider Tommy the real champion unless he fights a worthy opponent. With Tommy enraged by the press's reaction, Duke senses an opportunity and tells Tommy that he needs to fight Rocky man to man and settle once and for all who is the best.
Duke and Tommy show up at a local bar to goad Rocky into accepting a fight where Rocky initially declines. But after Tommy hits Paulie, Rocky agrees but instead challenges Tommy to a street fight on the spot. Despite Duke's warnings to keep the fight in the ring, Tommy accepts the challenge.
Despite gaining the upper hand early in the fight, Rocky is eventually beaten down by Tommy and is seemingly out for the count. His head once again pounds with hellish visions of the fight with Drago and Mickey’s funeral. He then hears the voice of his mentor Mickey (Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
) urging him to get back in the fight, to go just "one more round". Rocky gets back up after hearing Mickey's words "Get up you son of a bitch cause Mickey loves ya", and with his family and the entire neighborhood cheering him on, utilizes his vast street fighting knowledge to defeat Tommy, knocking him into the grill of a bus with his final blow. After the fight, Tommy gets arrested and Duke commends Rocky and tries to appeal to him, but Rocky has heard enough. Duke threatens to sue if Rocky touches him. But after a brief hesitation, Rocky punches him in the gut anyway knocking him onto the hood of a car. The crowd cheers as the bankrupt Rocky shrugs and quips "Sue me for what?"
The next day, Rocky and Robert take a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, and Rocky gives his son Rocky Marciano's cuff-link, given to him years ago as a gift from Mickey. The film ends with a shot of Rocky's statue looking out over Philadelphia.
Cast
- Sylvester StalloneSylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
– Rocky Balboa - Talia ShireTalia ShireTalia Shire is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series.-Personal life:...
– Adrian Balboa - Burt YoungBurt YoungBurt Young is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.-Personal life:...
– Paulie Pennino - Sage StalloneSage StalloneSage Moonblood Stallone is an American actor, director, producer and writer.-Early life:Stallone is the son of Sasha Czack and actor Sylvester Stallone. He is the brother of Seargeoh Stallone, and half-brother of Sistine, Sophia and Scarlet Stallone. His uncle is actor/singer Frank Stallone and...
– Robert Balboa - Tommy MorrisonTommy MorrisonTommy David Morrison is an American heavyweight boxer and a former World Boxing Organization champion. He lost only three out of a total of 52 professional fights. Morrison's nickname, "The Duke," is based on disputed claims that he is a grandnephew of Hollywood star John Wayne...
– Tommy Gunn - Richard GantRichard GantRichard E. Gant is an American film and television actor. His credits include the films Rocky V , as a possessed cornoner in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday , Deadwood, Babylon 5, Special Unit 2, NYPD Blue, Living Single, Posse and Charmed...
– George Washington Duke - Tony BurtonTony BurtonAnthony "Tony" Burton is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky series, and is one of three actors who have appeared in all six Rocky films....
– Tony "Duke" Evers - Burgess MeredithBurgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
– Mickey Goldmill - Michael Williams (III) – Union Cane
The film contains cameos by several sportswriters and boxing analysts, most notably Al Bernstein
Al Bernstein
Al Michael Bernstein is an American sportscaster, writer, stage performer, recording artist, and speaker.-1970s:In the 1970s, he was a newspaperman, working at Lerner Newspapers in Chicago. He eventually became a managing editor at that newspaper....
, Stan Hochman and Al Meltzer. Sportscaster Stu Nahan
Stu Nahan
Stu Nahan was an American sportscaster best known for his television broadcasting career in Los Angeles from the 1950s through the 1990s. He is also remembered for his role as a boxing commentator in most of the Rocky films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6549 Hollywood Blvd...
makes his fifth appearance in the Rocky series, this time as a sports journalist.
Rocky's priest friend Father Carmine (Paul Micale) makes his second of two appearances in the Rocky series, the first being in Rocky II.
The character "Tommy Gunn" was played by Tommy Morrison. Morrison's nickname in boxing was "The Duke" similar to George Washington Duke, who becomes his manager in the movie. Morrison has claimed to be the grandnephew of John "The Duke" Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
.
Michael Williams (III), who plays Union Cane, was also a real-life boxer. He and Morrison were to have an actual match about a month after Rocky V was released, but had to be canceled when Williams was hurt. The match was being hyped as "The Real Cane vs. Gunn Match".
George Washington Duke (Richard Gant
Richard Gant
Richard E. Gant is an American film and television actor. His credits include the films Rocky V , as a possessed cornoner in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday , Deadwood, Babylon 5, Special Unit 2, NYPD Blue, Living Single, Posse and Charmed...
) is the main antagonist of the film, and based on Don King.
Tony Burton
Tony Burton
Anthony "Tony" Burton is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky series, and is one of three actors who have appeared in all six Rocky films....
briefly reprises his role as Duke at the beginning of the film. However, during his scenes, Rocky refers to him as "Tony". In the credits, Burton is credited as playing "Tony," as opposed to "Duke" (perhaps to avoid confusion with the George Washington Duke character) Rocky V is the second time in the series to do so, with the first being Rocky II as Apollo asked "What are you afraid of, Tony?" Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (film)
Rocky Balboa is the sixth and final film in the Rocky franchise, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film, which was also written by Stallone who plays underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, is the sixth film in the Rocky series that began with the Academy Award-winning Rocky thirty years...
names Burton's character, "Duke Evers". Most fans take this to imply that his name is Tony 'Duke' Evers.
Scenes with Mickey, played by Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
, were trimmed in the final film when Rocky fights Tommy. Mickey appeared in ghost form on top of the railway bridge, giving words of encouragement. In the final film, this was made into flashbacks. The speech Mickey gives to Rocky in the flashback sequence is based on an interview with Cus D'Amato
Cus D'Amato
Constantine "Cus" D'Amato was an American boxing manager and trainer who handled the careers of Floyd Patterson, José Torres, Vinnie Ferguson, and Mike Tyson. Several successful boxing trainers, including Teddy Atlas, Kevin Rooney, and Joe Fariello, were tutored by D'Amato...
given in 1985, shortly after Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
's first professional bout.
Jodi Letizia, who played street kid Marie in the original Rocky (1976), was supposed to reprise her role here. Her character was shown to have ended up as Rocky predicted she would: a whore, but the scene ended up on the cutting room floor. The character would eventually reappear in Rocky Balboa (2006), as a bartender and confidante to the aging Rocky. Actress Geraldine Hughes took over the role.
Kevin Connolly, who gained success as Eric Murphy
Eric Murphy
Eric "E." Murphy is a fictional character on the comedy-drama television series Entourage. He is played by Kevin Connolly.-Fictional character biography:...
on HBO's Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, was in his first acting role as neighborhood bully Chickie.
Soundtrack
This soundtrackRocky V (album)
The Rocky V Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1990 movie, Rocky V. This soundtrack is a complete departure from the previous film's soundtracks, because it doesn't consist of mainly classic Bill Conti tunes, or rock music, but rather the soundtrack is dominated by rap music...
is not an original motion picture score, but rather has music from and inspired by the film. This soundtrack features Joey B. Ellis, MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
, 7A3, MC Tab, Rob Base, and Bill Conti
Bill Conti
William "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
. Most of the soundtrack is rap music, rather than Bill Conti tunes. Also, two of the scores from Rocky IV were featured in this film's trailer, but were not present in the actual film. "Measure of a Man" was written by Alan Menken
Alan Menken
Alan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
and performed by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
.
Like Rocky IV, a full version of "Gonna Fly Now
Gonna Fly Now
"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford...
" with lyrics is not heard in the film. However an instrumental horn version is played during the early scene where Rocky gets off the airplane, and at the end of the move after Rocky defeats Tommy, the first few seconds of the original version can be heard – though it never makes it to the lyrics.
Production notes
Some of the fight sequences were filmed at The Blue HorizonThe Blue Horizon
The Blue Horizon is a historic 1,500-seat boxing venue in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ring magazine voted it the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last great boxing venue in the country....
in Philadelphia, a venue which was a mecca for boxing in the city during the 1970s.
The image of Gunn's first professional fight, the pullback from the mural of Jesus over the boxing ring, mirrors the opening shot of the first Rocky movie. Adrian goes back to working at the pet shop she first worked at in the original Rocky.
The golden glove necklace featured so prominently in this film was first seen in Rocky II (worn by Apollo Creed), then again throughout Rocky III and IV. As a promotional gimmick, replicas of the necklace were distributed to moviegoers at the Hollywood premiere of Rocky V at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The famous red, white and blue boxing trunks first worn by Apollo Creed in his fight with Rocky in the first film make their fifth and final appearance in this film. Rocky's leather coat introduced in Rocky IV makes its second and final appearance in the franchise at the start of the movie.
The Ring Magazine belt in Rocky's basement and the identical belt Morrison wins in the ring have changed slightly from the previous movies; they are missing the four side panels showing famous champions George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
, James J. Corbett
James J. Corbett
James John "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was an Irish-American heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He also coached boxing at the Olympic Club in San Francisco...
, James J. Braddock
James J. Braddock
James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937....
, and Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
.
According to Stallone, pro wrestling legend Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
helped choreograph much of the street fight between Rocky and Tommy Gunn.
In the original script, Rocky is killed during the final fight with Tommy. Through most of the filming and production, this was to be the outcome; it wasn't until the film was nearing completion that Stallone decided to nix Rocky's death and went with the current ending. According to him, the director, and the studio had second thoughts. Eventually, Stallone rewrote the ending, saying that he decided to change it because Rocky was supposed to be about perseverance and redemption, and having him die in a street brawl would be against the roots of the series.
Reception
Anticipated to be one of the big hits of the 1990 holiday season, Rocky V finished second in its opening weekend to Home Alone and never recovered. The film earned $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
14 million on its opening weekend and $40 million in total US box-office sales, about one-third of its predecessor's take. Rocky V however made almost twice as much overseas and thereby a total of $119.9 million worldwide.
In addition to its disappointing numbers at the box office, this segment in the Rocky series left a sour taste in some fans' mouths, as it left the hero back where he started, arguably with nothing to show for it. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives Rocky V a 24% "rotten" rating on its site. The film departed from the standard Rocky formula on display in the previous four films, and that made it extremely unpopular with the audiences that had been drawn to the previous sequels. Stallone himself has gone on record in agreeing that he wasn't satisfied with the finished product, saying "I wanted to finish the series on a high and emotional note, and Rocky V didn't do that". However, Stallone was praised for his performance and the film received some positive feedback from some fans, while the Los Angeles Times regarded it as the best of the Rocky sequels.
Sequel: Rocky Balboa
As a result of, and in response to, Rocky Vs poor box office performance (and the general dissatisfaction with the end of the franchise), 16 years later Stallone wrote, directed and starred in Rocky BalboaRocky Balboa (film)
Rocky Balboa is the sixth and final film in the Rocky franchise, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film, which was also written by Stallone who plays underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, is the sixth film in the Rocky series that began with the Academy Award-winning Rocky thirty years...
, the sixth and final chapter to the saga. The sixth film was an attempt to redeem the character for a final chance to come back as a hero again, and do the story justice by bringing it full circle; as for Rocky's ability to fight again, Stallone suggested that advances in medical science during the period between the films had shown that the "career-ending" injuries mentioned in Rocky V were less debilitating than once thought, and that he would receive a "clean bill of health" today. It succeeded by grossing over $70 million at the US box office as well, and $85 million abroad, and getting largely positive reviews from both fans and critics.
On July 8, 2010, in an interview with The Sun, Stallone was asked about the Rocky films. When he came to Rocky V, Stallone replied he made it out of greed, and reiterated that this was part of his motivation in making Rocky Balboa.