Where Was Rocky 4 Filmed? A Superb Story Of An Underdog!!

Are you the kind of person who draws inspiration from underdog stories portrayed on screen? If yes, then be sure to follow this article where I discuss an iconic Sylvester Stallone film, Rocky 4 and also let you in on where was Rocky 4 filmed.

Rocky 4 written as Rocky IV, is a sports-drama genre based film released in 1985. This movie is the fourth part of the Rocky franchise and the sequel to the much celebrated film, Rocky III.

Director Sylvester Stallone, like other movies of the same franchise, plays the central character of Rocky. The main story of the film revolves around Rocky, as he struggles to find a way to defeat the new champion boxer from Russia, Ivan Drago. The protagonist gets motivated to fight him after Drago fatally injures one of Rocky’s best friends, Apollo Creed, in a boxing bout.

Rocky 4 was a huge commercial success, grossing over $300 million, worldwide. However, the movie received average ratings from the critics, as some believed the storyline to be too predictable. For now, allow me to discuss the plot of Rocky 4, in brief just so you may have a better concept of the actual storyline.

Plot Of Rocky 4 | What’s It About

The movie begins by showing Rocky, as an established professional boxer who won a number of championships, as shown in the previous films. This time around, he decides to help his friend and former boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), in training, to fight against the new challenger from Russia, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren).

Drago, the antagonist of the film, kills Apollo with a fatal blow in the championship event, and starts to humiliate the American crowd. The Russian fighter gloats over his strength and achievement, in an attempt to showcase the USSR as a superior country, as the events took place during the Cold War Era.

Rocky, gets furious after he sees his friend Apollo, succumb to the fatal injuries, and promises to defeat Drogo. As shown in the film, the protagonist realizes he needs to increase his strength and stamina in order to avenge the death of his friend. And thus, isolates himself to an austere training routine, in the snow-peaked mountains.

Rocky finally defeats Ivan Drogo after continuing to survive each round without throwing in the towel. After winning the comeback match in Russia, the protagonist returns to America with glory and respect intact. Now we’ll find out where was Rocky 4 filmed, so that you can enjoy even more the next time you watch this sport-action film! 

Where Was Rocky 4 Filmed? Let’s Know The Movie Closely!!

Sylver Stallone, apart from his outstanding performance on screen in Rocky 4, did a commendable job behind the lens as a director. Stallone along with the production team decided to shoot the film in various locations in America and Canada.

The major locations used for filming in America were Wyoming, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. While the final sequence of the movie was filmed in British Columbia, Canada. So without further ado, let’s find out more about these scenic locations!

Wyoming, Wisconsin

The filming of Rocky 4, the third highest grossing movie of 1985, was completed in about 4 months time! The principal photography began in 1984, with Wyoming as the main location for filming the majority of the scenes in the movie.

The scene where Rocky arrives for the first time in Russia, was actually filmed at Jackson Airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

The hardcore training sequences in the film are absolutely entertaining and inspiring at the same time. They were filmed at Jackson Hole as well, where the crew had to recreate the entire set from ground up inorder to make a Siberian farm site, as shown in the film.

However, assembling the make believe farm site was not as difficult as filming the outdoor scenes at freezing temperature.

Other outdoor scenes in Wyoming, featured the Grand Teton National Park, to shoot the scenes of the Siberian forest. Cody Peak, Jackson Hole Ski Area was finalized as the perfect spot to film the scene where Rocky finishes his training and stands on top of the mountain, denoting the completion of his harsh training.

You might be amused to know that legendary movies like Django Unchained, Dances with Wolves, and the infamous documentary There’s Always Next Season were also filmed at Wyoming in Wisconsin. 

PNE Agrodome, an indoor sports arena with a capacity of 5000 seats was used to film the last match where Rocky defeats Ivan Drago, amidst the Russian crowd.

While enacting one of the scenes from the fight, Sylvester Stallone got injured from a punch and had to be rushed to the hospital. The filming was stopped for a couple days, but soon resumed as the lead actor recovered and was physically fit to join back the sets again.

Los Angeles, California

The sequences filmed at Los Angeles even though appear at the starting of the movie, they were filmed at a later part of the filming process. Such as, the scene depicting the arrival of the antagonist, Drogo, was filmed at Los Angeles International Airport. 

The production arranged special permission for shooting at this location, as the team had to make sure there were no disturbances from the crowd, and arranged a separate gate which was not used for arrival or departure by the public.

Another notable location is the  mansion illustrated as Rocky’s house in the film, was in reality the Fremont Mansion at 56 Fremont Place, in Los Angeles.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Bally’s Casino Resort, appeared in the film as the location to shoot the first fight between the former champion Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago. Special permission had to be taken from the sports administrative body of Las Vegas, Nevada to shoot at this iconic location.

Final Words

So, now that you’ve read the narrative of the film and know where was Rocky 4 filmed, I hope you will give it a watch if you haven’t already. This film will certainly entertain you with an inspiring story, brilliant screenplay and high flying action sequences. 

But if the filming locations excite you more, then you can definitely look them up and plan your next trip. And, if you’ve enjoyed this post, please visit Viebly to read more informative and entertaining articles about filming locations of other movies and shows. 

Until then, peace out!