Mr. T

Who Won the Movie?

Rocky III The Rewatchables May 25, 2022

Mr. T receives two winner ballots and Talia Shire one; Hulk Hogan is a strong alternate, while Stallone is recognized as indispensable but already established.

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:27:37Read transcript

Mr. T wins one ballot because his life went from being a bouncer into the stratosphere through this movie.
Talia Shire wins another for transforming Adrian from a quiet earlier character into the forceful beach-scene partner.
Hulk Hogan is considered but judged likely to become a wrestling star even without the film.
Mr. T receives the final ballot because Clubber is called the best sports-movie villain and led immediately to his television role.
Stallone is acknowledged as essential, but his success was already secure before this film.

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: Mr. T
Speaker not identified: Talia Shire
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Speaker not identified: Talia Shire
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Rocky III

Apex Mountain

Rocky III The Rewatchables May 25, 2022

The panel places Stallone’s peak at First Blood, gives positive verdicts to Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Survivor, Stu Nahan, and LeRoy Neiman, and rejects or redirects several others.

In the discussion (11)

Approx. transcript time · 01:06:40Read transcript

Stallone is moved to First Blood because the two 1982 hits gave him maximum ability to create later films.
Burt Young receives a positive verdict for balancing comedy, menace, and pathos, despite later contenders.
Talia Shire is moved to the first Rocky after The Godfather Part II.
For Mr. T, the verdict is “not till a team.”
Carl Weathers receives a positive verdict because he is in this movie more than in any other Rocky movie.
Hulk Hogan is rejected because later wrestling celebrity surpasses Thunderlips.
The Rocky statue is judged close but still behind the Statue of Liberty.
Survivor receives a positive verdict while its Rocky IV work is also praised.
Stu Nehan receives a yes.
LeRoy Neiman receives a positive verdict because he appears in a scene and his painting closes the film.
Burgess Meredith is moved to the first Rocky or his Penguin role.

Rocky III

Half-Assed Internet Research

Rocky III The Rewatchables May 25, 2022

Research covers Stallone’s extreme diet, the Rocky statue, Mr. T’s mother, a discarded death plan, Ali’s house, and the film’s demo version of Eye of the Tiger.

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:03:43Read transcript

Stallone claimed 2.6 percent body fat, a 155-pound weight, ten egg whites and toast, fruit every third day, and several kinds of daily training.
Three Rocky statues were made, and Philadelphia officials moved one away from the museum steps after deciding it was a movie prop rather than art.
Mr. T claimed his mother walked out of the movie after criticizing the way Clubber spoke to Adrian.
Stallone told Roger Ebert in 1979 that a possible third film would stage a Coliseum fight and might end with Rocky’s death.
The movie’s exterior house is reported to have belonged to the boxer in Chicago.
The film uses an unreleased demo of Eye of the Tiger rather than the later commercial version.

Rocky III

Casting What-Ifs

Rocky III The Rewatchables May 25, 2022

Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber; Billy Graham for Thunderlips; Morgan Freeman for Clubber’s trainer; and several actors or wrestlers are proposed as alternatives.

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:57:20Read transcript

Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber, but a stutter and a high voice were seen as liabilities.
Mr. T was discovered through America’s Best Bouncer.
Superstar Billy Graham was considered too old for Thunderlips.
Morgan Freeman unsuccessfully auditioned to be Clubber’s trainer.
John Amos is considered as a known actor alternative, though his age and familiarity would reduce Clubber’s mystery.
Andre, Ernie Ladd, Big John Stud, Bundy, and Paul Orndorf are discussed as wrestling alternatives for Thunderlips.

Rocky III

What’s Aged the Best?

Rocky III The Rewatchables May 25, 2022

The score, Thunderlips, Eye of the Tiger, Clubber Lang, Apollo, the pinball machine, Adrian, the supporting announcers, and key Mickey dialogue lead the praise.

In the discussion (12)

Approx. transcript time · 00:42:09Read transcript

The recurring fight overture still signals that Rocky’s comeback is beginning.
Thunderlips holds up because the wrestling is authentic and Hogan performs moves absent from much of his later career.
Eye of the Tiger remains culturally durable and was central to Hogan’s early crowd response.
Clubber Lang remains one of the strongest sports-movie villains because his spare presentation and verbal performance create menace.
Apollo’s training role is praised as one of Carl Weathers’s fullest performances in the series.
The rare Rocky pinball machine remains desirable and is said to sell for about nine thousand dollars.
The ten selected title-defense opponents have absurdly specific credited names that the panel enjoys reciting.
Clubber’s slow look into the camera became an iconic Mr. T image.
Rocky’s affluent house visually captures how far the family has risen.
Adrian’s appearance and confidence plausibly reflect the family’s new wealth while preserving the gradual change from the first two films.
Mickey’s warning that Rocky cannot win establishes the template later reused in Rocky IV.
Bill Baldwin and Stu Nahan are both said to have aged nicely.

Rocky III

Most Rewatchable Scene

Rocky III The Rewatchables May 25, 2022

Thunderlips wins one ballot and the opening montage another; the statue confrontation, Mickey revelation, first Clubber fight, beach confession, training, final fight, and freeze-frame ending are also discussed.

In the discussion (12)

Approx. transcript time · 00:23:40Read transcript

The opening montage intercuts Rocky enjoying celebrity with Clubber destroying opponents, making both the story and threat immediately clear.
Thunderlips combines credible wrestling moves, comedy, crowd energy, Paulie’s chair attack, and the movie’s role in Hulkamania.
Clubber interrupting the statue ceremony turns a celebration into an escalating challenge and insult to Adrian.
Mickey’s admission that Rocky fought selected opponents reframes success as comfort and fear of the truly hungry challenger.
The first Clubber fight races from the simultaneous ring entrance through a brawl, early Rocky punches, a knockout, and Mickey’s death.
The beach confrontation is called Rocky and Adrian’s best scene because she forces him to admit fear without treating fear as shameful.
The training montage is energetic despite Apollo appearing to ease up in the race and the beach embrace becoming comic.
The final fight uses a large stated weight difference, a rope-a-dope strategy, and slow-motion reaction shots to build its comeback.
Stallone claimed that he and Mr. T went all out late in the final round, but the panel doubts it and allows that only some body punches may have landed.
The private Rocky-Apollo fight ends on a freeze-frame that felt like a cliffhanger even though later films never show the result.
Thunderlips wins one participant’s scene ballot because the nine-minute sequence contains nearly every kind of entertainment the film offers.
The opening montage wins another ballot because it immediately establishes the movie’s pace and stakes.

Stats

Mentioned in discussions

Who Won the Movie?

Apex Mountain

Half-Assed Internet Research

Casting What-Ifs

What’s Aged the Best?

Most Rewatchable Scene

Films in the archive

Rocky III

Rewatchables episodes featuring their films

Rocky III