Rollerball

Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: May 13th, 2014.
Director: Norman Jewison
Cast: Ralph Richardson, James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn
Year: 1975
Purchase From Screen Archives

The Movie:

Directed by Norman Jewison, 1973's Rollerball (the less said about John McTiernan's 2002 remake starring Jean Reno and LL Cool J the better!) is set in the distant future of 2018 (well, it probably seemed distant in 1973 at the very least) where war is a thing of the past now that six massive corporations have basically taken control of the planet. In order to give the general public something to entertain them with that can simultaneously exist as an outlet for their aggression, they have created Rollerball - sort of a mix of football and roller derby albeit with far higher stakes. From the Rollerball scenes comes the sport's first true star, Jonathan E (James Caan) but as he becomes increasingly more popular the Executives in charge, one of whom is married to Jonathan's ex-wife Ella (Maud Adams), decide to remove him. There can be no superstars in Rollerball because the sport was meant to show the public, at least metaphorically, that it's futile to fight back against those in control!

To make this happen, one of the Executives - Energy Corporation, Bartholomew (John Houseman) - tells Jonathan that he basically has no choice but to retire but because they offer him a cushy retirement plan, they don't figure on Jonathan refusing. When he does, much to the surprise of both The Executives and his best friend Moonpie (John Beck), the powers that be begin to change the rules of the game in the hopes that by adding more and more elements of potentially fatal danger they'll be able to do away with this underdog of a hero before his rebellious streak can transfer to the general public.

Rollerball may sound like silly science fiction on a surface level but in a world where globalization and corporatization are fast doing away with the literal and figurative borders of business and geography in many ways the film doesn't really seem so farfetched. The film is very much a product of the seventies in which it was made, this is obvious in the disco style that has seeped into some of the fashions and backdrops, but there's brains to this movie, far more so than was obvious seeing it for the first time as a kid craving a simple action film (though it delivers on that level too). The film makes no qualms about taking on rich privilege, the most obvious example being that the reason Ella is no longer with Jonathan is not because of irreconcilable differences or infidelity but because those at the Executive level are afforded the right to take those below them as they see fit. The script is not subtle with its condemnations of corporate greed and excess but it works them into the storyline in such a way as to avoid preachiness while simultaneously propping up Caan's character as someone we can get behind and cheer for.

In many ways this is a simple David And Goliath story by way of Fritz Lang's Metropolis but Jewison carves out an entertaining movie here. The action scenes are chaotic in the best possible way. When these guys get hit, they get hit hard and we feel it along with them. The bouts are fast paced and cut in such a way that we see not just the players but the reaction of the crowd as well. It's clever, rhythmic even, and it works well. Caan isn't given the most three dimensional character of his career but the storyline provides us with enough background information on his Jonathan that we can like him and support him. The smaller roles are well played here too, with John Beck, the lovely Maude Adams and a fairly slimy John Houseman all doing fine work. Visually this one might be dated but it offers not shortage of visceral thrills and surprisingly relevant, even by modern standards, food for thought.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Rollerball debuts on Blu-ray from Twilight Time in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen and it looks quite nice in high definition. Colors are reproduced quite well here and show a noticeable and obvious improvement over the previous DVD release. Detail is stronger, richer and much more noticeable and there's just more overall depth to the picture than we've seen in the past. Black levels are strong, flesh tones look lifelike and accurate and there are only minor specks here and there in regards to print damage. This is a clean and nicely rendered image free of heavy filtering or obvious noise reduction and as far as the visuals go, this is a nice picture.

Audio options are offered up in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio in your choice of the original mono or a 5.1 remix with removable subtitles provided in English only. While purists will opt for Mono and be happy with what they hear, the 5.1 remix on this disc is actually a really good one, particularly during the Rollerball matches where the quick cutting and action really picks up and the surround mix moves around accordingly. Levels are nicely balanced, there are no issues with hiss or distortion regardless of which track you choose and dialogue remains easy to hear and follow throughout the movie.

The extras on the disc are mostly ported over from the previous DVD releases starting with an audio commentary that comes courtesy of the film's director Norman Jewison. Though there are a few spots where Jewison's talk slows down, for most of the film's running time he offers up a lot of scene specific information and interesting backstories. He notes that difficulty in casting the right person to provide the play by play commentary, he talks about the effects work seen in the film and how things have changed in that regard and he also shares some input on the cast, crew, locations and the story itself. Jewison is a smart and talented man and his observations are worth listening to. The disc also includes a second commentary with writer William Harrison and while it's not as active it's worth checking out as it offers us some insight into his writing process. He talks about some of the ideas that helped him come up with some of the concepts that we see exploited in the picture and some of the character details as well.

The disc also features two featurettes, the first of which is From Rome To Rollerball: The Full Circle, an eight minute vintage behind the scenes piece that discusses the comparisons that the film makes to gladiatorial era Rome. The second feature is the twenty-five minute long Return To The Arena: The Making of Rollerball, a retrospective look back at the making of the film with input from Harrison and John Beck among others. Rounding out the extras are a few TV spots and trailers for the feature, an MGM 90th Anniversary promo spot, an Isolated Score Track in DTS-HD, menus and chapter selection. As is the norm with Twilight Time releases, we also get a nice booklet of liner notes from Julie Kirgo that offer up her take on the film's effectiveness and which also provide some welcome background information on the production.

The Final Word:

The Twilight Time Blu-ray release of Rollerball is a good one. The disc carries over all of the supplements from previous releases and adds the liner notes and fun isolated score track in addition to giving the feature itself a nice high definition facelift. The movie itself holds up well, a nice mix of somehow (unfortunately) timeless social commentary and sci-fi action with some solid performances, memorable action set pieces and fun characters.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!