>>212766801
>The first Rocky is extremely well liked, well known, and won an Oscar but I still consider it underrated because of its association with the less serious sequels.
100%, though I consider the first two Rockies to be one film.
>One of the most touching, beautiful films ever made.
It is. I think the reason it is "underrated" is due to the fact that most of its impact/legacy has largely been reduced to the surface features of it: the dialogue, the cinematography, the music, the archetypes of the characters, etc.
But like you said, the story, themes, and characters have a lot more going on, especially when you read into the story of how Stallone conceived the film and his origins. It's a film about a man living in a desolate, impoverished, ruined, cold, dystopian urban hellscape of what was once the birthplace of the greatest empire that ever existed. It's about a humble, quiet, honest man who rises above the filth and depravity of his fallen city, people, and nation to become their champion. It's simultaneously, a deeply Christian film with obvious roots in the writings of Dostoyevsky and Dickens, as well as a deeply American individualist one that while taking obvious influence from Depression-era cinema, seems to be rooted in the ideals of the Founding Fathers and Walt Whitman as much as it is Ayn Rand or Horatio Alger. Stallone conceived of the film as a backlash to what he rightfully saw as a spiritually and morally bankrupt time in America whose films reflected that, and so he gave us a traditional story about a simple but virtuous man rising above the filth to become a great man ans eize his destiny.
Imo, it is undisputably, the most spiritually and morally American film ever made, which is why it is my favorite film.
