In the not-so-distant future (?) – 2018, to be exact – corporations rule world. They see to it that all mankind’s needs are met. There is no crime, there is no war, there is no disease, there is no famine. For the populace, the ultimate distraction is Rollerball, a brutal contact sport engineered to remind everyone that no individual is greater than the system. Champion Jonathan E. thinks otherwise.
Norman Jewison’s bread-and-circus parable has all the subtlety of a studded glove in the face, and James Caan proves that Sonny can hold a job after all, if only he can make it through the next toll booth.
A special shout-out to André Previn for his music supervision. Previn conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in selections by Tchaikovsky, Albinoni, and Shostakovich. But it’s Simon Preston who makes the most lasting impression with Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor.”
The Super Bowl holds no fear, as Roy and I take on the Man, with “Rollerball” (1975), on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. We’ll be looking for your chants of “Jonathan” in the comments section, as we live-stream on Facebook, this Sunday evening at 7:00 EST.
https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner
“GAME??? THIS WASN’T MEANT TO BE A GAME!!!”
The trailer:
To get you in the mood – the Puppy Bowl: