Rocky

Title: Rocky (1976)
Director: John G. Avildsen
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Rank: 57

Tonight's film was a treat for me, because this was the first time I had ever seen Rocky. Of course, I have seen the shot where Rocky is on the top of the steps in Philadelphia, raising his arms, jumping around, with Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" playing, along with many of the spoofs of it there are out there. (Take a peek at the film version here.)

It is not hard to guess why Rocky made it on to AFI's "100 Years 100 Movies" list. Written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, this film is about inspiration. Rocky comes from nowhere- he is no one special, living nowhere special, doing nothing special. As luck would have it, he is picked to fight in the championship fight against heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. (Creed only picked Rocky to fight because he liked the name the "Italian Stallion.") This is a dream come true for Rocky, and he wants nothing more than to go all the way in the fight.

Even though he doesn't win, Rocky does succeed. He lasts through the entire fight, the winner determined by points instead of a knockout. Rocky is ecstatic about the fact that he gets this opportunity, and completely satisfied with the outcome. The story of it is what everyone hopes for- we all have that "Mount Everest" that we want to achieve, whether it is becoming a record-setting athlete, discovering the cure to a disease, raising kids, becoming a world famous actor, or getting a chance to fight the champion. Most people have a dream, something they want to accomplish in their life, the one thing they want to be remembered for above everything else. It doesn't have to be something has big as becoming the CEO to a worldwide company, but it is something that will define us for who we are. Rocky was the underdog- no one expected him to make it, but he did, defeating the odds. We all believe ourselves to be the underdog at some point or another, and when those times come we have the choice to either let it break us or put in all we've got to overpower it. The only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves.

The amazing thing about dreams is that it is never too late to have a dream, nor is it ever too late to pursue a dream. Rocky is thirty years old when he is given the chance to fight Apollo, having spent more than half his life thinking about this dream but never doing anything about it. When the opportunity presents itself, he takes it and trains as hard as he can, letting the fight take over his life and consume his every thought. He conquers his "Mount Everest" in the fact that he was able to withstand the entire fight and go the distance. To Rocky, winning wasn't the objective, it was withstanding the battle.

Rocky, however, had luck on his side. It was by pure coincidence (and that catchy name) that he was chosen to be the contender in the big fight. Not all of us will have that luck, and we often have to make our own opportunities. In most cases, there is no luck- it is all about persistence. Like the Japanese proverb says "Fall down seven times, get up eight." Any dream takes hard work and perseverance to be welded into a reality, and there will be times when you fall. It may feel like a failure, but as long as you stand back up then it is only a bump in the road. Besides, if you learn something from it, then it really isn't a failure at all.

We all have a dream or two, and nothing is impossible. (Walt Disney once said "If you can dream it, you can do it.") Dreams take work, though, but they are worth all the blood, sweat, tears, and time that go into them. It is never too late to make YOUR dream come true. We only have one life to live, and as Mickey Goodmill said: "You ain't gonna get a second chance."

Movies to Go: 98