Rollerball (1975)

Rollerball: Directed by Norman Jewison. With James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck. In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.

“This is a film that demands repeat viewing. When I was a kid, my brothers and I used to just fast-forward all the slow, `talkieu0026#39; scenes to get to the action. We couldnu0026#39;t understand why the whole film wasnu0026#39;t just composed of game sequences (a criticism also leveled by at least one reviewer on this site).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow, having just watched the movie twice in a night, the second time with the directoru0026#39;s commentary, I have finally got to grips with the scenes between the action, and discovered that I like it more than ever. The view of the future is not highly original; tipping its hat to the stratified societies foreseen by Orwell and Huxley, amongst others; but nevertheless the portrayal is engaging. Jewison astutely realised that only by filling in the image of the future society, the characters, and the political background against which the tournament unfolds, would the game be seen as truly REAL for the characters. In the meanwhile, he also has the chance to build suspense, upping the stakes for both the heroic gladiator/combateur Jonathon, and his would-be puppet master Bartholemew. In this way, when we come to watch the actual contests, our enthusiasm is whetted, and by making the rules progressively more dangerous with each passing game, the stakes grow ever higher.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe central themes of the movie are (i) loss-of-soul/nihilism/sensual-vs-spiritual-happiness, and (ii) individuality vs state control. Perhaps the best scenes elucidating these themes are the famous `tree killingu0026#39; scene, and the conversation between Jonathon and Ella in the forest. The use of imagery and metaphor is widespread; I will mention only the terrific concept of the roulette wheel as game arena, with the players INSIDE, instead of outside; and the Circus Maximus parallel. You may draw many interesting conclusions from this about the directoru0026#39;s and writeru0026#39;s intent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy final word is: watch it once, soak up the action, and be bored by the rest. Then view it again, feel yourself in Jonathonu0026#39;s dilemma, experience his wrenching disappointment with the people in his life who betray him, and try to tear yourself away if you can as he is pushed inexorably to his fate in the arena of ROLLERBALL.”