Rocky IV, the fourth film in the famous Rocky series, is one of the best boxing movies of all time, with 9 wins and 6 nominations. The main character, Rocky, seeks revenge for the death of his friend Apollo Creed in the film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone. In a match, Rocky will face Ivan Drago, a Russian boxer who has undergone scientific training and advanced equipment. Rocky feels guilty after Drago is tragically killed during the fight.
Years after the film’s debut, Stallone recently revealed a surprising fact regarding one of the film’s scenes. During the filming of a fight sequence, he received several brutal blows from Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago in the film. When the sequence was filmed, Stallone was taken to the hospital.
Prior to the release of the remastered version of the film, Stallone commented, “The first round where he knocked me down, that’s real. He crushed me, even though I wasn’t aware of it. Later that night, my heart started to swell.
He also explained that “When the heart hits the chest, like in a car accident when the chest hits the steering wheel, [Lundgren] injured the pericardium.” My blood pressure went up to a staggering 260. They believed I was talking to angels.”
He was taken to the intensive care unit at St. John’s in Santa Monica, California. He stayed in the hospital for nine days and the nuns who met him in the ICU prayed for his recovery.
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According to Stallone, the chest blow was depicted in the film because it could not be ruled out. He was willing to take risks to create fight sequences that were as realistic as possible.
Stallone stated, “I knew I was in trouble when I showed up and the nuns met you in the ICU. The nuns were praying for me.”
The chest shot was part of the movie because, in Stallone’s words, “How could you rule that out?”
Stallone’s injuries came to light and shed further light on the determination and emotion he put into making Rocky IV. Stallone was dedicated to making the fight scenes as realistic as possible despite the dangers involved, and his efforts paid off as the film was a huge commercial and critical success.
