Rollerball | John Houseman, Maud Adams | the rumbling nightmare of Rollerball

Rollerball | John Houseman, Maud Adams | james caan "scores" as johnathan e.

DVDs:

Rollerball

	Rollerball John Houseman, Maud Adams MGM (Video & DVD), 1998 average customer review:based on 116 reviews view larger image
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the rumbling nightmare of Rollerball

A a kid growing up in rural Snohomish, Washington in the 70's i was a big fan of this movie; I was thrilled, involved & excited by the furiously nasty snap of the game, which is not at all what the director Norman Jewsion intended; ( sorry, i was only 8 or 9!) Then a few years ago i read the short story by William Harrison and was struck by its sense of poetry, nostalgia and loss and also its sense of danger and foreboding--it really makes the game seem scary-- its quite a nice piece of writing. Then i watched the film again and was struck by how much of that melancholy tone from the story Jewison was able to capture in the film, without sacrificing any of the punch of the Rollerball games themselves. Ah, the 1970's! The last decade before sci fi got blanded-out and watered down for mass-consumption. While watching this film you get a sense of intelligence at work; a sense of something being communicated besides crass marketing of toys and tie-ins. This is one sci fi film that looks remarkably contemporary-- no one wears anything made of silver spandex-- and the themes--of depersonalization in the face of consumerism, of corportate-ruled societies filled with a drugged-out leisure class, of the slick and cynical packaging of violence as entertainment in modern sporting spectacles--are as timely as ever. I hate to say this but if you want to see just what an intelligent, thoughtful and well-made film ROLLERBALL is all you have to do is watch the incredibly stupid, insulting and uncalled for re-make; Its garbage, totally worthless. This one is a gem. And special mention must be made of JAMES CAAN who seems so perfectly at ease in the role that you'd think he really was a professional athlete in a dangerous future sport; he inhabits the role in a way that makes it impossible to imagine anyone else playing the part. He is especially good, oddly enough, in the quieter, more reflective scenes where he manages to suggest his character's lonliness and isolation with a mimimum of expression. Its a nicely modulated interior performance, perfectly countered by his furious grace and power when he is dispatching foes on the Rollerball track. Also excellent is JOHN HOUSEMAN, who has one of the biggest roles of his career here as the all powerful Mr Bartholomew, head of the ENERGY Corporation; he has an air of the tired aristocrat about him-- suave, jaded and menacing-- perfect for the role.
The DVD edition offered here is a great bargain; the film hasn't looked this good since it was released in theatres in 1975! And Norman Jewison provides an interesting and enlightening commentary. I am glad to see that MR Jewsion seems to have a certain fondness for this film because in my opinion its one of the best science fiction films that has ever been made and it joins SOYLENT GREEN and PUNISHMENT PARK as one of the benchmarks of 1970's cautionary sci fi filmmaking.

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james caan "scores" as johnathan e.

along with "the godfather" this is some of james caan's best work. as johnathan e. the best rollerball player in the world he is all swager and you believe he could be a champ.
in the future the goverments of the world have fallen apart and company's are running the world. crime and war are gone but as an outlet the company's give us rollerball(a mix of roller derby,basketball,football,boxing,and motercross)and caan is the best there has ever been. problem is the company's use the game to show how one person isn't as important as the group,and caan is spoiling it for them,so they use ANY MEANS THEY CAN TO MAKE HIM HANG UP HIS SKATES!!!!!
lots of action and some good food for thought here so give this 70's classic a try!

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Johnathan E: Hero or Villain?

50 years in the future, Johnathan E (James Caan) is the biggest star of the biggest sport (Rollerball) in a world, run, not by governments but by Corporations.

Energy Corporation Director Bartholomew (John Houseman) throws a party for Johnathan E, Rollerball's biggest star. At the party Bartholomew asks Johnathan to retire from the game. The Corporation has begun to fear Johnathan's popularity. Johnathan is not the simpleton he appears, for, as Bartholomew continues to insist he retire, Johnathan steadily raises the volume of the TV special airing in the background on his behalf complete with cheering crowd noise. As this conversation (between Bartholomew and the rising crowd noise) goes on, thru a window, you can see party guests burning down the trees outside with a flame-gun. Finally Bartholomew nearly yells, "You can be stopped Johnathan". During the entire scene Director Bartholomew has his back turned to the window completely unaware of the scene outside. He doesn't need to see it.

Corporate Director Bartholomew spells it out clearly, "We have eliminated war", "We have eliminated disease, and hunger" - we simply ask to be allowed to make executive decisions. Trying to convince Johnathan to retire from Rollerball, he says, "It's an ugly social spectacle. It's a nasty brutal game. It serves it's purpose. It teaches the futility of individual effort." Unable to win Johnathan's cooperation, the Corporation rigs the game so he will lose. On the track Johnathan makes an amazing individual triumph against all the odds.

I assumed Johnathan's triumph heralded regime change (I'm going along with the movie here). In fact, at the end, you can see a dejected Bartholomew sitting behind the protective glass of the arena, and in the glass you can see a reflection of the Corporate Logo down on the track surrounded by flames. One reviewer has compared the scene at the dinner party to the last supper.

Younger audiences miss the complete 'regime change' angle to the story I think. It may seem too unbelievable. At the same time, when the movie came out, some had a problem believing corporations could become as powerful as they are portrayed here (at least according to the man introducing this on Turner Classic movies). Is this truism true? Are corporations more influential than they were in 1975? Unfortunately (for working Americans), corporations in America have less influence now than they did then.

I was rooting for Johnathan all the way in the movie. But I was left to wonder if regime change was going to be a good thing. Is Johnathan E Hero or Agent of Decline?

At least one reviewer's noted: in the future sport Rollerball, sport is used to curb individualism. In the real world, sport has come to promote it. And the idea there's no point to collective action. Depending upon who we are of course, we are on your own. Just the way we like it.

Perhaps it's a testament to our conditioning (and this movie is part and parcel to that?): few see Johnathan E in other than the heroes role.

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Rollerball original still good

After viewing an old copy of Rollerball I bought my own copy and played it without distraction. It wasn't as good as I remembered it (I thought there was more action) but it still appealed to me both at a nostalgic level and as straight entertainment. Surprise, surprise my kids enjoyed it as well. Well worth a second, third and fourth look.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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