Rollerball From:James Caan , John Houseman , Maud Adams , John Beck , Moses Gunn , Norman Jewison , MGM (Video & DVD) ,
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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301978309
Format: Closed-captioned
Format: Color
Format: Original recording reissued
Format: NTSC
ISBN: 6301978307
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Audio Format: Analog
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Packaged Height: 112 hundredths-inches
Packaged Length: 732 hundredths-inches
Packaged Weight: 38 hundredths-pounds
Packaged Width: 419 hundredths-inches
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: 1999-09-22
Running Time: 125 minutes
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 1975-06-25
Product Description:
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:
 Somewhat dated in appearance, yet still prophetic with its message, 2008-09-17
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!)
But then you've got the good/great:
1) Violent rollersport with, in the end, NO SUBSTITUTIONS, NO PENALTIES and NO TIME LIMIT, essentially turning the game into a last-man-standing event;
2) Jonathan E, played by James Caan, who is the aging star of the rollerball sport. He's not represented as an unintelligent jock but, rather, as a simple man with simple desires who happens to have a gift for rollerball and a longing for the wife that has been taken from him. He became and remains popular in a sport that was designed to eradicate individual achievement. The NRG corporation (whose team he plays on) is ready to put him out to pasture. Takin' on the man, yeah!
3) John Houseman as the head dude of the NRG corporation. Cold, calculating, aloof and always enjoyable.
4) Toccata and Fugue in D Minor as the soundtrack! Bold and fitting at the same time. Check it and see (or hear, rather).
5) The movie just gets better and better towards the end, crescendoing like a classical symphonic piece.
6) A great dystopian film about man vs. the society of the future.
I'm serious. If you love dystopian stories, this should definitely be on your "Must See" list.
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