Rating: Summary: One of the greatest action movies of all time! Review: Rollerball ranks as one of the greatest action movies of all time - and it is ripe for a re-make! James Caan gives deep feeling to the character of Johnathon E. the superstar in the sport that is supposed to have no stars. You see corporate governments control of everything and the individual is subjugated to the oligarchy. Yes, the soundtrack is overloud and some of the parts are one dimensional - but there is great action and a message. Play it loud so you can hear the bones crunch in the climactic match to the death!
Rating: Summary: Prologue to the World Trade Organization? Review: The time is ripe for Rollerball to attain the cult status it deserves. It has been 20+ yrs since I saw the movie but I never forgot it. The recent machinations of the WTO have motivated me to buy it so I can show it to my friends as we debate the merits and dangers of globalization. It is a futuristic movie set in a world ruled by Energy, Transport, Communications, Industry and Commerce Inc.'s.(as I remember it). The global sport is Rollerball, a hybrid, and Caan is the star player. Life is good for him, very privileged, until he happens to dig into the 'Archives' in Geneva, CH and finds out what the world used to be like before the global corporations took over. To me it ranks near the top with "Soylent Green" as futuristic social horror movies go. I may be slightly off on a couple of 'facts' but the movie left a very strong impression. I look forward to having my own copy.
Rating: Summary: Are professional sports headed in this direction? Review: A grim look at the future where corporations have taken over the nations of the world and a devastating global war has made its leaders decide to sublimate all hostilities into a competitive spectator sport. There's plenty of moving action and excitement for sports junkies, but not much of a plot; after all, it's all based on a short story. We get to see future gladiator-type athletes participate in a sport which is a combination of football, motocross, roller derby, and basketball, inside a circular track that resembles a giant roulette wheel.
Rating: Summary: Individuality in the crosshairs Review: While the film was ostensibly a condemnation of corporations and their megalomaniac CEO's, the message that really hit home with me was that it was a damning assessment of socialism. Despite its flawless cinematography and thought provoking script, the critics have always been lukewarm toward this film. My guess is that Norman Jewison, a $100,000 Lincoln bedroom visitor, inadvertently slammed his own political mindset while attempting to discredit corporations. Don't you love it when they do that!
Rating: Summary: One of the great underrated SF films of the 70s Review: Like all great SF films, it gives a powerful message, this one about the importance of the individual, all while entertaining the socks off of you.
Rating: Summary: A breath taking look into a grim future. Review: This film is exactly what the world of sci-fi needed. It is a painstakingly detailed, highly tear-inducing, look into a future wherein everything is run by huge corporations. The world is a thriving marketplace. But this apparent happiness by many is shadowed by the game on which the entire world places their money. The game is rollerball; a strange mix of basketball, roller derby, rugby and ice hockey. The wounds some players endure are enough to take a life. There is a time when the games has no time limit, and the last player left standing wins for the team. It is at this game that we realize the brutality of the world in which we might live. The acting is marvelous; James Caan's fine performance is just as potent and unwaveable as was his Sonny Corleone performance in "The Godfather". The action is harrowingly realistic and the overall edge-of-your-seat suspense is easily provided. The camera work is often incredible as we can see the expressions on the players' faces. A widescreen version would very much help in exhibiting the grandeurof this movie. I thought the slow-motion sequences, though a vey old trick, were used most effectively, particularly during the game scenes. This picture is often called one of Norman Jewison's best films. If it's not the best, it is certainly the most underappreciated.
Rating: Summary: An original look at a future blood sport! Review: Rollerball is based on the short story by John Harrison, which was much ahead of its time when published. So is the movie. Inspired by pinballgames, Rollerball is about a future dominated by corporate combines, where the only outlet for mass frustration is a world-wide televised game of violence called Rollerball.Here the opposing teams try to off each other with spiked gloves and motorcycles. But the game has a momentum and a logic all its own. It really plays! In fact, the stuntmen wanted to keep playing the game once filming ended.
Rating: Summary: This is definitely a must see for philosophy enthusiasts. Review: This movie presents a lot of information regarding existentialism and humanism that is not seen the first time viewing it. Although the movie does present a high quantity of violence, it is a must see if you are interested in seeing the theories of philosophy and freedom played out for you.
Rating: Summary: A good but not great movie Review: "johnathan jonathan" the crowd screams James Cann plays the leadinig role in the movie. this movioe is about the corparation CEOS owning the world this has essitial part to the plot but all the gore and violence are also essintil in this movie.
Rating: Summary: Great film! Caan's best performance. Review: If you look beneath the gore and violence (and there is a lot) there are several interesting plot elements woven together in this suprisingly complex story:- Jonathan E., greatest rollerball player ever, is being forced out of the game. Why? Because no one person may be allowed to dominate. The group is paramount, not the individual. - Control of information: no primary sources of historical information are available, only censored summaries. This supports the official view that the world was a bad place until the end of the "corporate wars". Now everything is so much better. - Power corrupts: the corporate CEOs have absloute power. They'll be good to you unless you question management decisions. There is a lot of gore and violence, but it isn't excessive and it is central to the story (a statement AGAINST violence). Although the 1970's view of the future looks a bit dated, this is an excellent film. If you like action films, buy Rollerball. You'll be glad you did. This film has been in my top ten list since I saw I first saw it.
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