STORYLINE:  A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.  (IMDb)

  Rocky maybe an unusual film to include in a holiday retrospective.  The legendary sports feature is set during the holiday season, with the climax on New Year’s Day.  From that point of view I am including it, in my 2026 Holiday Retrospective.

  Some people have a bucket list of places they want to travel tp in their life time.  The equivalent of that, for me, is movies I want to see in the movie theater.  Rocky is one of those films.

In anticipation of the release of I Play Rocky, and in celebration of its 50th anniversary Rocky has been given a 4K restoration, theatrical event.  When my theater of choice announced a screening, I got excited.  Of course, I was front and center.  Ok, front and right, since my seat of choice is on the right side, aisle.

  Seeing Rocky on the big screen was exactly what I wanted.  To hear that iconic score, in surround sound, was an earful that I loved. The same is true for the lines of dialogue I have quoted, countless times. The climax of the motion picture, was a thrill to watch.  I enjoyed watching the hokey love story unfold.

This was a 4K restoration of a movie that is fifty years old.  It’s not going to look perfect, but it still looked really good, and sounded great.  This experience was what I wanted it to be,

Until next time, I will see you at the movies!

2026 HOLIDAY RETROSPECTIVE FEATURES:

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), The Shining (1980), Gremlins (1984), The Innocents (1961), Scream (1996), Rocky (1976)