Tony the loan shark was actually one of the few who genuinely believed in Rocky and wanted him to succeed. He liked Rocky and that money was a genuine gift.

The fact that many reactors miss who wins the match just shows its a love story more than a boxing story. The decision is announced in the background, barely audible, while Rocky and Adrian's "I love you's" is front and centre.

I like how everyone distrusts Mr. Gazzo but he turns out to be one of Rocky's biggest supporters. He also has one of my favourite lines in the movie. "Some guys, they just hate for no reason."

The scene when Adrian gets in Paulie's face and says "I'm not a LOSER!" is one of the great moments in film.

That loan shark ends up being a good guy to Rocky. He gave Rocky 50 bucks to take Adrian out on their first date, 500 to live off of that way he can focus on training for the fight, and never asked for even a penny back. Then I believe in part 2, he tried to teach him how to invest his money into q condominiums that way he don't just burn through it all. He gets a bad rap because he's a loan shark. Everyone always assumes there's a ulterior motive for giving Rocky that money (which is understandable), but they never give the man any credit when they see they were wrong about him. Makes me feel bad for a fictional character 😂

child of the 70s here...one of the things I just now noticed about the masterpiece that is Rocky is 1.)Paulie (adrian's brother) ..... good or bad....most people know a Paulie: an angry has-been (the picture on his nightstand makes me think he's decorated navy man), eeking by through life, lazy, bad attitude, but not evil or even a bad person...just a not-good person 2.)the loan shark - same thing: most of us know someone that's not quite dangerous or full-blown criminal, but they're just...shady. Again, not evil, just the neighborhood big criminal, but never quite so high as a crime boss. 3.)the imagery of tiny Rocky looking up at the giant Apollo poster, with his American flag shorts in silence. The imagery you can layer here: a.)the american dream b.)big man vs underdog c.)nilhism....That poster's wrong, my shorts are yellow, not red......"it doesnt really matter does it, Rocky. Get some sleep." 4.)man vs. fate 5.)man vs. his inner demons that come out in the silence

Rocky lost the fight, but won in life. The first movie was never about winning. It was about second chances, love and redemption. Their love gave them the strength, confidence and courage to be winners in life.

When watching how ridiculous Apollo's entrance into the arena is, it seems to get missed by a lot of newer viewers that the US was celebrating its 200th anniversary as a country the year in which this movie is set and also released. Apollo was tapping into the celebration that occurred all that year in the country.

I've always felt that one of the more interesting aspects of this film is that the loanshark, while not necessarily a good guy, doesn't play a negative role in Rocky's life. He gives him money, but doesn't appear to want anything in return. I think he did genuinely just want to help. It would have been really easy for Stallone to write this in such a way as to to make his character indebted to this loanshark, but he didn't.

Watch MORE ROCKY! Also, I know you didn't like Paulie, but give him time. It only takes about 6 years to get to know him.

The dog Butkus was actually Stallone's dog in real life. He had to sell him to buy groceries then used the money from selling the Rocky script to buy him back. Stallone also still has the pet turtles Cuff and Link after all these years.

I drank a raw egg every morning before school for about a month because of this movie. I never won single boxing match. I was too chicken.

That dog was his dog in real life. Great reaction. Really it's not a boxing movie. It's a love story.

You absolutely nailed this one. Perfect take on what this film represented. Thanks for posing it to YT, and I hope you went on with the franchise. Would love to see Rocky II here.

To save on money Stallone brought in some of his family for small roles in this movie. His brother Frank was the lead singer for that group of guys singing around the trash can fire in the street. And his father was the guy that rang the bell during the fight with Creed.

Great reaction, Madison. Although this one was before my time, I LOVE it. And the thing to remember about this movie is that it was made on a very low budget and shot in only 28 days of filming. Sylvester Stallone was an unknown, but he wrote the script, and somehow not just convinced a studio to finance it, but he also convinced them to let him play a role in the movie (not just any role...the TITLE role). Anyway, the end result garnered multiple Oscar nominations and ended up winning the Oscar for Best Picture. Btw, this was also the movie that created the 'Workout montage' with the music in movies. Before this movie, filmmakers didn't see it necessary to show the athletes working out in different inter-cutting scenes, since they thought it would bore the audience...lol. But Stallone changed all of that making sure that there was an inspirational workout montage with short intercutting scenes in the movie, the very first of its kind. Now pretty much every movie in this genre uses a similar workout-with-music-montage.

If the fight goes the distance it goes to the judges there's three judges & in this case it was a split decision so that means two of the judges scored it for Apollo & one for Rocky so he went to distance but lost by split decision

People like to mock Stallone, but they forget what an amazing movie Rocky is, that he wrote, and it won best picture at the 1977 Academy Awards.

Adrian is the heart and soul of all the Rocky movies!

The rest of the Rocky series of films are great, but if there's one boxing film I'd add to your list it's Cinderella Man. A true story starring Russell Crow about a boxer who makes a huge career comeback during the Great Depression, while trying to support his family. The stakes are even higher than Rocky and the boxing is more realistic. Plus it's absolutely amazing cinematography. Ron Howard killed it. Give it a watch, trust me on this.

The story arc is brilliant. These two people just took the hits all their lives. Once they found each other, they started fighting back. It's not coincidence that as soon as he has Adrian, he confronts Mickey.

I don’t know if you already found this out but Rocky Marciano was the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. He has 49 fights and 49 wins. One of the greatest of all time. He helped to inspire at least the name for Rocky balboa.

Philly native here. Everybody here loves this movie, even those of us that don't like boxing. haha. There's a statue of him right next to the art museum steps and there's always a line of people to take their picture with it.

FYI. The turtles you saw in Rocky, they are alive and still live with Sylvester. He even featured them in Creed 2. Sylvester named them Cuff and Link.

Rocky Marciano was the only heavyweight to retire undefeated. Story: Stallone wrote this and the studios all wanted it and offered Stallone good money for it, but Stallone also wanted to star as Rocky, which the studios didn’t want He had to wait a long time to find the studio to let him play Rocky and was so broke he had to give his dog (Butkus from the movie) away to some guy. Well finally he gets a studio that is willing to let him act, gets some money and the guy with his dog does not want give the dog back. Eventually he agrees once Stallone tells him the dog will appear in the movie and Stallone also had to pay the guy $10,000. Stallone said it was the best money he ever spent. Also the turtles Cuff and Link are still alive, still owned by Stallone and they got to make a comeback in both of the Creed movies. The stuff they are sniffing keeps their airways clean, and also no snot bubbles when they get punched hard in the torso. Apollo won the fight. He win by a split decision.which means two of the three judges thought he won, but the other judge thought Rock won.

I'm glad you caught that Rocky and Adrian helped each other. A "Split Decision" at the end of the fight means 2 judges voted for Apollo and 1 judge voted for Rocky, so Apollo won, but it wasn't an overwhelming win. Your reaction to the egg drinking scene is how a lot of people reacted when this movie came out in the 70s. 🙂

The way it shows that almost everybody who lived intercity Philly struggled to just survive and did whatever it takes to make it through another day. Stallone has great action flicks he does as well as any but his greatest talent was his writing a screenplay. This won the Oscar for good reason. The speech at the end of Rambo is as good as it gets for authenticity. Stallone doesn’t sound brilliant but man in many ways he is.

Rocky Marciano was an ex Heavyweight Champion boxer from 1952-1956. He retired undefeated and later died in a small plane crash in the late 60's.

Rocky is the film with one of most unexpected twists, I think this twist is a reason of Oscar win for this film.

Rocky lost but he really won, at the same time , it is a love story too.

Great reaction, Madison. Thanks for deciding to upload your older reactions. I highly recommend watching part 2.

i LOVE your observation about how Adrian hid behind hats and glasses and coats. I never thought of that. Well played, sir.

It's a love story. That's what carries it. Rocky II is even more of a love story, and that's why it's my favorite of the films. The whole series balances on the relationships between these characters. Sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful. Rocky III is also a blast.

Likes dogs, horses, westerns, action movies, that sense of humor, don't cuss, dresses modestly, that face, that hair, that smile!......I ain't a simp, but that there's a recipe fer it if I ever did see one!🤯🤠

For a loan shark, he was actually a pretty decent guy.

You completely nailed the theme of the movie in your recap. Perfectly described Rocky and Adrian. Great review.

Winner of 3 Oscars including Best Picture!

Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler (the Fonz) did a movie called The Lords of Flatbush and developed a friendship. Stallone took the script to Winkler to present to ABC since Winkler was working on Happy Days. ABC loved it and cut a check for it but did not want Stallone for the role. So he gave their check back. Thats when he found the independent backers for the film. Great reaction im going now to watch your Rocky II reaction.

13:54/26:42/27:23=Rocky never struck me as acting overconfident, which I interpret one who's cocky or a braggart. He enjoyed boxing and had a fairly cheerful, optimistic outlook on life (all things considered), but never pretended he was something he wasn't. And, I think that earnestness is a part of what makes his character great.

Rocky is legit in the Boxing Hall of Fame that's how impactful this film was.

Dope reaction keep it up 🙌🏽

The lead street singer and the "bum from the dark" was played by Sylvester Stallone's brother Frank Jr. The bell ringer for the fight with Apollo was Sylvester Stallone's dad Frank Stallone Sr

That *$500* the loan shark gave *Rocky* is equivalent to around *$2,500* today

You hit the important points of what was at the heart of this Academy Award winning film (best picture, director, and film editing). This series is one that can and should be explored (including the Creed films). Boxing is what bounds them. Yet, it's the character stories that truly matter.

The mob boss genuinely wants to see Rocky do well.

Your Reaction to the Eggscene was priceless!

Great reaction! You've got to react to as many Rocky movies as possible lol. They're all good but part 2 is the next best imo after this one. Talia Shire's best role imo. I feel she portrayed "human inspiration" here as well as Stallone did. Looking forward to the next reaction. And please post those others you recorded off KZfaq! We all want to see them. I'll fight anyone who says different!

Great reaction. Always fun hearing people going in without knowing this movie. "I dont usually like boxing movies". This isn't a boxing movie. Stallone says that himself. It's a love story, showing the two of them develop and fall for each other.

The best fighter entrance will always be Mike Tyson's no robe, plain white shorts, no song playing but turned up full blast anyway for the hiss.

I like how she was scandalized/traumatized by the raw eggs, LOL! Adorable.

Thank you Madison! Very enjoyable to watch this reaction from you a 2nd time! ... As for the franchise, IMO, you should watch and react to: Rocky (1976) Rocky II (1979) Rocky III (1982) Rocky Balboa (2006) Creed (2015) ... I think that those are the best ones!

This was based on an Ali fight. Chuck Wepner went the distance with Ali. He was just a guy who had no business being in the ring with the greatest fighter, ever

I love your principles and your empathy and the things you go after in the world.

I remember those time. I thought you were going to quit your channel. I'm glad you've surpassed all that and continue to react to more movies. You have a wonderful personality and shines through your reactions.

Definitely glad you uploaded this one. I love watching reactions to Rocky. It always surprises people.

I saw this in the theater as a teenager. It kind of came out of nowhere and word of mouth spread fast. Great story and enjoyed your reaction!

A study published in the October 1998 issue of the "Journal of Nutrition" found that only 51 percent of the protein in raw eggs is digested after consumption, compared to 91 percent for cooked eggs -- meaning nearly half of the protein in a raw egg exits your body unabsorbed.

Rocky is a love story first and then a boxing movie. Usually, I don't like sequels to a film, but in this case, I recommend you watch them all. The movie Cinderella Man (2005) is an American biographical sports drama directed by Ron Howard, starring Russell Crowe Renée Zellweger. It's so good, and I love true stories, that's another movie you should watch.

The sniffing stuff is to help clear the sinuses and keep the airway open. It is better for fighters to breathe through their nose than their mouths. If you're breathing through your mouth and you get hit in the jaw it is more likely that it will get broken, your mouth/teeth guard could come out or get knocked loose. Making it easier for teeth to get knocked out or even worse the fighter could start chocking on the mouth guard. If a fighter gets knocked out cold one of the first things the ref will do is to remove the mouth guard, so he doesn't choke on it.

Everyone hates Gazzo for some reason. He was one of the few people who looked out for rocky before he got lucky with a title shot

Stallone's monologue in the bed the night before the fight doesn't get enough credit. That is the scene where everyone feels at one time or another. You just want to prove you belong.

If you listen closely, you can hear that Apollo won by a split decision. Two judges scored the fight in favor of Apollo, one for Rocky.

Here in Japan, we put a raw egg on top of rice and other dishes.

I couldn't stop laughing at your reaction to rocky gulping down those raw eggs! Great review.

I'm in my mid 50s and I tried the egg thing after seeing Rocky. So many kids tried it that in certain places it became a minor news item to warn people, especially kids, from imitating the Rocky egg scene due small but possible risk of salmonella.

The raw eggs thing is something people did or do to bulk up. I recently saw a doctor talking about it who said you get the same benefits from cooking them.

The stuff they squirt up Rocky's nose before the fight is a decongestant, like Dristan. It allows for easier breathing, and prevents swelling if the get punched in the nose.

I saw an article some months back about Stallone. Fun fact: He _still_ has the turtles Cuff & Link! 😁

Sylvester Stallone had trouble getting funding for Rocky, partly because he insisted on playing the role himself. United Artists wanted an established star, and suggested Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, Nick Nolte, or James Caan. Can you imagine Ryan O'Neal as Rocky? Fortunately, Stallone stuck to his guns and got the movie made the way he wanted. You said the movie was raw, real, and intense even though it was made in the 70s. That was a great decade for raw, real, and intense movies. Some examples: Dirty Harry, The French Connection, Klute, Deliverance, Serpico, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Dog Day AFternoon, Taxi Driver, and The Deer Hunter.

Please watch Rocky 2 as well. This series is the best.

I enjoyed your reaction Madison ! You wondered about "Rocky's parents ". Sylvester Stallone's real life dad was the man ringing the bell between rounds during the fight against Creed. Look at "time keeper - Frank Stallone Sr." Frank Stallone Jr. was the lead singer of the acapella singers on the street corner. Great job Madison!

At the beginning of the film with that 1st fight, just as an FYI, while $40.55 sounds like very little for winning a fight (and it is), this takes place in 1976. So given the rise of inflation and what the dollar was worth back then, he was getting paid the Equivalent of $211.14. Not great, but not bad either. The other guy got paid $17, which is the the equivalent of $88.52. Big difference. Also, for the fight against Creed, Rocky was going to get paid, $150,000, which again is the equivalent of $781,043.94 today (all the money estimates are based on Jan. 1976 to Aug 30, 2022 calculation) Hope this brings some perspective to everyone. Thanks for the clip and I'm happy that you reviewed Rocky. It's considered on of the greatest films of all time.

Unsung hero of the story? - Gazzo. Gives Rocky a job, gives him $500 for training, shows up at ringside at his biggest fight and cheers him on.....boss of the year 🙂

Thank you 🙏 I’m so glad you decided to post it. I hope you continue the Rocky movies at least up to Rocky 4, you won’t be disappointed.

You might be interested in “On the Waterfront”, which has boxing as a sideline but major part in the story.

The 70's was Talia Shire's decade between Rocky and The Godfather.

@21:23 It's nasal decongestant. It constricts blood vessels in the nose. So when they get punched in the nose, it doesn't swell as much. Also might reduce bleeding from the nose.

The wavy hair was a different look! I have never seen any of the sequels and only saw it for the first time recently. I saw the VHS cover in the late 80s and thought he looked very young and was astonished to see the first one was from all the way back in 1976. This was during the infancy of blockbusters after Jaws began it all the year before.

When it goes the distance it comes down to 3 judges score cards. Rocky lost by split decision, meaning 2 out 3 judges scored it for Creed and 1 for Rocky

#MadisonThames, you're so sweet. Thanks so much for uploading this awesome movie reaction. Your content is absolutely amazing, and I love watching you react to different movies.

I did the raw egg thing in high school during wrestling season. You get used to it pretty fast. You just down it and get it over with. I always did 3 or 4.

Dogs are great (most of them), grew up with them, but they are like raising children. I have already raised kids, so I have cats now. Dogs have owners and need constant attention, like kids. Cats have staff and couldn't care much less. Never had a dog bring me a present...my cats do it all the time. To each their own. 1 Niece raises/breeds German Shepherds the other one trains horses...and neither of them is over 5 foot 3.

Great review of a classic. One of like 5 movies where i remember what theater i saw it at and who i was with!

I hope you keep up with the Rocky films, they just keep getting better. You've just earned a new subscriber. Great reaction!

This is a love story disguised as a boxing movie. ❤️😀

Great reactions I’m glad I found your channel.

Glad you decided to upload these! Thank you.

They invented the Steady Cam for the scene going up the steps.

The stuff they were spraying in their noses was just decongestant nasal spray like Afrin or something. It'll keep the nasal passages dilated during the fight.

Fights end by KO or TKO (Fight is stopped to protect a fighter that can't defend themselves) it goes the distance to the judges card. A 'Split decision' means 2 judges gave the fight to one fighter and the 3rd judge fave it to the other. If you listen in the background the announcer gives the votes and proclaims still champion Apollo Creed. It is funny because I think so many people are focused on him going the distance and Rocky and Adrian they just miss it.

Rocky 2 has even more emotion if you can believe it. It's a great sequel. 3 is good but the sequels gets iffy after that as classic films.

Your reaction to the raw eggs made me fall off the couch. When I was a kid that was really a thing when you were training. I'd never do it.... ugh. But yeah, it happened. You know, that is until scientists discovered salmonella. Lmao. I believe even Sylvester explained this movie as a "love story with boxing in it." And Rocky and Adrian's relationship stands the test too in many ways. They fill in gaps for a lot of years. I really enjoy your reactions. I'm so glad you're back. Oh... P.S. if it hasn't been mentioned, a split decision is where two of the three judges vote for one fighter. In this case two judges voted for Creed, one for Rocky. Therefore, Creed retains his title. But for an unknown to go the distance against the champ.... we all know THAT is a victory for Rocky.

3 Judges sitting ring-side score the match round for round and their scorecards are used to determine the winner in the case no-one is knocked down and counted out by the referee. The split decision means 2 of those Judges thought Apollo won the match and 1 thought Rocky did. So Apollo won. But I would say Rocky won more as he knocked down Creed and then went on to go the distance ~ both of which no-one had ever done against Creed. Rocky also won his girl, played by the beautiful Talia Shire. Worth a broken nose for sure :)

Burgess Meredith (Micky) was The Penguin in the Original Batman TV Series.

You should watch the 'extras' from the dvd. The actual making of the movie was as epic as the movie was. Thanks for sharing.

One of the great ones from the 70's. I'd also recommend Breaking Away 1979 Madison. I'm surprised more reactors have not found and reacted to this film. The same with Midnight Run with DeNiro.

So glad you give Carl Weathers his due. He is def up there with the best of them. One of my favorites is Action Jackson. Yes it's a cheesy action movie but Carl Weathers is so good in it.

That punch to the right side ribs is a liver punch.It is excrutiating, and sometimes takes the fighter out of the fight.

25:41 Is Rocky bringing Adrian out of her shell during the course of the story perfectly symbolized in the beginning, when they show him demonstrating his love of turtles? Like, he has a protective and loving instinct for creatures who hide away beneath their toughened exterior when threatened, as opposed to reacting in an overtly hostile manner (like her brother does)?

Awesome Movie and Work Lady, Thanks 👍👍❤️ Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸