The sequence and the song are designed to instill belief in the character and his quest, and it does that perfectly. As Rocky runs up the famous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Conti's strings and trumpets climb and climb and push him up to the top, the camera circling around until it stands directly behind him as he throws his arms up to "Gonna fly now!", the first part of his journey now complete. One of the most indelible images of "Rocky" is the sight of Stallone increasing his running speed as he runs along the docks, huge ships in the background that contain the kind of power he's channeling, all while DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford's vocals ring in the ether ("Feeling strong now, won't be long now"). The only film to deviate from the set formula of the scores was 1990's "Rocky V," which featured hip-hop tracks and used "Gonna Fly Now" in the finale, replacing "The Final Bell."įor better or for worse, the training montages are a crucial part of the "Rocky" formula and something audiences have come to expect from the films. Even so, Conti's themes percolate throughout, whether it's for Rocky climbing a Siberian mountain or Adonis Creed versus Drago, Jr.
Of the five "Rocky" sequels that followed between 19, along with two " Creed" films, only three weren't scored by Conti-1985's "Rocky IV," which had an electronic score by synth specialist Vince DiCola, and "Creed" and "Creed II" by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson. So moving and stirring is the music from "Rocky" that it's still being used today, albeit in more of a cameo role, but no less important. I know that from reactions in letters that I've received that it helped people emotionally." "Music that moved people is the kind of music I wanted to write," Conti told GNT in 2002 "and the music seemed to affect people.
It's a cathartic piece both for the character and the audience and it's a pure emotional outpouring and one of the most powerful pieces of film music ever composed. So I said 'let's make it peppy and fast and give him some inspiration.'"Īrguably as powerful, however, is "The Final Bell," the cue that plays as the fight ends and Rocky is searching the ring for Adrian. So I had the fanfare at the beginning and then the theme which is very sad, because this guy's a loser. "In the tenth reel," Conti continued, "he gets to train for a big fight, and we want to manipulate the audience to think that he can win. He loses." Conti wrote three other thematic pieces aside from the main theme, a brass fanfare ("We were talking about what heroic music is, and I hear brass and I hear loud when it's time to go into battle"), a driving cue for the eventual fight scene called "Going The Distance," and the dramatic finale "The Final Bell." But the film-and series-would be defined by "Gonna Fly Now," especially that montage. Responsible for the "Rocky" theme and score is American composer Bill Conti, whose other famous works include the score and song for James Bond adventure " For Your Eyes Only" and the classic theme tunes to TV's "Dynasty" and "Cagney & Lacey."
#Rocky balboa music theme series
Rocky's theme is subtitled "Gonna Fly Now," a result of adding lyrics to the theme for the big training sequence, the first of many montages across the eight films in the series including, the latest, " Creed II." The franchise has long been criticized for being formulaic, and while that's not especially incorrect, what's interesting is that perhaps the most predictable moment in the films-the appearance of "Gonna Fly Now"-is the one most look forward to. And when we hear Bill Conti's stirring theme from " Rocky" we feel passion, we feel inspiration, and the confidence to beat the odds. This is why when we hear Bernard Herrmann's "Psycho" strings we immediately feel panic when we listen to Ennio Morricone's harmonica strains from "Once Upon A Time In The West," we feel the tension of an approaching gunfight. The point of a music score is to illustrate what's going on in a character's head and in their heart.
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