There are good reasons why Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago director's cut opens with over six minutes of Rocky III footage. Stallone originally directed Rocky IV in 1985, which introduced Dolph Lungren as the new Russian villain, Ivan Drago. With Rocky vs. Drago, Stallone has chosen to fix elements from the film that have bothered him for over 30 years. The result is a new experience that still preserves what fans loved about Stallone's original Rocky IV while the movie's new opening offers a more effective transition from Rocky III.
In Rocky III, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) decides to mentor his former opponent, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), after "The Italian Stallion" is humiliated by Clubber Lang (Mr. T). Apollo rebuilds Balboa from the ground up into a better fighter and he helps instill the "eye of the tiger" - a killer instinct - into Rocky after Balboa's confidence was completely shattered. Thanks to Apollo, Rocky returned to the ring a lean, mean, fighting machine, and he clobbered Clubber Lang in three rounds to regain the heavyweight championship of the world. More importantly, Rocky III turned Rocky and Apollo from enemies into the best of friends, but their brotherhood came to a tragic end when Ivan Drago killed Apollo in the ring in Rocky IV.
Rocky sequels traditionally start by showing the closing moments of the previous film's climactic boxing match, but Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV director's cut goes much further by opening with extended scenes from Rocky III. Rocky vs. Drago begins with Balboa's devastating loss to Clubber before Apollo finds Rocky in Mickey Goldmill's (Burgess Meredith) gym. After Apollo gives Rocky a speech about how he needs to get back the "eye of the tiger," Rocky vs. Drago jumps to Balboa soundly defeating Lang and celebrating with Apollo, his wife Adrian (Talia Shire), and Paulie (Burt Young). By showing so much of Apollo's key scenes with Balboa in Rocky III, Stallone does a thorough job establishing the deep bond and friendship the two champions formed. The extended Rocky III sequences also serve to more seamlessly transition into Rocky vs. Drago, because Creed and Balboa's friendship is the heart of Stallone's Rocky IV director's cut.
In Rocky vs. Drago, Balboa blames himself for Apollo's death as much as he blames Ivan Drago. Rocky IV's director's cut not only reaffirms avenging Apollo as the reason Rocky fights Drago, but Stallone also tweaks the ending so that Rocky learns Apollo was wrong that "people don't change" after the Russian crowd turns on Drago and begins cheering Rocky to victory. By defeating Drago to avenge Apollo's death and realizing that Creed was actually wrong about his belief that people don't change, Rocky more thoroughly exorcised his demons surrounding Apollo's death. This makes Stallone's Rocky IV director's cut a more fitting conclusion to the Rocky and Apollo's arc that began in Rocky III.
By delving back into Rocky III to kick off Rocky vs. Drago, Stallone is clearly reaffirming the brotherhood between Balboa and Creed, which is crucial to how his Rocky IV director's cut gives Apollo and his death even greater importance. It's also vital to see more of Rocky III, as it's Balboa and Creed's finest hour together since they worked together to knock out Clubber Lang and achieve Rocky's sweetest victory. This makes how Apollo and Rocky's brotherhood tragically ended in Rocky IV even sadder and more moving, but their unbreakable bond began when they united in Rocky III. As such, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV director's cut gives a more powerful emphasis to Rocky and Apollo's enduring friendship.
