Sylvester Stallone attempted to “repair” Rocky IV during COVID-19

14 November 2021, 12:30 | Updated: 5 April 2022, 11:01

"I thought I could do a lot better," the star says of the notorious 1985 boxing movie, which has been reissued in a "director's cut".

Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he's tried to "repair" the controversial 1985 film Rocky IV, believing he could improve it.

The 75-year-old Hollywood star - who plays the titular Rocky Balboa in the franchise - took the time given to him during the pandemic to reassess his filmography and believed he “could do a lot better” on the 1985 boxing movie.

Stallone starred, wrote and directed in the film which is the highest grossest episode in the entire series.

He told Entertainment Tonight: “With COVID, I had about a year. And I thought, if there’s any film I’d like to repair - and there are some that are beyond repair - I thought I could do a lot better on Rocky IV.”

The original theatrical release - which came out almost 36 years ago to the day - ran for 92 minutes. According to reports by Polygon, Sylvester added 42 minutes to the movie.

Rocky IV: Rocky Vs Drago - The Ultimate Director's Cut, which is streaming now after one night in theatres, still just passes the 93 minute mark - meaning roughly half of the movie is different from the original.

The Rambo star explained: “I realised I had a lot of footage I never used! I looked at it and thought, ‘What is wrong with me?’”

ROCKY IV: ROCKY vs DRAGO - THE ULTIMATE DIRECTOR'S CUT (2021) Trailer | Sylvester Stallone

He attributed the change in “perspective’ as a part of getting older.

Stallone went on “It’s funny how you grow and you live long enough you change your perspective.”

The actor also revealed he had a near-death experience while shooting the movie. He instructed Dolph Lundgren - who played his opponent in the ring, Ivan Drago - to “try to hunt” him.

Sylvester revealed: "I told Dolph, 'Go completely animal. Try to hunt me out in the first 30 seconds. Don't try too hard, but try.' He tried real hard and he caught me underneath the heart."

He continued: "And those gloves we had are actually illegal today. They were really hard gloves."

The aftermath of the shoot lead to Sylvester being admitted to hospital: "My heart was starting to bleed... my heart stopped beating. I ended up on a flight to St. John's Hospital and the rest is history."

The fourth instalment of Stallones Expendables franchise is currently filming and features the rapper 50 Cent in an as-yet-unknown role.