‘Rocky’ to ‘Creed’: Ranking Every ‘Rocky’ Movie Poster
Spoiler alert: the worse the film, the worse the poster
It’s been 40 years since the world laid eyes on Philly southpaw Rocky “The Italian Stallion” Balboa in Rocky, the film that launched a franchise and made Sylvester Stallone a star. In celebration, we’ve counted the steps, punches and “Yo, Adrian!”s, talked with composer Bill Conti (Rocky, For Your Eyes Only, The Right Stuff) and looked back at the amazing, seven-decade career of Burgess Meredith, who played Rocky’s gruff trainer, Mickey.
With seven films and counting (Creed 2, coming 2017), we thought we’d look back on four decades of Rocky movie posters to see which ones are undisputed champs, which could almost go the distance and which deserve to be knocked out.
Rocky (1976)
Tagline: “His whole life was a million-to-one shot.”
It’s important to remember that, in 1976, almost no one knew who Sylvester Stallone was—which may explain why he’s got his back turned to us in both of the first film’s posters. Outside of small roles like Subway Thug #1 in Woody Allen’s Bananas and Machine Gun Joe Viterbo in Death Race 2000, the man we would come to know as “Sly” was not yet known at all.
In fact, Stallone may have been the least known of the film’s leads: Talia Shire had appeared as “Connie Corleone” in big brother Francis Ford Coppola’s first two Godfather pictures; Carl Weathers had a brief NFL career with the Oakland Raiders; and Burgess Meredith was known to TV fans from years of work, most notably on The Twilight Zone and as the Penguin in the Batman TV series. The studio behind Rocky, United Artists, offered to buy Stallone’s script for a reported $350,000 with the hope of casting someone with a more famous mug, but Stallone—who had only $106 in the bank at the time—held out for the lead role. It turns out the movie’s tagline applied as much to the creator as to the character. For Stallone, his million-to-one shot paid off, big time.
Both posters are true to the spirit of the film. One focuses on the athletic triumph and the City of Brotherly Love, while the other shows the more personal love between Rocky and his real objective, Adrian. Of note, the image of the pair holding hands is said to be from the original ending, ultimately cut from the film, in which the couple retreats down the arena tunnel as Apollo celebrates in the ring.
Grade: B, gritty but not too pretty.
Rocky II (1979)
Tagline: “The rematch of the century”
Rocky was a smash hit, earning $225 million worldwide off its modest $1 million budget. By 1979, people were hungry not just for a sequel but for a rematch, a feeling reflected in a poster designed in the style of actual vintage, boxing posters like the Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson filmed fight advertised at left. I appreciate the creativity but have to take off points for the pre-Photoshop disaster that is Stallone’s face. Could the United Artists publicity unit not get a clean photo of their big star?
The other poster is bold and graphic, though not exactly something you’d want to frame and hang on the wall. I’ll give it credit for making smart use of Rocky’s iconic, arms-raised pose inside the Y in ROCKY. Was its use here inspired by the dance pose from “Y.M.C.A.,” the Village People’s hit from a year earlier? We’ll probably never know.
Grade: C, gets the job done—barely.
Rocky III (1982)
Tagline: “The Greatest Challenge”
Rocky III may not be the best Rocky movie (that would be Creed, by a hair, according to Rotten Tomatoes), but it’s the one that’s got everything you want in a Rocky: Balboa (of course), Adrian, Paulie, Mickey, Apollo, Hulk Hogan (as, I kid you not, “Thunderlips”) and, best of all, Mr. T as “Clubber Lang,” uttering here, for the first time on film, his immortal line, “I pity the fool.” But in 1982, nobody knew Hogan, an obscure wrestler, or Mr. T., a former bodyguard to real-life boxers, including Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. So the poster rightly omits his now-famous co-stars and instead gives us a thick slice of prime Sly beefcake, at his physical peak—a mere 2.8% body fat. This more than makes up for that astoundingly bad Rocky II photo.
We’ll give the poster extra style points for the repeated, diminishing, darkening ROCKY III title treatment, which serves to make an already godlike Stallone seem even more towering and grand.
Grade: A, admit it, you can’t stop looking at him.
Rocky IV (1985)
Once you’ve beaten Mr. T, where do you go? Global, evidently, as Rocky takes on Russia at the peak of Reagan’s America, personified in the form of Dolph Lundgren’s towering Ivan Drago. The poster, devoid of tag line, keeps it simple. Rocky, held aloft, is America’s champion, wrapped in one flag and wearing a second, the stars-and-stripes trunks bequeathed by Apollo in the previous movie. What more do you need to know?
The flag motif, which will be even less subtle in our next installment, was nearly as popular in the mid ’80s as it had been when the first Rocky premiered back in America’s bicentennial year. Looking again to popular music, was its use perhaps inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s hit, “Born in the U.S.A.,” from a year earlier? We’ll probably never know.
Grade: B+, it’s a grand old flag.
Rocky V (1990)
Tagline: “Go for it”
No.
No no no no no no no no no no no.
Like seriously: no.
I mean, where do we even start? With the two photos of Stallone, the tiny one seeming like he’s trying to climb into the ear of the giant one? Or the terrible, mannequin challenge-esque pose that looks like no actual punch anyone has ever thrown, ever? No, I think my least favorite part has to be the star-spangled, red, white and blue logo with its vintage ’90s unsightly, unnecessary drop shadow. There’s something about the way it’s trying so hard that just underlines why Rocky V is the George H.W. Bush to Rocky IV’s Ronald Reagan.
Just looking at the poster, it should come as no surprise that this is the lowest rated (28%) and least profitable (a mere $40 million domestic) of the seven Rocky films. Even Stallone acknowledged that this one, to put it bluntly, “stank.”
Grade: F, my eyes, my eyes…
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Tagline: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Oh, thank god.
It took 16 years to wash the stink off the Rocky legacy. Rocky Balboa, the first unnumbered sequel, is a return to form for both the character and the series. Even the tagline winks at the idea that the franchise was as finished as old Rocky’s career.
After the patriotic overkill of Rocky V, it’s nice to see the poster art reach all the way back to the iconic museum steps of Rocky, with both composition and color designed to echo the key art from the first installment. Even Rocky’s fist-pump stance manages to redeem the awful pose from the Rocky V poster.
Grade: A-, yes, do call it a comeback
Creed (2015)
Tagline: “Your legacy is more than a name.”
Stallone intended to wrap things up with Rocky Balboa, but life imitates art, with Sly handing the franchise off to then-up-and-coming writer/director Ryan Coogler, much as his character passes the baton (and Apollo’s iconic trunks) to Adonis “Creed” Johnson, played by Michael B. Jordan. Coogler returned the favor, giving Stallone the role that earned him his third Oscar nomination—the first since the two for writing and starring in the original Rocky.
I like this poster. Quite a lot, in fact. The use of the ropes as graphic elements frames the figures and separates us from them, much as Adonis’ personal issues initially keep others from getting close to him. The mostly black and white color scheme is a signature of the series’ best films. And yet….and yet I can’t help but look at Stallone and feel a little like he was pasted into the image.
Grade: B+, the legacy continues.
Stream the original Rocky now with a free trial of Tribeca Shortlist.
