Has it been 25 years already? Jeez, I can remember sitting in a theater and seeing a trailer for some new boxing movie. I remember turning to a friend and saying, ‘God, that looks terrible.’ Heh, heh. Of course, I was also the insightful wit who remarked (to the same friend) that Spielberg ‘might have really blown it with this one’ after seeing the trailer for ‘ET’. Ok, prognostication has never been a strong suit…

In any case, 25 years after Sylvester Stallone became a household name, defying the odds on and off screen with a hit movie that became a cultural phenomenon, MGM is planning to release Rocky: 25th Anniversary Special Edition.

Directed by John Avildsen, ‘Rocky’, for those who might have missed it, is the story of a down-on-his-luck boxer who gets a shot at fighting the world champion in a title match. The movie was written by and stars Sylvester Stallone. The supporting cast includes Burt Young, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, and the delightful Burgess Meredith.

The disc will have an anamorphic widescreen transfer, letterboxed at the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Audio is a newly mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack in English, with French and Spanish mono soundtracks. Subtitles are available in French and Spanish. The disc will feature a 33-minute video commentary with Sylvester Stallone; a behind-the-scenes featurette will director John Avildsen with never-before-seen footage; tributes to Burgess Meredith and James Crabe; audio commentary with the director, producer and cast; original advertising materials and the theatrical trailer.

‘Rocky’ is scheduled for release on April 24th. No price has yet been announced.