Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- James CaanJonathan E.
- John HousemanBartholomew
- Maud AdamsElla
- John BeckMoonpie
- Moses GunnCletus
- Pamela HensleyMackie
- Barbara TrenthamDaphne
- John NormingtonExecutive
- Shane RimmerRusty, Team Executive
- Burt KwoukJapanese Doctor
Recommendations
- 90
IGN
One of the most forward looking science fiction tales of the 70's. - 80
CineVue
With a fantastic stunt team, a gamely macho star and some wonderful editing, Rollerball is so convincing, urban legend had it there were fatalities during the shoot. - 80
Variety
Norman Jewison's sensational futuristic drama about a world of Corporate States stars James Caan in an excellent performance as a famed athlete who fights for his identity and free will. - 75
Slant Magazine
Director Norman Jewison’s Rollerball remains a poignant and unusually prescient vision of our world as defined by Walmart and Exxon-Mobil. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
The performances of Caan and Richardson are excellent, and the rollerball sequences are fast-paced and interesting. - 70
Rolling Stone
The skate-rink action, which culminates in an apocalyptic death match, remains rabble-rousingly brutal. - 60
Time Out
Ultimately, Rollerball gets by on its sheer monolithic quality - an abundance of quantity. Despite indifferent direction and dire humour, it is well mounted and photographed. - 50
Newsweek
Rollerball isn't a movie; it's a protest demonstration - producer-director Norman Jewison's feeble complaint about both the increasing brutality in professional sports and the increasing sterility of modern life. Trendy concerns, sure enough, but the movie's only contribution could well be the introduction of its brutal, eponymous game to an already sport-surfeited society. [07 July 1975, p.56]
