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Rollerball
1975
In the year 2018, Jonathan E is a superstar of a sport called Rollerball, which is a combination of rugby, roller derby, hockey and motorcycle racing. Rollerball is a sport run by the Energy Corporation, one of many such conglomerates running the planet in a time when countries and individual governments are obsolete. The .. Read more
| Starring | James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, Moses Gunn |
|---|---|
| Director | Norman Jewison |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
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Rollerball
In the year 2018, Jonathan E is a superstar of a sport called Rollerball, which is a combination of rugby, roller derby, hockey and motorcycle racing. Rollerball is a sport run by the Energy Corporation, one of many such conglomerates running the planet in a time when countries and individual governments are obsolete. The corporations provide the population with everything that they need--food, a crime-free environment, mood-altering drugs--as long as they don't rock the boat and don't ask too many questions. When Jonathan, the world's greatest Rollerball player, becomes too popular with the fans, the Energy Corporation, led by the sinister Bartholemew, tries to convince Jonathan to retire. Failing that, the company raises the stakes, abolishing the rules of the already dangerous sport in an effort to destroy Jonathan and his immense fan base.
| Starring | James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, Moses Gunn, John Beck, Pamela Hensley, Ralph Richardson, Shane Rimmer |
|---|---|
| Director | Norman Jewison |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 24 Jun 2002 Production year: 1975 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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In the Big Business-run world of 2018, anti-social activity and political unrest are kept in check by the gladiatorial spectator sport Rollerball, a lethal mix of hockey, roller-derby, motorbike racing and gang warfare. But when loner champion James Caan bucks the system, one requiring the eventual violent death of its star players, after a ten-year display of provocative individual heroism, cynical corporate patriarch John Houseman attempts to kill him by changing the rules. Although the Rollerball sequences are excitingly staged, director Norman Jewison's over-inflated Big Brother fable is dull and obvious when it leaves the skating arena. Little detail is given about the future so the plot is tediously left suspended in a cultural limbo. It also exploits exactly the voyeurism of violence against which it so clearly moralises. But for all its glaring faults, this is a masterpiece compared to the absolutely awful 2001 remake by John McTiernan.
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A one-point parable, and an obvious point at that, is stretched out over more than two hours of violence in which the rules of the game are not even explained. A distinctly unlikeable film.
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Most helpful member's review
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
I liked it. A lot.
I liked this very much. I found it slightly over long but not unbearably so. And I enjoyed the story. I thought it a clever film about violence and bloodlust, vaguely prophetic without being preachy or implausible or stupid. Arguably a piece of science fiction though - like all the best work in that genre - ultimately humanistic.
'I thought that violence for the entertainment of the masses was an obscene idea. That's what I saw coming and that's why I made the film,' says director Norman Jewison.
The best thing about the film is how dated it looks. The retro-futurism is pretty cool and the backdrops and clothes are invariably a pleasure to watch.
Hammer Horror staple Ralph Richardson makes a brief guest appearance. He?s very good. Ultimately though, Caan carries the film supported by a vaguely creepy John Houseman.
The action sequences are pretty bone crunching and - if you get the chance - the documentary that accompanies the film on the DVD is well worth a watch. It debunks some myths about the movie ? no, no one died in the making of it, though there were a few broken bones amongst cast and crew. It also explains some of the thinking behind the story. It certainly enriched my enjoyment of the film.
Unfortunately there's no interview with Caan although almost everyone else involved talks freely and at length. -
Most recent members' review
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
A chilling vision of the future of sport
I had not seen this film since I was a teenager more than 20 years ago. I expected it have dated considerably over the years, but I was very pleasantly surprised that Norman Jewison's vision of a disturbing distopian future was more chilling now that it was then.
The story is set in 2018. Society has changed beyond recognition - individual nations have crumbled into dust and society is controlled and dictated by a small number of huge multinational corporations. Between them, these 'majors' provide the citizens with their every need but in return demand unquestioning obedience in all things no matter how trivial.
Rollerball is the opiate of the masses in this future. The corporations devised the game as an exercise in demonstrating to the public the futility of individual effort and aspiration.
James Caan plays Jonathan E. who for 10 years has been the sports shining light. However, the success could be his downfall as Jonathan's reputation threatens to become bigger than the game itself and is not sending the message that the corporations want - they fear his popularity.
Bartholomew, played by John Houseman, is tasked with persudaing Jonathan to quit the sport, a path which leads him to confront the full truth of the society which begat him.
Technically this is an innovative film. The action shots are painstakingly directed and captured by Douglas Slocombe the cinematographer. The game itself has obviously been the subject of much thought and discussion between Jewison and the screenwriter William Harrison.
This attention to detail and the quality performances by Caan and Houseman, contribute to make this a fascinating and believable story.
If you enjoyed the film, the DVD also contains a fascinating documentary, marred only by the absence of the two stars. -
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In the year 2018, Jonathan E is a superstar of a sport called Rollerball, which is a combination of rugby, roller derby, hockey and motorcycle racing. Rollerball is a sport run by the Energy ... -