Rocky IV

"He's facing the ultimate challenge. And fighting for his life."

1985 1h 31m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🥫

38%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 5,002🥫38%Rotten Tomatoes●40Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 243,290

DramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. This time, Rocky's training regimen takes him to Siberia, where he prepares for a globally televised match in the heart of Moscow. But nothing can truly prepare him for what he's about to face – a fight to the finish, in which he must defend not only himself, but also the honor of his country!

“He's facing the ultimate challenge. And fighting for his life.”

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Cast

Sylvester Stallone
Robert "Rocky" Balboa
Dolph Lundgren
Ivan Drago
Carl Weathers
Apollo Creed
Talia Shire
Adrianna "Adrian" Balboa
Burt Young
Paulie Pennino
Brigitte Nielsen
Ludmilla Vobet Drago
Tony Burton
Tony "Duke" Evers
Michael Pataki
Nicoli Koloff

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writers: Sylvester Stallone
Languages: English, Russian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Rocky Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sylvester Stallone, shot by Wilmer Butler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Vince DiCola. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Don Zimmerman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren and Carl Weathers carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sylvester Stallone directs. Wilmer Butler behind the camera. Vince DiCola scores. Don Zimmerman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 9.7× over at the box office.
241 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
4Part of the "Rocky Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Sylvester Stallone, shot by Wilmer Butler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Vince DiCola. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Don Zimmerman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren and Carl Weathers carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He's facing the ultimate challenge. And fighting for his life.".
10IMDB entry: tt0089927 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 19 themes, including "dying and death", "friendship", "transporter", "sports".

The technical file

Cinematography: Wilmer Butler
Original score: Vince DiCola
Editing: Don Zimmerman
Production design: Bill Kenney
Costume design: Tom Bronson
Makeup / hair: Leonard Engelman
Sound: Michael J. Kohut
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $31,000,000
Box office: $300,473,716
Return: 969% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Rocky IV (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 40/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 243,290 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

9 wins & 8 nominations total

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Musical Score
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Rocky Collection

These sport drama films begin by telling the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted working class Italian-American boxer working as a debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia.

Also by

Sylvester Stallone

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

The Movie Mob2022-09-16
★ 7/10
The greatest Rocky movie? I think it could be. It's hard to pick a favorite Rocky movie, but Rocky IV definitely makes its case for first place. The epic showdown with Ivan Drago drips with emotion, heart, and motivation in ways the other movies can't match. Add the restless conflict between USA and Russia at the time, and it just doesn't get better. Getting the final fight perfect was so crucial that Sylvester Stallone recommended actually boxing and ended up in the hospital after getting knocked out by Dolph Lundgren. Ivan Drago is, without a doubt, the franchise's best villain. The development of Rocky and Apollo's relationship in Rocky IV is a beautiful credit to excellent writing and four movies worth of growth. The added Christmas spirit gives the film more character. If you had to watch only one Rocky, I would say pick this one, but it's only as great as it is because it stands on the shoulders of the movies that came before.
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
I liked it and then I didn't like it and now I like it again. I have a serious love/hate relationship with this one. The hate comes from Rocky and Rocky II and a little bit, just a little from Rocky III. This was a film focused more on the fight than the Rocky story and, just like Rocky III, and, honestly, I miss the heartfelt Rocky family part of the franchise. Mickey, Creed, Adrian, Paulie, they were the real heart behind what made the Rocky movies great and.... this focused more on the fight. However, it was inspirational and that is what you ultimately sit down to watch a Rocky movie for. You want to see the little guy, the under dog struggle and work hard and give it his best win or lose... and the best part about the Rocky franchise is that he doesn't always win, you see him hurt, you see him lose, and you see him get back up and fight. And that is what Rocky IV delivers.
Nathan2023-03-03
★ 6/10
Unfortunately, Rocky IV is the first film in the series that has disappointed me. This film had major tonal conflicts. For starters, the film is trying to have a very tragic story that motivates Rocky with the death of Apollo Creed, but at the same time has goofy scenes of a robot housewife. I did not like the ungroundedness that began to take shape here. This film also drew the least amount of emotion from me. I felt that Apollo Creed’s character regressed in this film, with him underestimating Ivan Drago the same way he underestimated Rocky in the original film. He no longer had the humble wisdom that he portrayed in Rocky III and was all about the spectacle and show. Additionally, I thought this opponent was the weakest of the series. This is probably due to the main connection between the two boxers being the death of Apollo, and that aspect fell flat for me. The final fight was the least exciting of the series, mainly due to the lack of buildup. The acting is pretty similar to the third film, with Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, and Carl Weathers all doing an excellent job. But the same complaint I had in Rocky III remains in this film, with the main antagonist being extremely corny and poorly acted. The silent, stoic figure of Drago was intimidating but lacked any emotional connection that the previous antagonists had. I would like to note that this film had a little too much 80s music for my liking. I really enjoyed the track "Eye of the Tiger," like in the third film, but I felt that there were not enough of the classic Rocky themes that really boosted the training segments. Overall, I still enjoyed this film, even with all of its flaws. Score: 57% | Verdict: Decent