Amazon.com: In the year 2018, violence and crime have been totally eliminated from society and given outlet in the brutal blood sport of rollerball, a high-velocity blend of football, hockey, and motor-cross racing sponsored by the multinational corporations that now control the world following the collapse of traditional politics. James Caan plays Jonathan E., the reigning superstar of rollerball, whose corporate controllers fear that Jonathan's popularity has endowed him with too much power. They begin to pressure him according to their own ruthless set of rules, but Jonathan has rules of his own--the rules of a man determined to retain his soul in a world gone mad. As directed by Norman Jewison (who was enjoying a peak of success during the early and mid-1970s), Rollerball creates a believable society that's been rendered passive and compliant by the homogenization of corporate dictatorships, where the control and flow of information is the only currency of any importance. It's a world in which natural human aggressions have been sublimated and vented through the religious fervor toward rollerball and its players. Rollerball now looks like one of those 1970s science fiction films (another example being Logan's Run) that seems a bit dated and quaint, but its ideas are still provocative and fascinating, and the production is visually impressive. The DVD includes full-screen and widescreen versions of the film, audio commentary by director Norman Jewison, a behind-the-scenes featurette, an interactive "rollergame," trivia, and production notes. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Somewhat dated in appearance, yet still prophetic with its message
As corporations continue to expand their control of various industries across the globe, "Rollerball" is more meaningful than ever before.
Sure, you've got the bad:
1) helicopters that look like the ones from M*A*S*H;
2) laser-pistol effects that are a little cheesy;
3) a bunch of guys in roller skates instead of roller blades;
4) dated video displays;
5) casual clothing and parties that look like something you might find at Playboy Mansion West . . . in the early seventies. (Spandex! Nothin' but spandex!)
Rating: - Rollerball (1975) Is Sci-Fi And Social Commentary At It's Best--So Why Can't Amazon Differentiate Reviews For It And The Remake
"Rollerball" (1975) is a science fiction classic and the reviews of it should not be allowed to be defamed by those of the so called remake! I first saw this film when it came out, and it remains one of the few James Caan films I like. Moreover, the central themes--discussed in many of the other reviews--remain as important today as they were in 1975. While I cannot say with certainty that "Running Man" took it's cue from "Rollerball," I have always seen similarities between the two.
One of the true beauties of the science fiction genre is it's ability to make social commentary on ... Read More
Rating: - SAD OLD MAN 3
Goes back in time, was a classic film ahead of itself when first released, time for the vhs to go so it had to come for dvd. Nice now to sit back when I like and watch the really good old films.
Rating: - Be aware that reviews of the original and the lousy remake are mixed together here
Amazon has mixed up the reviews for the original Rollerball (with James Caan from 1975) and the remake (with Chris Klein from 2002). The customer reviews for the original are generally fairly good (user rating average at IMDb is 6.4/10, above average), for the remake the opposite (2.7/10, abysmal). Just keep that in mind if you're trying to decide what to buy based on these reviews.
Rating: - ladies and gentlemen, our corporate anthem!
Some of the dystopian films of the 70s seem to have a dreadful relevance today. "Network" and its vulgar, debased media; "Soylent Green" and its greenhouse-effect world; "Nashville" and its celebrity-stalkers and populist politicos. It all seemed so science-fiction then.
So it is with this film, which predicted a world in which, apparently, the nation-states, certainly the Soviet Union, no longer existed, and in which private corporations governed. It's very worth watching, both for the games themselves, a latter-day gladiator contest, and for the acting performances. Although some of ... Read More
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