#steadicam

Shoutouts not only to Hudson and Connor for carrying that scene so fluidly, but to steadicam operator James Poremba and the camera team for their incredible work.

Happy 80th, Garrett Brown.

"Best Movie Montage"

Rocky (1976):

The Montage is a series of Fast/Short Clips and Cuts of Imagery Pieced Together which Convey Passing of Time or a Journey in a Compacted Story - Basically a Mini Movie in a Movie.

Choosing Rocky seems corny in a way but its The Godfather of the Montage...What's that... The actual movie The Godfather has a montage (The Baptism Montage) and the movie came out 4 years prior to Rocky....Well...if the Rocky Training Montage wasn't PG it probably put Horse's Head in The Godfather's Baptism Montage's Holy Water...Get the Message...

Anywhosel... to Become the Best Movie Montage you have to check the boxes:

EVOKE EMOTION:

The montage needs to make you feel something. A great contender is the Married Life montage in Pixar's Up - It's okay... this is a safe place... you can admit you got dust in your eyes while watching the montage.

Now Rocky is not so much of a tearjerker, but it does get you effing jacked - like seeing a ninja jump across rooftops. As an avid couch potato I don't know how many times I turned to the Rocky Montage to get myself motivated... I watch it the First Day of the New Year when I want to lose that stubborn Holiday Weight (plus all the other weight accumulated from the previous years)... Psyching myself up for a Final Exam, or even Heading DT with the Bros to pound Jag Bombs.

Evoke Emotion: ✔

USES MUSIC EFFECTIVELY:

There is nothing better than the Perfect, Beat, Tune, or Song to Pair with Cut Imagery.

Britney Spears' song "Everytime" in Spring Breakers takes the movie Full Tilt making the Hardest of Ballers join in singing to the Ballad... (Spring Breakers Def' My 1st Runner Up for Best Movie Montage BTW)

Just thinking of Rocky it's hard not to hear the Horns of the Instumental Score which carries Rocco through the streets of Philly right up those flights of steps and just think the relatively unknowkn Compser, Bill Conti, worked for basically nickles to compse this hit in 3 HOURS!

There's no doubt you hummed Conti's tune on your morning jogs...oh, you're a couch potato too... but you looked at other runners and heard the tune, right? Yeah, me too, Cool. Cool. Cool Cool. Cool

Uses Music Effectively: ✔

APPROPRIATE LENGTH:

The montage is meant to tell a story in a short period of time - A Mini Movie which holds our attention and does not derail from the story.

Rocky IV's (Rocky vs Drago for the Uninitiated) is 30% Montage, truly, .... Now, dont get me wrong, the training sequence is pretty dope, but tad drawn out.

Now, the OG Rocky comes in at 2mins 43secs - just 13 seconds longer than the average Movie Trailer. Short, Sweaty, and to the Point.

Appropriate Length: ✔

Lastly...

ICON STATUS:

The Rocky Training all by itself Quenches your Thirst and is Arguably one of the Best Moments of the Entire Film.

And Undoubtedly the Rocky Montage has birthed an Unwieldy Number of Parodys and Knock Offs not to mention it's the Formula Cornerstone for the Rocky Franchise-- The Backstory of Shooting the Montage alone is a Hero's Journey all its own (Doc Clip at the End).

The Training Sequence was shot mostly Guerilla Style with No Filming Permits thus capturing authentic interactions and bemusement of the public.

During the running/sprint scene along the waterfront they had Stallone jump out of Van and told him to Run for his Life. Crew in the Van filming declared they actually had difficulty keeping up with Sly.

And How could you forget the Philadelphia Art Museum's Steps now most commonly referred to as The Rocky Steps. The 72 Step Journey helped established the Steadicam in the Film Industry and Created a Tourist HotSpot - Stallone's Converse Footprints are embedded at the top of the steps so you too can thrust your arms in the air triumphantly... while 1000 other Tourists watch and await their turn.

Icon Status: ✔

Now, Pump Yourself Up...

THE ROCKY TRAINING MONTAGE:

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Here is a segement from The Rocky Story Documentary -- 3mins 12sec is a Great Jump-In point to here some History on the Montage, The Score, and the Steadicam...and seriously, if You Love Film or the Rocky Franchise checkout The Rocky Story Doc - well worth your time.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

- Dirty Dancing (1987)

- Goodfellas (1990)

- Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

- Team America: World Police (2004)

- Up (2009)