The 5 Original ‘Rocky’ Movies Are Now On Netflix, So There’s No More Excuses Not To Dive Into Cinema’s Greatest Pentaology

It’s easy to forget, in light of the later movies in the series, what the original actually is. It’s quiet. It’s dark and moody. It’s slow-paced. It’s also a really fine piece of filmmaking. Sylvester Stallone’s story of a struggling low-level club boxer, plucked from obscurity to challenge the reigning heavyweight champion (in a story loosely inspired by a 1975 match between Muhammad Ali and the little-known Chuck Wepner) is a serious film that was critically-beloved at the time, nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning three, including that year’s Best Picture award.

There’s little of the bombast the series would later adopt, and it’s perfectly in the vein of gritty, atmospheric films of the weary late 1970s. Sure, there’s the triumphant and iconic training scene, with Rocky running up the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum, set to Bill Conti’s rousing score. The film’s soul, though, is rooted in the quiet scenes — an aching Rocky dragging himself out of bed for a predawn run; his sweetly confused attempts to court a shy woman at the pet store; his relationship with a past-his-prime trainer who didn’t believe in him.

If you’ve never watched any in the series, give the original a look — you might be surprised by what a serious — and seriously good — film it is.

Where to stream Rocky

The transition from critically-acclaimed film to commercially-massive franchise begins with the second step: a sequel. Straddling the line between strong storytelling and pandering fan service, the second film in the series extends the story by essentially reprising the initial conflict: between Rocky, now basking in a small amount of fame, and his embittered opponent from the first film, Apollo Creed. Seeking to prove that his narrow win-by-decision in the first fight was only a fluke, Creed prods Rocky for a rematch to rehab his reputation.

It sets forth a template for the future of film franchising that seems wholly evident to us today, but wasn’t deeply established at the time: play the same notes in a slightly different key, and then give the people what they want. There’s a similar training sequence, but this time seemingly every child in Philadelphia joins Rocky on his run. There’s the same great music, but brassier and brasher. More than all of that, there’s the same fight, but a new champion, and a chance for Rocky to scream “I did it!” at the end. It certainly wasn’t the first film sequel in history, but it took a successful story and turned it into a formula that could be repeated until it stopped making money. (More on that in a minute.)

Where to stream Rocky II

Where the films of the 1970s were dark, dirt-tinged and dour, the 1980s brought an era of bright colors, outlandish plots, and outrageous characters. Possibly the most purely fun film in the series, the middle entry breaks containment and gets weird with things. Rocky’s riding high on his success as the new world heavyweight champion, and he’s quickly dispatching a series of paper challengers. The goofy pop-culture crossbreeding of the era is on full display, as evidenced by a guest spot by professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan (as professional wrestler “Thunderlips”), challenging Rocky to a bout for charity.

It introduced a new pop-culture icon to the mainstream, in bringing in a scarier, brashier, catchphrase-ready challenger, in Mr. T’s ferocious Clubber Lange. Also, while Bill Conti produced the score as before, Rocky III brought in outside help, with rock band Survivor delivering the chart-topping soundtrack hit “Eye of the Tiger.”

Where to stream Rocky III

The 1980s didn’t just introduce garish color palettes and silly crossovers to American moviemaking: they also brought in over-the-top patriotism and physics-defying action heroes. Expanding its scope beyond just the underdog themes (and soft-touch racial politics) of the first three films, the fourth takes on the Cold War itself, with Rocky reluctantly stepping in to face his most intimidating challenger yet: the lab-created Soviet Superman, Ivan Drago.

This film, which I will clarify I love as though it were my own child, acknowledges no irony as it barrels into pure self-parody. Rocky’s training run isn’t up a museum steps, it’s up a mountainside. His opponent isn’t a better-trained champion, it’s the pinnacle of Iron Curtain engineering. And he’s not just winning over a doubting crowd of Philadelphia boxing fans, he’s (possibly?) ending the Cold War.

It’s improbable, it’s ridiculous, it’s beyond all suspension of disbelief, and it’s terrific fun. It’s perfectly in line with the action movies of the era. Also, there’s a robot. The ‘80s were a strange time, kids.

Where to stream Rocky IV

What ended the hair metal era of 1980s rock? Grunge. Where in music, tight spandex and melodic power ballads were giving way to ripped jeans, oversized flannel and rusty guitar sounds, filmmaking was taking a turn, too. Bombast? That’s last year. We’re trending back to smaller stories, darker themes and an indie feel.

Much-maligned for its dreary premise, the fifth and final film in the original series tries to recapture the underdog vibe of the first. Rocky’s returned from Russia to find that his bumbling brother-in-law has blown all his money. Gone are the mansion, sports cars and (thankfully) robots. He moves his family back into the old neighborhood, and thanks to traumatic brain injuries, he can’t box his way out of it. Instead, he’s going to become a trainer himself.

Rocky takes under his wing a promising young boxer, Tommy Gunn (played by real-life boxer Tommy Morrison), who he views as his ticket back out of the slums again. Of course, Gunn betrays him for a Don King lookalike, and turns against Rocky. The film’s not a lot of fun throughout, but the final fight scene — a street brawl between teacher and student — is entertaining in its ludicrousness.

Sure, it killed the franchise for 16 years, but it set the course for future sequels — 2006’s decent if unspectacular Rocky Balboa, and the wonderfully rebooted Creed series starting in 2015.

Are they all great films? That’s up to you to decide. What they are, indisputably, though, are a picture of American filmmaking as it evolved from noirish auteur statements to ostentatious spectacle and back again.

(And I love them all.)

Scott Hines is an architect, blogger and internet user who lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, two young children, and a small, loud dog.

Where to stream Rocky V