Rollerball (1975)

People are voting emotionally.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Set in a future world where there are no countries, just giant corporations which provide for everybody's needs. The sport of Rollerball is the dominant entertainment and Jonathan E, of the Houston team, is its star player... and that is a problem as the game is designed so that no one player becomes a star. The game is a brutal, full-contact cross between roller derby, speedway and basketball as players, some on skates others on motorbikes, race round a circular track trying to put a heavy metal ball into a small goal. After yet another victory for Houston corporate executive Bartholomew approaches Jonathan and tells him it is time to retire... something Jonathan isn't ready to do. As the next game approaches he tries to find out why the executives want him out of the game. So much so that they change the rules to make a dangerous game even more dangerous.This 1975 classic is set just over forty years in the future... in this year: 2018. Given that fact it has aged surprisingly well; the only scenes that seem really dated are those featuring a '70s view of what computers would look like in 2018. The strength of the film is the game itself; it may be more brutal than any real sport but it makes sense; there are clear rules and strategies so it feels like a real sport. The action is exciting, often disturbing and looks like a real match not like actors playing sportsmen. The story is effective although it might have been nice if we could have been told more of how the world changed to become how it is depicted... that said a sense of mystery beats a poor explanation. James Caan puts in a fine performance as Jonathan; it is clear that he is doing almost all of his stunts. The rest of the cast are solid; most notably John Beck who plays Jonathan's friend and teammate Moonpie and John Houseman who plays the quietly menacing Bartholomew. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of speculative fiction; sci-fi that is more about people than technology.

In a way I waited for about 30 years to see this movie and finally caught it on a local art house cinema. It was shown from a 16mm print. Even in the 80s when I was a kid and growing up with the movies this had a bit of a cult reputation. Very violent, so no one was allowed to see it so it became a bit of a curiosity. Later I just never ran across it, no video or dvd rental seemed to have it nor was it shown in TV. Later I have also built up a major affection for 70s sci-fi movies, especially those that have something to say, so I was pretty excited to see it.So.. did it live up to the expectations I had built? Not really. The rollerball action scenes were amazing and I was very drawn into the movie early on. Very well made. But when the actual plot started to reveal, I kind of lost interest. The movie is about corporations ruling the globe and the corporations apparently don't like the fact that a rollerball player (James Caan) is starting to gain individual following and hero status over a "team effort". So they try to get him to retire and as he doesn't want to, they change the game rules to get him out of the game "natural way". James Caan's character starts to question the whole system and goes on to find answers and keeps playing.It kind of sounds interesting, but it never really is. The motives - for everyone - are pretty vague. We don't see much of anything about the so called dystopian future, so it's difficult to put any actions into a proper context. Why don't the executives just ditch Caan, he gets to play as if no one really cares if he plays or not. The same when he goes to an "all knowing" computer to seek answers. He just walks in. But doesn't get any answers. The whole scene is pretty awkward.The music is also somewhat overly dramatic many times with well known classical pieces like Albinoni adagio. They kind of work, but then again they don't quite fit every time.There are good stuff too. The cinematography is amazing by Douglas Slocombe, one of my favorite cinematographers. There are very nicely directed scenes, very effective stuff. I'm not a huge action fan, but the rollerball scenes were very well done.So definitely a mixed bag. I wouldn't rate this among the best dystopian future movies, but it's nevertheless an interesting catch. Maybe it would require another go to really get into it.

The films dealing with a futuristic society have a tendency to go way overboard and this 1975 film is no exception.It comes down to rollerball player James Caan fighting the executives of the corporation who control this outrageous sport attempting to force him into retirement at the height of his career.Fresh off his supporting Oscar win 2 years before for "Paper Chase," John Houseman again comes across as a pompous domineering executor whose very sinister appearance spells doom.As the rules change, the sport in question becomes far more violent and at this point the film goes further down in quality.

I don't have to tell anyone who's made it this far that ROLLERBALL, in retrospect, seems prescient. Corporate team sports have become the norm, with athletes proudly adorning themselves with corporate logos and tap-dancing to the tunes of their corporate masters as fast as they can. (There may come a time when the corporations will require the athletes they sponsor to tattoo the company logo on their hides...) Individuality (of the sort found in sports like boxing) has pretty much fallen by the wayside, for the most part (the odd fight turns up on cable or pay-per-view, but NEVER on Corporate Networks any more; and only superstar fighters with Brand Names are known to the general public). Jonathan E is the Muhammad Ali of his era, an individual who stands out- and, like the proverbial nail that must be hammered down, he finds himself under assault from The Corporation(s). Like the so-called Rules of Engagement meant to lessen the murder(s) in warfare, there are penalties in Rollerball, but those penalties are waived in response to Jonathan's celebrity to allow for greater carnage- which the Rollerballers promptly deliver (like the grunts who kill nowadays in the name of Corporations). Whether it's Team Sports like football or basketball or the military, it's ALL carefully designed to foster The Group Mind approach to winning. It's the individual who's NOT a Team Player that must be hammered down.