Sylvester Stallone released a 90-minute documentary on the making of Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago – The Ultimate Director’s Cut (yes, it’s really called that) to commemorate the film’s one-day-only theatrical release on Thursday. Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago – The Ultimate Director’s Cut (yes, it’s really called that) essentially distilled the Cold War into a boxing match, as was the custom at the time. Stallone discloses a surprising fact about the film’s famed fight with Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago in the behind-the-scenes footage, specifically that the Swedish actor — playing Russian, because… sure — pounded Stallone so hard that the Rocky star nearly died.
The situation was so serious, according to Stallone, that he had to be flown on an emergency flight with nuns on board in case he didn’t make it. According to IndieWire:
“The first thing we shot [was] my entrance, [Lundgren’s] entrance, and the introductions and then I got really injured during the fight and I had to be flown into intensive care to California from Canada,” Stallone said. “[Lundgren] pulverized me. And I didn’t feel it in the moment but later that night my heart started to swell. My blood pressure went up to 260 and I was going to be talking to angels. Next thing I know I’m on this emergency, low-altitude flight. I’m in intensive care surrounded by nuns and then after that, I had to go back and finish the fight.”
After being beaten by Lundgren, Stallone spent four days in the hospital, but he was adamant that the shot that nearly killed him be included in the final cut of the film. “How did you get that out?” “Stallone joked in the documentary, which is almost its own film.”