Rollerball

Year: 1975

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Jewison

Review

NOT the 2002 version. though now that i’ve seen this version four or five times i’d like to see the 2002 version…especially since it was directed by john mctiernan (predator, die hard, and hunt for red october). the previews made it look awful. at any rate, this version, the original version, is quite good. i’d describe it as a cross between running man (starring our governor) and clockwork orange. running man because of the futuristic game that centers around violence and a clockwork orange because of a couple of the themes addressed and the good use of classical music. at over two hours rollerball is surprisingly well-paced. there are only three rollerball games that we follow, but they do a good job of keeping things interesting…ironically enough. ironic because part of the point of the film is to make a statement against violence as entertainment. a larger point of the film is to portray a possible future wherein corporations have taken over the role typically associated with governments. in this future decisions are made by the corporation and all individualism is shunned. jewison does a pretty good job of painting a picture of a repressed society. i would have liked it to be even darker, though. with all the repression and lack of individuality i would envision people acting out in all sorts of depraved ways. nonetheless, the film is directed quite well (especially the game sequences) and the allegorical tale of our potential future is a good one.