- Current AMC broadcasts in the US use the sped-up 25 fps PAL video from a 24 fps film source.
- In 2020, Sylvester Stallone began work on having a new extended "director's cut" of the film edited, released in 2021 as "Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago - The Ultimate Director's Cut". While the list of changes is extensive, the main changes came from removing the infamous robot, adding more dramatic beats such as Adrian concerned about Apollo's reasoning to fight Drago, a sequence after Apollo's funeral in which Rocky blames himself for his death, Adrian's fear of Rocky leaving for Russia, as well as a large amount of alternate takes and angles from various scenes. While the run time is only about 2 minutes longer, estimations say there's roughly 40 minutes of alternate footage compared to the 1985 theatrical cut.
- The directors cut has the following additions:
- The film now opens with extended scenes from Rocky III (not just the fight), after these scenes it immediately cuts to Apollo in the pool playing with his dogs and hearing about Drago on the TV. (Completely omits the third fight between Rocky and Apollo and Paulie's birthday party).
- A new scene in the front lawn of Rocky's house in which Apollo tells Rocky he wants to fight Drago.
- Adrian and Rocky talk about Apollo in their kitchen after the scene where all of them are sitting around the table.
- Drago actually answers some questions and talks during the press conference with Apollo.
- The fight between Drago and Apollo was changed and edited.
- Apollo's punches look harder then they did in the theatrical and the fight was also extended.
- Rocky cries during Apollo's funeral and says that everything he has he owes to Apollo and later blames himself for Apollo's death to Adrian.
- A scene after the fight of the boxing commission banning Rocky from fighting Drago (this scene was partially seen in the original trailer).
- The scene where Adrian who is at the top of the stairs is talking to Rocky who is at the bottom of the stairs (right before the no easy way out montage) is extended.
- Rocky says farewell to Adrian before leaving for Russia and she cries to him that she wants him to stay.
- The second training montage (the one set to hearts on fire) is edited and extended to show new shots and new angles.
- Rocky has a inner monologue with himself in his head to inspire himself during his fight with Drago.
- The fight with Drago is a little different to show different angles and different shots but it runs around the same length.
- Rocky's speech after the fight was extended and now references Apollo but is basically the same.
- Some of the music cues were changed as well including the title sequence and the ending.
- On the USA Network version of the film, a shot of Drago taking steroids is reframed to edit out a needle piercing his shoulder. To keep time with the song "Heart's On Fire" playing in the background, previous shots of the needle full of steroids are slowed down.
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