Yo, Adrian!
This month ushers in the release of the Sylvester Stallone documentary Sly (November 3), which sees Stallone reexamine his unique career in Hollywood, writing himself into movie stardom. It’s an American Dream story of sorts, following Stallone as he packs up his house and moves cross-country, taking stock — literally and figuratively — of his life penning movie scripts, portraying acclaimed characters, and wrestling with fame and self-worth.
In Sly, Stallone describes how movies were an escapist outlet growing up, as he struggled with an unloving father, absent mother, and warped family life. Rugged male heroes of the silver screen — such as bodybuilder Steve Reeves playing Hercules in the eponymous 1958 film — became idealized role models for the young boy. These brash male figures were powerful and courageous men, but they also showed an incredible (if exaggerated) type of masculinity onscreen, one Stallone aspired to emulate. To eventually become one of them, Stallone felt, would disprove his father’s enduring claim that Stallone would never amount to anything.
Acting only took him so far after he finished college, and it was mostly to dead ends. After being handed bit roles playing thugs and sleazeballs, Stallone began writing parts for himself that placed him at the center of the story as the all-conquering but relatable hero. What famously followed, of course, was his writing of the Rocky Balboa story.
Fans and action-movie aficionados everywhere will undoubtedly recall many memorable movie scenes with Stallone, especially after 50 years in the business. Rocky, Rambo, and even Rhinestone feature disarming, gripping, or just wildly entertaining moments that showcase Stallone’s acting abilities, writing prowess, and/or simply fearless action hero personae. Some of these cinematic moments can even overshadow the star Stallone — like “Eye of the Tiger†from Rocky III — but not often.
With all eyes on Stallone with Sly, we’re taking stock of his career with 15 scenes that showcase the actor’s talents. Some moments might be more celebrated than others, but each shows Stallone revealing a facet of himself in all its glory: a formidable dramatic actor, an intrepid action hero, or even a camp comedic entertainer. Either way, take a ringside seat and check out these heavy hitters before you get to the final knockout.
The Lords of Flatbush (1974)
Putting a ring on it
The Lords of Flatbush was part of a 1970s onscreen revival of 1950s “greaser†culture and proved Stallone’s big break, after a short career playing only goons. In Sly, he recounts how he was given scope (at his insistence) to ad lib some scenes in Flatbush, looking at this opportunity as one to help soften his public image and add depth to the otherwise hardened character he played, Stanley. (So much of his dialogue was actually kept that he was even later given a writing credit.) In the film, Stallone works to temper Stanley’s rough image in places, most especially when Stanley pops the question to girlfriend Frannie (Maria Smith), after learning she has fallen pregnant. Later, there is a tense exchange with a jewelry salesman where Stanley finally acquiesces and buys Frannie the very expensive engagement ring she so desires. With this commitment (to marriage and a ring he can’t afford), Stanley is forced to confront adulthood early and the real responsibilities that await. Stallone clearly used this scene to help frame the ring as a larger metaphor for Stanley accepting his fate, especially when he has Stanley ask Frannie to leave so he can argue with the salesman again on the price. Indeed, one hardened substance earns another. In all, it’s an early sign of Stallone’s penchant for shedding brutish masculinity all in the name of love.
Rocky (1976)
Love is blind
The OG Rocky has given Stallone perhaps his greatest-ever screen moments, which Sly indulges in retelling in detail. Some argue that the original film is a sports movie, while others — including Stallone himself — insist it’s actually a love story. From wherever you stand, few can deny the power and potency of its final scene. After his smackdown battle with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the bruised and blinded Rocky wails in the boxing ring, “ADRIAAAN!†as news cameras flash around him. Soaring and symphonic violins swell via the legendary score, as the desperate Rocky continues to call out until girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire) finds him in the boxing ring and declares, “Rocky! I love you!†So moving is this moment of love and unity that many of us often forget Rocky actually loses his fight with Apollo, as the film maintains he is our hero — and we believe it. The blindness of cameras flashing and the blindness of true love figuratively coincide in the spectacle of sports, manliness, and fame. Rocky and Adrian indeed both overcome their biggest battle together: finding love, each other, and keeping it this way.
Training montage
The Rocky franchise has shown us many training scenes but none top Stallone’s aggressive efforts in the original. With the exuberant sound of trumpets and energizing mix of synth sounds, the incantations of the choir, “Trying hard now … / It’s so hard now,†create an aural crescendo that transports us along with Rocky’s momentous physical journey. With the rough and smoky parts of working Philadelphia on display — the sunrise along the rusted wharfs, street markets with flaming trash cans, a cold greenish abattoir fridge — Rocky doesn’t let these obstacles get in his way. If anything, they serve as literal scenic stops on his journey out of his limited lot in life to find greatness and glory. (It may have also helped tenderize that meat quicker.) Of course, this leads to the celebrated sprint up the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with Rocky gifting us one final fist pump against the rising sun. One of cinema’s most inspired training sequences (maybe even just for those one-handed push-ups, Stallone!) as our mean-streets boxer Rocky inches closer to the prize of fame and fortune.
Taking (the) Mickey
Stallone explains in Sly how much this scene between Rocky and trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith) was colored by Stallone’s relationship with his own father, in a moment largely improvised during filming. It’s where we find boxing club trainer Mickey dropping in, giving Rocky an unctuous speech about offering to train him — only now that Rocky has begun showing success. What soon follows is a tirade from Rocky mourning his “lost prime†and the failure Mickey showed never taking an interest in Rocky earlier: “I ain’t had nothing!†Mickey soon leaves humiliated by the exchange. But Rocky, realizing the cruelty he has inflicted on Mickey is as painful as the neglect Mickey had inflicted on him for years, runs out after Mickey to right this wrong and asks him to coach him. This moving gesture breaks the cycle of hatred and abandonment, seeing Mickey become a new proxy father figure. Knowing the monologue was informed by a lifetime of resentment and anger Stallone had toward his own cold father makes it even more powerful to watch today.
F.I.S.T. (1978)
Hand over fist
Don’t be confused by the title — F.I.S.T. is a far cry from the boxing ring and sits much closer to the speaker podium. Set in the 1930s, it stars Stallone as warehouse worker Johnny Kovak, who becomes a quick convert to the American labor movement and tries to recruit others. Kovak quickly climbs the ranks before ultimately attempting to lead the so-called “Federation of Inter-State Truckers†organization, or F.I.S.T. As contract negotiations stall between his company, Consolidated Trucking, and its workers, Kovak hits the lectern to rally the workforce. Many a boxing pun is wryly thrown in — with Stallone given another partial writing credit for the script — such as, “No one ever won a fight taking a punch!†The strongest moment in the film is when Stallone gives a gripping call-to-arms speech that reveals Kovak’s incredible passion and fervor for worker rights and protections that he seeks to inspire in others. F.I.S.T. proved to be an earnest and well-meaning pivot from the past boxing fantasy of Rocky — even if it didn’t do well with critics — that reveals Stallone’s greater depths as a dramatic actor and demonstrates a richer range of screenwriting skills. There’s even a political consciousness in there too. #unionstrong
Rocky II (1979)
A man of his word
Rocky II, one of the least adulated films in the franchise, sees Stallone return as the eponymous boxer to face the predicament of fame and family — and failure. After Apollo Creed wins the smackdown of Rocky (by split decision), there is a firm promise of no rematches between the pair. However, Creed soon enough gets worn down by negative press attention and hate mail and tries to entice Rocky back into the ring. Against this decision is where we find Rocky adjusting to (early) retirement while struggling to find satisfaction in domestic life with Adrian. The temptation to return ultimately proves too alluring for him, and he faces off with Adrian about taking Creed up on his offer. Rocky squarely tells her: “I never asked you to stop being a woman … Don’t ask me to stop being a man.†Although somewhat rigid in his thoughts on gender, Rocky nevertheless stresses to Adrian that for him to be satisfied in life, he needs to fulfill these perceived obligations of his manhood. Boxing and fighting runs in his blood, so it’s a duty he feels he must live up to. It proves a rare exchange from the entire series when Stallone’s Rocky shares an earnest and absolute answer on his burning desire to jump back in the ring and keep his main purpose in life fuelled.
Nighthawks (1981)
Wigging out
Okay, wig. Stallone’s, that is. In Nighthawks, a crime-action thriller about NYPD cops tracking down international terrorists run amuck in the Big Apple, Stallone dons kitten heels and a lace front to entrap a murderous terrorist. As Sergeant Deke DaSilva, Stallone tricks a rogue terrorist into following him (as a woman) into the target’s home. DaSilva, then inside, pretends to play the victim by making a coffee in the kitchen and waltzing around in a nightgown. As the killer creeps closer, DaSilva spins around with his gun cocked to take the terrorist down. One bullet flies through the assailant’s shoulder blade, as he tries to wield his knife at DaSilva a second time. But ultimately not before DaSilva finally slays him. (In both senses!) This clever hoodwink is one that might fool a foreign terrorist new to NYC but not the audience, as Stallone’s hulking shoulders and burly arms aren’t totally selling us the ruse. Nighthawks doesn’t often make the major rankings of Stallone’s filmography, but this camp scene that sees Stallone do full drag makes it worth the indulgent watch.
Rambo: First Blood (1982)
Checking out of Hanoi Hilton
Rambo might be a powerhouse action movie, but it’s also a grim story about a disillusioned and broken man battling unhealed psychological scars from Vietnam. One of the most gut-wrenching moments of the entire Rambo franchise is when Stallone, as John Rambo, breaks down in front of his former commander, Colonel Samuel “Sam†Trautman (Richard Crenna) and delivers an emotional invective on the war. The veteran cries as he recounts his alienation and anguish — seeing friends violently killed by his side and struggling to readjust to life in a world that despises him — crescendoing to a story of how a child soldier used a box of explosives to murder his friend. Stallone gives a disarming and raw performance in this moment, adeptly displaying the buried trauma and painful grief that many war survivors hold and struggle to overcome. Emptied out and truly broken, Stallone’s final monologue in Rambo is a masterclass and one of his finest moments.
Rhinestone (1984)
Duetting with Dolly
Although Stallone has reportedly said he regrets making 1984’s plastic musical-comedy, Rhinestone with Dolly Parton, it still gifted us one more outrageously camp moment of his action-heavy career. Donning a glittery tasseled jacket and projecting an Elvis-like energy, Stallone stars as an obnoxious New York cabbie who is forced to transform into a country-music sensation, after singer Parton places a bet with her manager. In the final duet, Stallone struts and stomps to the beat of “Stay Out of My Bedroom†before Parton joins him to take the ridiculous country anthem home. With swinging arms and a sweating swagger, Stallone gets the drunken crowd to its feet and turns some of us into quick fans of country music, perhaps simply for the unlikely combined efforts of Stallone and Parton onscreen. Despite being one big box-office failure, the movie still shows Stallone vainly trying to diversify and broaden his acting chops — showing us the places he’s willing to go to shake off Rocky and Rambo. Nothing is sacred — even wearing tassels and duetting with Dolly about getting frisky between the sheets. Credit where credit’s due, people.
Cobra (1986)
What can’t be cured must be endured
Stallone takes no prisoners in the opening of the 1984 action-thriller, Cobra. Not even in a supermarket. As LAPD Lieutenant “Cobra†Cobretti, Stallone swaggers into a supermarket hostage situation — chewing an unlit match and donning blue-tinted aviators — to apprehend a mad assailant and his bomb. Cobra is known around L.A. for his brutish and unorthodox methods in apprehending criminals, promising no free passes for maniacs like this one who is apparently part of a Social Darwinist cult terrorizing the city. Cobra heads to the soda aisle, cracks a cold one, and then rolls it into the meat area, luring the assassin out before indifferently intoning, “You’re a disease, and I’m the cure.†A rain of bullets then takes down the cult killer, but not before Cobra secures the detonator and struts out there, completely unscathed, to the dismay of his peers. Cobra was one of Stallone’s better forays into the cop movie genre (like Nighthawks and Cop Land) and gives him an edgy, cool polish while also enriching his action-movie profile. Indeed, with biting retorts like that, no surprise he wrote the script himself!
Cliffhanger (1993)
The gloves are off
With its dramatic opening scene set in the Colorado Rockies, Cliffhanger sees Stallone star as seasoned mountain climber Gabe Walker who vainly tries to save his friend’s girlfriend, Sarah (Michelle Joyner), as she’s stuck on a rope precariously perched between two cliffs. Stallone’s oiled muscles are on full display as he madly scales the rope to save Sarah, desperately throwing out a chiseled arm for her to hold onto. Unfortunately, no glove, no love: Sarah’s glove comes loose, and she plunges to her death. The drama is heightened by the overhead aerial shots and frenetic camera work highlighting Stallone’s upturned face. It’s one intense and adrenaline-fueled exercise that gets the blood racing while also reminding us metaphorically of the limits of Stallone’s masculinity onscreen. So often in Stallone’s movies does male bravery win out, but sometimes it’s also put to its limits and can’t overcome every obstacle. The fact that Sarah is Gabe’s friend’s girlfriend makes it more demoralizing and haunting for him to face. Come for the drama, stay for masculinity in crisis.
Cop Land (1997)
Going up against De Niro
Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Liotta. These are just some of the acting titans Stallone opted to star opposite in the 1997 police drama Cop Land. Although the film didn’t fare well with all critics, Stallone’s turn as the impotent small-town sheriff Freddy Heflin is still a formidable and fearless dramatic turn for the actor. In this scene, the pitiful and ineffectual Heflin appeals to Robert De Niro’s Moe Tilden to join his Internal Affairs investigation, looking to weed out police corruption happening in Freddy’s New Jersey town. The attempt fails miserably, with Heflin closing the door on Tilden and whispering, “You people are all the same.†After a career spent as the potent action hero or indomitable boxing star, Stallone etches a compelling portrait of a middle-aged man emasculated by his peers, failing at his job, and now recognizing his own vulnerability. The exchange with De Niro — who hardly even listens to Stallone, munching on a sandwich — has so much sting for Stallone, as the legendary method actor is ruthless in breaking down and discarding Stallone’s Freddy.
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Getting back up
Rocky Balboa was slated to be Stallone’s last appearance as the titular boxer onscreen. Then there was Creed. In any event, like most of the franchise’s sequels, it covers Rocky’s final-final return to the ring for one last match before his permanent retirement. In a fraught scene of verbal sparring with Rocky’s son, Robert Balboa Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia), the pair argue about this final fight, with Robert saying the name “Balboa†is ultimately a burden on him. Like Adrian’s past pleas in Rocky II, Robert implores his father to not go through with it. But the father doesn’t believe in quitting, railing: “You, me, nobody’s gonna hit as hard as life! … It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.†It might be brief, but it’s a stirring speech that sees Rocky implore his son to summon up self-worth and perseverance in life since life will throw many hurdles and frustrations in his way that he must brush back. In only a few words, Stallone shows Rocky as far wiser (and 30 years older) than son Robert takes him to be. This final fight sees him with something really to prove.
The Expendables 2 (2012)
Three ain’t a crowd
The first Expendables gets credit for introducing the likes of Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Bruce Willis to a new generation as fearsome and reborn action heroes. But it’s really The Expendables 2 that gives viewers perhaps the franchise’s greatest moment: Stallone, Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger shooting first (and asking questions later) in the iconic airport shootout scene. While the storyline — like much of the Expendables films — has some holes in it, this juggernaut action sequence redeems much of the second movie as the trio fearlessly wield their machine guns and spray bullets on villain Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and his formidable army. Famed action heroes of the ’80s — Stallone’s Rambo, Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, Willis’s John McClane from Die Hard — unite against evil here, all emerging victorious in one A-team effort. It’s all the more satisfying to watch as the three stars do a kind of dance with each other to provide coverage (such as when Stallone’s Barney Ross replaces his ammo), especially as we remember the infamous (if staged) rivalry of Schwarzenegger against Stallone in the early days of their careers. Stallone and these old fellas now look out for each other.
Creed (2015)
The mirror has two faces
Creed is the right turn in the Rocky franchise, spinning the storyline out to a new world of boxing with Stallone returning (once more) to help coach Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis “Donnie†Creed (Michael B. Jordan). Stallone gives us a really fine performance as the aging, wistful Rocky — it even nabbed him his second Oscar nomination — who espouses many memorable quotes. None are perhaps as special as when he points to Adonis’s face reflecting back at the pair in a mirror and says, “Every time you get into the ring, that’s who you’re going against.†Adonis then starts sparring with his mirrored doppelgänger, reminded to defend each punch with a block like he would in a boxing ring. The exchange is emblematic of Rocky’s simple philosophy — as well as the Rocky series as a whole — that the only person who is ever a threat to your success and abilities is you. It’s advice that resonates deeply with Adonis, who rallies to fight in his own major title, heeding the words of his new mentor to look beyond his own perceived barriers to reach for his dream. Here, Stallone masterfully hands the hero story over to a new fighter and man seeking his own purpose in life.