Rating: 
Summary: Suspenseful
Review: 1977's ROLLERCOASTER was written by the team (Richard Levinson and William Link) responsible for many of the best COLUMBO episodes on TV. This film relies on subtle, well-plotted suspense and humor to hook you, and it works. The characters are for the most part enjoyably cynical and grouchy, and the interplay between George Segal and Richard Widmark is especially fun. Look for a very young Helen Hunt as Segal's daughter -- and an early walk-on by one of the stars of DINER. See if you find and similarities in the phone conversations between Segal's character and Timothy Bottoms' character here, and the conversations between Clint Eastwood's character and John Malkovich's character in IN THE LINE OF FIRE.If you have the patience to enjoy an old-fashioned thriller that doesn't bash you over the head with attention-deficit-disorder-paced editing a la Michael Bay or Simon West, check it out.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent cat and mouse thriller.
Review: A young man (Timothy Bottoms) sabotages amusement park rides in an attempt to extort money from their corporate owners. Standards and Safety Inspector Harry Caulder (George Segal) - who inspected the first ride to fall victim to the young man - understands that the extortionist should not be underestimated. His warning falls on deaf ears, save for the young man, who ropes Caulder into helping him. Rollercoaster is one of my favorite suspense films from the seventies, thanks in large part to solid (albeit workmanlike) direction by James Goldstone and a witty, intelligent script by Richard Levinson and William Link. The cast delivers fine performances as well. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Ride it...in Sensurround!
Review: Based on the title, I had originally thought Rollercoaster (1977) was going to be a disaster type movie that were popular in the 70's like Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), or The Towering Inferno (1974), but it turned out to be something a lot different. I guess it was for the best, as a film about a rollercoaster that was running out of control, throwing stars of old off at various points, probably wouldn't have worked too well and would have been like scraping the bottom of the disaster-venue barrel.
The film stars George Segal as Harry Caulder, a government safety inspector who's thrown into a situation having to deal with a terrorist (Timothy Bottoms) bent on blowing up rollercoasters, harming and killing innocent amusement park patrons unless his demands are met. Also in the film are Richard Widmark as federal agent Hoyt, Henry Fonda as Caulder's boss (Fonda appears for like a total of five minutes in two or three scenes...long enough to pick up a check, I suppose), Susan Strassberg as Caulder's girlfriend, and a teenagish Helen Hunt as Caulder's daughter.
The film wastes very little time as Bottom's character strikes, blowing up part of the track on a large rollercoaster. The cars crash, people die horribly, and Caulder is called in...Apparently, he had just inspected this ride a few months prior, and now this accident and the subsequent deaths has everyone asking, "What happened?" No one, it seems, has bother to do a thorough inspection of the damaged track, otherwise they would have noticed it had been blasted apart, and everyone is assuming it a just an accident due to equipment failure or some such thing. I would suspect the insurance company would want to have had this done before they paid out any monies, but what the heck do I know? Anyway, another accident happens at another park, and Caulder gets wind of a meeting between the big wigs of five different amusement parks all over the country, and decides to try and attend. During the meeting, they learn the motive behind the attacks, and also learn of the terms required by the terrorist in order for him to stop. Since attacks by the same person happened in different states, the feds (Widmark) are called in, but the terrorist has taken a shine to Caulder, and requests he be involved in the events soon to follow. Will the terrorists' demands be met? Or will he strike again? What exactly is his deal? Does he just hate rollercoasters, or amusement parks in general?
The film wasn't bad. As I said, this isn't a disaster movie, but more of a game of cat and mouse, with the feds chasing Bottoms' character, trying to determine his next move. Caulder, who managed to piece together a number of elements early on, get caught up in the proceedings, having to play the terrorists' games hoping to avoid any future tragedies. Other than the somewhat gruesome scenes (which were actually toned down prior to release) at the beginning, this film just had a strong feel of a television production to me. There was an effort to try and create a level of suspense, in the sense of a Hitchcock film, but the predictability overwhelmed this more often than not, along with a few glaring plot holes, stereotypical characters, and contrived plot devices. And the music...I like Lalo Schifrin, but I found the music that accompanied Bottoms' character, especially when he was getting ready to do evil things, to become very annoying. The rollercoaster photography was nice, and I am sure it played much better on the big screen, and the actors were all competent in their roles.
Presented here is a nice looking wide screen print, although not without some very minor speckling on the picture in one or two parts. It's noteworthy to mention the film was released in Sensurround, a process that `augmented the violent action on screen by intense waves of high decibel sound, enough, in some documented cases, to crack ribs.' according to Haliwell's Film Companion. The gimmick never really caught on as it often disrupted films being show in adjoining theaters, causing complaints to theater managers who decided it just wasn't worth the trouble. Only two other films, Earthquake (1974) and Midway (1976) also used the process before it was discontinued. Special features include production notes, bios, a trailer, and some web links. While predictable, Rollercoaster was not a bad ride, although at a run time of two hours, it could have been shortened a little bit, adding a little more quickness to the pacing. Oh yeah, look for a cameo by Steve Guttenberg around 82 minutes into the film, as Federal Agent #3. Don't blink, or you'll miss it.
Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Ride it...in Sensurround!
Review: Based on the title, I had originally thought Rollercoaster (1977) was going to be a disaster type movie that were popular in the 70's like Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), or The Towering Inferno (1974), but it turned out to be something a lot different. I guess it was for the best, as a film about a rollercoaster that was running out of control, throwing stars of old off at various points, probably wouldn't have worked too well and would have been like scraping the bottom of the disaster-venue barrel. The film stars George Segal as Harry Caulder, a government safety inspector who's thrown into a situation having to deal with a terrorist (Timothy Bottoms) bent on blowing up rollercoasters, harming and killing innocent amusement park patrons unless his demands are met. Also in the film are Richard Widmark as federal agent Hoyt, Henry Fonda as Caulder's boss (Fonda appears for like a total of five minutes in two or three scenes...long enough to pick up a check, I suppose), Susan Strassberg as Caulder's girlfriend, and a teenagish Helen Hunt as Caulder's daughter. The film wastes very little time as Bottom's character strikes, blowing up part of the track on a large rollercoaster. The cars crash, people die horribly, and Caulder is called in...Apparently, he had just inspected this ride a few months prior, and now this accident and the subsequent deaths has everyone asking, "What happened?" No one, it seems, has bother to do a thorough inspection of the damaged track, otherwise they would have noticed it had been blasted apart, and everyone is assuming it a just an accident due to equipment failure or some such thing. I would suspect the insurance company would want to have had this done before they paid out any monies, but what the heck do I know? Anyway, another accident happens at another park, and Caulder gets wind of a meeting between the big wigs of five different amusement parks all over the country, and decides to try and attend. During the meeting, they learn the motive behind the attacks, and also learn of the terms required by the terrorist in order for him to stop. Since attacks by the same person happened in different states, the feds (Widmark) are called in, but the terrorist has taken a shine to Caulder, and requests he be involved in the events soon to follow. Will the terrorists' demands be met? Or will he strike again? What exactly is his deal? Does he just hate rollercoasters, or amusement parks in general? The film wasn't bad. As I said, this isn't a disaster movie, but more of a game of cat and mouse, with the feds chasing Bottoms' character, trying to determine his next move. Caulder, who managed to piece together a number of elements early on, get caught up in the proceedings, having to play the terrorists' games hoping to avoid any future tragedies. Other than the somewhat gruesome scenes (which were actually toned down prior to release) at the beginning, this film just had a strong feel of a television production to me. There was an effort to try and create a level of suspense, in the sense of a Hitchcock film, but the predictability overwhelmed this more often than not, along with a few glaring plot holes, stereotypical characters, and contrived plot devices. And the music...I like Lalo Schifrin, but I found the music that accompanied Bottoms' character, especially when he was getting ready to do evil things, to become very annoying. The rollercoaster photography was nice, and I am sure it played much better on the big screen, and the actors were all competent in their roles. Presented here is a nice looking wide screen print, although not without some very minor speckling on the picture in one or two parts. It's noteworthy to mention the film was released in Sensurround, a process that 'augmented the violent action on screen by intense waves of high decibel sound, enough, in some documented cases, to crack ribs.' according to Haliwell's Film Companion. The gimmick never really caught on as it often disrupted films being show in adjoining theaters, causing complaints to theater managers who decided it just wasn't worth the trouble. Only two other films, Earthquake (1974) and Midway (1976) also used the process before it was discontinued. Special features include production notes, bios, a trailer, and some web links. While predictable, Rollercoaster was not a bad ride, although at a run time of two hours, it could have been shortened a little bit, adding a little more quickness to the pacing. Oh yeah, look for a cameo by Steve Guttenberg around 82 minutes into the film, as Federal Agent #3. Don't blink, or you'll miss it. Cookieman108
Rating: 
Summary: Rollercoaster Rumbles
Review: Hold onto your have-a-nice-day hats. This is all about reliving the 70's. But why oh why won't H-wood allow us to re-experience the wonder of Sensurround? If The Exorcist can make a comeback in 2k and if disaster means b.o. records for la Leo, then lets hold out hope that we can rumble in our sets again. Til then, Monsieur Segal's leisure suits and "Lalo's" dreamy score can keep us in the polyester mood.
Rating:
Summary: a great movie for rollercoaster fans
Review: i happened to love rollercoasters and when i saw this back in the 70's i just had to tape it from television. but now i just bought it on dvd. this movie is a very fun movie to watch. it makes you feel like you're in an amusement park. george segal played pretty damm good in this film.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic
Review: I just watched this movie for the first time since 1977 when it was released. It was every bit as enjoyable on T.V. (with help from a surround sound system and bigscreen) as I remembered it in the theatres. It takes you back to the semi-innocent 70's and brings back memories (for those of you old enough) of what theme parks were like back then. I think a lot of credit should be given to Timothy Bottoms for his outstanding performance as the bomber/terrorist. He really stole the show with his quiet, devious, loner-esque character with the choir-boy face. He reminded me of the villan played in the movie Dirty Harry. What ever happened to Timothy Bottoms? My favorite part of the movie is where George Segal's character is being led around Kings World theme park by the bomber in an attempt to lose the tail being put on by the FBI. It was an ingenious and believable plan that had everyone fooled. It all adds up to a tense and exciting movie with a creative plot and excellent actors to complete the package. If you can get used to the bell-bottom pants and polyester again, you'll really enjoy this thriller. Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: This film is great!
Review: I love this film! I'm a little biased as I'm a coaster enthusiast and there aren't that many decent coaster films around, but this really is good! The suspense is great, the soundtrack is cheesy fairground - which is great and it just personifies the 70's to me. I'd love to ride some of the coasters in the film, but living in the UK makes it hard! If you love cheesy 70's thrillers such as Earthquake, Towering Inferno, etc. then this is another "must see" for you.
Rating:
Summary: Big Boys....
Review: I must admit I have yet to see the DVD of this movie, however, I remember my father taking me to see this when I was about 10. I was scared to go on rollercoasters for a loooonnng time. There are no booming special effects and the story is not riveting BUT if you can lose yourself in the moment I think you can find this movie very enjoyable. Remember it was made in 77 and I think a lot of us are now "spoiled" by all the razzamatazz movies have nowadays. As an added bonus look for a young Helen Hunt playing George Segals daughter. I loved the song "Big Boys" that played toward the end of the film as they look for more devices that the madman (Timothy Bottom) may have left. This is the 70's people!!!
Rating: 
Summary: This film should have been a "made-for-TV-movie".
Review: I must admit the only reason I bought the DVD of this film is because I was an extra in it and 22 years old at the time. The script is written by Link and Levinson the guys that brought us many TV series (i.e. Mannix and Colombo). It was directed by James Goldstone who happened to have directed the original pilot for the original Star Trek series. All in all it is not a bad film, it would have been better suited as a made-for-TV-movie. When I first saw it in the theater with Sensurround it really made me feel as though I was riding a rollercoaster. Unfortunately you don't get the same effect from the home video version as Sensurround is not included on the soundtrack. The DVD is well presented but the only disappointment to me is the sound is in mono Dolby Digital which makes no sense to me. Otherwise it is typical of most DVDs in its presentation of a film. If you like disaster and/or suspense films this will be a good addition to your collection.
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