Few of the readers of this blog can know my giddy yelp when this arrived in the mail. For me the Rocky Collection of films is the holy grail of classic sports film (along side Bull Durham and Slap Stick). I remember my father renting and showing me Rocky as a young child, it was one of the first films that had me completely wrapped up and cheering at the screen.
So I popped in the first film of the collection (never had purchased this on DVD, I still have my VHS) and it looks and sounds great (I do enjoy the preservation of some of the film noise and grain). You forget how good a storyteller Stallone is until you watch ROCKY, this is as good as Dickens’s Great Expectations to me.
As I watched all of the films the quality of the re mastering for blu-ray increases with each film. The final film in the series, ROCKY BALBOA, looks fantastic. Although I do wish they would have left ROCKY 5 out of the collection this film will never feel like it belongs in the collection, the film just lacks the attitude and appeal of the previous films and the one after it. But the real treat of this collection are the Special Features, even if the only film with a commentary is Balboa, I would have loved to hear what he would say with the first films.
Special Features:
Feeling Strong Now Game: This interactive boxing and trivia game that is crazy fun.
Three Featurettes:
- Three Rounds with Lou Duva: This guy is one old school bad ass trainer.
- The Opponents: A look at the opponents of Rocky and a look at why Rocky always had to be the underdog. Super cool and fun
- The Rind of Truth: Small Short feature about the locations. Meh…
In the Ring: An older retrospective on the original Rocky, the whole cast shows up and it is crazy intricate and deep.
Tributes to Burgess Meredith and James Crabe: I love everything about Burgess, Stallone and Burt Young are fantastic and heartfelt when talking about him.
Features on Makeup, Music, Directing and Camera Work: The most interesting on Bill Conti. The music of ROCKY may be the most interesting part.
Stallone on Dinah!(1974): Great for a laugh.
All and all the Undisputed Collection is fantastic. Although the audio and video floats between amazing and grainy the entire time. Still it is Rocky and worth it for anyone looking for something to watch with their child or something their son will watch again and again.
Review by Bro’ “B” – Ben
Thank you to Fox Home Entertainment for providing Rocky: The Undisputed Collection 
Rocky: The Undisputed Collection [Blu-ray]
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