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Go The Distance At Alamo Drafthouse Rocky Marathon

YONKERS, N.Y. -- To sit all through seven Rocky movies, you're going to need the eye of the tiger and be ready to fly high now.

All seven Rocky films will be screened at Alamo Drafrhouse in Yonkers.

All seven Rocky films will be screened at Alamo Drafrhouse in Yonkers.

Photo Credit: Contributed

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic boxing franchise, the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers is screening all seven Rocky movies on Dec. 3, starting at 11 a.m. Six of the movies, including "Creed" will be screened in 35 mm. There will be food specials, giveaways and other surprises.

The first 100 audience members in the door will get an exclusive screen printed poster made just for the event. 

The first film follows Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a down on his luck fighter in Philadelphia, who unexpectedly gets a chance to face Apollo Creed for the heavyweight title. A longshot, Rocky has one goal: to go the distance. The film won Best Picture in 1976.

The rest of the films follow Rocky on his Cinderella journey from top to bottom to the top again, culminating with him training Apollo Creed's son in "Creed", which was released last year to critical acclaim.

Justin LaLiberty, creative manager at Alamo,  helped organize the series. LaLiberty is such a big Rocky fan, he proposed to his girlfriend in Philadelphia.

"Rocky has been a big staple in my life, as a kid all the way to an adult," LaLiberty said. "'Creed' made things come full circle. It was a big hit and it showed the series still has life. There are people who saw "Rocky" in 1976 and teenagers who saw "Creed" last year and it was their first exposure to the series."

LaLiberty said he is looking forward to seeing more than 200 people go through the series together. 

"It's going to be really special," LaLiberty said. "It goes to show what a communal experience the Rocky series is and what it means to all of us and what we mean to it."

Growing up LaLiberty said he was obsessed with movies featuring action heroes like Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Seagal. 

"Rocky always seemed like the nicer guy," LaLiberty said. "He feels like he's tied to reality. It's universal, it's about what you are and what you want to be and it defines all these obstacles. During the series, the character falls in love and has a family. As the series evolved, Rocky got older and faced health and financial problems. They've never skirted the issue that this guy can be damaged. He's a person."

Debating your favorite Rocky movie can be a never-ending argument, but LaLiberty picks "Rocky IV" where Rocky goes to Russia to fight Ivan Drago.

"Seeing those two fight is legendary," LaLiberty said. "I love "Rocky IV", I don't think you can top that."

And while the much derided "Rocky V" might cause some to head for the exits, LaLiberty said the film isn't that bad.

"I have a soft spot for it," LaLiberty said. "Despite its issues, it's still an important film and the relationship between Rocky and his son is really good."

LaLiberty admits he was skeptical when "Creed" came out, since Stallone was not writing or directing it. But he was blown away.

"Everything in "Creed" is so good," LaLiberty said. "It has some of the best moments of the series."

Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers is at 2548 Central Park Avenue. For more information, contact 914-226-3082. For tickets click here.

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