Review for Rollerball

I’d forgotten what a brilliant film the original ‘Rollerball’ is. If you’ve seen it before then you’ll probably recall the incredible Rollerball action sequences but, like me, have forgotten how utterly brilliant its dystopian, near-future story is. Based on a short sci-fi story called Roller Ball Murder’ by William Harrison, who persuaded producer/director Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof, In the Heat of the Night) to let him do the screenplay too, it’s a perfect example of a well-fleshed out but very singular narrative brought fantastically to life on film.


In a corporate-controlled future, the world’s nations have been disbanded. Everything is under the control of the ‘corporation’ run by a board of suited executives and the populace no longer engage in war. They are too distracted with comforting drugs and violent entertainment in the form of a bloody sport known as ‘Rollerball’ which takes place in a circular roller-ring and where the gladiator style games sometimes end in death.
James Caan (The Godfather, Thief, Misery) is superbly cast as plays Jonathan E., world-famous captain of the Houston Rollerball team.


Unfortunately his capacity to shine as an individual starts to irk the corporate sponsors and they encourage him to ‘retire’ , even though he is at the top of his game. They’re fearful that too much individualism could end up unsettling the masses and throwing them into revolt against the corporation.



He’s faced with just two choices – to concede to the Corporation’s will or take a stand, by continuing to compete in the increasingly deadly games. Needless to say, he’s not going to go down without a fight and it’s this that fuels the narrative.


Then there are the spectacular Rollerball sequences filmed in pre-CGI days where the only way to get an effect was, pretty much to do it. The extra features are well worth a look in this regard as they feature interviews with stunt-men of the day and the production team re-counting the challenges they faced locating the right building to construct the arena in.


Image quality on the transfer is excellent, far better than the previous DVD release which I have had for some ten years or so. Of course, this is an early seventies production where the filmic fashion was a little grey and grainy but that’s just a stylistic feature.

As with most Arrow releases, there are an abundance of extra features. There’s an isolated music score / sound effects option to allow you to enjoy the Andre Previn composed, selected, conducted score in all its glory.

The disc also comes with two separate audio commentaries which I’m guessing pre-date this edition (Harrison died in 2013). The first is with director Norman Jewison and is wildly informative and the second with writer William Harrison who digs a bit deeper into the story.



There’s a nice interview with Caan (labelled ‘Blood Sports’ on the disc) which was shot for this edition which is illuminating. Despite some forty plus years having passed since Rollerball was shot, Caan is still as sparky as ever and clearly recognises the film as one of the absolute highlights of a long and distinguished career.

A short featurette, ‘The Fourth City: Shooting Rollerball in Munich’ , features Unit manager Dieter Meyer along with others talking from Munich’s Audi Dome which was used for the Rollerball matches. Other futuristic Munich buildings featured in the movie are also visited.
Another featurette. ‘The Bike Work: Craig R. Baxley on the Motorcycle Stunts in Rollerball’ is a fascinating look at the incredible stunt-work in the film, not least those involving motor-bikes.

‘Return to the Arena: The Making of Rollerball’ is a look at the complexities of bringing the concept to screen in a pre-CGI age.

‘From Rome to Rollerball: The Full Circle’ features 8mm on set behind the scenes footage along with a few interviews.

The disc also comes with the theatrical trailer along with teasers and TV spots.

Also worthy of a mention is the reversible cover (which I haven’t seen but which is such a great initiative from Arrow) and an excellent 36 page booklet which features new writing on the film, illustrated with original archive stills and posters – some of which illustrate this review.

All in all, a superb edition of an excellent film which you’ll want to add to your collection.