40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic

2020 American short documentary film

Derek Wayne Johnson
Chris May
Emmett James

Starring

Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Burt Young
Burgess Meredith
Carl Weathers

Narrated by

Sylvester Stallone

Music byGreg Sims

Production
company

Cinema 83

Distributed by

MGM/Epix
Branded Studios
Virgil Films

Release date

June 9, 2020 (2020-06-09)

Running time

30 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, also known as Becoming Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, is a 2020 American short documentary film directed by Derek Wayne Johnson about the making of the original Rocky.^[1]

Story

The film tells the story of Sylvester Stallone and the creation of the first Rocky film when he was an unknown actor. It is narrated by Sylvester Stallone as he takes the audience through rare and never-before-seen home movies, rehearsal footage and behind the scenes footage, giving insight into how the low budget fan-favorite film was made.^[2]

Cast

The film is narrated by Stallone with archive footage starring the Rocky cast, including Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith.^[3]

Production

Talking about the making of the film, Johnson describes how the series of events conspired that meant he was hand picked by Stallone to create this documentary.^[4]

Distribution

40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic was originally acquired by MGM for their streaming platform Epix, but has also been subsequently released on Transactional Video on Demand platforms Amazon and iTunes in the US and Canada by Virgil Films and as Becoming Rocky: The Birth of a Classic internationally by Branded Studios.^[5]^[6]

Reception

References

^ Buick, Chris (June 6, 2020). "Becoming Rocky Documentary Film Review". UK Film Review.
^ Alexander, Bryan (June 8, 2020). "'40 Years of Rocky': Sylvester Stallone's best revelations in the new documentary". USA Today.
^ Evans, Nick (April 10, 2019). "Sylvester Stallone Previews 40 Years Of Rocky Documentary". Cinema Blend.
^ "Sylvester Stallone Fan Podcast Network: Going The Distance - Derek Wayne Johnson Interview". goingthedistance.libsyn.com.
^ Lang, Brent (November 13, 2019). "MGM Buying '40 Years of Rocky' to Air on Epix (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Media Corporation.
^ George, Maya (June 1, 2020). "Christchurch company to release new Rocky documentary to worldwide audience". Bournemouth Echo.