Overview: Get knocked out by the new 4K contender – the ROCKY I-IV 4K 4-Film Collection newly remastered in stunning 4K Ultra HD. Sylvester Stallone stars in the greatest boxing saga of all time and triumphs as one of the most inspirational characters in cinematic history.

Witness every epic, action packed fight and unforgettable moment as Rocky punches his way to the top against impossible odds when the ROCKY I-IV 4K 4-Film Collection is released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack on 02/28/23.

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the incredible Rocky I-IV box-set collection in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this February 28th, 2023.

For my money, these Rocky 4K Ultra HD versions all take a fairly large step forward from others in the 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have are the Rocky films presented to us as a five-disc combo pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265 (58.88 Mbps), Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable.

For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color. Indeed, the picture also enjoys the fruits of the added resolution in terms of bringing out the aforementioned extremely fine facial and some of the faded boxing ring moments.

As for the audio, well we have a veritable mini smorgasbord of choice here: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit), English: DTS-HD Master, Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit), French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps) and Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the movies themselves, well, starting at the beginning, Rocky (1976), and long before the studios churned out a litany of idiotic movies in which against all odds, the ragtag team beats the big guys, there was Rocky.

It is a classic whose quality is rarely matched. The plot, of course, has working-class Philadelphia tough guy Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) getting the chance to take on heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and using the opportunity to try and make something of himself.

As the movie opens, we see Rocky’s life. He lives in the most bombed-out part of Philly, making a living by collecting money for loan sharks. In one scene, he breaks some eggs into a glass and drinks them (wouldn’t that be unhealthy? Salmonella and cholesterol?). His two main acquaintances are wife Adrian (Talia Shire) and her loser brother Paulie (Burt Young).

But the possibility of going up against a famous boxer gives him the strength that he has always sought. In what is probably the movie’s most famous scene, Rocky triumphantly runs up to a monument while the theme song Gonna Fly Now is playing.

And not only did Rocky fly into cinematic history, but won Best Picture and some other Oscars. It doesn’t matter whether or not Rocky wins the fight, the point is how he now has the chance to make something of himself.

Then comes Rocky II (1979), and after the controversial first challenge match in which a split-decision awards the Heavy Weight title to defending champion, Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa officially retires from boxing. However the Italian Stallion finds it difficult to get work and coping with his new found notoriety and Apollo is also feeling the pressure as the calls for a rematch increase.

Marriage to long time girlfriend, Adrian complicate matters, when she strongly objects to Rocky’s return to the ring, but he cannot turn away from the only life he has ever known and once again the training begins. When Adrian falls unexpectedly ill, it seems Rocky has lost the will to fight. Upon her recovery, she asks one thing of her husband, that he win.

Spurred on by this and with help by Mickey, his trainer and Adrian’s brother, Paulie, Rocky gets back into shape and once more enters the ring for the fight of his life ... a second time!

This movie is a great follow up to the original. The cast, which for Rocky II has not changed that much, do it all again. Sylvester Stallone had now taken on another added pressure, and was not only writing the story and starring as the Italian Stallion, but he was now directing the film.

Me personally, I felt the character of Rocky in this one was most definitely more layered and interesting, as we get to see a side to him that I am sure audiences would have been scared to see; where he is losing that desire to fight.

However, and after the words from his wife, and most important person in his life, he gets the only encouragement he needs. Thus, I am happy to report, that taking on another aspect of the making of this movie did in no way hamper Stallone and/or his acting abilities. In fact, I believe it improved it.

Then we get Rocky III (1982), which is the second-most beloved of the franchise, to my mind. The story itself has legitimately interesting points for the series, particularly the first act where we see Rocky Balboa during the highlights of his career.

He’s no longer the scrappy underdog anymore, he’s the one everyone is gunning for now and we see him transform from the nobody from Philadelphia to the marketable sports icon. By the time we’re introduced to the driving force of the story we see a clear parallel between Rocky and the former champion, Apollo Creed.

Seeing Rocky lose to Clubber Lang represents an unprecedented moment in his life, going from being in the limelight to essentially a nobody again. By the end of the movie you want to see him win again not as an underdog anymore, instead you want to see him leave the ring without any regrets.

OK, sure, the acting isn’t as great this time around compared to the first two, but I think Mr. T deserves some credit for his portrayal as Clubber Lang. It isn’t some complex role with a ton of depth to his character, but he does a great job of carrying himself as a raw, powerful force to be dealt with. There’s more to talk about for sure, but you can easily just watch this movie solely at face value and be entertained. The pacing is pretty solid and it’s satisfying on some bizarre, primal level to see two guys punch each other with sound mixing that sounds like someone throwing large ribeye steaks against a concrete wall as hard as they can!

Oh, and who doesn’t love a classic montage, this time with Eye of the Tiger playing over the footage?!

Lastly comes Rocky IV (1985), perhaps the most iconic of the quartet. Simply put, Rocky IV is an incredible film and completely makes the series worth while. Not only that Rocky IV encompassed such an important message for the time it was made in, but it only made sense for America’s greatest underdog hero to take on America’s most feared opponent ... Russia!

And Dolph Lundgren completely carried the weight of being Russia and pulled it off brilliantly becoming what I think was Rocky’s hands down best adversary. Rocky IV features more of, and filmed in the ring better scenes of what made the Rocky series great.

In fact, hands down Rocky IV had the best musical montage training scene in the winter landscape of Russia, and it also had the most brutal match between Rocky and the Russian; which was the best of his fights, without a shadow of a doubt.

And, as we all well know now, it also had incredible emotion overflowing in the losing of one of the great Rocky characters from the Rocky series.

The ROCKY I-IV 4K 4-Film Collection includes the MGM feature films ROCKY, ROCKY II, ROCKY III and ROCKY IV, along with the ROCKY IV Ultimate Director’s Cut, ROCKY VS. DRAGO. This collection contains a Blu-ray disc featuring the hour-long behind the scenes documentary on the making of this extended director’s cut of ROCKY IV, ROCKY IV: ROCKY VS. DRAGO as well as a selection of previously existing EC.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray disc featuring the films ROCKY, ROCKY II, ROCKY III, ROCKY IV and the ROCKY IV Ultimate Director’s Cut, ROCKY VS. DRAGO will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range, and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray will include an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with each feature film in 4K with HDR, a bonus Blu-ray disc with the documentary and a selection of pre-existing special features, and a Digital version of the feature films.

For the complete 4K Ultra HD experience with HDR, a 4K Ultra HD TV with HDR, an Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a high-speed HDMI (category 2) cable are required.