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Rocky IV (1985) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Rocky IV can be found here.

So far, there are six Rocky movies, all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky. Rocky IV was preceded by Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), and Rocky III (1982). It was followed by Rocky V (1990). Rocky comes out of retirement in Rocky Balboa (2006).

It seems that many fans assume that when Rocky arrives at his house at the start of the film, he is returning from the sparring session with Apollo Creed which ended Rocky III, and therefore, no time passes between Rocky III and Rocky IV. However, this cannot be so. Early on in the film, Rocky mentions to Adrian that it is nearly their ninth anniversary. They got married early in Rocky II, which was set between January 1, 1976 and November 25, 1976. As such, their 9-year anniversary would occur in early-1985. This places the events in Rocky IV roughly five years after the end of Rocky III (which was set in 1979-1980), and approximately 10 years after the original Rocky. Furthermore, we know that Rocky and Adrian were married in early-1976 and we know that the match with Drago takes place on Christmas Day. As such, the time frame of the film is from early-1985 to December 25, 1985.

Rocky (1976): November 25, 1975 - January 1, 1976

Rocky II (1979): January 1, 1976 - November 25, 1976

Rocky III (1982): early-1979 - early-1980

Rocky IV (1985): early-1985 - December 25, 1985

We know that Rocky was 30 in Rocky and 34 in Rocky III, placing his date of birth sometime in 1945. If we accept that Rocky IV takes place in 1985, it means he is roughly 40 years old.

No, 700 pounds of pressure per square inch delivered through a fist would kill any person in one punch. 700 Pounds of Pressure in total (as opposed to per square inch) is a more likely estimate.

Superman vs. Superhype After the fight it is dubbed "Death From Above"

He suspects. Between rounds one and two, Rocky tells Apollo that he is going to stop the fight, but Apollo won't allow him. He then twice tells Rocky not to stop the match, emphasizing "No matter what". Then, just before the round begins, he looks out to his wife in the crowd and waves to her, possibly saying goodbye. Apollo could easily have decided not to go out for the second round, but his pride won't allow that. He had felt Drago's awesome power in the first round, and he knew he was totally outclassed and unable to defend himself against his opponent, but he still continued to fight. Going into the second round, he knew there was a danger that something serious could happen, hence his acknowledgment to his wife and his insistence that Rocky not stop the fight under any circumstances.

Rocky does pick up the towel to throw it in, and is being urged to do so by Duke (Tony Burton), but Apollo looks at him, and twice yells "No", causing Rocky to hesitate. Seconds later, the fatal punch is landed.

In Rocky, it is pointed out that no one has ever been able to go the distance with Apollo Creed. Later in the film, Rocky not only becomes the first man to last the 15 rounds with him, but also becomes the first man to knock him down. In Rocky II, Creed takes Rocky to his limits. In Rocky III, when commentating on the first Rocky/Clubber Lang fight, Creed is several times referred to as one of the finest heavyweight fighters of all time. Despite all of this however, Ivan Drago dispatches of Creed with relative ease in Rocky IV. How is this?

There are three primary reasons for Creed's poor performance against Drago. Firstly, as Rocky points out several times, it has been five years since Creed boxed competitively, so he has five years of ring rust to work through. Athletes usually get rid of rust in the early stages of a performance, but in this fight, Drago gives Creed no time to ease himself in and loosen himself up. Secondly, Creed didn't take Drago at all seriously and is not prepared to actually have to fight to protect himself. Creed had no idea that Drago would be so powerful and ruthless, and he simply has no game plan to combat Drago's vicious assault. Thirdly, Creed doesn't train properly for the fight. In the buildup to the bout, we see several scenes of Drago training, but all of the scenes involving Apollo are dialogue scenes between himself and Rocky.

Additionally, as we are subsequently led to believe, Drago was most likely taking performance enhancing drugs at the time of the fight, thus giving him an unnatural power advantage.

In summary then, Drago easily defeats Creed because Creed was out of practice, because he wasn't prepared for Drago and because he didn't train properly.

It is never specified for certain, but the implication is that it is some sort of performance enhancing drug. Earlier in the film, there is a scene where Drago tries to life a heavy barbell and can't get it above his shoulders. However, immediately after we see him being injected, we see him easily lifting the same weight above his head. The implication, of course, is that whatever was in the syringe has enhanced his strength.

This is a subject of much debate amongst fans. Rocky is still the world heavyweight champion at the start of the film. However, because the Boxing Commission will not sanction the Drago fight in Russia, Rocky must relinquish the title. The problem is whether or not his relinquishing of the title is permanent or temporary. Rocky IV would seem to imply it is permanent, but upon his return to America in Rocky V, he is still the champion, suggesting it was only a temporary surrender of the belt. One line in Rocky IV is perhaps the key to this debate. During the newspaper montage prior to Rocky's departure for Russia, a reporter asks Rocky if he no longer cares about the title, to which he responds, "Not until this is over". This could perhaps suggest that Rocky is only giving up the belt temporarily for the duration of his stay in Russia, and would thus explain how Union Cane is able to challenge him for the title at the start of Rocky V.

Not really. In the credits, the character is simply called 'Soviet Leader', whilst the commentators refer to him as "the Soviet Premier". True, the character is played by Mikhail Gorbachev lookalike David Lloyd Austin, but it is telling that he does not have Gorbachev's famous birthmark on his head.

This has become a subject of some debate amongst fans. Some argue that he says "You're dead", whilst others maintain he says "To the end". According to the subtitle track on the DVD, Drago actually says, "To the end", implying that, like the Russian audience, he too has come to respect Rocky's tenacity and ability to survive. Many fans however, still contend that Drago says "You're dead," as he has already been known to kill with his punches (ie Apollo Creed), and is determined to defeat Rocky in a similarly definitive manner.

The answer to this question is No, Rocky is not superhuman, and there are numerous explanations for how he achieves the seemingly impossible and beats Drago.

A practical explanation is simply that Rocky can take tremendous amounts of punishment without being defeated. Throughout Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III, it is emphasized time and again that one of his greatest assets in the ring is his ability to take a severe beating, and still be able to fight. In Rocky, there is the famous scene where Apollo is sure he has won, even Mick thinks Rocky is done for, but Rocky is somehow able to get back to his feet and continue the fight. In Rocky II, Duke points out to Apollo that he saw Rocky get beaten as bad as any man he's ever seen, but nothing would keep him down. In Rocky III, Mick says that the beating Rocky took from Apollo in Rocky II should have killed him, but it didn't. Then at the end of Rocky III, Rocky dares Clubber Lang to punch him as hard as he can as often as he can, so as to tire him out, because he knows he can withstand Lang's power. As Drago himself says in Rocky IV, "He's not human, he's like a piece of iron". This is also emphasized continually throughout Rocky Balboa; for example, one of the commentators mentions that Rocky now has a restaurant, and he speculates that the special might be "pounded chicken". So Rocky simply has an above average capacity for taking a beating without giving up. As he himself says in Rocky Balboa, "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep on going." Rocky can get hit very, very hard and keep on going! Drago was still punching harder than a shotgun though, so Rocky would need to be tougher than any human who has ever existed to survive.

Another part of the practical explanation for how Rocky survives Drago's punch is that Drago would not be able to punch him that hard in active competition. The strongest punch Drago registers is 2150 psi. This is more than a shotgun has at point-blank range, and were he to actually punch Rocky that hard, he would literally kill him. However, Drago registers that punch in a sterile, non-competitive environment against a stationary, undefended target; in an actual match, he would never be able to punch with that degree of severity and precision. So the answer to the question of how Rocky is able to survive such a massive punch is that he isn't - he is never punched that hard. That would still make Rocky capable of taking a significant portion of a shotgun blast to the face hundreds of times over 15 rounds though, meaning he would still need to be superhuman.

A practical explanation which doesn't require Rocky to be superhuman is the idea that Drago throws the fight. This argument is based upon the fact that even if one accepts Drago was punching at half of his stated strength because he's in an actual fight, he could still easily kill a person with one punch. Drago comments that Rocky was "like a piece of iron", but even if Rocky was made of iron Drago wouldn't notice. Someone punching at anywhere near 2150 psi could put a hole in God. However much 'heart' Rocky has, it wouldn't matter because Rocky would have been decapitated from the first punch. As such, the only solution is that Drago throws the fight. Further evidence of this can be found when Drago hoists Koloff into the air with one arm, and then screams to the Politburo "I win for myself", the exact opposite of a communist attitude. Even ignoring Drago's scientifically tested punching power, it is extremely unlikely that a man who could lift someone the size of Koloff into the air would go out and lose to a man who's been beaten to the point where he didn't even know what round it was.

A more symbolic explanation of how Rocky defeats Drago despite Drago's seemingly overwhelming strength advantage is tied up in the theme of the film. Rocky IV is largely a metaphor for the tensions between America and Russia which existed in the Cold War. Stallone himself has stated (in the famous Ain't It Cool public Q & A; see here) that the film isn't one to be viewed entirely literally, that is not exclusively about revenge or boxing, but rather an examination of the opposing sides in the war. The seemingly invincible Ivan Drago obviously symbolizes the Soviet Union, and his line "I must break you", perfectly represents his nation's sentiment toward America (or at least America's notion of the Soviets' intention towards them). During the fight Drago is far superior to Rocky in terms of firepower and strength, just as the Soviet Union was over America. However, Rocky's seemingly endless stamina and inability to lose is an obvious symbol for American national pride and heart, and the nation's unwillingness to be bullied or intimidated by a superior force. Rocky defeats the superior fighter because he has more heart; an obvious metaphor for the possible outcome of the War. In addition, Stallone has suggested that he intended the film as a message to the Russian people that there is more to life than military might, and that there could be a magnanimous solution to the tensions behind the Cold War. This is represented by the fact that not only do the initially hostile crowd begin to cheer for Rocky, but even Drago himself comes to respect him by the end of the fight. All of this depends upon a symbolic reading of the film, where the fight between Drago and Rocky is not so much a depiction of a real conflict which the audience is supposed to take literally, but a metaphorical examination of a real situation in the world at large.

Apart from a remastered 5.1 DTS soundtrack, neither the R1 US DVD, released by MGM Home Entertainment in 2005, nor the R2 UK DVD released by MGM Home Entertainment (UK) in 2005, contain any special features.

This film is available on blu-ray, but not sold separately. It is only sold in the US in the Rocky: The Undisputed Collection box set, and in the UK in the Rocky: The Complete Saga box set.