tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post7731082977832427979..comments2024-03-26T05:01:57.793-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: ROCKY 1976Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-79422435482723072942020-04-24T13:21:00.531-07:002020-04-24T13:21:00.531-07:00Hi Peter
Wow! I think you're the only person I...Hi Peter<br />Wow! I think you're the only person I know who has actually seen GOLDEN GIRL! I remember that its unexceptional LA release was preceded by a trade paper blitzkrieg of publicity that almost convinced me to go see it. <br />You say no one remembers it except to mock. Are you saying it has some non-mockable virtues? I would love to discover a new good-bad favorite. Definitely needs a DVD release.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-17900546315452045892020-04-24T01:19:22.955-07:002020-04-24T01:19:22.955-07:00can we talk about susan anton and goldengirl. gold...can we talk about susan anton and goldengirl. goldengirl was supposed to be anton's rocky right down to the tom conti theme song sung by anton which just makes me dizzy. nobody remembers that film except to mock it. if there were truly cinema gods, they would release goldengirl on dvd pronto.petercox97https://www.blogger.com/profile/05818754297522029991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-85809726318216169992016-06-21T18:14:54.306-07:002016-06-21T18:14:54.306-07:00Jeff, I just stopped by Le Cinema Dreams to read K...Jeff, I just stopped by Le Cinema Dreams to read Ken's latest essay and saw your comment(s). Thank you so much for such a detailed, honest and hilarious response. Like so many of Ken's readers, I stop by his blog to read about his experience with a movie, whether or not it's a movie I like, hate or haven't seen. Very often I've been prompted to take a first or second look at a movie because of him. (I'm still reeling from watching Sextette after he wrote about it. My longstanding crush on Timothy Dalton is no more.)<br />It's touches me so much that you gave Rocky a second look. Even though your evaluation of the movie hasn't changed, at least you went into it with a more open mind. I am much older with more sophisticated taste in movies, so I totally understand how others can see Rocky differently. But as you said, how and when I first saw it are inextricably woven into the movie when I watch it now. I recently saw a photo of the boy I had a crush on in high school. He's a nice-looking 55-year-old guy, but no longer the dreamboat I thought he was when I was 16. When I look at his photo in my yearbook, though, I still remember every single detail about him and why I was madly in love with him then. Maybe Rocky will always be like that for me.<br />Jeff, you're welcome over at Steel Town Girl anytime. I currently update it monthly, but hope to build up my writing stamina to produce more (I don't know how Ken does it every week!) I just posted my latest blog today. <br />Thanks again, Jeff. By the way, I owe you $4 for the Rocky viewing. Would you mind if I use it as part of a donation to the Motion Picture Television Fund? It's a 95-year-old organization that helps members of the entertainment community age well, with dignity and purpose. Hopefully that's something movie lovers like us can agree on!Roberta Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03065433889234217024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-35054376427450750522016-06-19T10:32:50.146-07:002016-06-19T10:32:50.146-07:00So suffice it to say we'll never see remotely ...So suffice it to say we'll never see remotely eye to eye on this movie, but in spite of all that, I LOVED your essay. There are countless films (brilliant, good, decent, mediocre and God-awful crap) which have a place in my heart (and always will) just because of the circumstances under which I first saw them; Elizabeth Taylor's ‘Ash Wednesday’ (which I still adore), Bob Hope’s disastrous 'Cancel My Reservation' (one of the few times my dad took me to the movies without the rest of the family), and a slew movies that unspooled on the B&W Zenith in the wee hours of my childhood when I was supposed to have been sleeping. <br /><br />Your wonderful writing about your experience with 'Rocky' made me shell out 4 bucks to watch it again, trying to see it through your eyes. I regret to report that I loathed it just as much the second time as the first, but that doesn't discount the fact that your passion was infectious enough to make me give it a (previously UNTHINKABLE) second look -- that is no small accomplishment. (Not only did I managed to better control my eyeballs this time, but for what it's worth, I recently bailed after an hour of 'Cancel My Reservation,' deciding to let the experience live in my memory -- the film itself is excruciatingly, unredeemably awful!)<br /><br />So my thanks for a terrific essay -- and I’m looking forward to more over at STG!Neely OHarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967247631845210906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-90658534107648400792016-06-19T10:32:34.820-07:002016-06-19T10:32:34.820-07:00Hi Roberta, Jeff here.
(Breaking this in two -- I...Hi Roberta, Jeff here.<br /><br />(Breaking this in two -- I apparently exceeded my 4,096 characters!)<br /><br />Well, just as I cursed the day I discovered Ken's Le Cinema Dreams (because I began spending inordinate amounts of time catching up with old posts -- still am in fact), I now curse the day you stepped in for him, because from here on I’ll be spending inordinate amounts of time over at Steel Town Girl! And the fact that I'm so drawn to your film writing, despite the fact that I loathed Rocky and still do, does NOT bode well for my spare time!<br /><br />To dispense with my objections:<br /><br />While I'll admit to having been a snotty 17 year old upon 1st viewing, I was really pulling for the film, because all the advance publicity I'd seen centered on Stallone's refusal to sell the screenplay unless he played the lead. As a budding actor I thought this canny and admirable, and WANTED to love the movie, despite it's being set in the sports world (sports, war and westerns just didn't do it for me -- you and I are in the same camp when it comes to ‘The Searchers’).<br /><br />From the ham-fisted opening of Rocky's name streaming (a la 'Gone With The Wind') self-importantly across the screen, morphing into the shot of Jesus, yet, and then panning down into the boxing ring, I was rolling my eyes (in that way only snotty 17 year olds can). From there on out, all the movie's seams were showing; let's make Rocky sympathetic by showing he loves his fish and the pets in the store. (It's the reverse of the time-saving silent film trope of having the villain kick a dog in Reel 1 so we'll know -- without any character development -- who to root against.) That way when Rocky threatens and roughs up his boss's "clients," we'll still pull for him. (Not unlike establishing that Tony Soprano loves the ducks resting in his pool LONG before we see him kill somebody, but David Chase's writing is light years ahead of Sly's.)<br /><br />Then Apollo's speech to the promoter about giving an underdog a chance "on America's biggest birthday" (which would have been July 4th 1976, NOT January 1st, but I guess they had no choice but to shoot in fall/winter), and the promotor's enthusiastic, "Apollo, I LIKE it! It's very AMERICAN!", to the selection of Rocky as Apollo's opponent; "'The EYE-talian Stallion.' The media will eat it up. Who discovered America? An Italian -- what could be better than getting it on with one of his descendants?" WHAT?! ('Hey look, that snotty kid in the fifth row is rolling his eyes again...')<br /><br />Then there's Talia Shire's transformation -- a spin around the ice rink, a roll in the hay, and she has 20/20 vision, a great coif, a Bloomingdales cosmetics counter makeover, and a new wardrobe. We're even treated to a "Why Miss Jones, I've never seen you without your glasses" moment en route. ('We need a medic -- that snotty kid in row 5 is in danger of loosing his eyeballs...')<br /><br />Then there's Burgess Meredith -- 'nuff said. <br /><br />And Stallone's appeal, the voice, the mumbling, the heavy lidded stare (there were multiple comparisons at the time to Brando and Newman) were new to us, and had yet to wear out their welcome, which they would in remarkably short order.<br /><br />And of course when 'Rocky' took home Best Picture over 'Network,' I considered it the Academy's greatest injustice since Grace Kelly walked off with Garland's 'A Star Is Born' statuette.<br /><br />Neely OHarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967247631845210906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-11214094390145451072016-06-07T18:03:06.974-07:002016-06-07T18:03:06.974-07:00Chris, your comment made me smile. First, it'...Chris, your comment made me smile. First, it's nice to know you admire Rocky like I do. I think you've really captured what elevated Rocky from the sequels and imitators. It was the sweetness. Stallone's original ending was a downer; Rocky throws the fight and walks away from the ring. That would have been right in line with the downbeat 70s vibe, and would have fit in seamlessly with the dark, grimy feel of so much of the film. But Rocky and Adrian deserved a sweet ending. It's funny that many people at the time thought Rocky actually won the fight. He didn't. So maybe it wasn't a "happy" ending. It surely was a sweet one.<br /><br />Your Cabaret story is hilarious! I'll bet 40 years later somewhere one of those "kids" from the camp is telling other folks about the "really cool" counselor who showed him/her Cabaret! You're legendary!Roberta Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03065433889234217024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-2507023322520511172016-06-01T07:46:49.559-07:002016-06-01T07:46:49.559-07:00Roberta, I LOVED your post on one of the seminal f...Roberta, I LOVED your post on one of the seminal films of the 1970s...I feel so much the same way you do about it. While not a great film, it is a very good one indeed, and Stallone gives a truly great and iconic performance. As screenwriter as well as star, he allows us to see the vulnerability and the sweetness and the pain behind the macho posturings of the typical 1970s action star...Once Sly hits the screen here, I'm totally hooked and can't look away. And Talia Shire is marvelous as Adrian, perfect for Rocky.<br /><br />I laughed at your Cabaret story...I have one too. I was a summer camp counselor at a beach resort as a teenager, and one day it rained when we were supposed to go to the beach. I took the kids up to the library and found that the only VHS tape available was a copy of Cabaret. So we watched it, and boy, did i ever get in trouble when the parents picked up their kids that day...if only they had been able to get that :"Two Ladies" song out of their heads!<br /><br />Thanks again Roberta, for highlighting a movie that I absolutely love!<br />-Chrisangelman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/16471674180789592940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-85618040052745366482016-05-26T08:30:39.969-07:002016-05-26T08:30:39.969-07:00So enjoyable to read your response! That beam of l...So enjoyable to read your response! That beam of light from the projection booth was my version of those holy beams of light in religious films (think The Song of Bernadette). Like your husband, you can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can't take the Brooklyn out of the boy. When I get excited, my standard American accent disappears to be replaced by the Brooklynese I spoke as a kid. That said, I also love the scene in Sullivan's Travels, when film director Joel McCrea, witnesses the magic of film in lifting him and his fellow prisoners while incarcerated. Thanks again!Robbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17279476905603378115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-24053898927695637652016-05-26T07:40:26.160-07:002016-05-26T07:40:26.160-07:00Hi Roberta
Now that a new post is up, I won't ...Hi Roberta<br />Now that a new post is up, I won't feel like I'm "papering the house" if I chime in and reiterate what everyone here has already said so eloquently: you write beautifully and from the heart. <br />I'm grateful you consented to be my first guest blogger, and I'm happy the experience proved as enjoyable for you as it certainly was for me. Thanks for you gracious comments in each of the replies, although you are far too modest. <br /><br />I know films are just a part of what you cover on your blog, but I hope perhaps we can do this again sometime. But, as with the experience of seeing ROCKY, I'll understand if you're not keen on risking spoiling the memory of the "first time" too soon. Thanks, Roberta!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-28236615888708964232016-05-24T17:38:23.534-07:002016-05-24T17:38:23.534-07:00Robert, let me start by saying my husband is from ...Robert, let me start by saying my husband is from Brooklyn. He grew up in Red Hook. Can only imagine how beautiful the Parthenon theater must have been, especially considering it was in NYC's biggest borough. As my husband reminds me, everything's better in Brooklyn! In Pittsburgh we had a grand, ornate movie palace called the Oriental. The theater was so beautiful it was hard to concentrate on the screen. My aunt took us to see Lawrence of Arabia there. The perfect kind of sprawling epic to play in that big space.<br /><br />I am so happy that my memory stirred memories for you. It is so true how seeing a great movie in the darkened theater is magic. I feel sorry for younger people who have only experienced classic movies on TV. As good as a Casablanca can be, it's just not the same as seeing Ingrid Bergman enter Rick's on a big screen.<br /><br />This may sound odd, but before a movie starts in a theater, I like to glance up to the projection room and see the beam of light coming from the small window and how it illuminates bits of dust in the air. When I was very young, I thought those little flecks of dust were pieces of the movie moving toward the screen. <br /><br />Glad you enjoyed my Rocky essay, and hope some stardust touches you the next time you're at the movies.Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-9560622020141686142016-05-24T08:41:28.828-07:002016-05-24T08:41:28.828-07:00The description of your family's experience in...The description of your family's experience in the movie theater brought to my mind the scene in 'Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire,' when Harry walks into what looks like a small tent but enters a space the size of a house. He looks around and exclaims, “I love magic!” That's just how I feel about seeing a great motion picture in a darkened theater. My introduction to movie magic began in a real movie palace, the Parthenon Theater in Ridgewood, Brooklyn, and it has never left me. Thanks for sharing your special memories with all of us!Robbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17279476905603378115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-9173929200090578352016-05-23T20:02:13.264-07:002016-05-23T20:02:13.264-07:00George, I am rolling on the floor laughing! Your ...George, I am rolling on the floor laughing! Your clever reference went right over my head. Here I am all earnest about being a blogger, and let an All About Eve reference sail right by me. My girlfriend Cindy is going to unfriend me. My sister will revoke my Thelma Ritter Fan Club membership. You can now refer to me as Miss Caswell, a graduate of the Copacabana School of Film.<br />Before I go hide myself in the blogger corner, thanks for even thinking of me as an understudy for Ken. I'm not even in the same league. I can assure he's not stuck in a car with Celeste Holm, and will return front and center next week.<br />Actually, I'm wondering if you wacky Le Cinema Dreams readers deliberately put one over on me in some sort of initiation prank...like the Von Trapp kids put the frog in Maria's pocket. Now there's a great name for a play, The Frog in Maria's Pocket!Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-70669066081438520892016-05-23T19:45:10.402-07:002016-05-23T19:45:10.402-07:00Alan, thanks for setting me straight about Footste...Alan, thanks for setting me straight about Footsteps on the Ceiling. I so totally didn't get that joke. LOL. Mr. George Tush 1. Roberta 0. Ah, well, Hugh Marlowe's Lloyd Richards always struck me as a wet firecracker. I bet his play would too!<br /><br />Thanks for looking out for me, Alan!Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-22689412600871343492016-05-23T19:37:00.316-07:002016-05-23T19:37:00.316-07:00Gee, Alan, thanks. You are so right. Timing is i...Gee, Alan, thanks. You are so right. Timing is indeed everything. My dad's favorite film of all time was John Ford's The Searchers. Growing up I used to groan whenever it was on. "Just find Natalie Wood already," I'd imagine myself telling John Wayne. "She's behind the rock!"<br /><br />The first year after my dad passed away I caught The Searchers on TMC. For him, I watched it. I can't say I liked it any better, but I gave it more respect and felt more about it. I realized how it could resonate with a WWII vet like my dad.<br />Who knows what I'll think of Rocky on 40 more years? I do know what I'll always think of the first time I saw it!Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-87843826775433492912016-05-23T18:51:15.020-07:002016-05-23T18:51:15.020-07:00Alan is exactly right. "Footsteps on the Cei...Alan is exactly right. "Footsteps on the Ceiling" is the new play promised to Margo which Lloyd Richards wants to take from her to give to Eve. I was delighted by your essay and found myself riffing on the understudy who goes on and gives a brilliant performance.<br /><br />That someone then went on to make a movie with title is fascinating. And I have you to thank, again, for pointing it out. <br /><br />Aged in wood,<br /><br />GeorgeGeorge W. Tushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13050905945846094987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-84144052969024283922016-05-23T16:47:14.364-07:002016-05-23T16:47:14.364-07:00Oh, and Roberta, to spare you from wasting time wa...Oh, and Roberta, to spare you from wasting time watching whatever film that is with the title "Footsteps on the Ceiling" I honestly think the commenter's words were just a jokey reference to the play Eve Harrington coveted in the movie "All About Eve" (the source of the "Fire and music" quote). alannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-51420408926519669852016-05-23T16:42:20.925-07:002016-05-23T16:42:20.925-07:00hi Roberta, thank you for sharing your early expe...hi Roberta, thank you for sharing your early experience of Rocky with us. Sometimes the circumstances surrounding and timing of seeing a particular movie is indeed what carves out a special place in our hearts for it. Thank you for sharing your experience and being able to relate that to us so beautifully with your writing.Alannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-842347645798815992016-05-23T10:10:36.191-07:002016-05-23T10:10:36.191-07:00George, thank you for sharing your appreciation of...George, thank you for sharing your appreciation of my essay. I totally appreciate that for you, and I'm sure many others, the film itself wasn't as indelible as my memory of it.<br /><br />I think that's why so many of us are drawn to Ken's blog. He really wants us to think about the experience of watching a movie, not just the movie itself. For instance, I remember seeing Reds when I was in college. When the lights came up in the theatre, I felt relief that the movie was over and started walking out. My date then told me it was only intermission. Yikes! To this day, if someone gave me a choice between watching Reds again or getting root canal, off to the dentist I'd go. A memorable experience of a not so memorable movie for me. <br /><br />I am new to blogging, so it is wonderful to get nice feedback on my writing. In that sense Ken has been a real inspiration and, now, mentor for me.<br /><br />I hadn't heard of Footsteps on the Ceiling, so I checked it out on IMDb. It sounds so intriguing that I am going to watch poste haste! The use of the All About Eve scenes is a good indicator I'll enjoy it. After all, can anyone ever have enough Margo Channing, Eve Harrington and Addison DeWitt? I think not.<br /><br />Again, George, thank you. Hope to see you in the Le Cinema Dreams comments section again. Can't wait to read what Ken has in store for us!Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-9729920608622288202016-05-23T06:15:07.013-07:002016-05-23T06:15:07.013-07:00Thank you, Roberta. Your thoughts on ROCKY made f...Thank you, Roberta. Your thoughts on ROCKY made for a great read.<br /><br />Ken has cast you well as his understudy. Your writing is outstanding, filled with fire and music and whatnot. <br /><br />My appreciation of your essay is all I can offer here. I saw ROCKY in 1976 and haven't given it a moment's thought since the credits crawled to a close. But I can't wait to read your thoughts on "Footstep on the Ceiling."<br /><br />Thank you!<br /><br />George W. TushGeorge W. Tushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13050905945846094987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-49997153004115257562016-05-20T20:04:46.476-07:002016-05-20T20:04:46.476-07:00Bella, thanks for sharing your memory about seeing...Bella, thanks for sharing your memory about seeing Rocky. Maybe we saw it in the same theater!<br /><br />Can it really be 40 years ago that he entered our hearts? It's a testament to the movie that four decades later we can so vividly recall seeing it.<br /><br />It is sad that the story wasn't able to end with the original. I think that allowing each viewer to imagine what happened to the characters would have been the more creative choice for us all.<br /><br />I like that you call it a feel good movie. It was. It worked because those good feelings were honestly earned. The filmakers' intent was to make a good movie. The story just happened to make us feel good. Starting with the first sequel, their intent changed to making us feel good period. At that moment Rocky became a commodity. What a shame.<br /><br />Thanks again for your thought and for representing the Steel City. It says a lot about how good the movie is when a Pittsburgh girl like me ends up rooting for a guy from Philadelphia!Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-87309909317219834622016-05-20T17:52:58.440-07:002016-05-20T17:52:58.440-07:00Wonderful essay, Roberta. I remember seeing Rocky ...Wonderful essay, Roberta. I remember seeing Rocky at the theater, too. And also in the Steel City. I was pregnant with my first child and didn't really want to go see this movie, but hubby convinced me and I was so glad he did. I loved it! Such a feel-good movie. I totally agree with you that Stallone should have stopped right there. Rocky devolved into a cartoon character.Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15776944214996286021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-11767068386069466672016-05-19T16:46:51.001-07:002016-05-19T16:46:51.001-07:00Will, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my reco...Will, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my recollection of a long ago winter night. Isn't it always fun to feel as though you "discovered" a great movie? My mom claims she made Casablanca a hit when she recommended it to her high school girlfriends who couldn't believe Humphrey Bogart as a romantic lead! <br /><br />I know Ken is reading this, so we'll see happens in terms of more first time stories.<br /><br />While we're at it, let's give Ken an ovation for creating such a diverse and passionate film community. Yeah, Ken!Roberta Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-72048958067653546402016-05-19T16:06:42.200-07:002016-05-19T16:06:42.200-07:00What a lovely heartfelt review! I love hearing abo...What a lovely heartfelt review! I love hearing about movie fans' first experiences with iconic films—*before* they became iconic. Wonderful! More please.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-49708225274394217972016-05-19T13:33:39.369-07:002016-05-19T13:33:39.369-07:00Poseidon, I have you - yes you! - to thank for thi...Poseidon, I have you - yes you! - to thank for this wonderful opportunity. It was through your blog that I discovered Ken's, and well, the rest is history.<br /><br />Funny you mention your reaction to Burt Young. I feel the same way. I had never consciously seen him in a movie before, so he only came to my attention through Rocky. I guess it's a tribute of sorts to his performance that we both identify him so strongly with the Pauly role, in all its irritating, sad, abusive glory.<br /><br />The only Rocky sequel I can remember with any charity is Rocky III, mostly for Mr. T as his opponent Clubber Lang. He gave Stallone a run for his money in scene stealing outrageousness! He was quite funny too.<br /><br />As I was contemplating this essay I realized how much I've changed as a movie viewer over the years. Films I thought were superb as a kid are now in the "what was I thinking" file. (I'm looking at you Hello Dolly.). On the flip side, I was unmoved the first time I saw The Way We Were in college. Aside from Barbra's amazing manicure it didn't offer me much. Several years later, after a divorce and in the middle of a passionate affair, I saw it at a revival. I wept so hard at the end my friends denied knowing me to the other patrons concerned for my well-being.<br /><br />I guess that's why I've paid far less attention to the critics as I matured. After all, if I had to sit through The Deer Hunter or Valley of the Dolls again, you know where I'm buying my popcorn!<br /><br />Poseidon, there's no one who makes traveling to the disastrous depths as much fun as you! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!Roberta Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03065433889234217024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-63836034970557569372016-05-19T13:07:29.705-07:002016-05-19T13:07:29.705-07:00Hello Argyle! What a pleasure to hear your though...Hello Argyle! What a pleasure to hear your thoughts. I always enjoy your comments on Ken's essays.<br /><br />I'm glad my story of seeing Rocky stirred your own memories. My appreciation of a movie has always been tied to the experience I had when I saw it. Rocky, for me, represents a time and place in my life that allowed it to speak to me in a way it wouldn't be able to now. I'm sure it's also intertwined with my love for my dad, since seeing Rocky made him happy in an otherwise stressful time.<br /><br />I hope it also speaks to the audience's collective experience of seeing a film. You're there, with strangers in the dark, and being connected at the same time. Before Rocky, I had seen Jaws and was amazed at a theater full of folks screaming together! I haven't seen a movie since Rocky where the entire audience stood up and cheered together.<br /><br />Like you, I was insufferable about movies in my younger days but in reverse. I resented what I deemed "hot shot" New Hollywood film school auteurs like Scorsese, Altman, Malik, Cimino, Polanski,and even Fosse. It wasn't until I began to live my life on my own that I discovered my own tastes. Much to my surprise, their groundbreaking films spoke to me in new ways. Amazing how smart we get as we age, isn't it? I was the one cheering loudest when Polanski and Scorsese finally won their Oscars!<br /><br />You are dead on about Bill Conti's score too. I remember hearing it on the radio, and realizing my beloved Rocky now belonged to the masses. I can't recall another significant score he's done since. Last time I saw, he was conducting the orchestra at the Oscars. He was, I believe, the notorious "Stick Man" that Julia Roberts hushed during her rambling acceptance speech.<br /><br />Lastly, isn't Ken just wonderful? He has opened my eyes, mind and heart regarding so many films. His putting films in a personal context has stirred quite a few memories for me. And isn't that the beauty of film going in the first place? When we leave the darkened theater, we take with us more than what we had when we came in.<br /><br />Thanks again, Argyle. I am an avid Le Cinema reader and always enjoy your perspective!<br />Roberta Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03065433889234217024noreply@blogger.com