Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Expendable? Probably.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 3, 2023

UPDATE: As a result of the audio and video errors discovered on this collection (all detailed below), WB has offered replacement discs to all customers who bought defective copies. Please e-mail whv@wbd.com for assistance.

Almost 50 years after the original film debuted in theaters, the first four chapters of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky saga sneak onto 4K with shockingly little fanfare. Totally ignoring 1990's forgettable Rocky V and the surprisingly effective 2006 comeback of Rocky Balboa, this slim five-disc set likewise forgoes upgraded Blu-ray discs -- or any Blu-ray discs, for that matter -- but its remastered visuals are impressive and it also throws in the interesting bonus of 2021's Rocky IV: The Ultimate Director's Cut in its home video debut. Though tempting as a "day one" buy (despite the presence of more than a few nagging QC issues, detailed below), I certainly wouldn't blame anyone holding out for a presumably forthcoming bigger boxed set with all six original films and new Blu-rays to boot. Quite simply, this is a rush job thrown together to coincide with the theatrical release of Creed III, and it shows in almost every department.

If you'd rather pick and choose your own Rocky movies in 4K with recycled Blu-ray copies, consider the Best Buy Steelbooks... but keep in mind all of the QC issues covered below apply to those 4K discs as well.

Rocky (1976) - The original classic, a Best Picture winner that beat out such critical favorites as Taxi Driver, Network, and All the President's Men. This "million-to-one shot" of protagonist Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) fueled the rising career of its star and mirrored the film's unlikely success, even if the some of the stories surrounding its development may not be true. Regardless, the film that first introduced Adrian (Talia Shire), Mickey (Burgess Meredith), Paulie (Burt Young), Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), and others is endlessly watchable and a true gem of low-budget movie making. Shot in less than a month for roughly $1M, Rocky is full of clever last-minute rewrites, terrific dialogue, and memorable characters that lend themselves to at least one or two good sequels. Unfortunately, we got five sequels during the next 30 years -- not even counting the ongoing Creed saga -- but hey, that's how business is done, folks.

Rocky II (1979) - A solid follow-up that, like most sequels, closely mirrors the original but turns up the volume a bit. Rocky is now rich, famous, and married to his sweetheart Adrian, but realizes that boxing will continue to be his best chance at financial success. Not surprisingly, a rematch with Creed is scheduled...because in true American fashion, tie-breakers are always necessary. Other factors give this sequel a sense of déjà vu, including Bill Conti's familiar music, but there's enough good material here for Rocky II to stand up on its own two feet. And since it earned almost as much as its predecessor in worldwide box office receipts, the Rocky train would keep rolling into the 1980s.

Rocky III (1982) - Without question, this is where the series went from "films" to "movies". New in-ring threats are introduced in "Thunderlips" (pro wrestler Hulk Hogan) and Clubber Lang (Mr. T, in his film debut), one major character is killed off, and a former competitor stands firmly in Rocky's corner. Unfortunately, Rocky III's stop-and-start pacing keeps it from getting off the ground, especially now that we're more than familiar with the franchise's formula. Of all the Rocky films, I've probably seen this one the least... but it's still watchable as an entertainingly cartoonish variant of the first two. Mr. T does manage to convey plenty of menace as the hard-hitting Lang, while the continued presence of our hero's faithful entourage gives Rocky III a comfortable familiarity during its weaker stretches.

Rocky IV (1985) - The most popular entry in the franchise, as it brought in over $300M in worldwide ticket sales. This is due in no small part to the film's overly macho style-over-substance approach, fueled heavily by increasing Cold War tension between America and the Soviet Union. Fondly remembered by many as "king of the montages" and completely dismissed by others, this paper-thin entry pits Rocky against the massive Ivan Drago after Apollo Creed is sacrificed in the ring. The heavy use of period-specific music (much like Rocky V) definitely gives it a more dated atmosphere... but for whatever reason, this fourth installment still remains a compulsively watchable slice of processed American cheese. Like Rambo III in comparison to First Blood, it shows what happens when a grounded, compelling everyman turns into a flag-waving caricature of his former self. Yet we still love Rocky IV to death for all the wrong reasons.

Rocky IV: The Ultimate Director's Cut (2021) - A new remix of the fourth film, this recent entry -- supervised by writer-director Sylvester Stallone and marketed under the title Rocky vs. Drago -- is an interesting attempt to turn the franchise's thinnest entry into something a bit more substantial. As detailed in Brian Orndorf's theatrical review of the film, it's less a dramatic reworking of what came before and more an attempt to spiritually connect it to Rocky III. As such, a few re-inserted scenes, alternate takes, and other changes alter the focus and flow of this second stab at the material, dialing back several characters (Rocky's son, Drago's wife Ludmilla [Brigitte Nielsen], and Paulie's robot) while awarding more screen time to the wives of Rocky and Apollo, Adrian and Mary Anne (Sylvia Meals), as well as Apollo's dad Duke (Tony Burton). A few songs are altered, and even the aspect ratio is different. Maybe you'll like the end result more than the original Rocky IV. Probably less. But they're both included here for you to decide.

Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: The included screenshots are sourced from earlier Blu-ray editions of the first four films.

One of the only things The Knockout Collection seems to get right is the general appearance all five films' new 2160p, HDR10-enhanced transfers and, though a few nagging issues keep a few of them from scoring higher, for the most part they represent a pretty substantial improvement from previous home video releases to different degrees.

Rocky is erhaps the most familiar of the bunch, as it apparently uses the same excellent source material as MGM's 2014 remastered Blu-ray -- just now in its native 4K with the cursory boost of HDR and optional Dolby Vision support if you have a compatible setup. This is a very natural and accurate image; one that's true to the appearance of this era and thankfully doesn't offer a revisionist take on its color palette (which more or less applies to all four of the original films in this collection). Image detail is quite good, especially in outdoor scenes, with an appropriately limited palette that's supported nicely by even saturation and a natural and tasteful use of HDR. Density and stability are also great, with supportive film grain and good shadow detail; nighttime scenes are a particular standout, as the better range of dark grays increases depth and brings out background details that I don't remember seeing before. What's more is that Rocky is a well encoded disc with no flagrant signs of compression artifacts -- including banding, macro blocking, and posterization -- rounding out what's probably the best-looking disc of the bunch from a purist perspective.

Rocky II plays by most of the same rules, but the lacking appearance of earlier Blu-rays and DVDs means that it looks quite more vibrant and alive in 4K. Yet it's still faithful to its roots, offering a generally muted palette that occasionally brightens up when needed, with bold reds and other primaries that stand out without looking artificially boosted. It offers similar grain levels, textures, and depth as the original Rocky, albeit with a slightly more polished sheen that nonetheless feels accurate in both its palette and overall aesthetic -- again, there's thankfully no modernization of its colors, which is certainly more than enough reason to count this transfer as another in the "win" column.

Rocky III and IV again offer tangible improvements over previous home video editions, enough so that those who haven't seen them in years will be suitably impressed almost every step of the way. Obviously the fourth film takes a few more, *ahem*, liberties as perhaps the most flashy-looking installment of the series, for better or for worse, and it's here where HDR10 achieves quite a bit more balanced color than the artificially boosted Blu-rays and DVDs of yesteryear. I dare say it's a refined but still tasteful take on the material, one that clearly can't be described as "dialed back" and fits in more comfortably with other other three sequels. But while both 2160p, HDR10 enhanced transfers are indeed impressive at almost every turn, they don't appear to be as well-encoded as the first two discs. Compression artifacts creep in more regularly, especially during brighter scenes, as macro blocking and other anomalies can easily be picked out. It's not continually intrusive by any stretch and, in some cases, is disguised by denser film grain, but still worth pointing out as a reason why both transfers score less-than-perfect marks. They're still solid, though.

However, one odd glitch occurs during Rocky IV that's worth a mention: soon after the 10-minute mark, the 1.85:1 matting briefly disappears for roughly 7 seconds before reverting back to normal -- it's basically just one shot of Rocky washing his car while talking to his son. This scene doesn't appear during the Director's Cut detailed below.

Rocky IV: The Ultimate Director's Cut makes its home video debut here but, since there are no other releases to compare it to (and of course, the original cut is included as well), any visual differences can't really be nitpicked. First, the obvious changes: Rocky IV's aspect ratio has been universally tightened to 2.35:1 matting and, more often than not, it sports a slightly cooler palette than the theatrical version. It's worth pointing out that this clearly isn't a blanket "teal job": many prominent scenes, though perhaps a bit more muted, share almost identical color similarities with the original version. Others are more drastically changed, such as Rocky's infamous "night driving" montage, which now is much cooler and more desaturated. It even swaps in a few similarly desaturated -- or in some cases, completely black-and-white -- flashback shots in place of their full-color counterparts, which hammer home this version's overall more somber and reflective tone. Other changes to specific shots involve slight recompositions and digital zooms, which of course exacerbate noise and grain levels. Black levels also run a bit deeper, yet not unnaturally so.

I've got to mention the presence of obvious digital noise reduction here -- it's too heavy-handed to ignore, although in my opinion its presence doesn't necessarily ruin the show. It may bother some viewers more than others, though, and as such is worth pointing out. Luckily, the other films in the series aren't affected nearly as much.

Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unfortunately, this audio section will read more like a short laundry list of complaints rather than a detailed run-down of each film's sonic attributes, as The Knockout Collection is the victim of some rather lacking quality control.

For starters, the "original" DTS-HD Master Audio mono mix of Rocky is not genuine; it's actually a folded-down version of a stereo track with baked-in surround attributes. It's unfortunate because I've never really cared for the only other option: a 5.1 remix that, while serviceable, doesn't feel like a faithful expansion of its source material.

Rocky II fares even worse, as all included mixes and dubs are pitched too low by about 4-5% (perhaps from some sort of botched PAL conversion), which affects music, dialogue, and everything else. I'll just let that sit there.

Rocky III sounds fine in both English mixes, but the pitching issue returns on several of the foreign dubs. This obviously won't affect most viewers... but again, the fact it wasn't caught is a telling issue.

All included mixes of Rocky IV (both cuts) sound fine to my ears, but the number of small to recall-worthy errors in this collection as a whole is, to be honest, extremely disappointing for a major studio release. You'll forgive my lack of in-depth audio analysis, then, because purists will likely avoid this set through word-of-mouth and extremely casual fans probably don't care either way. But these audio issues are more than enough reason for Warner Bros. to offer some sort of disc replacement program and, if any such action is initiated, I'll certainly post an update here.

Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This five disc set -- 3 dual-layered 4K discs with Rocky I-III, a fourth triple-layered 4K disc with Rocky IV and The Ultimate Director's Cut, as well as this fifth bonus disc, a Blu-ray -- ships in a hinged keepcase with lazy cover artwork, a matching slipcase, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The extras mostly pertain to the first film and are recycled from the Heavyweight Collection and earlier releases, but as expected a few vintage items are missing.

Before we begin, though, a complaint about the packaging: many recently-issued WB keepcase releases (as well as some other studios) suffer from "off-gassing", a manufacturing issue that leaves unsightly residue and even occasional marks on disc surfaces. The Knockout Collection is no different, which means you may have to clean them first.

DISC 1 - ROCKY

• Audio Commentary #1 - A group track with director John Avildsen; producers Irvin Winkler and Robert Chartoff; actors Talia Shire, Carl Weathers and Burt Young; and Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown.

• Audio Commentary #2 - Boxing trainer Lou Duva squares off with sports historian Bert Sugar.

• Audio Commentary #3 - A solid solo track handled by writer/star Sylvester Stallone.

DISC 5 - ROCKY I-IV COLLECTION BONUS FEATURES

• 8MM Home Movies of "Rocky" (12:32) - Described as having "commentary by director John G. Avildsen and pre-production supervisor Lloyd Kaufman" (which actually describes a great collection of footage that debuted on the 2014 remastered Rocky Blu-ray), this is actually an older montage of less interesting clips introduced by Avildsen that we've seen countless times before. It's a shame this couldn't have been fixed. Not a great start to the bonus disc, guys.

• 3 Rounds with Lou Duva (4:34)

• Steadicam: Then and Now with Garrett Brown (17:26)

• Make-Up! The Art and Form with Michael Westmore (15:11)

• Staccato: A Composer's Notebook with Bill Conti (11:30)

• The Ring of Truth (9:37) - Rocky set designer James Spencer talks about his production work.

• A Tribute to Burgess Meredith (7:53)

• Stallone Meets Rocky (3:00) - A wonderfully cheesy split-screen skit.

• KINDA NEW! The Making of "Rocky vs. Drago": Keep Punching (58:29) - Though listed on the back cover as an extended edition of this candid and entertaining behind-the-scenes documentary featuring Stallone in full "free film school" mode, the version on this disc is actually over 30 minutes shorter than the free version on YouTube. If that's not a microcosm of the "work" that went into this release, I don't know what is.

• Trailers (14:05 total) - All four original films, plus of course Rocky vs. Drago.

The obligatory list of missing supplements from earlier releases -- most notably, the Heavyweight Collection -- includes the feature-length, three-part making-of documentary "In The Ring", a tribute to Rocky cinematographer James Crabe, Sylvester Stallone's 1976 interview on the TV talk show Dinah!, a featurette on Rocky's opponents, a separate interview with sports historian Bert Sugar, and various TV spots and other promotional material for the films.

Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner Bros.' Rocky: The Knockout Collection has the same cash-grab odor as Paramount's Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection, a hasty 4K release that inexplicably omitted two films from the original lineup. (It also commits the sin of including no Blu-ray copies, remastered or not.) And from that perspective, I wouldn't blame anyone holding out for a complete boxed set that may or may not also feature a heavily-rumored director's cut of Rocky V and a new scan of Rocky Balboa. But if that weren't enough, this collection suffers from a few QC issues including several botched audio tracks, mislabeled extras, and even residue inside the keepcase. (It might even be worse than last year's first pressing of the Mad Max Anthology 4K, which was actually recalled by the studio and fixed several months later.) Simply put, unless you absolutely have to have these in 4K right now, skip this one: it looks good, but that's about it.