Sylvester Stallone Only Directed One Movie He Didn't Star In — And It Was A Huge Critical Flop

One of my favorite Sylvester Stallone interviews is his 1977 conversation with Barry Norman. In the interview, Stallone comes across as thoughtful, articulate, and perceptive in a way that may surprise casual fans of the star who know him for his action movie prowess. No doubt influenced by Norman's phlegmatic Britishness, Stallone is reserved yet sharp in his observations about his own success following the release of "Rocky" in 1976. In fact, he's so remarkably self-possessed in the clip that it almost seems like an entirely different person to the man we came to know as the very embodiment of '80s action bombast.

In truth, Stallone has always been one of Hollywood's smartest and most perceptive stars. But his record hasn't always reflected that. The time he got tricked into starring in the 1992 flop "Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot" by his longtime rival Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, is one of the most infamous examples, but Stallone has made some impressively dodgy choices throughout his almost 50 years in the industry. 1995's "Judge Dredd" — the stupidest sci-fi movie to predict our terrifying present — stands out as another example. In fairness, however, both that and "Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot" came from an era when Stallone found himself flailing somewhat. The generation that grew up on his "Rocky" and "Rambo" movies had moved on, and new moviegoers weren't necessarily all that interested in what Stallone had to offer. As such, it makes sense that there would be a few missteps on Stallone's path to finding his footing once again.

But those movies aren't the only duds in the man's career. All the way back in 1983, the year after Stallone debuted as the now legendary John J. Rambo in "First Blood," he directed a sequel to "Saturday Night Fever!" that remains one of the most abject entries in his prolific filmography.

In his Barry Norman interview, Sylvester Stallone recalls how he churned out the script for "Rocky" in three days while being so broke that he was on the verge of losing his apartment while his wife was pregnant. Of course, that 1976 classic was a huge hit that changed the young actor's life, with Stallone explaining how the money itself wasn't necessarily the attraction for him. "Now, I have the opportunity to go on and do films that aren't always in speeding cars or about slinky women," he told Norman. Indeed, the burgeoning star would immediately start working on other projects, not only acting but, starting with 1978's "Paradise Alley," directing. He then directed both "Rocky II" and "Rocky III," all of which did relatively well in terms of commercial and critical performance.

But when Stallone helmed the "Saturday Night Fever" sequel "Staying Alive," things would change. Star John Travolta had trained like Rocky Balboa for "Saturday Night Fever," only for the man himself to then oversee the follow-up, with Stallone not only directing but co-writing the sequel alongside Robert Stigwood and Norman Wexler. But while the original has become a classic — as highly regarded as "Rocky" — the sequel, lamentably, has not. In fact, it is one of Stallone's biggest blunders.

1983's "Staying Alive" saw Travolta return as Tony Manero. Six years after the events of the first film, Manero has become a dance teacher who gets a chance to star in a Broadway show entitled "Satan's Alley." While Manero is successful in his audition and becomes a backup dancer in the production, the former disco king also falls back into old habits and becomes caught in a love triangle between his girlfriend Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes) and fellow actor Laura (Finola Hughes).

In fairness, "Staying Alive" was actually a modest hit at the box office. The movie made $126 million on a $22 million budget. That's a success however you look at it, but it's about the only positive to come out of Stallone's fourth directing effort, as the critics were absolutely merciless.

Not only is "Staying Alive" one of John Travolta's lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes, it is one of only three Sylvester Stallone movies to bear the devastating 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The "Saturday Night Fever!" sequel was absolutely decimated by critics, who evidently felt that Stallone and the studio had pumped out a cynical attempt to capitalize on the original's success without maintaining any of the positive qualities that made that 1977 movie such a hit. All 30 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are negative, with critics seemingly willing to take off the gloves in their assessments of the film.

The Boston Globe's Owen Gleiberman, for example, wrote that Stallone's movie "isn't just a disappointment — it's a disgrace." Roger Ebert was similarly harsh, summarizing the film in his one-star review as "a slick, commercial cinematic jukebox, a series of self-contained song-and-dance sequences that could be cut apart and played forever on MTV — which is probably what will happen." In his New York Times review, Vincent Canby noted that Stallone reportedly "completely rewrote" the screenplay when he signed on to direct, before asserting that said screenplay "totally misses the point of the appeal of 'Saturday Night Fever.'" As such, it seems Stallone very much bears a lot of the responsibility for this dud — especially since he brought in his younger brother, Frank, to write some of the music.

The only other zero-percenters on Stallone's RT page are 2025's "Alarium" and 2024's "Armor," making "Staying Alive" somewhat of an outlier in his filmography, as it was a rare early misstep in his career. Thankfully, things would pick up somewhat after that, with Stallone launching into his 80s action peak and never again directing a film in which he didn't star.