Rocky Iv

Isolation is a terrible thing for any artist, but it's worst of all for a movie maker who's tasted success early. Unchallenged and unchecked, with no one to say nay and with no new influences on his work, he begins to feed on himself. You can see the results in the elephantine vacuousness of Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky IV" (citywide). To those who could perceive it, Rocky Balboa's charm was that of a rough-hewn, clumsy-wid-woids palooka who made it against all odds, his little lady by his side.

"The Expendables" may be one of the most old-school action movies to be shown at this year's Comic-Con, but it could have gone in a very different direction. "I thought it would be great to a live-action 3-D movie," director and star Sylvester Stallone told Hall H on Thursday afternoon, describing his thought process before he began shooting the ensemble shoot-'em-up. "I was tempted." But the star said he felt it would have constricted movement of the camera. "So I thought, 'Why not not just do it old school, in a classical way?

Zhang Huanxun's "Pride's Deadly Fury," which screens today only as the final offering in the Nuart's Chinese Film Festival, turns out to be, of all things, an Asian "Rocky IV." Of the many recent Chinese films to surface this year, "Pride's Deadly Fury" is one of the least sophisticated but most entertaining. Baldly political and fervently patriotic, it's an unabashedly anti-Soviet propaganda piece in the guise of a kung fu epic.

Sylvester Stallone brings boxer Rocky Balboa home from the Soviet Union on a real Soviet airliner in "Rocky V," taking advantage of glasnost to film the latest chapter of his pugilistic saga. Stallone, whose character battled a Soviet boxer in "Rocky IV," filmed Monday at the Philadelphia International Airport with the captain and crew of an Aeroflot jet. "It's amazing because six months ago this was totally impossible. It's truly astounding," Stallone said.

Joseph Peters said that Sylvester Stallone was paid $12 million for writing, directing and acting in "Rocky IV" (Calendar Letters, Jan. 26). He must be mistaken. There is certainly no proof on screen that any of these activities have taken place. KEVIN LAUDERDALE Pasadena

Jack Mathews wrote in Film Clips (Jan. 15) that Sylvester Stallone received $12 million for "Rocky IV," making him the highest-paid actor in the world (this from a source called Parade magazine). It should be noted the $12 million paid was a package deal that included writing and directing, as well as acting. JOSEPH D. PETERS Monterey Park

Paul Hogan--who told Playboy magazine that if he makes a " 'Crocodile' Dundee III" full of "Russian villains against the free world or with Dundee taking to people with chain saws, then I hope someone puts me in a rubber room" on Sylvester Stallone: "(The original 'Rocky') was one of the best movies I've ever seen, and now the same guy makes 'Rocky IV.' Something happened. He needs to sit down with a psychiatrist. It's a tragedy."

Film's Highest-Grossing Opening Wednesdays 1. "Return of the Jedi," 5/25/83 . . . $6.2 million 2. "Rocky IV," 11/27/85 . . . $5.7 million 3. "Indiana Jones/Temple of Doom,"5/23/84 . . . $4.7 million 4. "Beverly Hills Cop II," 5/20/87 . . . $4.21 million 5. "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," 11/25/85 . . . $4.12 million 6. "Coming to America," 7/29/88 . . . $3.78 million SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter

Actor Sylvester Stallone announced Monday that he has separated from his wife of 19 months, Danish-born actress Brigitte Nielsen, and filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences. The announcement, which followed months of denials by the 41-year-old star of "Rocky" and "Rambo" was made by Stallone's publicist. Stallone, who has two children from his 10-year marriage to Sasha Stallone, wed Nielsen, 24, in December, 1985, in a tightly guarded private ceremony.

Sylvester Stallone brings boxer Rocky Balboa home from the Soviet Union on a real Soviet airliner in "Rocky V," taking advantage of glasnost to film the latest chapter of his pugilistic saga. Stallone, whose character battled a Soviet boxer in "Rocky IV," filmed Monday at the Philadelphia International Airport with the captain and crew of an Aeroflot jet. "It's amazing because six months ago this was totally impossible. It's truly astounding," Stallone said.

The Thin Blue Line (Channel 28 Sunday at 1 p.m.), Errol Morris' 1988 true-life film investigation of a Byzantine Dallas murder case, is a gutsy, clear-eyed work; it exposed the case's amazingly sloppy and prejudiced conduct and aided in the reversal of Randall Adams' conviction. But the film failed on appeal with the Motion Picture Academy's documentary committee; they refused to nominate it for an Oscar, though the nation's movie critics overwhelmingly disagreed with them. So do I. The movie--which uses film noir -ish re-creations of the crime, a hypnotic Phillip Glass score and mesmerizing interviews with the principals--is something new in American Gothic: horror with a tabloid cutting edge.

Film's Highest-Grossing Opening Wednesdays 1. "Return of the Jedi," 5/25/83 . . . $6.2 million 2. "Rocky IV," 11/27/85 . . . $5.7 million 3. "Indiana Jones/Temple of Doom,"5/23/84 . . . $4.7 million 4. "Beverly Hills Cop II," 5/20/87 . . . $4.21 million 5. "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," 11/25/85 . . . $4.12 million 6. "Coming to America," 7/29/88 . . . $3.78 million SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter

Paul Hogan--who told Playboy magazine that if he makes a " 'Crocodile' Dundee III" full of "Russian villains against the free world or with Dundee taking to people with chain saws, then I hope someone puts me in a rubber room" on Sylvester Stallone: "(The original 'Rocky') was one of the best movies I've ever seen, and now the same guy makes 'Rocky IV.' Something happened. He needs to sit down with a psychiatrist. It's a tragedy."

Actor Sylvester Stallone announced Monday that he has separated from his wife of 19 months, Danish-born actress Brigitte Nielsen, and filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences. The announcement, which followed months of denials by the 41-year-old star of "Rocky" and "Rambo" was made by Stallone's publicist. Stallone, who has two children from his 10-year marriage to Sasha Stallone, wed Nielsen, 24, in December, 1985, in a tightly guarded private ceremony.

Katerina Lycheva, the 11-year-old Soviet girl who returned Thursday from a 12-day tour of the United States, said Friday that she is pleased with the celebrity she attained, disappointed with the food and frightened by the movie "Rocky IV." Katya, as she is called for short, said she told President Reagan that "children cannot sleep quietly as long as nuclear weapons remain on earth." Reagan "replied he was no longer a child, but was dreaming of peace, too," she told a news conference.

James Stewart, who has been a movie star for more than half a century, recently visited MCA Home Video, which is putting out on cassette such Stewart movies as "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954), "Winchester '73" (1950), "Bend of the River" (1950), "Thunder Bay" (1953) and "The Rare Breed" (1965). Stewart, 77, has been spared most of the infirmities of age. He's tall--though he claims to have shrunk an inch--and still rather slender.

Joseph Peters said that Sylvester Stallone was paid $12 million for writing, directing and acting in "Rocky IV" (Calendar Letters, Jan. 26). He must be mistaken. There is certainly no proof on screen that any of these activities have taken place. KEVIN LAUDERDALE Pasadena