ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 10 Feb 2023, 09:45

From the Digital Bits:
First, we had asked Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and MGM for some clarification and additional details on their recently-announced 4K Ultra HD release of the Rocky: The Knockout Collection, which is due on 2/28:

We’ve learned that the 4K discs will include both 5.1 surround and “original theatrical audio” in DTS format (we presume this to be DTS-HD Master Audio).

The 4K discs themselves include only audio commentaries—all of the other extras in the 4K set are going to be included on the BD bonus disc, among them special features related to Rocky and the recent The Making of Rocky vs. Drago documentary.

The Rocky IV UHD disc includes both the Theatrical Cut and the new Director’s Cut of the film in actual 4K—they’re included on the same disc.

The Blu-rays in the Best Buy-exclusive single-film Steelbook 4K SKUs are the existing Blu-ray discs—they’re not remastered from the new 4K master. That means those will carry over the previous extras. But again, these Blu-rays are not remastered.

And finally, there are no official details on the 4K release of Rocky V and Rocky Balboa at this time. (However, our own sources have confirmed that Sylvester Stallone is working on a new director’s cut of Rocky Balboa, so they’re likely to follow in 4K at a later date.)

Here’s what the Rocky: The Knockout Collection looks like (click here or on the image to pre-order it on Amazon.com)...

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https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-t ... 20923-1300
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 18 Feb 2023, 14:55

If I understand correctly ROCKY VS DRAGO will only be featured on the 4K disc (and not on the standard BD)... :?
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 27 Feb 2023, 12:43

Note that the DC Making Of included in the bonus disc of the new 4K set is the shorter 58 minutes version (the same that is on Amazon Prime), as opposed to the 93 min one released on YouTube...

EDIT:
Here is a clarification I asked to Derek Wayne Johnson who edited the documentary:
"Sly hired me to edit the original 93 min version which he uploaded on YouTube to promote the release of the director’s cut, but MGM hired me to cut it down to 1 hr to serve as a special feature and companion to the director’s cut, Blu-ray release, and Prime."
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 03 Mar 2023, 19:36

Theatrical cut screenshots from the 4K disc (3840x2160 px)
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... count=1741

Ultimate Director's Cut screenshots from the 4K disc (3840x2160 px)
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... count=1740

By the way, the DC has been playing again in Paris since Wednesday until March 28 at the cinema Les Fauvettes (13e)
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 04 Mar 2023, 11:39

So it seems that ROCKY IV is the one title out of the ROCKY 4K collection that has the least issues (with only a quick aspect ratio change from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1 in one shot).
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Rocky-Th ... 65/#Review
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.ph ... 97&page=91
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby alex.sp89 on 08 Mar 2023, 11:48

Pretty good transfers. They did what I suspected - increased the color scheme in comp with washed up 2009 blu ray box set. Everyone is doing the same the past years. As always Rocky 2 wasn't treat as royal as another movies. Rocky 4 descent transfer
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 13 Mar 2023, 19:43

https://whysoblu.com/rocky-the-knockout ... 4k-review/
Video

Rocky IV (4)


Okay so there’s one mess-up here to report on. One shot in the theatrical cut of Rocky IV opens up to 1.78:1 instead of 1.85:1 (the shot appears at about 10:17 into the film). Basically the 1.85:1 matting briefly disappears for roughly 7 seconds before reverting back to normal (one shot of Rocky washing his car while talking to his son). This scene doesn’t appear during the Director’s Cut.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
HDR: Yes
Dolby Vision: Yes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Clarity/Detail: There is a level of satisfaction here with crisp and clear visuals throughout. It’s no modern day transfer, but things look nicely in tune here. It’s a step above the transfers of Rocky II and III. You get to see Rocky’s stubble on his face sharply transform as he goes all grizzly in preparation for his fight with Drago. I also feel comfortable in my masculinity commenting on the beads of sweat that glisten on both boxer’s bodies in the final fight scene.
Depth: When things are good this one pops! However, there are some signs of blurriness at play occasionally too.
Black Levels: The black levels throughout are nicely deep and inky. There are no problems here to report on.
Color Reproduction: Things are quite vivid, colorful, bold and deeper here and why shouldn’t they be? It’s the mid 80’s after all! Contrast is consistent throughout.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones look better than they did in the previous two installments.
Noise/Artifacts: There are a few one-offs and anomalies in this presentation within a few scenes such as the mountain climbing scenes. The white specks as opposed to the others above are very much minimized. There are also varying levels of grain too. So in contrast to the other two above, things look much better here at least.

*

Rocky vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut (4)

As you can see down below this Director’s Cut deploys a different aspect ratio than the Theatrical version.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
HDR: Yes
Dolby Vision: Yes
Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
Clarity/Detail: There is a level of satisfaction here with crisp and clear visuals throughout. It’s no modern day film, but things look nicely in tune here. It’s a step above the transfers of Rocky II and III. You get to see Rocky’s stubble on his face sharply transform as he goes all grizzly in preparation for his fight with Drago. I also feel comfortable in my masculinity commenting on the beads of sweat that glisten on both boxer’s bodies in the final fight scene. There’s a lot of details in the print brought out here in 4K.
Depth: When things are good this one pops! However, there are some signs of blurriness at play occasionally too.
Black Levels: The black levels throughout are nicely deep and inky. There are no problems here to report on.
Color Reproduction: Things are bit cooler here in appearance in contrast to the Theatrical version. You can tell some of the differences in a minor fashion when the new footage is worked in.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones look better than they did in the previous two installments.
Noise/Artifacts: There are a few one-offs and anomalies in this presentation within a few scenes such as the mountain climbing scenes. The white specks as opposed to the others above are very much minimized. There are also varying levels of grain too. So in contrast to the other two above, things look much better here at least.


Audio

Rocky IV (4)

Thankfully there are no errors here to report.

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0, English Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH/Spanish/French
Dynamics: This is a slight improvement over the past two films in our discussion here with much better sound effects and oomph. This one just sounds like it has more depth for some reason. I don’t know. Maybe it has to do with the sheer size of Drago? What do you think? LOL. The flick’s pop anthem songs pump you up through their reproduction here.
Low Frequency Extension: The bass or low end is utilized much more here than in the previous installments, hence the extra oomph mentioned above.
Surround Sound Presentation: Ambient noise, especially crown participation in the fight scenes is most prevalent here.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is clear and intelligible.

*

Rocky vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut (4)

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH/Spanish/French
Dynamics: This is a slight improvement over the past two films in our discussion here with much better sound effects and oomph. This one just sounds like it has more depth for some reason. I don’t know. Maybe it has to do with the sheer size of Drago? What do you think? LOL. The flick’s pop anthem songs pump you up through their reproduction here.
Low Frequency Extension: The bass or low end is utilized much more here than in the previous installments, hence the extra oomph mentioned above. Also, compared to the theatrical version the LFE is more impactful in this Director’s Cut. The punches land even harder!
Surround Sound Presentation: Ambient noise, especially crown participation in the fight scenes is most prevalent here. Like the theatrical cut this one is still very front heavy.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is clear and intelligible.
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 15 Mar 2023, 13:22

Official video clip from the Paris concert (from Vince Di Cola's "War")
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=216518054254102

And a 10-track CD release of the studio arrangements for the concert
https://fb.watch/jhliH4k2i1/
https://wall.cdclick-europe.com/projects/Rocky_Story

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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 22 Mar 2023, 00:43

We really dodged a bullet with ROCKY IV compared to the first three...
https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/11354 ... lbook.html


Video Review
4.5 Stars out of 5

Rocky IV

The fourth and most joyfully ridiculous entry in the franchise explodes onto 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with a gorgeous 1.85:1 2160p Dolby Vision transfer… well… it’s almost all 1.85:1. Inexplicably there’s a scene at about the 10:17 mark where Rocky is chatting up Rocky Jr while washing the Lambo where the aspect ratio randomly shifts from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1 and back to 1.85:1. It lasts all of a few seconds - but it’s noticeable and very odd and the lone issue for this disc. Otherwise - the transfer looks great. Details are impressive letting you fully appreciate fine facial features, the costumes, and the production design work to turn Jackson Hole, Wyoming into Siberia.

The Dolby Vision HDR is an asset to this film in particular with all of the flashy colors, highly-stylized cinematography, and dramatic lighting effects. Those training montages and music video interludes never looked better with deep inky blacks, bright bold colors, and crisp bright whites. Depth is impressive, especially when the action moves to “Siberia” for Rocky’s training sequence to Hearts on Fire.
4.5/5
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Rocky vs Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut

Now even though it’s on the same disc as the theatrical Rocky IV, it’s a completely different-looking film. Top to bottom this 2160p Dolby Vision transfer is its own beast. For starters, Stallone reframed the film for 2.35:1 - why I’m not sure when none of the other films in the series appear that way, but there you are. This version of the film may only run about three minutes long but it uses almost 45 minutes of alternate and deleted footage. Overall details are often striking giving you a full appreciation of fine textures and facial features, but some of the alternate footage looks to have been touched up a bit to make the film more uniform. The clearest examples of this are seen in the press conference footage introducing Drago and later when Adrian confronts Rocky about his decision to fight.

Likewise, the color timing for this edition is notably cooler with more of a slate gray appearance without going into dreaded teal/orange territory. The Dolby Vision HDR grade works with these alterations nicely, so the new version of Apollo talking to Rocky about fighting Drago is bright and beautiful with natural outdoor lighting and colors with Rocky’s baby blue shirt. Black levels are deep and inky offering up healthy shadows and terrific image depth. Primaries are bright and bold - considering how Apollo enters the exhibition match those reds, yellows, and blues are brilliant and bold but skin tones are natural and healthy throughout. Definitely has a different appearance but a good-looking one on 4K - and like the alternate cut itself fans of Rocky IV are likely to have some varying feelings about one version over the other.
4/5

Image


Audio Review
4 Stars out of 5

Rocky IV

Finally - a disc that doesn’t have an audio issue! Everything is spot on and right on the money for this disc and for both cuts of the film. The 5.1 and 2.0 options for the Theatrical Cut are terrific offering full-throated music cues, impactful sound effects, and clean clear dialog throughout. When Hearts on Fire kicks in, it's almost impossible not to leap out of your seat and try to work in some crunches. The few genuinely quiet conversational sequences are in great shape, but the mix really comes to life for the fights and generally sounds pretty fantastic throughout giving you a nicely immersive surround experience. 4/5

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Rocky vs Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut

Re-editing the movie wasn't enough for Stallone, he also had to go in there and rework the audio for the fourth film for a more impactful DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track. Supposedly this was given an Atmos mix for the one-night-only theatrical outing. Now I didn't get that experience because my local theater shoved us all into the smallest screening room in the complex. But playing the Theatrical Cut and this new Director's Cut side by side, this new mix has a lot more LFE. Bass notes in music and the slams from the punches have a lot more impact. Most of the mix is still relatively front/center with sides only acting up for busy scenes, but as a whole, this 5.1 has a bit more heft to it. 4.5/5

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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 02 Apr 2023, 14:55

In Germany, Universal.de opens a replacement program for the faulty sound-pitched 4K discs
https://www.areadvd.de/news/austausch-f ... problemen/
https://blu--ray--rezensionen-net.trans ... r_pto=wapp
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 07 Apr 2023, 11:39

Legendary cinematographer Bill Butler passed away at 101.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/bill ... 235576166/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235368674/

On the set of ROCKY II:

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(I had tried to interview him on ROCKY IV but it didn't pan out.)
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Re: ROCKY IV (1985)

Postby Jox on 10 Jun 2023, 18:45

Jox wrote:Unused poster concept artworks by Drew Struzan (STAR WARS, MOTU etc)!

Image

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Another Drew Struzan concept poster art!
https://twitter.com/DrewStruzan/status/ ... 6588672001
https://www.facebook.com/drewstruzan/po ... Jx2W8L6p7l

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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby shooby on 18 Jun 2023, 11:56

Jox wrote:
Jox wrote:Announced a while ago, Premium Collectibles Studio unveiled their upcoming 1/3 scale statue of Drago (tobe distributed by Sideshow Collectibles). This is gonna cost a lot...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUxVHmcg0IP/
https://www.facebook.com/sideshowcollec ... 5962824145

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Those 1/3 scale statues are 28" / 71.1 cm high and cost more than $1,000 each...

1500 euros in Vinted
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Re: ROCKY IV (Sylvester Stallone, 1985)

Postby Jox on 18 Jun 2023, 19:53

Yeah, that's about the price they sell it for officially, so you need both a huge space to store it and lots of money :mrgreen:
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