The Making of ROCKY VS. DRAGO

By Reggie's Take on November 11, 2021

If you are a fan of Rocky IV or just a movie buff you can watch Sylvester Stallone, go through the process of editing “Rocky V. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut” in a new documentary.

After Rocky V. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut plays in select theaters for one night only (Thursday, November 11th) fans of the thirty-five-year-old film will have the chance to watch it on on-demand or rent it on digital video Friday, November 12. Stallone’s director’s cut adds 40 minutes of never-before-seen footage, boosting the run time of Rocky IV from 91 minutes to over two hours of boxing drama.

In a new ninety-three-minute documentary entitled “The Making of ROCKY VS. DRAGO by Sylvester Stallone” you can watch Stallone along with an editor re-work the film. The documentary is directed by John Herzfeld and shot all on a iPhone as Stallone sits on a couch in an L.A. office building watching a monitor and talks about a myriad of subjects that include how to choreograph, shoot and cut boxing scenes and montages just for starters.

In the documentary Stallone admits that he shouldn’t have killed off Apollo Creed. Sly talks about how Apollo should have survived the fight with Ivan Drago and ended up in a wheelchair instead and by doing so could have become Rocky’s new “Mickey”. Stallone admits that by keeping Apollo alive it would have changed Rocky V and Rocky XI, they probably would have still been made, but would have looked very different and that the Creed movies may not have happen at all.

Stallone admits that when he was younger, filming Rocky IV, that he didn’t believe in himself as a film maker like he does now. Now he feels he has wisdom and experience and realizes what’s valuable.

If you are a fan of the Rocky franchise or just Rocky IV you should give “The Making of ROCKY VS. DRAGO by Sylvester Stallone” a watch. Whether you view it it before or after you see Rocky V. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut is up to you.

ROCKY IV was originally released in 1985, becoming the highest grossing of all the Rocky films, as well as the highest-grossing sports-drama in cinema for nearly a quarter-century. Sylvester Stallone, writer, director and star of ROCKY IV also features Brigitte Nielsen, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Pataki, Robert Doornick, Stu Nahan, Talia Shire and Tony Burton.