Sylvester Stallone reveals the official poster for his Rocky 4 director’s cut. Stallone first unveiled plans to release a director’s cut of Rocky IV shortly after the release of Creed 2, which saw Rocky Balboa coming face-to-face with his old adversary Ivan Drago for the first time in decades.
The first meeting between Rocky and Drago of course took place way back in 1985’s fourth installment in the Rocky series. In the film, the Soviet behemoth Drago battled Rocky’s friend Apollo Creed in the ring and tragically pummeled Apollo to death. Feeling guilty over not throwing in the towel fast enough to spare Creed a fatal beating, Rocky trained harder than ever to come back and gain revenge on Drago. Loaded down with jingoistic themes and filled with classic training montages, Rocky IV may have been dismissed by critics in its day but over the years it went on to become one of the most beloved of the Rocky films. The movie’s status as something of a cult classic was no doubt a big reason why Stallone decided to go back in and make a director’s cut of the film, restoring 40 minutes of previously unseen footage. Another reason was surely the renewed interest generated by Drago’s return in Creed 2.
Stallone’s hard work making a new cut of Rocky IV is at last complete and it was just announced that the film will receive a one-day theatrical release under the title Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago The Ultimate Director’s Cut. A trailer was just dropped for the long-awaited expanded movie and now Stallone himself has revealed a poster. See the art in the space below:
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The poster is classic Rocky art as it shows Stallone’s character in the midst of battling for the pride of America against the hulking Drago. The image shows Rocky landing a good punch right to Drago’s midsection, but of course in the movie Rocky takes more than his share of lumps too. Indeed it wouldn’t be a Rocky movie if Rocky didn’t get beaten up before rising to ultimately triumph. The fourth Rocky film of course changed up the formula a bit by giving Rocky the extra motivation of wanting to avenge the death of Apollo Creed while also redeeming himself for failing to throw in the towel.
It remains to be seen how Stallone has retooled Rocky IV to make it a better experience for fans than it was the first time around. The 40 minutes of restored footage will no doubt be interesting to see for those who love the original movie, but obviously adding footage doesn’t guarantee the movie will be better. Stallone hasn’t revealed many specifics about what he’s added or taken out beyond saying that he removed the movie’s infamous robot, a decision that made the robot’s creator angry. Audiences will get to witness the fruits of Stallone’s labors when his director’s cut of Rocky 4 hits theaters for one day only on November 11, 2021.
Source: Sylvester Stallone/Instagram