In 1985, a movie was made that displayed the attitudes and fears that Americans had of the former Soviet Union. Although the movie had some flaws, it did closely represent the feelings of the era that was depicted. This paper intends to analyze and give the proper credit that this movie and its actors deserve. East meets West when Rocky takes on a vicious Soviet fighter who literally killed his last opponent! Sylvester Stallone writes, directs, and stars in this war between nations in which the only battle is fought in a boxing ring. Rocky must defend his honor, his friend, and America itself.
Rocky proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a six-foot four-inch, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. Rockys friend, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) fights Drago in an exhibition match, but after Creeds fatal defeat, Rocky knows he must avenge his friend and beat the Soviet adversary. Rockys training regimen takes him to icy Siberia, where he prepares for a globally-televised match in the heart of Moscow. Its a powerfully-charged event as Rocky takes on Drago in a heart-pounding fight to the finish.
What makes this movie so great is that it captured our fears and hopes all at the same time. In a way, by watching this movie, we were in our own way fighting against our Russian advisories. As far as the historical accuracy goes, we must remember that this is just a movie. As with all the ROCKY movies, the boxing matches go on far longer than they would in real life. In this movie, we saw the Soviet Training system as a finely regimented and scientific endeavor. According to Soviet sports training books I have read, the kinds of training depicted in the movie may very well be accurate.
There are only two things that may be stretch: The first is the use of sparring partners by Drago. The movie depicts Drago pummeling every one of his partners, sending them to the canvas spitting up blood. This, of course, doesnt happen in real life, sparring partners are partners not punching bags. The second thing about Drago’s training that is questionable is his use of steroids in the movie. Contrary to popular belief, this was not a wide spread practice and, in fact, it was condemned by the government. Any athlete who was caught doing steroids, or any coach who distributed them, were eliminated from the sports program.
Soviet scientists and trainers knew that the use of steroids only provided a quick boost in strength, and that continued use of them would cause extensive injuries to the athlete. In short, the athlete would be injured so much that he would have been able to train harder and achieve maximum performance without the drugs. In the movie’s defense though, the scene is relevant in the context that we all thought the Soviets were taking superior drugs thus adding to our fear of them. This movie definitely displayed our thoughts and emotions dealing with the Cold War, right up to the very end.
Our sentiments were captured exactly when after the fight Rocky said, “Tonight you had two people killing each other… but I guess that’s better than 20 million. If I can change and if you can change… everyone can change”. To be honest, the reason this is my favorite movie is because it of the way to pumps me up. After his friend, Apollo, dies, the emotions fly. I felt the tension and I saw the look in Rockys eyes. Every time I watch, the movie I almost cry (the part where he drives his car around and has flashbacks to him and Apollo being together). I love the part where he is all alone in the
Russian home and I could see him train. I watch this movie (or Rocky V, or Over the Top) before football games and fast forward to the part when he goes to Russia to train. My favorite part of the movie (of course) is the final fight. Anyone who has watched boxing knows its not very realistic, but that dont matter. The fact of the matter is this, Rocky takes a beating. He focus, and Drago gets checked into the Smackdown Hotel. In conclusion, the movie served its purpose with the Cold War, but more importantly, its a good action movie. It is an older movie, but some are classics.
