The fourth movie in the iconic Rocky franchise was monumental for a number of reasons. Though a bit polarizing, the film was both emotional and powerful. Sylvester Stallone recently released the director’s cut of it, Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago, which features new scenes, as well as some cut ones.
The director’s cut includes quite a few added scenes compared to its original release. First and foremost is the introduction sequence, according to Screen Rant. The original Rocky IV opened with a brief Rocky III recap of Balboa defeating Clubber Lang. However, Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago has a whopping six minutes of recap footage from the previous film. Interestingly, Balboa and Apollo’s fight at the end of the film isn’t referenced at all or shown.
As for other added scenes, there are quite a few. In the original, Paulie getting a robot for his birthday was never shown, nor was footage of Balboa washing his car. The scene also includes him fielding a phone call from Apollo where he tells Rocky why he wants to fight Ivan Drago. In a subsequent scene, Adrian and Rocky talk about the potential fight in the kitchen after dinner. It helps flesh Adrian out in that she astutely observes Apollo wants the spotlight again.
As with Adrian, the other scenes seem to give characters much-needed screentime. For example, one scene has Drago speaking more, giving insight into his motivations, while another has Rocky giving a tearful speech at Apollo’s funeral. Other scenes include boxing commissioners banning Rocky from fighting Drago, and Rocky and Adrian sharing a moment before he goes to Russia. One last huge change is the music at the end and Rocky’s ending speech.
Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago is available to view now.
Sylvester Stallone Remembers Almost Dying While Filming ‘Rocky IV’
Rocky IV stunned audiences when Drago killed the beloved Apollo Creed. Gearing up for the director’s cut release, Stallone reflected on the experience and it seems he almost died in real life while filming it.
Releasing a video on YouTube commemorating the new film’s release, Stallone gives an in-depth look into what we know about the movie and boxing as a whole. One interesting fact he drops is the fact he almost died on the set. “The first thing we shot [was] my entrance, his entrance, and the introductions,” he began.
Apparently, he wanted Dolph Lundgren (Drago’s actor), a real-life martial artist, to show his “dominance.” Well, Lundgren obliged. “Then I got really injured during the fight,” Stallone recalled. “I had to be flown into intensive care to California from Canada.” Noting his costar “pulverized” him, he also said he thought he would soon be “talking to angels.”
Comparing the incident to a car accident when your chest hits the steering wheel, Lundgren bruised the period cardio sac, almost killing him. Staying in intensive care for four days, he recovered and was back on the set in no time.
