This drama film, directed by Peter Bogdanovich in 1985, is based on the true story of the early death of Roy L. Dennis (Rocky). Rocky suffers from a disease called craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, which causes cranial enlargements. Despite that, Rocky is a sensitive and intelligent teenager. Motivated by, for example, his mother Rusty and her friend Gar, Rocky manages to break the cycle of pain, loneliness and prejudices again and again and thus becomes a role model for everyone else.

The director’s cut was released in 2004. Apart from a live performance of the song "Little Egypt" by Cher, it also contains the funeral of Red, a friend of the family. So this raises the question, whether the director's cut is worth it or not, if there's nothing more than those scenes. The answer: it definitely is, although one could go without those additional scenes. The main reason that speaks for it is another one. In 1985 Bogdanovich decided to take songs by Bruce Springsteen. On the one hand because he thought they captured the zeitgeist of this period really well; and on the other hand because the real Rocky was a big fan of Springsteen. But due to an argument between Universal Pictures and Springsteen's Label, Columbia Records, the songs were removed from the movie and replaced by songs of Bob Seger. Springsteen himself took a stand for reinserting the songs into the director's cut. So now you can hear "Badlands", "Thunder Road", "Promised Land" and "Born in the USA" by the Boss.



This is a comparison between the German FSK 12 DVD and the Unrated Director's Cut (US-DVD).

Running Times:
FSK 12 DVD: 114:48 min. PAL / 119:42 NTSC (with end credits)
Unrated Director's Cut: 126:41 min. NTSC (with end credits)

There are missing 6 minutes and 59 seconds within 3 scenes.

2 additional scenes: 6 minutes and 32 seconds
1 extended scene: 27 seconds

Extended Scene in the Director's Cut:
00:44:39
During their visit of the carnival, the group naturally takes a ride on the ghost train. Red surprises Babe by giving her his good luck charm.

27 sec.

Red: "Hey, Babe. There's something I've been wanting to give you."
Babe: "You picked a hell of a time. Oh, I can't take that, Red. That's your good luck charm."
Red: "I kind of think of you as my good luck charm, Babe."
Babe: "Ohhh. Well, if you put it that way."
Red: "Will you were it?"
Babe: "Sure."
Red: "OK. There."
Babe: "Sentimental old bastard, aren't you?"
Red: "Yeah."
Babe: "Yeah."

Additional Scene in the Director's Cut:
00:46:37
Some music is missing after that. Florence 'Rusty' Dennis sings the classic "Little Egypt" in the forest. The guitar breaks during a quarrel, so there's no encore.

3 min. and 24 sec.

Rocky: "Ladies and gentleman, step right up. See Little Egypt do her famous dance of the pyramids. She walks, she talks. She crawls on her belly in the dirt like a reptile. Wow. You gotta love her for doing this. She's my mom. Put your hands together for Miss Rusty Dennis."

Rusty: "I went and bought myself a ticket and
I sat down in the very first row, whoa whoa.
They pulled the curtain but then when
they turned the spotlight way down low, whoa whoa,
Little Egypt came out strottin',
wearing nothin' but a button and a bow, whoa whoa,
singing, Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah.
She had a ruby on her tummy and
a diamond big as Texas on her toe, whoa whoa.
She let her hair down and
she did the hoochie koochie real slow, whoa whoa,
When she did her special number on a zebra skin,
I thought she'd stop the show, whoa whoa,
singing, Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah!. "

Rocky: "She did a triple somersault and when she hit the ground,
she winked at the audience and then she turned around.
She had a picture of a cowboy tattooed on her spine,
saying Phoenix, Arizona, 1949"

Red: "Good year."

Rusty: "Well, let me tell you people,
Little Egypt doesn't live here anymore, whoa whoa.
She's too busy moppin' and
a taking care of shoppin' at the store, whoa whoa.
'Cause they got seven kids and
all day long they crawl around the floor, whoa whoa,
singing, Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah!"

Babe: "Come on. Let's go. Come on, Rusty. Sing another one.s"

Additional Scene in the Director's Cut:
01:43:34
Gar tells Rusty and Rocky that Red died in the morning.

3 min. and 8 sec.

Rusty: "What's the matter?"
Gar: "Red died this morning. Babe called from the hospital. She said he'd been sick for a long time. Never told anybody. Babe was with him when he kicked off."

Sad accordion music is playing at the funeral. The members of the group say a special farewell to their friend.

Gar: "May the wind be always on your face, brother."
All: "And the breath of a sweet woman on the back of your neck."

Babe: "I told you not to give it to me, didn't I?"

Member 1: "Get down!"
Member 2: "21 guns, Red. One, two, three, four, five, six. Hang on a second, Red."

Rusty takes care of her son.

Rusty: "You okay?"
Rocky: "Yeah."
Rusty: "We okay?"
Rocky: "Yeah, ma. We're okay."
Rusty: "You gonna throw someting in the grave?"
Rocky: "I don't wanna say good-bye to Red. He's not over there anyway. He's everywhere now. It's like he used to say, Mom. Nobody ever really dies."