Rocky Actors

Title: Rocky

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Director: John G. Avildsen (Dir) Fred Gallo (1st asst dir)

Major Actors: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky [Balboa])
Talia Shire (Adrian [Pennino])
Burt Young (Paulie [Pennino])
Carl Weathers (Apollo [Creed])
Burgess Meredith (Mickey [Goldmill])

There are many actors in this movie but I would like to discuss Sylvester Stallone who played Rocky, Talia Shire who played Adrian, and Burgess Meredith who played Mickey. These are the three main characters in this movie and without them there would be no movie. The overall acting in the movie was great, it felt as if it were a real story being portrayed in a movie.

The first actor to discuss is Sylvester Stallone who I would consider ot be a personality actor. According to the text, a personality actor whose own personality tends to define all the characters he or she portrays, so that the actor’s name alone lets audiences know what the screen character will be like. Whenever we hear of a movies that is coming out or has come out with Sylvester Stallone in it, we already know it will be a good film and nine times out of ten will contain action. For instance when Stallone starred in the Rambo movies the movies contained action and it appeared as if Stallone was really this guy who he was portraying. His acting was so good that you thought that Stallone was showing his story and not just playing in another movie.

Stallone captures his roles very well and his personality is put into every role he plays and it shows. I believe that Stallone will always be in roles where he may be considered a tough guy and the movies will contain action in them.

The next actor up for discussion is Talia Shire who play Adrian.  Talia of course played in the Rocky movies as well as The Godfather movies. I would describe Talia as being character actor. I will honestly say that I am not very familiar with all of her works but from what I have seen she does seem to adapt to the needs of the scripts and directors she has worked with.

The last actor to discuss is Burgess Meredith who played Mickey.  Burgess Meredith is another actor whose work I am not very familiar with. From the films that I do know i would consider him to be a character actor as well as he is able to adapt to the characters that he plays and the needs of the script.  I say that because when he plays Grandpa Gustafson in Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men that was a different character than Mickey in Rocky. The role that Burgess played in Rocky was a more serious and tough rols opposed to the role in Grumpy Old Men. The Grumpy ld Men role was more comical and he was very funny with the lines that were given to him. He played both roles very well they were just two different classifications.

References

Rambo (7/12) Movie CLIP- Live for Nothing ot Die for Something (2008) HD. Retrieved from http://www.movieclips.com

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

http://www.imdb.com

 

Categories and Function of Sound- Rocky 1976

Title:  Rocky

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Director: John G. Avildsen (Dir)  Fred Gallo (1st asst dir)

Major Actors: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky [Balboa])
Talia Shire (Adrian [Pennino])
Burt Young (Paulie [Pennino])
Carl Weathers (Apollo [Creed])
Burgess Meredith (Mickey [Goldmill])

The movie Rocky uses diegetic sound, meaning the characters speak for themselves and there is no voice over it uses traditional dialogue. There were some sound effects used for the punching when Rocky fought against Apollo Creed. The sound effects used seem to sound real as if you were watching a real life boxing match. They are not the same punching sound effects that you would hear in a cartoon scene when two characters are fighting. The theme song to the movie was sung by Bill Conti and it is titled Gonna Fly Now. With the use of diegetic sound and traditional dialogue being used the movie appears to be more real. In this movie the dialogue between the characters seems as if they were talking and acting in real life and not on a set making a movie. The theme song is a perfect fit for the movie as well. The theme song is a song that says that you are ready for action and has a serious tone. It is not a playful and is the perfect song for a sports movie, it is a motivational song. The song being displayed while Rocky is training for his fight with Apollo Creed process that this song is what I said it is, motivational with a serious tone. The sound effects, dialogue, and music used in this movie assist in making the movie seem to be real as if you were there in person in each scene like a fly on the wall. There is nothing within the sound effects, music, or dialogue of this movie that suggests that this is a playful comedy or that it belongs to any other genre. All three of these components go well with one another and suit the genre and theme of this great boxing movie.

Rocky (8/10) Movie Clip- Gonna Fly Now (1976) HD. YouTube. (2014). Movieclips [Video channel]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3gNmTGu-TTbFPpfSs5kNkg

http://www.comicvine.com

ROCKY

Title:  Rocky

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Director: John G. Avildsen (Dir)  Fred Gallo (1st asst dir)

Major Actors: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky [Balboa])
Talia Shire (Adrian [Pennino])
Burt Young (Paulie [Pennino])
Carl Weathers (Apollo [Creed])
Burgess Meredith (Mickey [Goldmill])

For this assignment I decided to continue analizing the movie Rocky. This film uses both three-point lighting as well as low-key lighting. The textbook describes low key lighting as dark looking overall marked by extreme use of deep shadows, with very high contrast between the brightest parts of the scene and the darkest parts, which are obscured in shadows. In the scene where Rocky was in the gym talking to Mickey, there was low-key lighting used. The overall look of the scene was dark and you can see the shadows of some of the other people in the background on the wall.

Another example of low-key lighting in Rocky is in the scene where Mickey goes to Rocky’s house to talk to him about his shot at the title and how he needs a manager. This scene also has an overall look and in certain parts you can see the shadows of Rocky and Mickey throughout the whole scene. There is not much light and it appears that the light is coming from a single source, the one light that is seen in this particular scene. The light is a lamp that is sitting on something nearby that Mickey picks up to show Rocky a scar that he has.

Three-point lighting is based on careful control of shadows by using three main sources of light. There are two lights in the front of the person that are positioned on opposite sides of the camera and they are aimed at roughly 45-degree angles. There is also a bright light, called the key light, which provides the most light from one angle.

These two lighting techniques suit the genre of this film because it makes the movie look more realistic. Rocky could fall under the genres of sport, drama, action, or romance. All of these genres are examples of things that can happen in a person’s everyday life such as playing a sport, falling in love, or trying to come from nothing to something. If they were to use high-key lighting the movie wouldn’t feel as real. High-key lighting is generally for happy scenes and is very bright. If that type of lighting were used it would not depict the drama of the movie at all. Whereas the three-point and low-key lighting choices are able to depict the drama and make the movie feel more realistic.

References

Rocky (4/10) Movie CLIP – Breakfast of Champions (1976) HD. YouTube. (2014). Movieclips [Video channel]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3gNmTGu-TTbFPpfSs5kNkg

Amazing Acting In Movies – Sylvester Stallone – Rocky (1976). YouTube. (2014). Movieclips [Video channel]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3gNmTGu-TTbFPpfSs5kNkg

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

http://cinema.theiapolis.com/movie-033S/rocky/gallery/sylvester-stallone-as-rocky-balboa-in-rocky-1101969.html

http://www.imdb.com

Rocky

Title:  Rocky

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Director: John G. Avildsen (Dir)  Fred Gallo (1st asst dir)

Major Actors: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky [Balboa])
Talia Shire (Adrian [Pennino])
Burt Young (Paulie [Pennino])
Carl Weathers (Apollo [Creed])
Burgess Meredith (Mickey [Goldmill])

Release Year: 1977

Story: Rocky Balboa is a small time boxer in Philadelphia trying to make it big while he woks as a debt collector for a loan shark getting paid very little money. He gets a chance to fight the heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed when he visits Philadelphia. The fight is set up for Apollo to win easily but that does not happen. Rocky sees the fight as his chance to be recognized and to go from a nobody to a somebody.

Plot: Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion, is an uneducated small-time boxer living in Philadelphia with dreams of making it big in boxing. He works collecting debts for a crime boss named Gazzo and gets paid little to nothing. No one believes that Rocky has a chance at making it big as a boxer except his ex-trainer named Mickey. Rocky meets a young woman named Adrian who works in a pet store and is extremely shy. Adrian and Rocky begin to date and Adrian’s brother Paulie is ecstatic about them dating. Heavyweight champion Apollo Creed comes to Philadelphia and he and his managers come up with an idea to give Rocky a shot at the heavyweight title. Rocky begins to train with Mickey for the match and after much training Rocky feels that he is ready to enter the ring with the champ.  The boxing match takes place on New Year’s Day. Apollo does not take the match seriously but Rocly does, seeing this as his chance to go from a nobody to a somebody. When the fight begins Rocky knocks Creed down in the first round, which is the first time in his career he’s ever been knocked down. Creed quickly begins to realize that he has underestimated his opponent and he begins to really attempt to defend his title. The match lasted 15 rounds and by the end both contenders sustained many injuries. Alollo Creed ends up winning the match by a split decision.

This movie was told in chronological order. This helped lead up to the big match at the end that everyone was waiting on. It begins by showing how Rocky was a nobody working for little to nothing and in the end he has the chance to become a somebody and live his dream of being a pro boxer.  The chronological order also helped develop Rocky as it displayed how he started from the bottom as a nobody and the different things he had to go throught to get prepared for the big fight with the heavyweight champ Apollo Creed. If this film had followed a different presentation style the ending would not have been as good as it was. It still would have been a good movie but I feel that the chronological order had everyone on the edge of their seats anticipating the match at the end between Rocky and Apollo.

Resources:

Movieclips Classic Trailers. (2012, October 5). Rocky Official Trailer #1- Burgess Meredith Movie (1979). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VUblDwa648

http://www.imdb.com