The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently released the Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K UHD 6-film set. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Rocky (1976) - Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a struggling Philadelphia club fighter, gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight for love, glory and self-respect. Featuring a legendary musical score and thrilling fight sequences, this rousing crowd-pleaser scores a knockout!

Rocky II (1979) - After club fighter Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) goes the distance with the world heavyweight champion, boxing fans clamor for a rematch. But Rocky, having sustained massive injuries, announces his retirement. Though he tries to make a new life for himself, Rocky realizes that he can't escape his true calling. The ring beckons once more, and the "Italian Stallion" must prepare for the fight of his life.

Rocky III (1982) - As Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) fights his way into the hearts of millions, life couldn't be better. But when Clubber Lang (Mr. T) KOs Rocky in a humiliating defeat, it becomes apparent that the "Italian Stallion" has lost his edge. Considering hanging up his gloves, Rocky receives encouragement from an unlikely ally: his old nemesis, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). With Creed's help, Rocky strives to regain the "eye of the tiger" before confronting Lang in a grueling rematch!

Rocky IV (1985) - Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) holds the world heavyweight boxing championship but faces a new challenger: Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a 6'4", 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. Rocky prepares for a powerfully charged fight, in which he must defend not only himself but the honor of his country! (Also included is Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago, in which Stallone masterfully reshapes Rocky IV in the ultimate director's cut!)

Rocky V (1990) - Upon returning home from his latest triumph, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) learns that his money has been lost and that his fight-related injuries mean retirement. Moving the family back to South Philly, the fighter must resolve the deep-rooted resentment held by his son (Sage Stallone), a bitterness that only grows when Rocky trains Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison), a young boxer who soon rises to national prominence. And when Tommy turns against his mentor, Rocky knows he must fight once more!

Rocky Balboa (2006) - When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son (Milo Ventimiglia) and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history! (Also included is Rocky Balboa: Director's Cut, featuring an additional 14 minutes of footage not seen in theaters.)

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

Each of the six films is on its own 4K UHD disc (no Blu-ray copies). Each movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, though the Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago director's cut has been reformatted into 2.35:1. All six original movies have been rated PG, except for Rocky V (1990), which is rated PG-13. The Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago director's cut has been rated PG-13 for violent sports action and brief strong language. Audio languages include English, Spanish, and French for all movies. Subtitle languages include English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch for the original movies; and just English SDH, French, and Spanish for Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the noted discs (Rocky, Rocky Balboa, and Bonus Disc). There are no special features on the 4K UHD discs for the second, third, fourth, and fifth movies.

• DISC 1: Rocky: Audio Commentary - with director John Avildsen; producers Irvin Winkler and Robert Chartoff; actors Talia Shire, Carl Weathers and Burt Young; and Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown.
• DISC 1: Rocky: Audio Commentary - with Boxing trainer Lou Duva and sports historian Bert Sugar.
• DISC 1: Rocky: Audio Commentary - with writer/star Sylvester Stallone.
• DISC 6: Rocky Balboa: Audio Commentary - with writer/director Sylvester Stallone.
• DISC 6: Deleted Scenes - Only the "Alternate Ending" (3:38) and "Paulie's Girlfriend Moves His Things" (1:17) are featured here, since the other six deleted scenes are now part of the included Director's Cut.
• DISC 6: Skill vs. Will: The Making of Rocky Balboa (17:47) - A typical behind-the-scenes featurette with on-set interviews and production footage.
• DISC 6: Reality in the Ring: Filming Rocky's Final Fight (15:37) - Dissects the often arduous production process required to bring Rocky to the ring this one last time.
• DISC 6: Virtual Champion: Creating the Computer Fight (5:08) - Showcases how the use of motion-capture photography allowed for the most visceral shots to be completed without Sly getting his skull bashed in.
• DISC 6: Fight Makeup (1:33) - A brief overview of the makeup process used for the final fight. This featurette may be new, as it wasn't on Sony's 2007 Blu-ray.
• DISC 7: 8MM Home Movies of Rocky (12:32) - A montage of clips introduced by director John Avildsen.
• DISC 7: 3 Rounds with Lou Duva (4:34) - Boxing manager Lou Duva answers three rounds of questions, imparting his philosophy of training in the process.
• DISC 7: Steadicam: Then and Now with Garrett Brown (17:26) - Cinematographer and Steadicam-inventor Garrett Brown shows off some of his early test footage, details his involvement with Rocky, and talks about the whole Steadicam aesthetic.
• DISC 7: Make-Up! The Art and Form with Michael Westmore (15:11) - Makeup designer Michael Westmore takes us through Rocky's practical makeup effects.
• DISC 7: Staccato: A Composer's Notebook with Bill Conti (11:30) - Bill Conti, who created all of the memorable themes from the Rocky films, explains how the music underscores the various themes of Rocky.
• DISC 7: The Ring of Truth (9:37) - Art Director James Spencer discusses the look of Rocky and the challenges of on-location shooting.
• DISC 7: A Tribute to Burgess Meredith (7:53) - Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young and others offer up their thoughts on the great Burgess Meredith, who passed away in 1997 after an almost 70-year career in Hollywood.
• DISC 7: Stallone Meets Rocky (3:00) - A split-screen skit between Sylvester Stallone and Rocky Balboa.
• DISC 7: The Making of "Rocky vs. Drago": Keep Punching (58:29) - This behind-the-scenes documentary of the new director's cut is actually over 30 minutes shorter than the free version on YouTube.
• DISC 7: Trailers (14:05) - One for each of the first four films, plus a fifth trailer for Rocky vs. Drago. There are no trailers for Rocky V and Rocky Balboa.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

A digital copy code voucher that will redeem for all six movies eventually - currently, a week after the release date and it still doesn't work at Vudu - is included inside the thick seven-disc black UHD case. The case fits inside a side-loading slipbox.

[ NOTES ]

If you've been keeping track, you may remember that last year, Warner Brothers released the similarly-titled Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4-Film 4K UHD set. It was a mess of a set that was hastily-produced in order to coincide with the theatrical release of Creed III. That set only contained the first four movies (Rocky V and Rocky Balboa were nowhere to be found), and there were numerous audio errors and even an odd aspect ratio "glitch" in Rocky IV. This new Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Collection 6-Film 4K UHD set fixes all of those errors, and it includes ALL films in the Rocky saga. In short, this new set is the one that should have been released last year.

That's not to say that this "Ultimate" set is the "one and only" complete set. The obligatory list of missing extras from the earlier Heavyweight Collection Blu-ray set (alt url, alt url) includes the feature-length, three-part making-of documentary "In The Ring"; a tribute to Rocky cinematographer James Crabe; Sylvester Stallone's 1976 interview on the TV talk show Dinah!; a featurette on Rocky's opponents; a separate interview with sports historian Bert Sugar; and various TV spots and other promotional material. In addition, the "Boxing Bloopers" from Sony's 2007 Rocky Balboa Blu-ray is missing, as well. Since this Ultimate set uses the same Bonus Disc as last year's four-film set, it's a shame that it wasn't updated for this set. I'm sure that there are probably a lot more missing extras from the last few decades of DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Since this new 6-film 4K set doesn't include Blu-ray discs, and it's missing some extras, if you can afford it, I would suggest buying the Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Collection 6-Film 4K UHD set and the Rocky: Heavyweight Collection 6-Film Blu-ray set (alt url, alt url) . That would get you all six movies (aside from the two Director's Cuts) on both formats and most (if not all) of the extras. If, for some reason, you just want DVDs, all six movies (aside from the two Director's Cuts) are available in a Complete Saga DVD set (six slim cases in a side-loading box) and a 6-Film Collection DVD set (six discs in one standard-size case).

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.