The car starts flying over halfway through “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(《飞天万能车》)”. “Jaws(《大白鲨》)” is very funny. Classic films are often misremembered, reduced to striking moments or motifs. Such has been the fate of “Rocky”, released 50 years ago in November 1976. Sylvester Stallone’s knockout hit(轰动一时的成功之作) is not, in fact, a punchy fantasy(激昂的幻想) about a fighter realising his dream. It is a great American movie because it honours dreams like Rocky’s yet sees that they can be chimerical.(它之所以是一部伟大的美国电影，是因为它既尊重洛奇那样的梦想，又看到这些梦想可能只是幻影。)
《飞天万能车》演到一半，汽车就开始飞了。《大白鲨》其实非常搞笑。经典电影常常被记错，被简化成几个醒目的瞬间或母题。《洛奇》就遭遇了这样的命运——它于1976年11月上映，距今已50年。西尔维斯特·史泰龙的这部轰动之作，实际上并不是一个关于拳手实现梦想的激昂幻想。它之所以是一部伟大的美国电影，是因为它既尊重洛奇那样的梦想，又看到这些梦想可能只是幻影。
Half a century has shrouded(笼罩；遮蔽) “Rocky” in myth. Among film fans, the legend of how it was made has blurred with(与……混为一谈；模糊不清) its plot. This fable is retold for the anniversary in “The Steps”, Mr Stallone’s moving new memoir(回忆录), and the warm tribute film “I Play Rocky”, out now, in which Anthony Ippolito plays the star in the 1970s. In his book Mr Stallone evokes his dismal upbringing, his knock-backs as a young actor in New York and his gruelling day jobs: cutting fish in a deli, cleaning out lion cages at the zoo and as an usher in a cinema.(在书中，史泰龙追忆了自己凄惨的成长经历、在纽约当年轻演员时屡遭拒绝，以及那些折磨人的零工：在熟食店切鱼、在动物园清理狮笼、在电影院当引座员。) He taped the dialogue to study in his flophouse(廉价旅馆) room.
半个世纪以来，《洛奇》被笼罩在神话之中。在影迷中间，影片的拍摄传奇已经与情节混为一谈。为纪念上映50周年，史泰龙在动人的新回忆录《台阶》中重新讲述了这段寓言，新近上映的致敬电影《我演洛奇》也再现了这段故事，片中安东尼·伊波利托饰演1970年代的史泰龙。在书中，史泰龙追忆了自己凄惨的成长经历、在纽约当年轻演员时屡遭拒绝，以及那些折磨人的零工：在熟食店切鱼、在动物园清理狮笼、在电影院当引座员。他把台词录下来，在廉价旅馆的房间里研习。
When Mr Stallone wrote the screenplay for “Rocky”, avowedly(据称；公开承认地) in three days, his wife was pregnant and he was broke. Still, in a quixotic(堂吉诃德式的；不切实际的) negotiation that is the entertaining heart of “I Play Rocky”, he turned down(拒绝) astronomical(天文数字的；极其巨大的) offers for it, insisting that he—rather than, say, Burt Reynolds(伯特·雷诺兹（好莱坞影星）)—must play the lead. A tiny budget meant the crowd in the arena in the finale was largely made up of homeless people and psychiatric patients. This origin story culminates in a poleaxed Mr Stallone, sporting lavish lapels, collecting the Oscar for Best Picture.(这段起源故事的高潮是：目瞪口呆的史泰龙，穿着宽大翻领的礼服，领取奥斯卡最佳影片奖。)
史泰龙写《洛奇》剧本时，据称只用了三天，当时妻子怀孕，他一文不名。然而，在一场堂吉诃德式的谈判中——这也是《我演洛奇》最有趣的核心——他拒绝了天价收购，坚持必须由自己——而不是比如伯特·雷诺兹——出演主角。微薄的预算意味着结尾拳击场的观众主要由无家可归者和精神病患者组成。这段起源故事的高潮是：目瞪口呆的史泰龙，穿着宽大翻领的礼服，领取奥斯卡最佳影片奖。