Sylvester
Stallone has made his name in cinema as
the ultimate action hero, taking the lead in blockbusters including
The Expendables, Rocky and Rambo.
This year, he heads up one of the greatest casts ever assembled as Collection bursts onto DVD on 9th
February 2015 and digital platforms from 2nd
February 2015 courtesy of Signature Entertainment. To
celebrate the release, we take a look back at some of his greatest
roles over the decades...
Collection (2015)
Stallone
is joined by a hugely diverse and exciting cast in this
high octane story of a diverse group of people all making big changes
on the advice of a reclusive and mysterious writer, Teddy Rayman
(Tom Berenger).
The dark and enigmatic Teddy reaches out to various people and saves
them from their often violent and troubled lives in this fast-paced
thriller, which also features Kevin
Connolly, Thomas
Jane,
Kelsey Grammer, Terry Crews and Danny
Trejo.
Rocky
(1976)
Considered
by many one of the greatest films of all time, Stallone penned
this drama and stars in the titular role as Rocky Balboa, a
small-time boxer who stumbles into a once-in-a-lifetime chance to
fight heavy-weight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) -
Creed’s managers assume the match will be an easy win (and great
publicity) for Creed, but Rocky has other ideas, gearing up for a
match that could potentially be his only shot at the big time...
First
Blood (1982)
The
first in a series of films based on the novel by David Morell, First
Blood sees Stallone take his first outing as former United
States Special Forces soldier Rambo. A recipient of the
Congressional Medal of Honour, he is still traumatised by his time in
Vietnam. While visiting a friend in Washington, he is insulted by
Sheriff William Teasel (Brian Dennehy), goading him until he
is arrested and suffers harassment from the sheriffs- triggering
memories of his torture in Vietnam. Escaping, his mind regresses back
to his days in the war, and he begins a rampage through the forest to
escape from the sheriffs determined to kill him...
Cobra
(1986)
This
fast-paced, brutal and action-packed drama sees Stallone play
renegade cop Lt.
Marian Cobretti, who is tasked with tracking down a ruthless cult of
serial killers, led by the self-proclaimed ‘Night Slasher’ (Brian
Thompson).
When model Ingrid (Brigitte
Nielsen)
witnesses one of their murders, she immediately finds herself in
grave danger- and is placed under the protection of Cobretti and his
partner Sergeant Gonzalez (Reni
Santoni),
as they make a last ditch attempt to track down the killers and bring
them to justice once and for all...
Cliffhanger
(1993)
This
brilliantly tense thriller uses the stunning setting of the
inhospitable Rockies, and showcases the talents that originally made
Stallone a superstar. He plays Gabe, a once-successful rescue
climber who has since left his job after losing his friend in a
traumatic accident. A year later, Gabe is asked to go back to the
very same mountain range to assist with the rescue of a group of
stranded mountaineers... unbeknownst to him however, the stranded
group are in fact thieves searching for their heist, and willing to
do anything to recover it...
Judge
Dredd (1995)
Set
in a hyper-violent dystopian future, this sci-fi favourite stars
Stallone as Judge Joseph Dredd, a Judge with all three
judiciary powers -police, jury and executioner. When he is convicted
of a murder he didn’t commit, he sets out to find out who is really
responsible- and discovers that corrupt Judge Rico (Armand
Assante) is behind it. With
help from his colleague Judge Hershey (Diane
Lane)
and computer hacker Fergie (Rob
Schneider),
Judge Dredd sets out to bring Rico to justice, and put a stop to his
destructive plans...
Antz
(1998)
This
Dreamworks animation risked being overshadowed by the ensuing feud
with Disney (due to similarities between it and Pixar’s A Bug’s
Life) - however, the film more than stands up to scrutiny, offering a
sharp, wickedly funny and markedly grown up tone to the latter. With
a voice cast that included Stallone along with Woody Allen,
Dan Aykroyd, Sharon Stone and Anne Bancroft, Antz tells
the story of Z (Allen), a deeply neurotic ant desperately
trying to break free of his authoritarian society and escape to
Insectopia, all while trying to win the affection of Princess Bala
(Stone), who he’s fallen in love with following a chance
meeting.
Get
Carter (2000)
Stallone
is joined by a stellar cast in this remake of the 1971 British
crime drama, including Miranda Richardson, Alan Cumming, Michael
Caine, Mickey Rourke and Rachel Leigh Cooke. Stallone
stars as Jack
Carter, a mob enforcer living in Las Vegas, who pays a visit to his
hometown of Seattle for his brother's funeral. During this visit, he
discovers that the ‘accidental’ death of his brother was in fact
a brutal murder- and sets out to avenge his brother and kill all
those responsible...
Rambo
(2008)
Taking
place several years after the first Rambo instalment, First Blood,
this action thriller sees John
Rambo (Stallone)
enjoying the quiet life in a rural Thai village near the Burmese
border, capturing snakes for local entertainers, and transporting
passengers in his boat. After assisting a group of Christian aid
workers into Burma, their humanitarian mission takes a drastic turn
when the village is attacked and the missionaries are kidnapped. Once
again, Rambo is asked to assist in transporting passengers - but this
time it’s a group of mercenaries sent on a rescue mission... one
which he chooses to join.
The
Expendables (2010)
This
hit action franchise finally brought together some (almost all,
really) of the biggest names in the genre- led by Stallone,
the film’s leading gang also included action veterans Dolph
Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Terry Crews and Randy
Couture. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, the bad guy was
played by none other than B-movie action regular Eric Roberts
and there were notable cameos by action staples such as Mickey
Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.
Unsurprisingly, the team proved so popular with audiences that it
spawned two sequels, adding action stars like Chuck Norris,
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Wesley Snipes to the
roster.
Collection bursts onto DVD on 9th
February 2015 and digital platforms from 2nd
February 2015 courtesy of Signature Entertainment.