@geob3963 Help! My family calls me "Soylent Green" and this is the only reference I have been allowed to see. For the past 10 years I have been experiencing Censorship from regular social media; meanwhile, my past associates slander, exploit, attempt to spend-down and plagiarize all that I worked for career/wise all my 59 years. I am in need of medical care and I am worried about my two adult sons. Family has slandered me to them. Eugenics in family may have influenced sons' opinions.
I saw this as a young teenager with my dad when it came out in the 70’s. my father tried to explain to me the deeper meaning of the film and Jonathan’s fight for freedom from his corporate masters. It wasn’t until I was older that I grasped the real message of this film and it became more to me than just a cool Sci Fi film.
No, we were struggling in the 70s. most of the world was still suffering under military dictatorships (some propped up by the CIA to maintain our oil addiction) and racism, homophobia, sexism, pollution and lung cancer still rampant in the US. We had one good decade of peace and prosperity between the Cold Wars, w/ democracy at its broadest spread and the last time the US budget was balanced, the Clean Air act had cleaned up most of the water and before terror war, Putin and global warming started kicking in. the 90s was the Pax Americana.
The shorthand "good times means bad art" comes to mind. Limitations are often what force creativity to the surface. A society riding high with no serious resource shortages or ongoing conflict can give itself over to spectacle and waste with no consequences -- for a while. Rollerball kind of delves into that. It's really only the Chairman who has a problem with Jonathan being good enough at a *game* to achieve upward mobility in society. If anything, the rules changes only drive Jonathan to play *better*
Might just be the natural grittiness of the 70’s …look at NYC back then, it was falling apart, crime and murder were higher than maybe not today but how life was in the following 25 to 30 years. The mob was in full swing just before the RICO laws were introduced. Might just have a little to do with the difference in visual fidelity too. You are not wrong though. Movies on a whole seemed far better written at least.
Please thank your family for me for letting you stay up in your youth. Your analysis honors this film, its writers, actors, and directors. Power. The last form of freedom. You're right. And, to wield it, you must bind yourself (willingly) to a horror you actually wish to leave alone. Rollerball's ending is one of the most melancholic I've ever seen.
Spot on! The individual is Not supposed to succeed! The collective, the corporation is all! Not a ton of dialog, but what's there is very important, every word has context and meaning. This film is exquisitely filmed, its style and atmosphere is perfect for the subject. Loved this film since I saw it in the late 80s. Picked up the 4,k last year! Brilliant vision of our current global Corpocracy. "You will own nothing and be happy." - Klaus Schwab WEF
Lots of very good predictions about a corporate future! At one point Jonathan E visits a "library", hoping to find books to understand corporate decision making. He's informed that the books aren't there anymore, they have been "summarized" for convenience. Which today sounds a *lot* like they might have been used to train AI models.
He also witnesses a conversation bertween the central computer and chief librarian who is bickering because the computer has deleted the 13th century and is also saying; Not much in the century, just Dante and a few corrupt Popes, but it's so distracting and annoying!
Too long ago - but anything modern on the original Arthur Evan’s/ Knossos dig and those beautiful fresco ‘restaurations’ - they brought a lot of imagination to their archaeology. Nothing wrong with your version, which is as like as not
@ I was opining on source material, but appreciate the role of cultural idealization and “whitewashing “. But I encourage you to bring those old materials out, rediscover the magic of the evolving revelations of prehistory 🤗🤗
Something tells me that Rugby is the sport. Football helmets protect but I bet they are SUBstandard, thanks to corporations watering down regs. And colliding head to head still causes harm even with decent helmets.
I first watched Rollerball as a college student in the 1980s. I was struck by the almost hatred of physically challenging sports, the critique of corporate America, the critique of consumerism, and the hero's journey.
@brentmcwilliams4332 Nah, his finest role was as the driving instructor in The Naked Gun.😉 "Stephanie, extend your arm. Now, extend your middle finger."
I saw this in the movie theater in a double feature with the just released Brian de Palma directed Carrie in 1976, I was 9 years old. I dragged my uncle to see Rollerball, Carrie was just a bonus? Ha! But yeah, Pacific Theaters, Lakewood, California. Rollerball along with Logan's Run have stuck with me all these years where so many movies since then have fallen away. Another great video!
@ It was the 'funeral' at the end of Carrie that got me strange enough, I was fine with the rest. I was probable too young to see Flesh Gordon in a movie theater as a kid, haha. The guy in front of my uncle and I turned around in line, saw me and said to my uncle, "This movie is FLESH Gordon, not Flash Gordon." My uncle turned to me and pointed at me. "Oh, he knows. It was his idea!" And it was! I was one of those kids who's friends parents refused to allow their kids to go see movies with because every movie they refused to allow their kids see, I was seeing. And then some.
Over the last couple of decades I've thought of Rollerball and its portrayal of the power of corporations hundreds of times... I'm glad someone else has noticed how prescient the film was. One event that astounded me was when Wikileaks (about 15 years ago) was suddenly considered evil. Within just a few hours it became impossible, anywhere in the western world, to contribute to Wikileaks. Absolutely impossible, globally, within half a day. No one else noticed the power and control this revealed about corporations (and how national borders were rendered meaningless). I found it terrifying but no one cared.
As of December 2024, WikiLeaks continues to operate as a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing classified and censored information. However, its activities have been significantly impacted by the legal challenges faced by its founder, Julian Assange. **Julian Assange's Legal Resolution and Release** In June 2024, Julian Assange reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities, pleading guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act. This plea acknowledged his role in obtaining and publishing classified American military secrets. The agreement stipulated that Assange would serve no additional prison time, as the sentence was considered time already served. Following this resolution, Assange was released from custody and returned to Australia, marking his first visit home in over a decade. **Impact on WikiLeaks' Operations** During Assange's prolonged legal battles and imprisonment, WikiLeaks' publishing activities were notably reduced. Assange himself acknowledged that the organization was no longer able to publish due to his imprisonment and the effects of U.S. government surveillance and funding restrictions on potential whistleblowers. Since Assange's release, there has been no significant public indication of a resurgence in WikiLeaks' publishing activities. The organization's website remains online, but it has not released new original documents since 2019. The future direction of WikiLeaks appears uncertain, with no clear plans for resuming its previous volume of publications. **Julian Assange's Post-Release Reflections** Post-release, Assange has expressed concerns about the state of press freedom and the challenges of adapting to a rapidly changing world. He has highlighted issues such as the erosion of free speech and the rise of impunity, reflecting on the broader implications of his legal journey and the current global political climate. In summary, while WikiLeaks remains operational, its future activities are currently limited. The organization continues to grapple with the ramifications of Julian Assange's legal challenges and the evolving landscape of press freedom and information transparency.
The reason no one cares is that people lie to themselves about every thought connected to power. Let's say all the anti-government conspiracy theorists got their wish & vanquished 'government.' What would they do next? Set up systems to protect *their* social prestige. What would people who *don't want* to lose what they perceive as protection from current governments? There was a key line in here that you can only have freedom by wielding power over someone else. That's not the way I put it; Even as a kid I understood that every notion of freedom I'd ever heard lacked any context. If you "opted out" of society somehow, how would you procure food? Is there any p[lace left on Earth that can sustain humans that isn't already occupied by any? & how would they stave off would-be conquerors? This still persists today. Every ism is an irrational off-shoot of people neglecting any context. The sad fact of the matter is everyone I know is terrified of any real freedom. So discuss nuances or overt examples of its lack all you want. You'd need _mass_ support for any changes, & the masses prefer to sacrifice their own children to challenging the structures of their comfortable tyranny. Just in case you suspect otherwise, there's absolutely No Cynicism in any of this. If you saw any person in any power to make decisions take anything from a Concerned Interest in a movie, you would know they can never side against whoever they took it from. In real life, politicians *openly* do this. & everyone around me pretends it has No Effect. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What was more scary about what how so many mindless idiots went along with it and considered Wikileaks evil, just because it was against their chosen team.
The issue I had with Wikileaks and where they lost me was when they started publishing classified military documents which identified troop positions and operational tactics. I believe every war the US has fought since Korea has been illegal and we, the US have been the bad guys, especially in everything we have done in the middle east. However, that is not the fault of the soldiers sent to fight, they are victims just like they people they are killing. They do not deserve to have their lives placed in jeopardy. I believe in exposing corruptions and evil deeds, unless doing so endangers the lives of innocent people.
I immediately knew from the thumbnail what movie this video is about. I've watched this movie over and over. I saw it in the theater when it first came out.
Merry Christmas Mr Walter. I watched Rollerball again earlier this year and boy oh boy it might just be the most prescient of all time, what a ride! Are you not entertained?
As a kid born on the tail end of the 50s, reaching adulthood in the 70s, I actually did recognize by my mid-teens that landing on the moon was the pinnacle of human achievement and that the degeneracy, corruption, and fall of Western civilization was inevitable. Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision notwithstanding. But then I was a reader-and a watcher-of most of the dystopian stories of the 20th century. "Brave New World," "1984" "Fahrenheit 451," "Soylent Green," "Logan's Run," (the very first movie I ever got to binge-watch like 20 times in one month on the brand-new HBO!) "A Clockwork Orange," and "The Time Machine." I guess if you wanted to quibble, you could argue I am conflicting two genres: dystopian and nihilistic. But it’s clear to me that nearly all of these stories reflect both themes; their bleak futures feel inevitable and inexorable because, as civilization becomes more complex it's individuals feel more fragmented and alienated from the tangible necessities of their survival, robbing them and their society of both individual and collective Meaning and Purpose. Without that foundation, nihilism takes hold, and the collapse into dystopia becomes inevitable.
One of my favourite filums of all time, mostly on its contemporary strength. But... the 1995 tv movie of Vonneguts 'Harrison Bergeron' short story is so close to the ideal the corporates have in mind for YOU, it's never had a dvd release.
I wish I could erase the 2002 version from memory, as well. I used to rewatch this, along with Logan's Run and DeathRace 2000 for dystopian film marathons.
I have found my one man tribe in Damien Walter ! What a wonderful analysis of one of my all time favorite movies ! Saw this as a kid in the 70's when a slightly edited version hit our TV station one afternoon not long after seeing "Silent Running" which is my all time favorite Science Fiction movie. In fact, all my favorite Sci-Fi movies are, with the exception of George Pal's "War of the Worlds" (1953), 2001 (1968) and Planet of the Apes (1968) all came in the 1970's. Even my all time favorite Sci-Fi TV series, Space:1999. I find Rollerball to be a science fiction allegory depicting a future Roman Empire like Corporate State and Jonathan E. is the Gladiator who finds transcendence and freedom above his Corporate Caesar to the roaring approval of the maddening crowd who vicariously express their desire for power and freedom through their gladiatorial avatar. Lastly, I have a film theory and watching habit that entails me watching Rollerball then Soylent Green and then finally Silent Running. I find personally that if I watched those films in that order I am seeing something akin to an ad hoc, 1970's near future dystopian film trilogy. Firstly Rollerball shows the complete takeover of society and the dehumanizing effects that that has on both the public and the lower classes and upper society and the elites. Recall the horrifying scene of the afterparty, where many of the partygoers including the woman in red who tries to seduce Johnathan, go out and shoot 6 trees with a gun that fires some sort of flammable round thus burning them to a crisp. Now watch Soylent Green and the world has been so polluted and denuded of natural resources that the world feeds itself on the remains of dead humans. Finally, the world is so blasted that it cannot sustain the last of the world's forests so they must be transported to space and cared for by space truckers including Freeman Lowell, played by Bruce Dern. And even there all the forests save one are jettisoned off and destroyed by on-board nuclear weapons. If you ever want to go dark, dystopian binge watching 1970's sci-fi, you can't go wrong with those three....and particularly in the order I laid out above. Even if you have seen all three, try watching them all again in that order. You may just see them all in a new, even more dystopian and depressing light.
Dystopian sci-fi movies were very popular in the 1970’s - now that we’re actually living in one, not quite as much… anyway, it takes the imperial Roman gladiatorial concept of “bread and circuses” to entertain / distract the masses and projects it into the future… it’s a little on-the-nose but one thing it was very prescient about is how American stadiums are now almost entirely named after the corporations which purchased their “naming rights.” Maybe soon we’ll dispense with the charade about “democracy” and such and just rename countries after our corporate owners as well. For iexample, the US could change its name to “Teslavania.”
we are living in weird times, i think most films are dystopian because they have more shit from real life in it, and modern life is truly dystopian. it seems like many people have a fear for fear, so they say everything is ok while the world burns around them...
@@paulflocken2730 my dystopia begins with people describing our modern dystopia in terms of prices and product availability. I'd also include "blithely tut-tutting our complicity in genocide"
@paulflocken2730 my dystopia begins with people describing our modern dystopia in terms of prices and product availability. I'd also include "blithely tut-tutting our complicity in genocide"
So you believe in the, “There is no Highlander 2” philosophy. Yes, the Rollerball remake was beyond horrific in how bad it bungled the message of the original film, so badly that it couldn’t even be considered parody or a deconstructionist concept of the original message. It still exists, though. It is just horrible
I was a teenager when this film came out, and \I never watched it - dismissing it as a "meat-headed movie" as you put it Damien. Never watched it. Now I'm living in its world. Weird!
This thought has been lurking in the back of my brain, somewhat ill-defined, since 5 Nov.; I had just finished my undergraduate studies when 'Rollerball' came out in 1975. (I had already gotten a taste of AI and would return to study it academically a decade and a half later, and work with it professionally.) The music is still haunting. Its dystopian vision of the future had a plausible ring to it for me back then, and now it's come back unfortunately with a vengeance! BTW, I absolutely avoided that so-called 2002 remake; most remake seem to me to be unnecessary efforts, a clear sign of lazy Hollywood efforts along with an overall lack of fresh imagination. Thank you for this analysis.
@raymondsosnowski9717 Remember, remember the 5th of November... In a way, Donald T is a lot like Johnathan E. All the pressure to quit, but he hung tough and beat the game.
Question: The rules for the final game are "no substitutions, no time limit" -- there's basically nothing stopping the corporations from keeping the "game" going and keeping Johnathan E imprisoned on the track for the rest of his life. How is that any kind of "liberty" at all?
@DamienWalter -- Absolutely it is. And it's really interesting that in this metaphor, attaining negative liberty may have come *at the price* of the other definitions of liberty. Because that is exactly one of the chief criticisms of negative liberty: That negative liberty is basically just an internal state. It harkens to O'Brien's monologue near the end of "1984" -- "Reality is inside the skull". Something about that makes me deeply uncomforatable.
As a kid, the violence in Rollerball disturbed me. It's only as an adult that I realized there was much more to the movie than just a violent sport. Bringing in Berlin's two types of liberty is an interesting take on the movie. Obviously, people see the anti-corporate view of the movie, but usually fail to realize that corporatism is government interventionism, and that a corporate takeover of the world is really a merging of corporative structure and government power, not a replacement of government power. I usually ignore ideas of "absolute" or "pure" liberty as being nonsensical, though, as I usually think that universal negative liberty is a better approach for society as a whole. I don't think the ending to Rollerball has to be inevitable, that, as you say, the only way to have liberty is exert control or power over others. That is indeed dystopian.
The size of an *average* professional offensive lineman in American Football is 6'5" and 315 Lbs. The sheer brutality of the sport is almost unimaginable, and professional careers of these men is usually quite brief. I don't think it can be compared to Rugby in terms of the force invested in full-tilt collisions. The helmets and pads give you the illusion that you are invincible, so you throw yourself at your opponent with everything you have, holding nothing back. Don't take it lightly.
Helmets and pads were a direct response to players being maimed and even dying in the early 20th century. Football has always been a “hold nothing back” sport.
Hit's different to anyone who was old enough to play Speedball 2 by the Bitmap Brothers on the Amiga back in the day. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, Sound off. *ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM!!!*
Uefa has all these different theme tunes now that are used to brand their various football competitions, all the players lineup and the crowd remains silent almost idolising them. I always think during them 'Please stand for the corporate hymn!'
I find it funny, that in these relatively high quality 70's sci-fi movies, the architecture, which was _incredibly_ futuristic at the time (see also A Clockwork Orange) looks so drab today - in the case of Rollerball, Munich. Remember, back then they couldn't embellish existing structures with CG - so had to get brilliant locations from the start. Some of that Brutalist design aesthetic really did make a difference. Subsequent 80s movies (and I'm not talking about the genius of Trumbull - Blade Runner _looks_ real, because it was built from scratch) have just taken modern glass-and-steel, put some decals on it and a lick of paint and said "Look! Here is the future!" or gone one further and just hung a painted scene in the background. Back in the day, they _really_ put some effort into design ethic.
I remember seeing this as a kid and thinking it was something incomprehensible to me at the time that the world could feel so empty. Little did I understand then how sensitive I’d be to hostile corporate entities micromanaging my life as an adult. 🤷🏻♂️😅
This is so appropriate in the recent light of Luigi Mangione and freedom from the tyranny of Corporate for profit Healthcare that is killing so many people in the United States.
I'm old enough to have seen the film first run. I read an article back then about how the actors and stuntmen who performed the game were excited by the concept. They wanted to make it a real sport.
Jewison's orginal "ROLLERBALL". SSSSOOOOOOOO much better than that crappy remake. They didn't even try with that one. Tarantino is still alive and kicking. We can hope. Interestingly about 10 years ago while working as a courier I made a few pickups at a place and eventually learned the name of the guy I was dealing with at the pickup point was Jonathan. I remembered his name through word association. I just thought of ROLLERBALL-JONATHAN E-JONATHAN. He was impressed when I showed up again 2 weeks later and said, "YO!!! Jonathan". He'd forgotten my name. I told him how I'd remembered his name. He'd never heard of "ROLLERBALL" (he was late 20's at the time). The next day I took my DVD copy of "ROLLERBALL" with me and when I next got sent to pickup from him I handed it to him and told him to enjoy it and get it back to me when he got the chance. He loved the movie. A few years later his company moved a few blocks away and I kept picking up from them regularly. At some point one of his coworkers, Amy met me and when I would show up whichever one let me in would call out for the other and we'd all shoot the shit as we loaded my car with whatever they had going out. Coming up on 2 years ago I got sent to pickup from them and as we're standing there we were talking about the crappy job-market and how it was about impossible to find decent help these days. Jonathan said, "Yeah, tell me about it!!! If we could hire YOU we could get rid of a couple of people here who aren't cutting it". I asked, "Well how do I apply do I go online or do I fill out a form here or what?". Jonathan and Amy looked at me, then at each other then at me and Jonathan asked, "Are you SERIOUS?!?!?! You'd come work for us?" I said, "Jonathan, PLEASE get me off the road, I can't STAND being a courier". Long story short I've been working for them since about 2 weeks later. I feel so much better now that I am NOT-A-COURIER!!!! A year ago I loaned him my "Alien" Quadrilogy and "Predator" and "Predator 2". He'd NEVER seen them!!! He took about 3 months to even get around to watching them. Every time he tells me he hasn't seen some movie I thrust out my open hand and scream, "GIVE ME YOUR MAN CARD!!!! YOU ARE OUT OF THE CLUB!!!". Seriously, how can anyone get to their mid-30's and not see at the very least, "Alien", "Aliens", "Predator", and "Predator 2"? There have been several other movies he hasn't seen for which I've revoked his membership in the MAN CLUB but I can't recall them right off hand. Maybe the "Godfather" trilogy. And the first two "Mad Max" movies with Mel Gibson. A few others. Funnily, since I started with them we've never called the courier company I used to work for. We don't need to because I'm there and I'm their primary driver. Only now it's the company van or dock-high and I don't pay for gas or repairs. And yesterday our mail contained two envelopes from my old courier company each containing a couple of cardboard coasters with the courier company's logo and phone number and a letter saying they looked forward to a continued fruitful relationship between our organization in the coming year. I tell you we LAUGHED OUR ASSES OFF AT THAT ONE!!!! Oh, look!!! It's christmas morning and I've just written "War and Peace". Have a nice one. And now, our CORPORATE ANTHEM!!!!!
It was a commentary on the time it was made, not any future. That the material conditions which brought about the problems of that time have not been changed for the better only heighten the contradictions therein, making the film appear starkly relevant to our own time. This is Marxism 101, day 1, lesson 1, chapter 1, page 1.
James Caan played Brian Piccolo in "Brian's Song", who was a real life football player for the Chicago Bears. So yes, he did have the background for Rollerball.
"Roller Ball Murder", short story, William Harrison, 1973-09, ISFDB 97590 But does anyone remember John Brunner's "The Shockwave Rider" and even more "Stand on Zanzibar"
They would do more damage to your own hand than anything else. Hands are delicate and a massive cognitive burden. Only dumb apes smash them into things.
‘To obtain liberty for yourself you must wield power over others’. Not a paradox. Also not true. Only people who think too much of politics would say such a thing
A tremendous film, which we are now living through, but just with different games. To see how it all ends, try the late, very great, very underated Rutger Hauer in the equally underated 'Blood of Heroes'.
Many believe that in death we remain bound to yet another womb and rib cage, the logic being that there is no such simple freedom to be found in death as that which nothing would imply.
As I see it, if you wanted to group disparate stories into one cohesive timeline, the natural successors/sequels to Rollerball are Alita: Battle Angel and The Blood of Heroes/The Salute of the Jugger. Rollerball is the 20 minutes in the future look at us descending into a plutocratic corporate oligarchy dystopia, and making war into a game that acts as a focus for tribalism and all the other opiate of the masses reasons. Skip forwards a few decades to Alita, and the wealthy class have literally removed themselves from the ground that has been destroyed by both war and climate change, Rollerball has morphed into Motoball, with a fairly similar ruleset, still based on old roller derby, but ramped up to 11, and done by cyborgs, with the big fake top prize being a slot up in Libertarian Techno Heaven. Which Alita tears down and smashes, with good reason. Fast forward a few more decades, or centuries, and the last fragments of human society are scraping by in a ruined world, using useful scraps of technology like nuts and bolts as currency. The "Wealthy" are little more than petty warlords, and yet a game is still a main driving social force, a source of social upwards mobility while also representing an alternate path to secular power, as seen in The Blood of Heroes. "No one knows who first played The Game, or how it came to use a dog skull" Speaking, from my POV, as someone who has mocked American Football players for being a bit effete in their tight clothes and spiffy armor. I never played Rugby. I played Shinty, the Scots version of that prehistoric full contact Gaelic field hockey game that featured so heavily in Cuchulainn's origin story
“Rollerball” is such an awesome movie: I can also recommend the “New Lands” music video by the French Electro Band “Justice”, which is heavily influenced by “Rollerball”!
Dude, this is effing brilliant, without being perfect. The point about how freedom only comes at the expense of others is So Obvious but the reason it's never said isn't: Unspoken Rules. You just broke a taboo saying that. It's why no one will talk about it in the comments. Except me of course. But even then I have no idea where to go with this. As many people as there are willing to discuss this in analysis of fiction, in real life they psychologically run away from it in terror. The example I used on another comment is a nearly universal example of this. I'll elaborate if asked.
I never saw that film, but I know it because a Japanese manga author, Yukito Kishiro, saw it and used to make one of the best parts of Gunnm, which James Cameron bought to make the boring film "Alita: Battle Angel" So there is an estrange rollerball reboot.. but without all the violence of the manga or the original film.
I remember seeing it as a young kid (11?) in the Netherlands/Europe. Did not like it. Felt too American until I noticed it was meant sarcastic/political. It was part of a series of SF movies on Dutch TV that impressed me as young kid. The Andromeda strain, Soylent Green being the other movies I remember I was most impressed by.
Is it really a prediction or more of a self fulfilling prophecy? Though art and media reflect our culture it’s more of a funhouse mirroring. So much of our pop culture ends up a result of our media distorted view of ourselves, each other, humanity, and society.
Upvote again for another great review,the 1975 original is so far better than the dire 2002 remake which totally misses the point;and John Houseman as the creepy head corp honcho [screen archetype for Richard Nixon ? 😏] 'playing a blinder' P.S. Recently saw 'Death Race 2000' again,starring David Carradine and pre-stardom Sly Stallone :came out the same year as 'Rollerball' and def. deserves a review from you.👌👍
I'm American and I HATE American Football. It is SO BORING and CONFUSING! And you are right, RUGBY is where it's at man! I also dig watching Aussie Rules Football. Why American Football is so popular I will never understand...
@storungz Any real American reading your comment can tell you're *not* an American. And I'll give a buffalo nickel to the one who can explain the giveaway.
People never seem to catch on that all these dystopian stories set in the future are actually lamentations of the present.
1000000000000000% We are living what older movies were showcasing.
Soylent Green is people!!!
@geob3963 Help! My family calls me "Soylent Green" and this is the only reference I have been allowed to see.
For the past 10 years I have been experiencing Censorship from regular social media; meanwhile, my past associates slander, exploit, attempt to spend-down and plagiarize all that I worked for career/wise all my 59 years.
I am in need of medical care and I am worried about my two adult sons. Family has slandered me to them. Eugenics in family may have influenced sons' opinions.
You are underestimating your fellow movie-lovers, sir.
Pretty sure most of us had that figured out long since.
@smartalek180
Nope. Most people are clueless sheep.
And you know it.
I saw this as a young teenager with my dad when it came out in the 70’s. my father tried to explain to me the deeper meaning of the film and Jonathan’s fight for freedom from his corporate masters. It wasn’t until I was older that I grasped the real message of this film and it became more to me than just a cool Sci Fi film.
As someone who grew up in the 70’s, I had no idea that as a kid I was enjoying the apogee of western civilization
same....
I feel that way too. 1967-
No, we were struggling in the 70s. most of the world was still suffering under military dictatorships (some propped up by the CIA to maintain our oil addiction) and racism, homophobia, sexism, pollution and lung cancer still rampant in the US.
We had one good decade of peace and prosperity between the Cold Wars, w/ democracy at its broadest spread and the last time the US budget was balanced, the Clean Air act had cleaned up most of the water and before terror war, Putin and global warming started kicking in.
the 90s was the Pax Americana.
@@jv-lk7bc just because we are financially better of now than we were then does not imply that we, as a civilization, have also improved....
The shorthand "good times means bad art" comes to mind.
Limitations are often what force creativity to the surface. A society riding high with no serious resource shortages or ongoing conflict can give itself over to spectacle and waste with no consequences -- for a while.
Rollerball kind of delves into that. It's really only the Chairman who has a problem with Jonathan being good enough at a *game* to achieve upward mobility in society. If anything, the rules changes only drive Jonathan to play *better*
Dystopian movies of the 70s have a grittiness that contemporary superproductions can't match, and it's not just the use of practical effects.
🎯
It's the use of low-effort VHS transfers. 😜
@@serversurfer6169 They are transferred from film
Which ones ?
Might just be the natural grittiness of the 70’s …look at NYC back then, it was falling apart, crime and murder were higher than maybe not today but how life was in the following 25 to 30 years. The mob was in full swing just before the RICO laws were introduced. Might just have a little to do with the difference in visual fidelity too. You are not wrong though. Movies on a whole seemed far better written at least.
Please thank your family for me for letting you stay up in your youth. Your analysis honors this film, its writers, actors, and directors.
Power. The last form of freedom. You're right. And, to wield it, you must bind yourself (willingly) to a horror you actually wish to leave alone. Rollerball's ending is one of the most melancholic I've ever seen.
Hillarious watching you introduce the 70s to the people who weren't there. Rollerball! What a scene! :) Merry Christmas Damien!
Merry Christmas Paul!
it was never
meant to be
a game.
Spot on! The individual is Not supposed to succeed! The collective, the corporation is all! Not a ton of dialog, but what's there is very important, every word has context and meaning. This film is exquisitely filmed, its style and atmosphere is perfect for the subject. Loved this film since I saw it in the late 80s. Picked up the 4,k last year! Brilliant vision of our current global Corpocracy.
"You will own nothing and be happy." - Klaus Schwab WEF
You will pay the Poor Tax and the powerful will love that about you.
Sounds like Communist America. Everything is about "Community. Community. Community. Community."
Lots of very good predictions about a corporate future! At one point Jonathan E visits a "library", hoping to find books to understand corporate decision making. He's informed that the books aren't there anymore, they have been "summarized" for convenience. Which today sounds a *lot* like they might have been used to train AI models.
@Scodiddly
Winston Smith works for Amazon.
'Summarized' = censored & deleted ! 😏
He also witnesses a conversation bertween the central computer and chief librarian who is bickering because the computer has deleted the 13th century and is also saying; Not much in the century, just Dante and a few corrupt Popes, but it's so distracting and annoying!
The civilization of “Rollerball” makes me think about Minoan civilization, with its commerce, freedom and deadly blood sacrifice.
Yes, but what we think we know about that civilisation is itself distorted by post Great War sensibilities
@ what are you reading and how has it changed your ideas about the Minoans?
Too long ago - but anything modern on the original Arthur Evan’s/ Knossos dig and those beautiful fresco ‘restaurations’ - they brought a lot of imagination to their archaeology. Nothing wrong with your version, which is as like as not
@ I was opining on source material, but appreciate the role of cultural idealization and “whitewashing “. But I encourage you to bring those old materials out, rediscover the magic of the evolving revelations of prehistory 🤗🤗
Rollerball, Network, and Silent Running. My trinity of bummers.
Add in Soylent Green and make it a quartet 😊
@@JaguarDave54 Add in Planet of the Apes (original) and make it a quintet.
"You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"
I have played both Rugby (growing up in Ireland) and American football. One is a sport, the other is a concussions delivery system
Something tells me that Rugby is the sport. Football helmets protect but I bet they are SUBstandard, thanks to corporations watering down regs. And colliding head to head still causes harm even with decent helmets.
I first watched Rollerball as a college student in the 1980s. I was struck by the almost hatred of physically challenging sports, the critique of corporate America, the critique of consumerism, and the hero's journey.
One of the most underrated movies ever. Houseman was at his finest.
@brentmcwilliams4332
Nah, his finest role was as the driving instructor in The Naked Gun.😉
"Stephanie, extend your arm. Now, extend your middle finger."
@@BillMartin-h2g I love that scene!
Canadian here. Everyone knows that the real, he-man, testosterone-driven, hypermasculine game is hockey. What an absolute gem of an episode!
Have you never heard of the UFC?
@unknown5150variable
Now imagine UFC fighting on ice wearing skates and wielding long wooden sticks.😁
@@BillMartin-h2g now that I would pay to see.
@unknown5150variable
You could probably get tickets for a hockey game tonight.😉
I wonder if Damien has ever done a review of Slap Shot (1977)? That would be an interesting one...
I saw this in the movie theater in a double feature with the just released Brian de Palma directed Carrie in 1976, I was 9 years old. I dragged my uncle to see Rollerball, Carrie was just a bonus? Ha! But yeah, Pacific Theaters, Lakewood, California. Rollerball along with Logan's Run have stuck with me all these years where so many movies since then have fallen away. Another great video!
Carrie? 9? You were too young to watch it. it was bloody. But back then it was not enforced.
@ It was the 'funeral' at the end of Carrie that got me strange enough, I was fine with the rest. I was probable too young to see Flesh Gordon in a movie theater as a kid, haha. The guy in front of my uncle and I turned around in line, saw me and said to my uncle, "This movie is FLESH Gordon, not Flash Gordon." My uncle turned to me and pointed at me. "Oh, he knows. It was his idea!" And it was! I was one of those kids who's friends parents refused to allow their kids to go see movies with because every movie they refused to allow their kids see, I was seeing. And then some.
Discovering this channel and Feral Historian has been a treat
Touching my front bottom so furiously right now.
Agreed. 24y xmas
_Rollerball_ and _Soylent Green_ would be a good prescient dystopian 1970's film double feature.
Over the last couple of decades I've thought of Rollerball and its portrayal of the power of corporations hundreds of times... I'm glad someone else has noticed how prescient the film was.
One event that astounded me was when Wikileaks (about 15 years ago) was suddenly considered evil. Within just a few hours it became impossible, anywhere in the western world, to contribute to Wikileaks. Absolutely impossible, globally, within half a day. No one else noticed the power and control this revealed about corporations (and how national borders were rendered meaningless).
I found it terrifying but no one cared.
As of December 2024, WikiLeaks continues to operate as a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing classified and censored information. However, its activities have been significantly impacted by the legal challenges faced by its founder, Julian Assange.
**Julian Assange's Legal Resolution and Release**
In June 2024, Julian Assange reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities, pleading guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act. This plea acknowledged his role in obtaining and publishing classified American military secrets. The agreement stipulated that Assange would serve no additional prison time, as the sentence was considered time already served. Following this resolution, Assange was released from custody and returned to Australia, marking his first visit home in over a decade.
**Impact on WikiLeaks' Operations**
During Assange's prolonged legal battles and imprisonment, WikiLeaks' publishing activities were notably reduced. Assange himself acknowledged that the organization was no longer able to publish due to his imprisonment and the effects of U.S. government surveillance and funding restrictions on potential whistleblowers.
Since Assange's release, there has been no significant public indication of a resurgence in WikiLeaks' publishing activities. The organization's website remains online, but it has not released new original documents since 2019. The future direction of WikiLeaks appears uncertain, with no clear plans for resuming its previous volume of publications.
**Julian Assange's Post-Release Reflections**
Post-release, Assange has expressed concerns about the state of press freedom and the challenges of adapting to a rapidly changing world. He has highlighted issues such as the erosion of free speech and the rise of impunity, reflecting on the broader implications of his legal journey and the current global political climate.
In summary, while WikiLeaks remains operational, its future activities are currently limited. The organization continues to grapple with the ramifications of Julian Assange's legal challenges and the evolving landscape of press freedom and information transparency.
The reason no one cares is that people lie to themselves about every thought connected to power. Let's say all the anti-government conspiracy theorists got their wish & vanquished 'government.' What would they do next?
Set up systems to protect *their* social prestige. What would people who *don't want* to lose what they perceive as protection from current governments?
There was a key line in here that you can only have freedom by wielding power over someone else. That's not the way I put it; Even as a kid I understood that every notion of freedom I'd ever heard lacked any context. If you "opted out" of society somehow, how would you procure food? Is there any p[lace left on Earth that can sustain humans that isn't already occupied by any? & how would they stave off would-be conquerors?
This still persists today. Every ism is an irrational off-shoot of people neglecting any context. The sad fact of the matter is everyone I know is terrified of any real freedom. So discuss nuances or overt examples of its lack all you want. You'd need _mass_ support for any changes, & the masses prefer to sacrifice their own children to challenging the structures of their comfortable tyranny.
Just in case you suspect otherwise, there's absolutely No Cynicism in any of this. If you saw any person in any power to make decisions take anything from a Concerned Interest in a movie, you would know they can never side against whoever they took it from. In real life, politicians *openly* do this. & everyone around me pretends it has No Effect.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What was more scary about what how so many mindless idiots went along with it and considered Wikileaks evil, just because it was against their chosen team.
@@BryceShamwow Wikileaks told no lies but too many people cannot even take the effort to think about something for 5 seconds.
The issue I had with Wikileaks and where they lost me was when they started publishing classified military documents which identified troop positions and operational tactics. I believe every war the US has fought since Korea has been illegal and we, the US have been the bad guys, especially in everything we have done in the middle east. However, that is not the fault of the soldiers sent to fight, they are victims just like they people they are killing. They do not deserve to have their lives placed in jeopardy. I believe in exposing corruptions and evil deeds, unless doing so endangers the lives of innocent people.
Prophetic. All we want, all we have ever wanted, is that you not question management decisions
I immediately knew from the thumbnail what movie this video is about. I've watched this movie over and over. I saw it in the theater when it first came out.
Merry Christmas Mr Walter. I watched Rollerball again earlier this year and boy oh boy it might just be the most prescient of all time, what a ride! Are you not entertained?
As a kid born on the tail end of the 50s, reaching adulthood in the 70s, I actually did recognize by my mid-teens that landing on the moon was the pinnacle of human achievement and that the degeneracy, corruption, and fall of Western civilization was inevitable.
Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision notwithstanding.
But then I was a reader-and a watcher-of most of the dystopian stories of the 20th century. "Brave New World," "1984" "Fahrenheit 451," "Soylent Green," "Logan's Run," (the very first movie I ever got to binge-watch like 20 times in one month on the brand-new HBO!) "A Clockwork Orange," and "The Time Machine."
I guess if you wanted to quibble, you could argue I am conflicting two genres: dystopian and nihilistic. But it’s clear to me that nearly all of these stories reflect both themes; their bleak futures feel inevitable and inexorable because, as civilization becomes more complex it's individuals feel more fragmented and alienated from the tangible necessities of their survival, robbing them and their society of both individual and collective Meaning and Purpose. Without that foundation, nihilism takes hold, and the collapse into dystopia becomes inevitable.
One of my favourite filums of all time, mostly on its contemporary strength.
But... the 1995 tv movie of Vonneguts 'Harrison Bergeron' short story is so close to the ideal the corporates have in mind for YOU, it's never had a dvd release.
It's on youtube. ua-cam.com/video/dEgOuZzjI8o/v-deo.html
@glennkeppel9836
Thanks for the recommendation and link. I hadn't heard of it before.
I always have to watch your essays at least twice to get the meat of your analyses. Thanks for these thought provoking reviews Damo.
There IS NO Rollerball Reboot.
I thought there was. There should be but the corporations will quash it if they can.
I think he might have been talking about the crap 2002 remake by John 'Die Hard/Predator' McTiernan and starring Chris Klein and LL Cool J.🙄
There was a reboot of Rollerball, it sucked hard... Really crappy movie, nothing close to the original.
Dear Damien, you are making me watch so many old movies I ignored or re-watch movies that I loved!
Feliz Natal and thank you!
Best review of "Rollerball" out there. His tapping into the ideas of Isiah Berlin are an eye-opener.
I wish I could erase the 2002 version from memory, as well. I used to rewatch this, along with Logan's Run and DeathRace 2000 for dystopian film marathons.
I saw the 2002 version and my only thought was "Why did you even make this?"
I have found my one man tribe in Damien Walter ! What a wonderful analysis of one of my all time favorite movies ! Saw this as a kid in the 70's when a slightly edited version hit our TV station one afternoon not long after seeing "Silent Running" which is my all time favorite Science Fiction movie. In fact, all my favorite Sci-Fi movies are, with the exception of George Pal's "War of the Worlds" (1953), 2001 (1968) and Planet of the Apes (1968) all came in the 1970's. Even my all time favorite Sci-Fi TV series, Space:1999. I find Rollerball to be a science fiction allegory depicting a future Roman Empire like Corporate State and Jonathan E. is the Gladiator who finds transcendence and freedom above his Corporate Caesar to the roaring approval of the maddening crowd who vicariously express their desire for power and freedom through their gladiatorial avatar.
Lastly, I have a film theory and watching habit that entails me watching Rollerball then Soylent Green and then finally Silent Running. I find personally that if I watched those films in that order I am seeing something akin to an ad hoc, 1970's near future dystopian film trilogy. Firstly Rollerball shows the complete takeover of society and the dehumanizing effects that that has on both the public and the lower classes and upper society and the elites. Recall the horrifying scene of the afterparty, where many of the partygoers including the woman in red who tries to seduce Johnathan, go out and shoot 6 trees with a gun that fires some sort of flammable round thus burning them to a crisp. Now watch Soylent Green and the world has been so polluted and denuded of natural resources that the world feeds itself on the remains of dead humans. Finally, the world is so blasted that it cannot sustain the last of the world's forests so they must be transported to space and cared for by space truckers including Freeman Lowell, played by Bruce Dern. And even there all the forests save one are jettisoned off and destroyed by on-board nuclear weapons. If you ever want to go dark, dystopian binge watching 1970's sci-fi, you can't go wrong with those three....and particularly in the order I laid out above. Even if you have seen all three, try watching them all again in that order. You may just see them all in a new, even more dystopian and depressing light.
Dystopian sci-fi movies were very popular in the 1970’s - now that we’re actually living in one, not quite as much… anyway, it takes the imperial Roman gladiatorial concept of “bread and circuses” to entertain / distract the masses and projects it into the future… it’s a little on-the-nose but one thing it was very prescient about is how American stadiums are now almost entirely named after the corporations which purchased their “naming rights.” Maybe soon we’ll dispense with the charade about “democracy” and such and just rename countries after our corporate owners as well. For iexample, the US could change its name to “Teslavania.”
we are living in weird times, i think most films are dystopian because they have more shit from real life in it, and modern life is truly dystopian.
it seems like many people have a fear for fear, so they say everything is ok while the world burns around them...
@@gregbors8364 “Teslavania” is a great title for a horror movie.
@@naftalibendavid Lol. The monster in that movie wouldn’t necessarily want to suck your blood - it just sucks
@@paulflocken2730 my dystopia begins with people describing our modern dystopia in terms of prices and product availability.
I'd also include "blithely tut-tutting our complicity in genocide"
@paulflocken2730 my dystopia begins with people describing our modern dystopia in terms of prices and product availability.
I'd also include "blithely tut-tutting our complicity in genocide"
I saw rollerball in the theater at age 13. It made a hell of an impression!
So you believe in the, “There is no Highlander 2” philosophy. Yes, the Rollerball remake was beyond horrific in how bad it bungled the message of the original film, so badly that it couldn’t even be considered parody or a deconstructionist concept of the original message. It still exists, though. It is just horrible
It was a parody's parody.
I was a teenager when this film came out, and \I never watched it - dismissing it as a "meat-headed movie" as you put it Damien. Never watched it. Now I'm living in its world. Weird!
So did I. It is now on the list.
Except there is far more technology and it is so insidious that ppl think they are free when they are not.
Merry Christmas to my favourite sci-fi UA-camr
You left out my favorite part, when the archive deletes the entire 13th century. "Nobody will notice"
This thought has been lurking in the back of my brain, somewhat ill-defined, since 5 Nov.; I had just finished my undergraduate studies when 'Rollerball' came out in 1975. (I had already gotten a taste of AI and would return to study it academically a decade and a half later, and work with it professionally.) The music is still haunting. Its dystopian vision of the future had a plausible ring to it for me back then, and now it's come back unfortunately with a vengeance! BTW, I absolutely avoided that so-called 2002 remake; most remake seem to me to be unnecessary efforts, a clear sign of lazy Hollywood efforts along with an overall lack of fresh imagination. Thank you for this analysis.
@raymondsosnowski9717
Remember, remember the 5th of November...
In a way, Donald T is a lot like Johnathan E.
All the pressure to quit, but he hung tough and beat the game.
Perhaps the remake was to "defang" the subtle anti-corporate message of the original?
Question: The rules for the final game are "no substitutions, no time limit" -- there's basically nothing stopping the corporations from keeping the "game" going and keeping Johnathan E imprisoned on the track for the rest of his life. How is that any kind of "liberty" at all?
Story is metaphor.
@DamienWalter -- Absolutely it is. And it's really interesting that in this metaphor, attaining negative liberty may have come *at the price* of the other definitions of liberty. Because that is exactly one of the chief criticisms of negative liberty:
That negative liberty is basically just an internal state. It harkens to O'Brien's monologue near the end of "1984" -- "Reality is inside the skull".
Something about that makes me deeply uncomforatable.
Corporatism is America.
Corporatism is fascism.
As a kid, the violence in Rollerball disturbed me. It's only as an adult that I realized there was much more to the movie than just a violent sport. Bringing in Berlin's two types of liberty is an interesting take on the movie. Obviously, people see the anti-corporate view of the movie, but usually fail to realize that corporatism is government interventionism, and that a corporate takeover of the world is really a merging of corporative structure and government power, not a replacement of government power.
I usually ignore ideas of "absolute" or "pure" liberty as being nonsensical, though, as I usually think that universal negative liberty is a better approach for society as a whole. I don't think the ending to Rollerball has to be inevitable, that, as you say, the only way to have liberty is exert control or power over others. That is indeed dystopian.
The size of an *average* professional offensive lineman in American Football is 6'5" and 315 Lbs. The sheer brutality of the sport is almost unimaginable, and professional careers of these men is usually quite brief. I don't think it can be compared to Rugby in terms of the force invested in full-tilt collisions. The helmets and pads give you the illusion that you are invincible, so you throw yourself at your opponent with everything you have, holding nothing back. Don't take it lightly.
Helmets and pads were a direct response to players being maimed and even dying in the early 20th century.
Football has always been a “hold nothing back” sport.
Hit's different to anyone who was old enough to play Speedball 2 by the Bitmap Brothers on the Amiga back in the day. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, Sound off. *ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM!!!*
Genius commentary! Thanks!!!
Uefa has all these different theme tunes now that are used to brand their various football competitions, all the players lineup and the crowd remains silent almost idolising them. I always think during them
'Please stand for the corporate hymn!'
I find it funny, that in these relatively high quality 70's sci-fi movies, the architecture, which was _incredibly_ futuristic at the time (see also A Clockwork Orange) looks so drab today - in the case of Rollerball, Munich. Remember, back then they couldn't embellish existing structures with CG - so had to get brilliant locations from the start. Some of that Brutalist design aesthetic really did make a difference. Subsequent 80s movies (and I'm not talking about the genius of Trumbull - Blade Runner _looks_ real, because it was built from scratch) have just taken modern glass-and-steel, put some decals on it and a lick of paint and said "Look! Here is the future!" or gone one further and just hung a painted scene in the background.
Back in the day, they _really_ put some effort into design ethic.
I remember seeing this as a kid and thinking it was something incomprehensible to me at the time that the world could feel so empty. Little did I understand then how sensitive I’d be to hostile corporate entities micromanaging my life as an adult. 🤷🏻♂️😅
They really knew how to end a movie in the 1970's.
Excellent, as always. Are you a Deathrace 2000 fan, Damo? That is another under-recognised 1970s sci-fi film.
This is so appropriate in the recent light of Luigi Mangione and freedom from the tyranny of Corporate for profit Healthcare that is killing so many people in the United States.
How strange, I just watched this for the first time two days ago because it was leaving Prime Video.
This whole Luigi Mangione thing is very interesting in the light of Berlin’s philosophy
In the early 90s I used to watch this movie with my friends over and over. I bought the DVD of the early 2000s remake, but I only watched it once.
I'm old enough to have seen the film first run. I read an article back then about how the actors and stuntmen who performed the game were excited by the concept. They wanted to make it a real sport.
Yup. That actually spent a few months training and figured out rules. But there were a lot of injuries.
@@DamienWalter Greetings 🙏 from Raleigh North Carolina 🙏 💯 💶 😀
@@Palanibert I was in my teens and had friends who attempted to play a version at the local skating rink. Two guys ended up on crutches.
@@DamienWalter Energy goes as the square of the velocity so it doesn't take much of an increase in speed for things to get dangerous.
@@DamienWalter Merry Christmas and thanks for what you do.
Rugby is the badminton of football.
Gotta love the cycles of life that we go through. Great movie. I was thinking about buying it and Deathrace 2000.
In this movie, more like “cycles of death,” amiright?
Damein you bring back my childhood pretending to play roller ball with cricket gloves!
I hadn't thought of this movie in forever, but thought it was awesome when I was 13 and saw it at the theater...
been waiting for this one.
i was one of those 16 y/old boys. still get chills in last scene.
Nice work
Jewison's orginal "ROLLERBALL". SSSSOOOOOOOO much better than that crappy remake. They didn't even try with that one. Tarantino is still alive and kicking. We can hope. Interestingly about 10 years ago while working as a courier I made a few pickups at a place and eventually learned the name of the guy I was dealing with at the pickup point was Jonathan. I remembered his name through word association. I just thought of ROLLERBALL-JONATHAN E-JONATHAN. He was impressed when I showed up again 2 weeks later and said, "YO!!! Jonathan". He'd forgotten my name. I told him how I'd remembered his name. He'd never heard of "ROLLERBALL" (he was late 20's at the time). The next day I took my DVD copy of "ROLLERBALL" with me and when I next got sent to pickup from him I handed it to him and told him to enjoy it and get it back to me when he got the chance. He loved the movie. A few years later his company moved a few blocks away and I kept picking up from them regularly. At some point one of his coworkers, Amy met me and when I would show up whichever one let me in would call out for the other and we'd all shoot the shit as we loaded my car with whatever they had going out. Coming up on 2 years ago I got sent to pickup from them and as we're standing there we were talking about the crappy job-market and how it was about impossible to find decent help these days. Jonathan said, "Yeah, tell me about it!!! If we could hire YOU we could get rid of a couple of people here who aren't cutting it". I asked, "Well how do I apply do I go online or do I fill out a form here or what?". Jonathan and Amy looked at me, then at each other then at me and Jonathan asked, "Are you SERIOUS?!?!?! You'd come work for us?" I said, "Jonathan, PLEASE get me off the road, I can't STAND being a courier". Long story short I've been working for them since about 2 weeks later. I feel so much better now that I am NOT-A-COURIER!!!! A year ago I loaned him my "Alien" Quadrilogy and "Predator" and "Predator 2". He'd NEVER seen them!!! He took about 3 months to even get around to watching them. Every time he tells me he hasn't seen some movie I thrust out my open hand and scream, "GIVE ME YOUR MAN CARD!!!! YOU ARE OUT OF THE CLUB!!!". Seriously, how can anyone get to their mid-30's and not see at the very least, "Alien", "Aliens", "Predator", and "Predator 2"? There have been several other movies he hasn't seen for which I've revoked his membership in the MAN CLUB but I can't recall them right off hand. Maybe the "Godfather" trilogy. And the first two "Mad Max" movies with Mel Gibson. A few others. Funnily, since I started with them we've never called the courier company I used to work for. We don't need to because I'm there and I'm their primary driver. Only now it's the company van or dock-high and I don't pay for gas or repairs. And yesterday our mail contained two envelopes from my old courier company each containing a couple of cardboard coasters with the courier company's logo and phone number and a letter saying they looked forward to a continued fruitful relationship between our organization in the coming year. I tell you we LAUGHED OUR ASSES OFF AT THAT ONE!!!! Oh, look!!! It's christmas morning and I've just written "War and Peace". Have a nice one. And now, our CORPORATE ANTHEM!!!!!
It was a commentary on the time it was made, not any future. That the material conditions which brought about the problems of that time have not been changed for the better only heighten the contradictions therein, making the film appear starkly relevant to our own time. This is Marxism 101, day 1, lesson 1, chapter 1, page 1.
Not forgetting Fahrenheit 451, Soylent Green, etc, the future didnt look great….
Knew this was coming; although, the remake left lots to be desired .. !
Great analysis of a great movie.
James Caan played Brian Piccolo in "Brian's Song", who was a real life football player for the Chicago Bears. So yes, he did have the background for Rollerball.
I love the music transition around 3:00
Rollerball was a terrific movie...even when it was new.
Rollerball take place in 2018 it not just predicted the society but also the decade
Movie pitch: Rollerball but with the Hanson Brothers from Slapstick.
@peterinbrat
Slap Shot, you mean.🤗
Saw it is the movie theater as a kid in the 1970s. It was a fun movie to watch with some real meat of a plotline.
Hmm, I wonder if Yukito Kishiro was a fan of this movie, coming up with the sport of Motorball as he did.
I had been thinking about Rollerball lately as a surprisingly good representation of modern society, apparently, it’s not just me.
"Roller Ball Murder", short story, William Harrison, 1973-09, ISFDB 97590
But does anyone remember John Brunner's "The Shockwave Rider" and even more "Stand on Zanzibar"
I have a distinct recollection of Graeme Garden lampooning the spiked gloves well before the watershed... see 2001 & A Bit.
They would do more damage to your own hand than anything else. Hands are delicate and a massive cognitive burden. Only dumb apes smash them into things.
I assumed he would be killed, but had to prove that he would not be deterred from that victory: liberty to know oneself worthy.
‘To obtain liberty for yourself you must wield power over others’. Not a paradox. Also not true. Only people who think too much of politics would say such a thing
It's a nice ideal. But even inner liberty goes kaput when the taxman knocks.
@ I’m with Camus on this one - just keep out of their way: they’re like the weather. I forgot to say - great essay by the way.
A tremendous film, which we are now living through, but just with different games. To see how it all ends, try the late, very great, very underated Rutger Hauer in the equally underated 'Blood of Heroes'.
Many believe that in death we remain bound to yet another womb and rib cage, the logic being that there is no such simple freedom to be found in death as that which nothing would imply.
As I see it, if you wanted to group disparate stories into one cohesive timeline, the natural successors/sequels to Rollerball are Alita: Battle Angel and The Blood of Heroes/The Salute of the Jugger. Rollerball is the 20 minutes in the future look at us descending into a plutocratic corporate oligarchy dystopia, and making war into a game that acts as a focus for tribalism and all the other opiate of the masses reasons. Skip forwards a few decades to Alita, and the wealthy class have literally removed themselves from the ground that has been destroyed by both war and climate change, Rollerball has morphed into Motoball, with a fairly similar ruleset, still based on old roller derby, but ramped up to 11, and done by cyborgs, with the big fake top prize being a slot up in Libertarian Techno Heaven. Which Alita tears down and smashes, with good reason.
Fast forward a few more decades, or centuries, and the last fragments of human society are scraping by in a ruined world, using useful scraps of technology like nuts and bolts as currency. The "Wealthy" are little more than petty warlords, and yet a game is still a main driving social force, a source of social upwards mobility while also representing an alternate path to secular power, as seen in The Blood of Heroes.
"No one knows who first played The Game, or how it came to use a dog skull"
Speaking, from my POV, as someone who has mocked American Football players for being a bit effete in their tight clothes and spiffy armor.
I never played Rugby. I played Shinty, the Scots version of that prehistoric full contact Gaelic field hockey game that featured so heavily in Cuchulainn's origin story
“Rollerball” is such an awesome movie: I can also recommend the “New Lands” music video by the French Electro Band “Justice”, which is heavily influenced by “Rollerball”!
Dude, this is effing brilliant, without being perfect. The point about how freedom only comes at the expense of others is So Obvious but the reason it's never said isn't: Unspoken Rules. You just broke a taboo saying that. It's why no one will talk about it in the comments. Except me of course.
But even then I have no idea where to go with this. As many people as there are willing to discuss this in analysis of fiction, in real life they psychologically run away from it in terror. The example I used on another comment is a nearly universal example of this.
I'll elaborate if asked.
Uh, does housing estate mean the projects?
Basically, yes.
@@DamienWalter Gotcha. Thank you. To my Americanized ears, "estate" means a nice place.
Okay, now do the bizarre spectacle that was “The Apple.” 🍏
I watched "Rollerball" as a kid. And then "Speedball 2" was released on the Amiga.
Funny how Rollerball is set in our past, 2018
Damn. Now I need to pull out the DVD.
American football rules! GO BEARS!!! (I know we suck this year, but…) GO BEARS!!!
4:07: Dude went the full Simon Cowell .... respect
I do need that move poster on my door in 2025.
No, it extrapolated from a pattern that was already clear.
I never saw that film, but I know it because a Japanese manga author, Yukito Kishiro, saw it and used to make one of the best parts of Gunnm, which James Cameron bought to make the boring film "Alita: Battle Angel"
So there is an estrange rollerball reboot.. but without all the violence of the manga or the original film.
I remember seeing it as a young kid (11?) in the Netherlands/Europe. Did not like it. Felt too American until I noticed it was meant sarcastic/political. It was part of a series of SF movies on Dutch TV that impressed me as young kid. The Andromeda strain, Soylent Green being the other movies I remember I was most impressed by.
The book 'Killerbowl' is even better. In my opinion at least.
Is it really a prediction or more of a self fulfilling prophecy? Though art and media reflect our culture it’s more of a funhouse mirroring. So much of our pop culture ends up a result of our media distorted view of ourselves, each other, humanity, and society.
why reupload?
Rest In Power ✝️ James Caan.
Upvote again for another great review,the 1975 original is so far better than the dire 2002 remake which totally misses the point;and John Houseman as the creepy head corp honcho [screen archetype for Richard Nixon ? 😏] 'playing a blinder'
P.S. Recently saw 'Death Race 2000' again,starring David Carradine and pre-stardom Sly Stallone :came out the same year as 'Rollerball' and def. deserves a review from you.👌👍
I didn't know that there was a remake.
There is no remake
Rollerball was the SHIT for 11 year old me.
I'm American and I HATE American Football. It is SO BORING and CONFUSING! And you are right, RUGBY is where it's at man! I also dig watching Aussie Rules Football. Why American Football is so popular I will never understand...
@storungz
Any real American reading your comment can tell you're *not* an American. And I'll give a buffalo nickel to the one who can explain the giveaway.