Skip to content
Rollerball is 40 years old this year, and is another of those classic movies which Arrow are bringing to the small screen with the Special Edition Blu-ray treatment.
Set in the near future, Jonathan E (James Caan) is the king of the Rollerball game – a game where, in the future, there are no wars and no poverty, because Rollerball takes its place. However, Energy – the company who seem to everything, want Jonathan E to retire, and he thinks something is afoot. After all, why retire your big hitter?
As I say, I hadn’t seen this before watching it on this new Blu-ray Special Edition, and I was expecting wall-to-wall rollerball in-the-round action, but after an initial 20 minutes or so of just that, we then get a lot of faffing about for the best part of an hour as discussion takes place about Jonathan E’s enforced retirerment and it turns into an exercise of everyone staring at their own navels from then on.
There are two more games to be played, however, and Norman Jewison directs all three superbly, but inbetween I was having to prop my eyes open with matchsticks as it doesn’t half plod on.
That said, I did enjoy the moment when it feels ahead of its time as it deals with ruthless corporations and how corporate society takes over from community – elements which are prevalent in today’s society but won’t have been around the time of the film’s release. Perhaps a rewatch of the film is in order, as I was initally expecting more action and less drama.
Also, outside of the arena there are some great visions of the future such as how libraries are only stocked with edited versions of books – which is sort-of true since there are now less books as the Tories have closed many of the libraries. There’s also a super-computer with AI and an advanced cooling system, so advanced that it can still effect “computer says no” many moons before it became a catchphrase. Seeing Ralph Richardson in charge of this machine was brilliantly played and hilarious. Some of the buildings featured look incredible, and you can find out more about those in the extras.
And in the future, videos come on a thin computer disc, giving four screens to watch – one as big as those screens of today, with wireless streaming of the whole kit and caboodle linking to every room in the house. Actually, that’s quite scary if your house in the 1970s is dominated by four times as many TVs as the present day!
When Rollerball is great, it’s brilliant, and the game – where players are encouraged to inflict gross injury on a rival, even if it means several piling in unfairly on one – reminds me in part of the ’80s videogame Speedball, which I played on the Atari ST. The playing area was more like a football pitch, but it was Rollerball in essence. Worryingly, the action in the game in his film also leads to punch-ups in the audience, everyone pushing and shoving, bringing on another potential Hillsborough tragedy.
Kudos also goes to the great classical music pieces proliferating this movie, particularly Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, which opens proceedings. I was playing air piano while watching this…
Go to page 2 for the presentation and the extras.
The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio and in 1080p high definition. For a 40-year-old film, the print looks absolutely incredible. Sure, it’s a bit soft at times, but that’s down to the original print and if you do spot any minor defect, again that’s been filmed at the time and is no fault of Arrow’s. This picture looks amazing for its age. For the record, I’m watching on a Panasonic 50″ Plasma TV with a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
As for the audio, there’s a remastered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack with occasional split-surround effects, especially during the games – and note that while the 35mm theatrical prints came with a 4-Track Stereo soundtrack, the 70mm version came with a 6-Track soundtrack. There’s also an uncompressed PCM 2.0 Stereo soundtrack for the purists without 5.1 equipment and don’t want a downmixed version of the former. I’ll stick with 5.1 as it’s meant to be heard, thanks.
The extras are aas follows:
- Return To The Arena: The Making of Rollerball (25:05): In the film, there are no wars and no poverty, because Rollerball takes its place, and this extra expands on all aspects of the production. Filmed in 2001, it contains clips mixed with chat from key cast and crew members, primarliy director Norman Jewison.
- Blood Sports with James Caan (10:58): A more recent extra – filmed last year, Caan reminisces about making the film, including trying to play the Rollerball game itself, one day after filming… They lasted eleven seconds before they were knackered! And those futuristic-looking buildings? They were all real! They were shot in Munich, by the way. This and the next two extras are presented in HD and all shot during either 2014 or 2015.
- The Fourth City (18:55): And in-depth look into the incredible buildings featured from Munich, including the Audi Dome and the BMW Museum. This piece includes chat from unit manager Dieter Meyer as well as Jimmy Berg, Houston team rookie.
- The Bike Work: Craig R Baxley (17:33): Stuntman Craig R Baxley talks about the bikes and also his time on the movie.
- From Rome To Rollerball: The Full Circle (7:56): Interviews and on-set footage showing how the game of Rollerball compares with gladiatorial contests of Ancient Rome.
- Trailers: The Original Theatrical Trailer (2:56) and the Theatrical Teaser (0:58), both in 16:9.
- TV Spots (1:33): 3 TV adverts here. Like the teaser, but shorter.
- Audio commentaries: One apiece from director Norman Jewison and screenwriter William Harrison.
- Isolated Music and Effects Soundtrack: Does what it says on the tin.
- Booklet: A 28-page booklet featuring magnificent artwork and images from the film, plus new writing from James Oliver, from Moviemail.com, entitled “Zero Sum Game: The Politics, Paranoia and Prescience of Rollerball”.
As you put the disc in, you get clips of the Rollerball games, but when it comes to the chaptering, I feel one should come every five minutes on average. Arrow, like many other distributors, go for a low 12 however long the film. I would like them to increase that number. Subtitles are in English.
Rollerball is out now on Blu-ray and check out the full-size cover by clicking on the packshot. Also, the 2002 DVD release contains some of the extras featured here.
|
FILM PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
6 8 8 8 |
| OVERALL | 7.5 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 121 minutes
Year: 1976
Distributor: Arrow Films
Released: March 23rd 2015
Chapters: 12
Cat.no: FCD
1074
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, uncompressed PCM 2.0 Stereo
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc Format: BD50
Director: Norman Jewison
Producer: Norman Jewison
Screenplay: William Harrison (based on his own short story, “Roller Ball Murder”)
Music: André Previn
Cast:
Jonathan E.: James Caan
Bartholomew: John Houseman
Ella: Maud Adams
Moonpie: John Beck
Cletus: Moses Gunn
Mackie: Pamela Hensley
Daphne: Barbara Trentham
Executive: John Normington
Rusty, Team Executive: Shane Rimmer
Japanese Doctor: Burt Kwouk
Girl in Library: Nancy Bleier
Bartholomew’s Aide: Rick LeParmentier
Strategy Coach for Houston Team: Robert Ito
Librarian: Ralph Richardson
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.
| 1 | 2 |