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Rollerball (2002)
Starring: Chris Klein, Jean Reno Director: John McTiernan
Sure to appeal to enthusiasts of extreme sports, this revamped Rollerball (a remake of Norman Jewison's 1975
original - see below) transplants the violent hybrid of hockey, polo, and barroom brawling to the fragmented states of the former Soviet Union.
Rollerball
DVD (2002) Jonathan Cross (Chris Klein) is Rollerball's reigning superstar, and he's out to stop the game's Russian inventor (Jean Reno) from promoting excess violence and death to boost the game's global TV ratings; Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (as Klein's intimate Rollerball ally) provides a few moments of teasing titillation along the way.
The anticorporate substance of the original has been subverted by shallow style, chaotic action, a sorely miscast lead, and a superfluous plot, while choppy editing prevents any grasp of the game's rules or kinetic momentum (surprising, since John McTiernan directed the impeccably crafted Die Hard).
Providing a strong argument against remakes, this lifeless movie qualifies as a disaster of Battlefield Earth proportions.
Rollerball
- DVD (1975)
Starring: James Caan, John Houseman Director: Norman Jewison
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.
Rollerball (2002)
Encoding: Region 1 (US and Canada only)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
Rated: Not for sale to persons under age 18.
Studio: M G M, Inc
DVD Features:
- Commentary by Chris Klein, LL Cool J, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
- Theatrical trailer(s)
- R-rated version includes some material different from the theatrical version
- "Future Sport: The Stunts of Rollerball" featurette
- Interactive Rollerball yearbook
- Music video: Rob Zombie's "Never Gonna Stop"
- Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
Other Formats: VHS |
Rollerball (1975)
Encoding: Region 1 (US and Canada only)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
Rated: Not for sale to persons under age 18.
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
DVD Features:
- Commentary by diector Norman Jewison
- Production notes
- Theatrical trailer(s)
New Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
- A featurette with behind-the-scenes footage
- Interactive Rollergame
Widescreen letterbox format
Other Formats: VHS
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