Man I feel old thinking about being born the same year that this film was released. The best thing about it was being the inspiration for the classic Amiga games Speedball and Speedball 2.

@RetroView66

3 ай бұрын

It's more relevant today!

The film also used classical music for its soundtrack, beginning with the Toccata and Fugue by Bach, followed by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and a few others. This was 5 years before cd's started to appear in record stores. You would go see the movie and if you liked the soundtrack you would go to the nearest record store and buy the album. Special shout-out to the actor Shane Rimmer who passed recently. He played the team executive as well as the sub commander in "The Spy Who Loved Me."

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

I have the vinyl soundtrack as well that includes the two funky synth party tracks! RIP, Shane Rimmer.

@brianholly3555

26 күн бұрын

Albinoni!

It's a reflection on our world (circa 1970's) where if you look at hockey fights at the time it was medieval in being over the top but craved by some fans. Based on a short story. RIP Norman. Thanks for posting!

@christiandivine3807

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Jewison being from Canada I should have brought up hockey fights as part of the inspiration.

@captlazer5509

5 ай бұрын

@christiandivine3807 You covered a lot of info, some I didn't know. I thank you.

Jewison's film is more impressionistic than realistic (ie: presenting a total socially explained world), filled with elliptical vagueries (the tracking shot of the woman crying at the corporate party, Ralph Richardson's eccentric computer programmer, the liquid brain super computer, Houseman's ginormous glass wind chime meditation space, Daphne's (Barbara Trentham) reliance on pharmaceuticals while intimating she is clearly a corporate surveillance plant, the ambiguous role of Cletus (Moses Gunn), Caan's extremely understated performance...all make for a film possessed of a mood all its own.

@RetroView66

8 сағат бұрын

@@Autostade67 Exactly. And there's one line at the party that nobody comments on where somebody claims the players are actually robots...

Great review on a movie I’ve always enjoyed. Just discovered your channel, subscribed!

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for Retro-Viewing!

What a great retrospective of one of my favourite films. I've only just discovered your channel; but you seem to cover a lot of the same stuff I'm into so thank you algorithm I guess. As for Rollerball itself, one of the many things I like is that it has that 'villain has a point' sort of thing. I like when films are brave enough to allow the antagonists to argue their viewpoint properly without just giving them straw man cliches. You can argue Jonathon is being unreasonable. There is a justification for the game; and he's done very well out of it. And all the bosses are initially threatening him with is well funded retirement from a dangerous sport. And people like Moonpie and the party goers, and the rollerball crowds themselves, show at least some people are pretty happy with the corporate deal. May I make one comment on your video. It might be better if the framing was slightly wider, or you just panned up a bit. This is just a. matter of subjective taste of course, but it just seems the headshot is a bit tight to me, your chin sometimes drops out of frame. I'm no Kubrick though so feel free to ignore! But everything else is perfect. Great editing and your audio is spot on.

@RetroView66

5 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for finding the channel! I agree about giving the "villain" a POV because i love the back and forth. My problem with the film is that either Rollerball is an "awful game" as Barthlomew admits to Jonathan (I should have brought that moment up as it's a major reveal) and so Jonathan should then see how he's being used so there's no more honor for him to continue. That's why I say the message is muddled a bit. I also should have brought up the casual sexism and bigotry of the future here... You are 100% right on the framing and I'm trying to suss out this ZV-1 and best angle without getting too Zoom. Next time will be the charm. My schedule is such that I have to just get the damn video up and going or I'll perfect myself to never finishing! I figured this channel would be a WIP...with your help!

@KravKernow

5 ай бұрын

@@RetroView66 Well with a film like Rollerball you could do a four hour video and still just be scraping the surface. I think you covered all the key points very well. And it was nice to some personal analysis and insight as opposed to just other people's commentaries (not that there isn't a place for referencing those of course) That's why I think Jonathan isn't necessarily a sympathetic character. Which is not to say he isn't still an interesting character. Bartholemew is completely honest and straight with Jonathan and his argument, and offer, is a perfectly reasonable one. I don't know whether it was intentional, or just some lucky directing, but I can see that scene as yes it's an illogical choice, but that's because Jonathan isn't being logical. So it's an element of the character rather than a failure in the screenplay if you get my drift. And don't worry about the technical stuff too much. The content is what's important and you've got that down pat. And I do empathise. I have a small channel of my own and I'm always cocking things up. Just today I went 40 miles to shoot a video with a nice landmark in the background. Then blocked the landmark with my head. But 'better is the enemy of good' as they quite rightly say. Just get em up. A builder friend always uses a phrase I like "It'll look all right from my house."

I remember as a lad seeing the trailer for 'Rollerball' in the theater prior to its original release, but never actually saw the film that way (my parents might have deemed me too young, if they were ever interested themselves). It was only years later that I picked up bits of the film on various cable-TV transmissions, but to this day have never watched it from beginning to end. The theme of corporate takeover of society seems quite prescient in retrospect, and the prospect of a revival of blood sports is always possible, given human nature, and is only suppressed due to current norms of civilization (which I hope are maintained). 'Rollerball' is sometimes unfavorably contrasted with Paul Bartel's futuristic satire 'Death Race 2000', which also came out in 1975 and focuses on a society obsessed with violent, lethal sport. That film, which I have seen in full on cable, is so over the top in its caustic humor however that it otherwise bears little resemblance to 'Rollerball', which is a serious, contemplative work.

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

You should definitely check out the whole film, especially in light of today's corporate culture. I actually cut out a section on DEATH RACE 2000 from this Retro-View and it's obviously the exploitation version but still has satirical bite dampered by producer Roger Corman adding more blood and cutting the comedy. That's a great sc-fi dystopian double feature! Thanks for Retro-Viewing.

I admit I have not seen the film in some time (saw it in the theaters when it came out, BTW - I think my mom got tickets for me and a friend on my 11th birthday that year). My sense though is that it was Jonathan's hero-status, star power that the Corporation found threatening. And they were shown to be justified in their nervousness by the end of the film.

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

That sounds like a great birthday! Yes, they were definitely afraid of his star power. What happens to him after the final scene?

One of my favorite films of all time. I would tend to disagree that Jonathan E. isn't very bright. I actually think he's highly intelligent. But he has only had the level of education that the corporate masters wanted him to have. And when he tries to get more, he's is stonewalled. James Caan's brilliant portrayal of this soft-spoken action hero is incredible. So many movie "heroes" since the 1970's have been loud, bombastic, snide, casually brutal, effortlessly cool, and offering witty comebacks for every line of dialogue. Jonathan E. is a much-more engaging hero for being none of those things. You mentioned the corporate hymns. I think whoever came up with the music should be commended. They could have just stuck some boring library tracks in there, but someone took the time to embed the music into the social fabric of the film. Houston's corporate anthem combines a sort of Catholic religiosity with an American sports stadium organ aesthetic perfect for that city's image. Tokyo's corporate hymn is slow, serene, and bearing features of Japanese folk music, and can easily be imagined played on the koto and/or the shamisen. Great movie. Vastly underrated.

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

Yes, Jonathan E has been conditioned. I think Caan means that he played him like he was a victim of the system and as this kind of inquisitive jock (who wanted books!). Caan underplays to better effect and lets John Beck take the flashy show-off character. I edited out a section where I go into Moonpie's brutal fate and how Jonathan warns him that "three little guys equals one big one" and it is three players who take him out (and Moonpie's casual bigotry is almost karmic). The corporate hymns were by Andre Previn with assist on synth and I wish they were available on the soundtrack. Thanks for Retro-Viewing!

Johnathan E is a prisoner that's why he is #6.

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

Who Is Number One?

@lornearmstrong1834

4 ай бұрын

"You are #6" Statement or answer?@@RetroView66

Hi Christian. Do you remember the film on the life and career of Jonathan E ? There was a game sequence with "the purple team" - possibly Paris. I wonder if a fourth match was filmed, then edited out for pacing concerns. At least some of the footage was used. I would be interested to know what you think. Cheers, Derek.

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

Hmmm. That's a great catch and question, Derek! I've listened to the Jewison commentary but he doesn't mention cut footage...I'll track down the script and see if it might be in there... but since the matches seem to tie into the dramatic beats of the story, it might not have been a full sequence. Thanks for retro-viewing!

This movie has a feeling of dread all over it, or maybe its just me.

@RetroView66

4 ай бұрын

It's definitely the movie!

would you review "Coma" (1978) from Michael Crichton?

@RetroView66

3 ай бұрын

I've actually never seen it! But I plan on doing THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN by Crichton at some point so I'll include COMA in there!

@Ionisus

3 ай бұрын

@@RetroView66 if you like " the parallax view " you will like and love "Coma" too ..

@RetroView66

3 ай бұрын

THE PARALLAX VIEW is my favorite conspiracy movie!

@Ionisus

3 ай бұрын

@@RetroView66 mine also, and fantastic cinematography