You know a movie has a tiny budget when it’s cheaper to film a new scene than it is to reprint a banner. That’s what happened with Rocky, the best sports movie of all time, and according to the film’s writer and star, Sylvester Stallone, that’s exactly what they did when the posters for the final fights were printed incorrectly. In fact, the scene they had to film to “fix” the mistake makes the movie so much better that it’s hard to think of the best Rocky movie happening without it.
Red Trunks With A White Stripe Or White Trunks With A Red Stripe?
It sounds like one of those memes where one person hears “Laurel” and another hears “Yanni” or some kind of Mandela effect, but were the trunks Rocky wore in his fight with his opponent Apollo (Carl Weathers) red with white stripes or white with red stripes? The answer in the movie is white with red stripes, but on the banner that hung above the ring, Rocky is wearing red trunks with a white stripe.
You can catch the mistaken seen in the film and the scene that fixed it with a Peacock subscription).
Meanwhile, now you know that wasn’t intentional. The banner was supposed to match what Rocky would actually be wearing for the fight, but somewhere along the line, things must have gotten mixed up. When the posters arrived, the trunks were the wrong color. When life (and a tight budget) gives you lemons, well, figure out a cheap solution. As Stallone explained in an Instagram post, the solution was to film a quick scene explaining away the inconsistency.
It worked, of course. It even adds to the movie in a subtle-but-brilliant way. Rocky is the underdog in the movie, of course. No one takes him seriously. Not the public, not the champ, certainly not the boxing press. So, a banner maker not paying attention to the proper color works perfectly and provides another wonderful example of disrespect that Rocky experiences.
It’s also just a cool scene. Rocky has that moment with the promoter right after the inspiring montage that has become cinematic history, and he’s immediately reminded that no one is giving him any chance in the fight. The promoter, Mr. Jergens(Thayer David), tells him:
It doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m sure you’re going to give us a great show.
It sums up everything Rocky is supposed to be about. As Rocky walks out of the arena and returns to his crappy apartment, we, as the audience, are right there with him. Ready for the fight, but unsure he’s supposed to be there.
