Rocky is one of the most known sports films of all time. The film captures the audience's attention very well making this movie impossible to take their eyes off. I've seen Rocky plenty of times, but it was not until recently that I realized the meaning of this film went far beyond victory in sports. Struggling to make money, a poor boxer (Rocky Balboa) finally gets his shot at the big time when he is granted a title shot against Apollo Creed. Rocky's main motivation in the film is his own will. He is trying to go the full fifteen rounds with Apollo Creed for himself and no one else. He doesn't even mention winning the fight because his primary focus is to make a man of himself and fight as a real contender. I think that the beginning of the film could help explain this.
When Rocky gets home from his first fight and arrives back at his home he gives a disgusted look at a childhood picture of himself. To me, this shows that Rocky wanted to make himself something that his parents would appreciate, but by the looks of it now it may never happen. The camera shows Rocky's face as he portrays his unhappy glare then it zooms in on the childhood picture to show us where all the focus placed. We can see that Rocky is in poverty, but one interesting thing about the film is that he seems to ignore this fact. We focus a lot on the low points of Rocky's life at the beginning of the film as he is walking everywhere he goes, drinking and smoking by himself, and living in a filthy apartment. The film pinpoints these aspects because it wants the audience to gather a sense of sadness towards Rocky to really connect with the character. As much as Rocky comes off as a bum (which to me was the directors goal), we can see that he has a good heart and tries to go through life without making other characters in the film feel his pain. The sound is also astounding during these scenes of the movie. The eerie soft piano gives audience members the chills as they are forced to watch the way Rocky lives.