Netflix has released the trailer for Sly, the Sylvester Stallone documentary. This documentary is narrated by Stallone himself, teasing a rare unflinching look at a life and a career and what one may have cost the other.
“Do I have regrets? Hell yeah, I have regrets!” Stallone is heard saying as the trailer opens, framing the grim theme of this documentary. “What is healthier? To live under the illusion that you could have been great, or actually have an opportunity to be great and then you blow it and you realize you’re a failure?”
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Synopsis: For nearly 50 years Sylvester Stallone has entertained millions with iconic characters and blockbuster franchises, from Rocky to Rambo to The Expendables. This retrospective documentary offers an intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor-writer-director-producer, paralleling his inspirational underdog story with the indelible characters he has brought to life.
As the actual teaser for Sly unfolds we get a sizzle reel of Stallone footage from both films, news broadcasts, home movies and previously-unseen footage, and interviews. Throughout the footage Sly continues to narrate, saying the following:
“If you’re ever on a train: wham, wham! And that’s what you’re life is: Whoom! Whipping by, it’s gone. Filmmaking, it comes at a great price. There’s no time for anything else. Nothing inspires you than taking your history, balling it up, and [basketball shot motion] swoosh!”
The teaser does just that: tease some of the darker and more ominous experiences that Sylvester Stallone had as a world-famous star – and the implied personal cost to his family.
While it may have never cost him too much publicly, Sylvester Stallone has certainly had his fair share of private tragedies, controversies, and challenges. The filmmaker has been married three times (including a second marriage to actress Brigitte Nielsen) and fathered five children (two boys from his first marriage; three daughters from his third). His eldest son Sage died of heart disease in 2012, the same year his half-sister Toni Ann Filiti died of lung cancer; Stallone’s youngest son Seargeoh was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Syndrome as a child. His marriage to his third wife Jennifer Flavin has its own on-again, off-again turbulence – with Flavin filing for divorce as recently as 2022 before the couple reconciled.
Stallone has also had an infamous struggle with physical injuries in the decades of trying to be a macho action icon (Rambo, Rocky). The early days of being a badass doing his own stunts left Stallone in intensive care several times – including the infamous Rocky IV story of Dolph Lundgren punching him sold hard in the chest it literally nearly killed him and breaking his neck while filming The Expendables. There are also several accusations of sexual assault Stallone has faced over the years, including the accusations leveled at him by Filiti, and those of a teenage accuser from the 1980s. His political allegiances have also sparked controversy on both sides, as he has often floated between supporting Republican figures and passionately adhering to views like strict gun control.
As always, it’s uncertain just how deeply Netflix’s Sly will get into these less flattering aspects of a celebrity figure’s life – but it’ll be interesting to find out.
Sly will premiere on Netflix in November.
