With 9 wins and 6 nominations, the fourth film of the popular Rocky franchise, Rocky IV, is one of the best boxing movies there are. Written and directed by actor Sylvester Stallone, who also plays the main character, the movie revolves around Rocky’s desire to revenge the death of his friend Apollo Creed, who will be in a match against Ivan Drago, a Russian boxer who has been scientifically trained, using high tech equipment. Unfortunately, Drago is killed during the fight and Rocky is filled with guilt.
Now, years after the film was released, Stallone revealed a shocking detail about one of the scenes.
Namely, while filming, he was subjected to some significant blows from Dolph Lundgren and had to be taken to the hospital.
Speaking of the film ahead of the release of a new recut version of it, Stallone said, “In the first round, where he knocked me down, that is for real.
“He pulverized me and I did not feel it at that moment but later that night my heart started to swell.”
Further, he revealed, “[Lundgren] had bruised the perio cardio sac, which is when the heart hits the chest – like in a car accident when your chest hits the steering wheel. My blood pressure went up to 260. They thought I was going to be talking to angels.”
Believe it or not, he was admitted to the intensive care unit at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California. He stayed at the hospital for nine days.
“I knew I was in trouble when I showed up and nuns met you at the ICU,” Stallone said and added that the nuns prayed for him.
The hit to the chest was included in the film because as Stallone said, “How could you possibly rule that out?”
What do you think of the scene?