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Amazon.co.uk Review
Norman Jewison's dystopian Rollerball portrays a near-future in the aftermath of the Corporate Wars, in which nations have crumbled and conglomerates rule. In place of freedom the people are given bread and circuses: material comfort and rollerball itself. Played on a circular, slanted track by men on skates and motorbikes, this extreme sport is the ultimate extrapolation of the primitive blood lust implicit in many team sports. James Caan is outstanding as Jonathan E, star player with the Houston team.
In the elegant detachment of Jewison's direction, emphasised by the stark, alienating use of classical music, there are echoes of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Notwithstanding the brilliantly staged arena sequences, Rollerball is essentially about freedom versus conformity and the corruption of unfettered capitalism, with Caan leading an existential rebellion in the tradition of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 which leads to a chilling, apocalyptic finale. Certainly the most prophetic film of the 1970s, Rollerball has an intelligence and power overlooked by those who simply denounce its brutal violence.
On the DVD: Rollerball arrives on DVD with clear three-channel Dolby Digital sound, although obviously it lacks the impact of a more modern 5.1 soundtrack. The 1.77:1 transfer is anamorphically enhanced and is generally very sharp and detailed with excellent colour. Some scenes show a lot of grain, but this is presumably a consequence of having to shoot with very fast lenses to capture the swift and dramatic action under indoor lighting conditions.
"Return to the Arena--The Making of Rollerball" is a new 25-minute documentary (4:3 with letterboxed film clips) that features Jewison, Harrison and various other personnel reminiscing about the making of the film. The highlight of the extras are commentary tacks from the Jewison and Harrison, and while there is inevitably some overlap of information, and some quite lengthy gaps in Harrison's track, there is also much to interest the serious film buff. Also included is an original seven-minute promotional featurette "From Rome to Rollerball: The Full Circle", the chilling original trailer, the teaser trailer and a trailer for the remake.--Gary S Dalkin
DVD Description
DVD Special features:
Audio commentary by Norman Jewison
Audio commentary by William Harrison
2 theatrical trailers
UK featurette – "The making of Rollerball"
3 TV spots
Return to the arena – The making of Rollerball
Trailer of re-make
Still gallery of production design and production photographs
Audio commentary by Norman Jewison
Audio commentary by William Harrison
2 theatrical trailers
UK featurette – "The making of Rollerball"
3 TV spots
Return to the arena – The making of Rollerball
Trailer of re-make
Still gallery of production design and production photographs
Soundtrack: English Subtitles: English, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Hebrew, Greek, Czech, Hard of hearing English
Widescreen version 16:9
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
It is not often that one can look back at a film considered violent when it first came out and still agree with that opinion. Today we are so desensitivised by the constant violence in film and television that most old, 'controversial' films seem laughable. Rollerball, however, still packs a considerable punch.
The film is visually stunning. Although many 70s views of the future now seem tawdry, Rollerball still manages to convey a good sense of the future by keeping it simple and, therefore, believable. The acting is superb, with an especially strong performance from John Beck as Jonathan's anarchic colleague Moonpie. The moral dilemma of Jonathan is intruiging, and is contrasted with the society's moral decline by a series of unnerving visual sequences.
My one problem with the film is that it sometimes does not go far enough. Certainly the implications of a society controlled by a few 'executives' could have been explored more fully. But this is a small quibble. The film is all about Rollerball, and as a film about Rollerball it works fantastically well. The game sequences are relentlessley edited, even by todays standards, and by the end of the final game you really feel that you have been watching something truly special. A real gem, and even today, one woth looking at.
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Rollerball" is a superb film, possibly one of the best I have ever seen. Not only does it portray a futuristic dystopia where tyrannical global corporations have replaced nation-states as the sources of economic and political power(a 1970's vision which is now a reality), but it is also a compelling action movie and a poignant parable about tyranny versus free will; the collective versus the individual.
James Caan puts in a memorable performance as Jonathan E , the ageing Rollerball champion, whose cult of personality eventually becomes too much of a threat to the shadowy corporate directors' social engineering schemes. Rollerball, a vicious indoor combination of Speedway, Gridiron and Ice Hockey ,is supposed not only to distract and brutalise the masses , but to highlight the importance of the collective and the insignificance of individual effort. It is whenever Jonathan E starts to defy the Corporation that he begins to face serious danger.
"Rollerball" has a similar theme to the films "Network" and "Soylent Green" and of course Orwell's novel "1984" . In all of them ,an heroic ,messianic male individual fights an impersonal, omnipotent corporate tyranny in the name of free will and humanity. "Rollerball"'s triumph is its combination of this morality theme with as much visceral ,dramatic action as you could hope for, as rule changes make Rollerball progressively more violent. The action scenes as Jonathan E's Houston team play Tokyo and New York are right up there with the best in cinema and the ending is both emotional and uplifting.
I have never watched the remake of "Rollerball", nor do I intend to. How could they possibly improve on this original ?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
If you set aside the view of the corporations as shadowy entities against individualism but rather see them as operating an agreed (but nevertheless covert) global system which resolved economic conflict and all the usual problems of welfare economics by having the results of the Rollerball game,fed into Ralph Richardson's computer, determine asset investment and distribution, then the brilliance of this film takes on a further dimension. If I am along the right lines then Jonathan's results were increasingly biasing resources towards his (Energy) corporation which could not be allowed to continue. With considerable irony this absolutely determined but highly evolved method of economic decisionmaking depended on a game which was sufficiently anarchic to create the right element of chance and balance in the system. It also of course provided good "Colosseum" entertainment for the masses. That he could not become too much of a celebrity was a useful cover for this deeper underlying function of the game. Great stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Old meets new
I just bought the new one saying it was so great and my husband never saw the original......so we watched this last night and we both enjoyed it tremendously. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Amanda Read
NAFF
James Caan intrigues me slightly.This is the bonehead who turned down One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest,Apocalypse Now,Kramer Vs Kramer,Superman...the list goes on. Read more
Published 11 months ago by mister joe
I fight for my right to be an individual! I feel pain when love is...
I am 41 years old and have seen over 8000 movies(!). This movie...ROLLERBALL is in my top 10.
All the luxery in the world; all the fame; all the succes; ... Read more
All the luxery in the world; all the fame; all the succes; ... Read more
Published 12 months ago by stevebelgium
A bit dated but still has it
This film was banned from video release for many years because of its violence. It seems tame now, but the 70's feel is great and it still has an edge.
Published 13 months ago by Dr. Michael J. Atkins
It's not life and death - it's more serious than that.
Ruthless capitalism creates a ruthless game that has to become more and more extreme to satisfy the demands of the circus. Read more
Published 15 months ago by thinknicethoughts
Rollerball
A true classic much better than the remake. I have really enjoyed watching it again. fortunately I know the film quite well if i had not it could have quite easerly been passed... Read more
Published 16 months ago by concreteboy
The First Time
I purchased ROLLERBALL on the recommendation of a friend who claims it is "the best sci-fi movie of all time". Having watched it for the first time im afraid I have to disagree. Read more
Published 17 months ago by BELLEMODO
A Monumental Moment In Film
Rollerball shouldn't work. The naive plot, some truly awful acting especially from the main antagonist, the difficult to follow edits and questionable morality should make... Read more
Published 21 months ago by MLA
Classic 70's
A glimpse into a brutal future tensions released and relived viscerally in the rollerball rink. Caan is Jonathan the leading exponent of the game . Read more
Published on 27 May 2010 by George Henderson
The original and still the best
It has been a long time since I first watched Rollerball and I thought it may have been a bit of a let down. If anything though, it's better than it was before. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by S. Hunter
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