Rollerball

At first glance you'd never guess the same director who did the wonderfully charming "Fiddler on the Roof" would turn around 2 years later and do the dark, dystopian chiller "Rollerball". But he did. But in both films, we see the same powerful strategy: a complex, philosophical brain-twister beneath a deceptivly simple exterior. "Fiddler on the Roof" was seemingly a linear story about a struggling Jewish family's good & bad times. But the real meat of the story was about the conflict between old ways and new (tradition vs. progress). Here in "Rollerball" we have another seemingly linear story about an athlete in a violent, futuristic sport. But the real meat is the conflict of brutal human nature vs. suppression (again, a sort of "tradition vs. progress"). As with "Fiddler on the Roof", director Norm Jewison doesn't hit us over the head with any preachy sermon but instead leaves us to digest the situation. "Rollerball" has the same powerful, brooding quality that we see in many of the 70s scifi masterpieces, like "THX 1138", "Soylent Green", "Planet of the Apes", "Blade Runner" (yeah I know that one was 1982), and the one that started them all, "2001: A Space Odyssey". Cold, sterile sets, disturbing situations and powerful use of silence characterize these films. By today's standards they might be considered slow, but depending on how you like your scifi, that might be right up your alley. In a nutshell, the story is about a futuristic society that has largely done away with civilian violence. It has done this by "subsidizing" violence by way of a global pasttime: a hyper-violent sport called Rollerball. Note: as a parallel story, we learn that cut-throat corporate competition has been similarly squelched by the government creating monopolies. And thus society finds peace. Or does it? You can probably see the brilliant metaphors being woven here. This isn't an ordinary scifi romp, it's a powerful socio-political allegory. It cuts to the heart of human nature the way the great writers H.G. Welles, Mary Shelley and George Orwell did. No, you won't see a lot of laser battles, spaceships and aliens. But here you'll see an excellent example of what scifi was designed to do: comment on our current human condition by creating a fictional (extreme) scenario as a cautionary tale. Excellent, and I mean EXCELLENT performances by James Caan (The Godfather, Misery), John Houseman (The Paper Chase, The Fog), Maud Adams (3 James Bond films), Moses Gunn (every 70s TV show from Hawaii 5-O to Shaft), and a particularly gripping performance by Pamela Hensley (Princess Ardala in "Buck Rogers" homina homina) make this an all-star powerhouse of 70s talent. The music deserves a special mention of its own. From the opening notes of Bach's Toccata in Dm (the creepy "Dracula" theme) to Albinoni's haunting Adagio in Gm (check it out on YouTube... saddest song ever), "Rollerball" doesn't hold back. They don't make 'em like this anymore. But there are a few modern scifi films that come close: "Moon", "District 9" and "Solaris" come to mind. If you liked the films I mentioned in this review; if you liked the 70s classics "Catch-22" and "Coma" and "Stepford Wives"; if you like films that are both entertaining and works of art, do NOT miss Rollerball. For laughs, after you watch Rollerball (1976), check out the remake done in 2002 ...and see how far we've come :/

source: Rollerball

Trailer—Rollerball

Rollerball

The game of rollerball is a super-violent form of roller derby. The idea is to skate around and through a group of skaters and plant a steel ball into a tiny receptacle. James Caan's Jonathan E. is the best. He is admired by all and afforded sex and other favors for his successes. However, this sport is a microcosm of the society that has created it. For at some point, Jonathan E. will be passé and a new, more interesting person will take his place. Of course, he will need to be killed. There is no retirement from this sport or withdrawal from the culture. These athletes are owned by the bosses. It's almost like a street gang mentality. This is a film about what transpires when Jonathan begins to see the implications of his actions and realizing that the state is in control of his life.

In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes (James Caan) is out to defy those who want him out of the game. So, the film is known for its stunts and being the first film to give credit to the stunt performers in the credits. This film is also known for its classical music -- an idea borrowed from Kubrick's "2001" and "Clockwork Orange", which allegedly stops the film from dating. (This concept does seem to be true -- the lack of 1970s music does make it harder to pinpoint as a 1970s film.) There is some social commentary here about corporations, the violence of certain sports and more. How seriously we should take any of this is unclear because it really does just end up being a lot of fun, and one could actually see a game like this being invented (is it really all that different from roller derby?).

Coming out as it did right after the Vietnam War ended, it seems that "Rollerball" accurately reflected the sense of cynicism - inherent in the idea of dystopia - that had taken over the country. It portrays a corporate future in which the only entertainment is an ultra-violent sport called Rollerball. The thugs who have taken over are able to use this sport not only to control their players, but also to control the population. But one player, Jonathan E. (James Caan), is seeking to change all that... Aside from looking at the use of violence for entertainment, "Rollerball" also employs some interesting camera angles (mainly in the zooms). Apparently, director Norman Jewison got part of the inspiration from "A Clockwork Orange"; you can certainly see it here. A great movie.

This movie presents a dark, disturbing look at a possible future. The movie portrays a cold, sterile society where humanity is generally absent. Corporations run the world and the global pasttime is a violent sport reminisent of the Roman Coliseum. The rollerball scenes, which get more and more violent as the film progresses, are disturbing enough. Equally disturbing is a scene where a group of drunk partygoers blow up trees with some sort of gun. The citizens of this future society are really lacking feeling and humanity. Despite the film's dated look, it's still a future that seems quite possible.