The 1976 film Rocky is what launched the career of Sylvester Stallone. Prior to starring in and writing that film, Stallone was best known for his role as Machine Gun Joe in the over-the-top Roger Corman flick Death Race 2000. There have been eight films in the Rocky franchise–counting the two Creed films as well–and Stallone just announced a Director’s Cut of one of them.
On his Instagram account, Stallone was promoting the “extended cut” of the most recent Rambo movie, Last Blood. One fan asked Stallone about a Director’s Cut of Rocky Balboa–the sixth movie in the franchise from 2006. Stallone’s response probably threw everyone through a loop as he said, “I am not doing that but I am doing a directors cut on Rocky IV which will be amazing!!!!!”
Yes, Stallone posted with that many exclamation points, which means the new cut of Rocky IV will be four times more exciting than we can imagine. 1985’s Rocky IV is a bit out an outlier within the series. Many people–like myself–see the fourth installment of the series as their favorite in the franchise. However, it’s a little goofy compared to the other films.
The film starts off with Rocky as rich. He owns a mansion, a variety of cars, and a robot that delivers his friends’ birthday cakes. Yes, there’s a robot in this movie. Rocky’s friend Apollo Creed has a boxing match against Russia’s top fighter, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Prior to Creed’s match, James Brown plays the song “Living in America”–that’s not important to the plot, but it is spectacular. Drago kills Creed in the ring and Rocky has to avenge his death with another boxing match. It’s the ’80s and so many action movies during that time revolved around the “USA vs. USSR” plotline.
But what would a Director’s Cut of Rocky IV look like since it’s such a near-perfect product of its time? Yes, it’s a weird movie, but those bizarre moments are what make it great. Will this Director’s Cut have more of Rocky’s robot in it? Maybe a love story between Paulie and said robot? Maybe there will be an extended James Brown performance. Most likely, the Rocky/Drago training montage will be extended, and if there’s a way to make it even more epic, please do so, Mr. Stallone.
Stallone didn’t say when there this Director’s Cut of Rocky IV would arrive, only that he’s working on it. Given how 2020 has turned out so far, a new cut of this classic “boxing” movie would be a rare bright spot for those who love this movie. Sadly, at this time, Rocky IV is not available to stream online with any subscription service, so if you want to watch it, you’ll have to rent or buy it.