Rating: 
Summary: hey kids, don't try this at home
Review: The story is simple, yet the film meanders all over the place. James Caan, the ostensible hero, seems drugged and more or less mumbles his lines.
The vision of a future (2018) where corporations run the world is utterly ludicrous. Yet this was one of the formative movies of the youth of the
1970s. Why? Because the game of rollerball just looks so cool. For whatever demented reason, even though we were all in our early teens, every
kid in our neighborhood got to see this movie when it came out, despite what was considered graphic violence back in the day. ....Watching the movie for the first time in 25 years, it is amazing to see how lifeless this fondly remembered action film is at any moment that the
game isn't on screen. James Caan plays Jonathan E, the greatest player in the history of rollerball. He's leading his Houston team towards another
championship season, but the executives of the corporate council--who govern every aspect of life--feel that he's becoming bigger than the game
and that worries them. So Mr. Bartholomew (John Houseman), the executive who runs the Energy Corporation and the Houston squad, informs Jonathan that it is time for him to retire. As he tells Jonathan, "The game was designed to show the futility of individual action", not to turn one
man into a hero. But Jonathan loves the game and he already resents the corporation for taking away his wife (Maud Adams) when an executive wanted her. So he
refuses to quit. This prompts the powers-that-be to start mucking about with the rules in order to intimidate him and force him out. In a game
against Tokyo, with limited substitutions and no penalties, his friend and teammate, Moonpie, is attacked and put into a coma. (Though,
interestingly, Jonathan refuses to give his consent to withdraw life support.) But Jonathan and Houston win the game to set up a championship
showdown with New York. Increasingly desperate, the corporation brings Jonathan's wife back to plead with him. By now he's started to openly
bad-mouth the corporatocracy and she defends them (and I'm sorry but this won't be the precise dialogue) by saying that they provide comfortable
lives. He counters that what they offer is actually a choice between comfort or freedom, and when she says they are the same thing he shouts that
they are not and stalks away. By the time she catches up to him at the house he is erasing the videos that he'd kept as mementos of their life
together. Now freed of any ties to his past or to other humans, Jonathan faces a final game where there are to be "No substitutions, no penalties, and no time limit"--in other words, only one man will be left standing. Guess who? When you consider all that this movie has going for it--a pretty good cast; the game itself; and the classic theme of the triumph of
individualism--the fact that it is so mediocre is all the more frustrating. It's easy to see why it was recently remade--though I understand with even
more disastrous results--it just seems like it would be so easy to improve upon. For my money the biggest problem with the film is the character of
Jonathan E.. He's simply too ignorant and inarticulate, and his motivations too opaque, to pose a genuine threat to anyone or to really engage our
sympathy. We end up rooting against the corporations more than rooting for him, in much the way that George Orwell described siding with the
workers in Homage to Catalonia : I have no particular love for the idealized 'worker' as he appears in the bourgeois Communist's mind, but when I see an actual
flesh-and-blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman, I do not have to ask myself which side I am on. We recognize the "natural enemy" in Bartholomew, but descry little of the natural hero in Jonathan E.. His sole virtue is stubbornness and, though
he has that in spades, it does not suffice. However, I must say that the one exchange with his wife comes so close to articulating my own oft-stated view of human existence as a long
struggle between freedom and security, that it is enough, along with the action sequences, for me to very cautiously recommend the movie.
Actually, what I really recommend is that you buy the DVD and skip through all the non-rollerball scenes except for the one where he visits
Moonpie in the hospital and the one with his wife; this self-edited version is a great improvement over the original. GRADE : C (self-edited version : B)
Rating: 
Summary: Holds Up Rather Well
Review: I first saw ROLLERBALL when it was released in the theatres in 1975. It blew me and my friends away. The intensity of the action, coupled with fabulous music and images, really hit a nerve. Roller Derby was the BIG thing back in 1975. Remember Roller Derby? We loved it. Every Saturday night we'd plunk ourselves down at someone's house and watch Roller Derby, followed by The Odd Couple, The Honeymooners, and Star Trek (viva WPIX!). I have yet to see a better tv lineup than that! So, ROLLERBALL was a natural for us. But more than that, it was very dynamic filmmaking. The game rocked (the liner notes of this DVD say that the stunt cast loved the game so much they would play it on their days off). It must be said that - even though the movie as a whole holds up well today - some of the "technical predictions" don't hold. For instance, the movie is supposedly set in 2018, but the computers are still using punch cards! The uniforms of the players look woefully childish in this age of Terminator. But, that's easily overlooked. The final scene is still riveting. You won't be dissappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good.
Review: Rollerball (Norman Jewison, 1975) One of the facts Hollywood managed to establish during the sixties and seventies was that Norman Jewison knows how to make a good movie. Every once in a while, he came up with a great one. Rollerball may not have been one of the great ones, but it teeters on the brink every once in a while. Rollerball takes social commentary and puts a silly veneer over the top. In this case, the world is run by giant corporations, each of which runs a city after the cessation of the Corporate Wars (about which we never find out much, but it's hinted that a "takeover," in this new world, means a lot more than a buyout. "Whatever happened to Indianapolis?"). There is no war, no crime, etc. In order to give the people of the world an outlet for their aggressions, the corporations invented rollerball, a kind of twisted combination of roller derby, basketball, and professional wrestling. Violence is not only endemic to the sport, but encouraged (stats freaks can rattle off such orgasmically-toned facts as "largest number of players incapacitated in a single game"). The undisupted master of the rollerball court is Jonathan E. (James Caan), who plays for Houston, a city run by he Energy Corporation. The face of the corporation, to us, is Bartholomew (John Houseman), a kind of father figure/Mephistopheles cross. After a victory in the
quarterfinals, Bartholomew approaches Jonathan and asks him, privately, to retire. As Bartholomew says to the heads of the other corporations later in the film, the game is about the idea that the individual can never triumph over the group; Jonathan's fame flies in the face of rollerball itself, and he must be stopped. Jonathan, of course, has other ideas. The genius of Jewison comes through mostly in not being overbearing with the social commentary. There's just enough non-sports-related material in the film to give it weight (including a haunting scene where, at dawn after a drunken revelry, a number of partygoers wander out from the party and set fire to, presumably, the last trees in existence), but Jewison never forgets that the main focus of the film is the sport itself. There's more coverage of sport in this movie than we'd see in anything until Oliver Stone gave us Any Given Sunday. By the end of it, we've become fans of a sport that doesn't even exist, except in one unassuming dystopian film. And while that ending is a bit smarmy-- Jewison did, at the end, pull his punches a bit too quickly--he earned it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tries to be quietly powerful, but never succeeds.
Review: After witnessing the empty spectacle and failed futuristic warnings that permeate much of Norman Jewison's "Rollerball," I've come to one conclusion: either you'll be enthralled by the director's eerie envisioning of a world in which no one makes their own decisions, or you won't believe a word of it. The film is a cross-stitch of science fiction, action, and human drama, all pasted together in what could resemble a construction paper school project made by an elementary school student, with little care devoted to its character development or central message. What we're left with once the film reaches its drawn-out conclusion is a bland, unmoving, lifeless piece of filmmaking that desperately tries to be quietly powerful, but never succeeds. The film's opening sequence is the true test of patience, serving as the defining moment when audience members will make the choice to stick it out or just abandon the concept entirely. It introduces us to the sport of rollerball, which, we are told, is a blend of football, motorcross and hockey, providing an outlet for the angst felt by the majority of citizens in a world where corporations have taken power over previous political rule. Some questions arise from such facts: how does this game provide a vent for such furor if the players in the game are heralded by the corporations who are seemingly the cause of their hardships? Do they have any hardships at all? What is the corporation, and what are its intentions and laws? Also, what are the rules of the game? What are its guidelines? For what purpose do people partake of such a sport, other than to cheer at the senseless and brutal violence that they bear witness to (and they call today's movies violent)? At the center of this surrealism is revered rollerballer Jonathan (James Caan), known by rollerball fans and the corporate heads to be the best of the best when it comes to this sport. Underneath his wallow in fame and fortune, Jonathan has a distinct love for the game, as well as a longing for his long-departed wife, who was taken from him by the corporation to serve as the wife of an executive. Soon after his latest bout, Jonathan is informed that the corporation intends for him to depart from the sport of rollerball in a television appearance that will air around the world. Defiant of those who would try to prevent him from doing what he loves, he presses on with the game, despite the inclusion of a new set of rules and pressure from all around to do what everyone else thinks is sensible. This also bring about a second set of questions: again, why does the corporation so strongly wish for him to leave the sport? The movie explains it as a fear of his growing popularity, but nothing in-depth is ever revealed. Also, if the corporation is as powerful as they are portrayed, would they not have the ability to remove him without giving him a choice? Perhaps, but this would prevent the inclusion of the film's tedious third act, in which Jonathan does some soul-searching to ponder life in such a hostile world. "Rollerball's" main problem lies within its inept storytelling. There's not a single moment in the film that provides its audience a reason to understand its so-called message about the future of our world, much less believe in its main character's struggle to prove his aggressors wrong. The overall feel of the film is empty and listless, devoid of the emotion or plausibility needed to sell us on its ideals.
Rating:
Summary: No Caan, no Rollerball
Review: Seeing the trailers for the remake gave me a bad feeling from start. I mean seeing a peak of a Chris Klein and L.L Cool J. action scene where it looks like they''re being chased down the street on rollerblades is just, well...dumb. I mean in this original it's about the game and all the action and violence takes place in the game as well. It might of worked better as sequel with James Caan in a supporting role and his son being the new star of the game. Well anyway the movie may be a bit out dated but the movie is still well made with brutal game scenes and a fine performance by James Caan. Don't be so quick to see the remake because you can tell it's inferior just by watching the trailer.
Rating:
Summary: It's Not Art, But It's a Sight Better Than The Remake
Review: Having seen all of the remake that I want to see in the previews,I can imagine John Houseman saying to Chris Klein "Sir, I have met Johnathan, and you are no Johnathan ". One of the great things about the original was that the evil that the Corporations perpertrated was sublime; no histronics. Simply business.Thier society had cancer and didn't know how to stop it. And so the games.
I'm especially fond of John E's trip to Stockholm to ask the last existing unedited databank a question, only to find out the information is lost forever. James Canns character wasn't in it for the money or the fame; he wanted a life he could not have. A life without the constant interference of the Corporations (or government). And when he couldn't have it he fought back the only way he could: he chose not to quit the one thing no one could beat him at. He gave the status quo the finger. I really wish filmmakers understood what they were paying 'homage' to...
Rating:
Summary: "Rollerball" review
Review: I had been wanting to see this movie for years, and could never find it on video. After seeing the preview of the new Rollerball, My husband rented this 1975 film starring James Caan as the Rollerball champion< Jonathan.
It's set in the future, as the filmmakers of the 70's saw the future, which is very archaic by today's standards. Basically, the film is the Rollerball tournaments, very 70's parties, and a lot of James Caan, which is fine by me. And some sort of mind bending drugs that make everyone behave a certain way, or at least the way that John Houseman wants them to.
Caan turns in a great performance as always. Is it worth watching? I'd say so. It had a few slow parts, but the acting and storyline keep you interested enough to see it through to it's very fitting ending.
Rating:
Summary: Johnathaaan!
Review: Rollerball is a great film with a terrific cast. James Caan is at his brooding best in the title role of Johathan E. The Rollerball champion and subsequent rebel of his Corporate World. The social commentaries in this film about free will, human nature and its' need for the brutal sport of Rollerball, to re-enforce the ultra 'civilized' world created by the Corporate Wars, cannot be missed. Rollerball, like so many films of the early and mid 70's is by today's standards considered slow. Slow in that it sets a pace and tells a story - in this case an intelligent story that leaves the viewer food for thought, long after the roll of the final credit. Good story telling is measured; a lot of great films came out of this era. Rollerball is a contemporary classic and a re-make of this film is due to come out soon; it will be interesting to see if a story will still exist, one, and two, how they will treat the violence that is so instrumental in telling this story. The only negative that I have is the quality of the DVD picture. The extras are good, there's even an interactive memory 'game', however, there are white spots - dust, throughout the transfer. This film is not so old that the visuals should be this poor. DVD technology is supposed to provide theatre quality at home. MGM is releasing a lot of excellent movies in questionable viewing conditions. One can only infer as to the reasons why. It would would be great to see a special edition of this film, first for a better picture, and second for a current retrospective by both Jewison and Caan.
Rating: 
Summary: a brilliant way to show sport brutality
Review: this is definitely one heck of a movie. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also got many of the film's poignant and important messages. The companies who own the rollerball teams think and believe that the game was never meant to be a game especially one should grow into. I got that message. Many people grow into the sport meaning they love and cherish the game that they play. I feel that way about my sport soccer. The movie shows perfectly clear how brutal and dangerous and even deadly some sports can actually be. It's an important lesson all of us need to take seriously. Some sports we have today are also brutal and dangerous. Football,lacrosse,hockey are all dangerous sports we should all take seriously with safety and extreme precaution. People really should see this as an important guideline in examining the true danger and the true meaning of sport. If people couldn't grow attached to a sport M.J. wouldn't be back in the N.B.A again now would he. All in all a great an important messenger movie.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Very disappointing film considering the actors and director involved. Not worth watching. Very slow and mundane. Could have been far superior.
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