Amazon.com video review:
In the year 2018, violence and crime have been totally
eliminated from society and given outlet in the brutal blood sport of
rollerball, a high-velocity blend of football, hockey, and motor-cross
racing sponsored by the multinational corporations that now control
the world following the collapse of traditional politics. James Caan
plays Jonathan E., the reigning superstar of rollerball, whose
corporate controllers fear that Jonathan's popularity has endowed him
with too much power. They begin to pressure him according to their own
ruthless set of rules, but Jonathan has rules of his own--the rules of
a man determined to retain his soul in a world gone mad. As directed
by Norman Jewison (who was enjoying a peak of success during the early
and mid-1970s), Rollerball creates a believable society that's
been rendered passive and compliant by the homogenization of corporate
dictatorships, where the control and flow of information is the only
currency of any importance. It's a world in which natural human
aggressions have been sublimated and vented through the religious
fervor toward rollerball and its players. Rollerball now looks
like one of those 1970s science fiction films (another example being
Logan's Run) that seems a bit dated and quaint, but its ideas
are still provocative and fascinating, and the production is visually
impressive. The DVD includes full-screen and widescreen versions of
the film, audio commentary by director Norman Jewison, a
behind-the-scenes featurette, an interactive "rollergame," trivia, and
production notes. --Jeff Shannon
