The AFI’s obligatory “we have to include one silent movie to establish our legitmacy” pick was City Lights. Commenting on the film was Marlee Matlin.
Yes, but you can’t just dismiss a movie that won 3 Oscars including best picture, a Golden Globe for best picture, and lots more nominations for both.
And how can the story not be inspirational? A boxer who never made it out of the local gyms, who breaks thumbs for a loan shark on the side, gets a shot to fight the heavyweight champion of the world. Instead of treating it like the circus everyone else is, he works hard and trains until the fight, where he goes longer in the bout against Apollo than anyone before him, and almost wins. The message (to me at least) is - when you get your big chance, devote your heart and soul to it. Don’t give it up just because everyone else thinks it’s impossible. You may not like the movie, but you can’t deny that’s an inspirational message.
It’s boxing.
And Indian movies are just about men jumping and dancing around and women singing in brightly coloured saris.
I’m sorry, but if we’re not allowed to make fun of Indian movies I don’t think it’s fair for you to automatically dump on Rocky without also recognizing its merits.
It inspires the beginning of under-capitalized ventures that could go under at any minute, leaving its investors high and dry. 
Stereotype much?
IAWL is in my top three all-time movies- the other two… BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
"It’s a statement about the duality of man… you know, the Jungian thing.’
So I guess we need to cross Breaking Away, Hoosiers, Chariots of Fire, The Pride of the Yankees, Field of Dreams, Seabiscuit, Rudy, The Black Stallion, and The Kartate Kid of the list too?
Granted, I certainly don’t think all of those movies deserve to be on the list(The Karate Kid?), but the point is, just because it’s about a subject one doesn’t find terribly interesting or inspiring in and of itself, doesn’t mean the people in the story can’t inspire us to be the best…around.
What about Glory? I mean, I get that they took the hill/bunker or whatever, but EVERYONE dies! That’s not inspirational, that’s pathetic. There’s really no redemption at all in that movie.
Maybe it’s cuz I’m a chick, but I’ve always been inspired by that movie for different reasons. Two misfits finding each other and realizing that they each deserve to be loved. When Adrian jumps into Rocky’s arms in the middle of the ring and finally declares “I love you!”…well, that, to me, is Rocky’s true victory.
Their criteria is “American Film”. Anyone have any foreign additions they’d like to add?
- Central Station (Central do Brasil)
I’m sorry, but seeing that stupid list has made me want to make an opposite one, to counter-act the stupidity.
Nominees for “Most Uninspirational and Sort-of Depressing When You Think About It Movies” goes to:
Trainspotting
12 Monkeys
City of God
Bicycle Thief
Dr. Strangelove
Requiem for a Dream (or is that inspirational in some way?)
etc, etc, etc…
And, am I the only one who was inspired by Falling Down, at least a little bit? Knock around the store, hell ya! Almost get shot by angery Mexican gangsters in a drive by attempt that still ends in carnage, WOOOOO! Threaten people with a baseball bat, shit ya booooi! Much more thrilling than A Wonderful Life, I say.
So is Raging Bull which won Oscars for best actor & best editing, nominated for pretty much everything else. And Million Dollar Baby, which won best picture, best director, best actress, and best supporting actor. You may dislike boxing, but it’s obviously possible to make a damn fine boxing movie. And the main characters don’t even have to break into a musical number for no apparent reason.
You just couldn’t leave that one hanging, could you? By the way, is that an actual song used in Rocky or something Matt and Trey came up with for South Park?
And yes, I don’t get how some of these are inspirational.
The Oscar-winning title song from Philadelphia was written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, not Neil Young.
Bruce Springsteen’s song in the opening credits is called “The Streets of Philadelphia”, but Neil Young’s song “Philadelphia” (also Oscar-nominated, losing to Bruce) was over the closing credits.