The films dealing with a futuristic society have a tendency to go way overboard and this 1975 film is no exception.It comes down to rollerball player James Caan fighting the executives of the corporation who control this outrageous sport attempting to force him into retirement at the height of his career.Fresh off his supporting Oscar win 2 years before for "Paper Chase," John Houseman again comes across as a pompous domineering executor whose very sinister appearance spells doom.As the rules change, the sport in question becomes far more violent and at this point the film goes further down in quality.

I saw this movie as a kid and it was really impressive: sure the gradual violence is unexpected, all the more than this sport has real visual punch like basketball. But the more disturbing lies outside the ring as this future society is really strange: everything is so policed and polished (except when there are games) that i understand that Caan feels really uneasy when he had to think over it! I think this kind of society could be indeed our future as us the common people are really useful for elites so long as we are peaceful and numb! So it's implies that we should abandon our liberty, our freedom of choice and that's just an impossible deal! So this philosophical debate is really the heart of the movie and as the 70s proved it, it was the best decade for those kind of movies (actually, Sci-fi producers prefer to put us asleep with big SFX and gratuitous violence). The only points for which the movie makes mistake are the People effect and the Corporations control! Indeed, as i just wrote, the world seems indeed going to the same globalization secure fate described in the movie but things are even more treacherous: Corporations, being intelligent, don't call openly for power but rather maintain the hollow democracies by corrupting weak politics!Next, in the movie, problems arises when an individual gets too much consideration as it's an exit from the dark crowd! It could be a rebel leader and inspire liberty fights so they must be eliminated! Today, it's all the opposite: we the common people gets fed up, flooded, intoxicated every day, every minutes by thousand useless news of the People (they even stole our name!) also known as called stars, celebrities, god, goddess! They have become like our puppets, our bones to chew on passively! It's a pity that so much people are addicted to this painless drug because instead of taking in charge their live, they are shut by cartoon, fake, surrogate identities! at last, when you compare this huge movie with the shameful remake, even directed by McTiernan, you can understand why i wanted to get out of the screening in 2002 and why this original vision is even more powerful today and this movie is an absolute essential recommendation!

In the future, the world is run by corporate monopolies after the corporate wars. Nation states have been long gone. Jonathan E. (James Caan) is the veteran star of the Houston rollerball team. Rollerball is a game with motorcycles and rollerskaters on a circular track that is played around the world. Corporate leader Bartholomew (John Houseman) tells him to retire. He refuses and tries to investigate the history of the corporations which has mostly been scrubbed. The rules of the game are relaxed and the games become more dangerous.James Caan is great but this world is an unconvincing mess. If the world is such a dictatorial world, it should be easy to get rid of one man. Bartholomew's reason for his method is so academic that it makes no sense for the everyday Joe. This near-future world doesn't have enough realism. The film seems to be trying to make a point about individuality which is completely lost on me. The game itself is a chaotic vision of gladiatorial sports. It's fun violence but it does get repetitive. It's not like the rules are explained and the results matter. At least, it's more fun than the story.

Rollerball (1975)The upside to corporate sponsorship is no more arguments over what to name the new arena.However, this sci-fi movie maintains commercial backing in sport is detrimental.In 2018, big business has replaced war with an equally bloody diversion called Rollerball.But when the reigning rollerball champ, Jonathan (James Caan), refuses to retire as per the league's request, the head of the Energy Corporation (John Houseman) manipulates the rules of rollerball in hopes that an opponent will kill the veteran skater.As the risk increases so too does Jonathan's determination to topple the privileged plutocracy.An effective account of a corporate run society, this adaptation of a dystopian short story still stands as a shining example of man versus materialism. And while the violence may seem tame, the message is anything but.Thankfully, we live in a world where corporations have absolutely no influence over the winner of Bud Bowl.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca