What did you think of the new edit Stallone pulled together for Rocky IV? The film is available streaming on Apple. I watched it the other night and I thought it was absolutely fascinating, especially as a huge "guilty pleasure" fan of the theatrical cut. It felt much more like a dramatic film in line with the other entries of the series. It fascinates me that almost every scene is either a replacement or a completely different take from what was in the original. I don't think it is "better" or "worse" than the theatrical release...but it is a worthwhile and very interesting companion piece. There's also this great "making of" documentary on YouTube... What did you think?
No 'Happy Birthday Paulie" robot techno song? That's a goddamn travesty. Does Rocky still singlehandedly end the Cold War by sacrificing his brain function on the altar of freedom and winning the respect of the Soviet crowd, thus shaming a reluctant Gorbachev into actively pursuing Perestroika?
I did finally take the time to watch this tonight. It was about what I expected. The first two movies are two of my favorite films of all time. (The first one legitimately being top ten, if not top five.) I adore them. But the rest I could take or leave. Rocky III is both a bad film and I don't like it either. But this was also a bad film, but it's hard not to like. I'd just assume five never existed. And, no, Balboa isn't any good either. The premise is absurd beyond reason and the stuff with Marie is cringe at best, creepy AF at worst. But, most importantly, no Adrian. And that's the thing. See, I've always felt that "Rocky" is sort of a misnomer, especially for those first two movies. It's really "Rocky and Adrian". And Shire is the heart and soul of those films. But she gets sidelined from the third on. And it's clear that with this, Stallone's primary goal was to try and pull Adrian more into the narrative, between the framing and trying to squeeze more Conti in wherever he could. (*It's been so long since I've seen the original that I can't remember if there was any of the Conti theme in it at all.) But ultimately there's not a lot to work with. Even as a 'director's cut' it's still only a 90-minute film, with little going on. The original was such a product of its time. The 80s cheese, the robots, and bad rock songs, and the "If he dies in the break room, he dies" of it all is part of the experience. Take all that away, and all that's left is an hour-and-a-half movie collapsing in on its own vapidness. And what's odd is he left the rock songs in, which just creates this weird tonal juxtaposition that kinda took me out of it. So, no, I really wasn't impressed. It was an interesting and novel thought experiment -- in the same vein as the Donner cut -- but not something I'd ever care to revisit.
In complete fairness, the ending is significantly altered regarding the Soviet reaction to the fight. It's still hopeful, but it's not as ridiculous as the original.