Rocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Un... Read allRocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.Rocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.
- Awards
- 9 wins & 8 nominations
Mark De Alessandro
- Russian Cornerman
- (as Mark DeAlessandro)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSylvester Stallone decided that for the shooting of the fight, he and Dolph Lundgren should hit one another for real, so as to increase the intensity of the scene. After doing three takes of Rocky taking shots to ribs, Stallone felt a burning in his chest, but ignored it. Later that night, he had difficulty breathing and was taken to a nearby emergency room. It was discovered that his blood pressure was over 200, and he had to be flown on a low-altitude flight from Vancouver, Canada to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, where he remained in intensive care for four days. What had happened was that Lundgren had punched him so hard in the chest, Stallone's heart had slammed up against his breastbone and began to swell, cutting off the blood supply and restricting the oxygen flow throughout the body. . However, when asked about whether or not it really happened while answering a series of fan questions in a 2021 interview with the Guardian, Lundgren claimed to have no recollection of the incident. "I don't know," he said. "[Stallone] keeps talking about it, so maybe he's right. He did go to the hospital, but I don't know whether it was my punches or the fact that he was so overworked as the director, actor and writer. We shot those 15 rounds over two or three weeks, eight or 12 hours a day, so you're throwing thousands of punches. If you don't connect, it looks a bit fake, but it doesn't mean you want to hurt the other guy. But there were no hard feelings." He went on to explain that stand-ins and stunt doubles were rarely used, and that he has performed the majority of his own stunts and fight scenes--but that this has changed in more recent years. "Back in the day, you had to do it all yourself: Rocky IV, The Punisher, Masters of the Universe, all the Expendables," he said. "I've jumped from a motorcycle to a truck; dangerous things I would never do now. Staying physically fit over the years has been nice. There aren't many actors who can stay physically fit for a long time. Part of the game is trying to look fit, at least."
- GoofsAt the end of the Drago/Rocky Bout... Rocky gives a speech where he says, "Today there are 2 people killing each other but I guess it's better than 20 Million people". The Russian translator however translates this as "It's better than 20 Million Dollars". (Theatrical cut only, as the "dollar" mistake was cut out of the director's cut)
- Crazy creditsOnly Rocky film that doesn't start with the "scrolling Rocky" logo.
- Alternate versionsCurrent AMC broadcasts in the US use the sped-up 25 fps PAL video from a 24 fps film source.
- ConnectionsEdited from Rocky (1976)
- SoundtracksEye Of The Tiger
Performed by Survivor
Written by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan
Produced by Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik
Survivor appears courtesy of Scotti Brothers Records
Featured review
"To beat me he's gonna have to kill me..."
Probably my favorite Rocky movie behind the original and easily the one I've re-watched the most. It's just sheer '80s goodness that perhaps can only best be appreciated by a child of that decade. The story this time has the Russians introducing a new fighter, drug-enhanced giant Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), to challenge Rocky. But instead of Rocky, they get Apollo. After Drago kills Apollo in what was supposed to be an exhibition match, Rocky travels to Russia to avenge his friend in a match televised across the world on Christmas.
Such a fun movie with great characters, memorable lines, and wonderful scenes. Sylvester Stallone stars, as well as writing and directing. Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, and Burt Young all return. All are great. Career-defining role for Dolph Lundgren. Brigitte Nielsen is good as his wife (she would marry Stallone the same year this was released). Vince DiCola steps in to do the score this time and does an excellent job, along with a fantastic soundtrack featuring James Brown, John Cafferty, and Robert Tepper, among others. The fight scenes are among the best of the series. Also some of the best montages you'll ever see. A fantastic fist-pumper of a movie with action, drama, humor, tragedy, and thought-provoking ideas about world peace. Okay, that last part was a stretch but I'm not someone who rolls their eyes at '80s Cold War movies -- I love 'em! Really a terrific piece of entertainment. Nowhere near the artistry of the first film but much more enjoyable than any others in the series.
Such a fun movie with great characters, memorable lines, and wonderful scenes. Sylvester Stallone stars, as well as writing and directing. Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, and Burt Young all return. All are great. Career-defining role for Dolph Lundgren. Brigitte Nielsen is good as his wife (she would marry Stallone the same year this was released). Vince DiCola steps in to do the score this time and does an excellent job, along with a fantastic soundtrack featuring James Brown, John Cafferty, and Robert Tepper, among others. The fight scenes are among the best of the series. Also some of the best montages you'll ever see. A fantastic fist-pumper of a movie with action, drama, humor, tragedy, and thought-provoking ideas about world peace. Okay, that last part was a stretch but I'm not someone who rolls their eyes at '80s Cold War movies -- I love 'em! Really a terrific piece of entertainment. Nowhere near the artistry of the first film but much more enjoyable than any others in the series.
Sylvester Stallone's Most Iconic Roles
Sylvester Stallone's Most Iconic Roles
We're celebrating the iconic Sylvester Stallone with a look back at some of his most indelible film performances, from Rocky and Rambo, to Joe in the new superhero movie Samaritan.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Rocky Vs. Drago - The Ultimate Director's Cut (2021)
- Filming locations
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA(Siberian farm site)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $127,873,716
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,991,537
- Dec 1, 1985
- Gross worldwide
- $300,473,716
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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