Rocky Road

''Can you believe it?'' A year later, Stallone is in his trailer, proudly playing a Cliffhanger promo video for his agent, CAA's Ron Meyer. The trailer is parked outside a Los Angeles power plant, where his current film, a futuristic thriller called Demolition Man, is on location (the film, which costars Wesley Snipes, opens this fall). As the soundtrack booms, the Alpine scenery certainly looks spectacular, and the actor's pleasure is evident. With two new movies and a steady companion, model Jennifer Flavin, he allows, ''I'm probably in a better place than I've ever been in my life.''

Lest he appear too complacent and blow the underdog's advantage, he cautions metaphorically that when Cliffhanger opens, ''Hopefully, I'll be able to hold onto that rock, because I'll be very, very nervous. Look, comeback stories are the stories of my life.'' He's not the only one with the jitters. Although most industry observers predicted that Cliffhanger would be exactly the comeback vehicle Stallone sought, TriStar was concerned enough about the actor's image to downplay him in print ads. Instead of a heroic head shot, some ads show just a tiny silhouette of Stallone that is overwhelmed by the words ''Hang On.''

Perhaps that's why Stallone took four days off from Demolition Man and ventured to a realm where he remains larger than life — the Cannes Film Festival, where he attended Cliffhanger's May 20 world premiere and received a reception that had the ring of an uneasy Hollywood one-liner: Well, they love him in France.
''Stallon-ey! Stallon-ey!''

The mob jammed the steps leading up to the Palais des Festivals. At the top of the red-carpeted entrance, Elizabeth Taylor, in a white Valentino, looked almost beatific. Amid the flash of cameras, Taylor and Stallone air-kissed. She pinned a jewelled AIDS ribbon on his lapel. He raised his arm in victory.

''I haven't felt this way since Rocky I opened," Stallone admitted. ''I feel like I've come full circle. It's been a very personal challenge to regain the momentum and do the things I'm capable of before I'm too old to do them. You only have so many bullets.''