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History might tell you that the Cold War ended in the late 80s, but it actually ended in 1985 when Sylvester Stallone directed the fourth installment of the "Rocky" franchise and sent the braindead American hero to Soviet Russia to avenge his best friend's death.
Today on the podcast, we continue our descent into Vulgar Auteurism with two films that defined 80s aesthetics and film as we know it: the aforementioned "Rocky IV" starring Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Brigitte Nielsen and a very horny robot, as well as the iconic dance drama "Flashdance" starring Jennifer Beals.
Both films were massive hits when they were released, but critics viewed them as the death of cinema as we knew it. Utilizing MTV-style editing and taking the montage to new extremes (35% of "Rocky IV's" 90 minute runtime is literally montage), both films represented the changing of the tide in Hollywood filmmaking and opened the door to commercial/music video directors like Tony Scott, Michael Bay and David Fincher.
We interrogate both films' lasting impression on Hollywood, as well as the ambiguous racial undertones of "Flashdance" and the not so ambiguous anti-Communist propaganda of "Rocky IV." Has an actress ever looked as good as Jennifer Beals does in "Flashdance?" Did Apollo Creed simply fuck around and find out in "Rocky IV?" Why is the love interest in "Flashdance" giving major Richard Ramirez vibes? Why is there a talking robot in "Rocky IV?" Did Stallone really improvise his famous "Can't we all get along?" speech at the end of "Rocky IV?" Will someone please plug Jennifer Beals' TV in???
We're answering all these questions and more in our latest installment, right here on the #1 podcast in America.
