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Guy Movie of the Week: Rollerball
by Kerry Douglas Dye

published 12/14/98

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Kerry Douglas Dye is LeisureSuit.net's Manhattan-based Senior Editor.



MOST RECENT YAK ABOUT THIS ARTICLE:

Subj: Rollerball ' Da Man "
Hey This was quite an eye opening movie for me " Like in the God Father " lets sale the drugs to the niggas & Spics " I figured that if the world was not blown to nuclear bits, corporations would rule the world.... Dam if hey haven't done just that.

The man reference means exactly that " an idea of a power figure " my dad he's the man' or your the man not hat it means opress only just that you've got power & I have power to, a multipurpose word like bad.

when your moment comes you arise or you don't

-- Roaddog
Feb 25, 2005 at 7:19PM

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ROLLERBALL (Norman Jewison, 1975):
Rollerball
Let's look at that term "The Man." You know what I'm talking about: it's used in certain cultures to denote the oppressive hand of authority, like in the sentence "I can’t get a decent bialy in this city because The Man is trying to keep me down," for example. I consider it a major bummer that the word "Man" should be used this way, because in my opinion, a real man is the kind of man who fights the oppressive hand of authority.

Like Rollerball. In it, The Man, as represented by John Houseman, is oppressing a man--a real man--played by James Caan. Caan is Jonathan E., a champion of the game known as Rollerball, a kind of roller derby crossed with basketball plus motorcycles and fist fights. And Houseman is the head executive of the Energy Corporation, one of a handful of giant corporations which, in this futuristic formulation, basically rule the world and keep its citizens in line.

The game of Rollerball is one of the tools the corporations use--its purpose is to demonstrate the futility of individual effort and to keep the populace happy and free from independent thinking or any form of discontent. But Jonathan E., as a 10-year veteran and champion of the sport, is becoming an individual hero, and thus risks subverting the purpose of the game and becoming a very dangerous man to the corporations who run the show.

They want him to retire, but he just wants to play . . . and play he does, with a lot of flying stunt men, motorcycle explosions, and, as Houseman puts it, "bashing in faces." So they start changing the rules to make the game more dangerous, until the final, World Championship match in which the rules changes are listed ominously: "No substitutions, no penalties, and no time limit." It’s kill or be killed until the last man standing.

Rollerball is a movie with a lot of ideas in its head, but it doesn’t skimp on the action. As a movie about the man as an individual, it’s one of the best. And if you've never heard John Houseman pronouncing James Caan's character's name ("Jonathan Eeeee") that alone is worth the price of rental. Check it out.


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Name: Roaddog
Subject: Rollerball ' Da Man "
-- Feb 25, 2005 at 7:19PM
Hey This was quite an eye opening movie for me " Like in the God Father " lets sale the drugs to the niggas & Spics " I figured that if the world was not blown to nuclear bits, corporations would rule the world.... Dam if hey haven't done just that.

The man reference means exactly that " an idea of a power figure " my dad he's the man' or your the man not hat it means opress only just that you've got power & I have power to, a multipurpose word like bad.

when your moment comes you arise or you don't

Name: Moondoggie
Subject: Build a track
-- Oct 15, 2002 at 5:33PM
Can you tell me where to
get the specs to build
a track in my home town.

Thanks
David"MoonD oggie"Garcia

Name: Kyle
Subject: Rollerball League
-- May 30, 2002 at 5:54PM
I have the specs to build a track and I'm hoping to do so in my mid to late 20's. I'm 22 right now. The league will be a world sport, with 3 bikers, 7 skaters (2 with gloves), and each team with a goal at each end. League winners and five next best will make the playoffs each year. The track will be slightly less angled than in the movie so it will be a little easier to progress up it without aid from a motorcycle.

United States Division
Houston
New York
Chicago
Los Angeles
Washington, D.C.

European Capitol Division
London
Paris
Moscow
Madrid
Berlin

Lower Euro Division
Rome
Prague
Vienna
Munich
Rotterdam

Pacific Rim Division
Beijing
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hong Kong

North American Division
Vancouver
Mexico City
Toronto
Miami
Pittsburgh

Name: Austin Loomis
Subject: re: neil cain
-- Feb 16, 2002 at 9:44AM
<< IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO START THE GAME UP ACROSS THE WORLD, SLIGHTLY TONED DOWN, >>

Ironically, that turned out to be the basic premise of the remake.

Name: Kerry Douglas Dye Responds
Subject: Re: the order of things
-- Nov 20, 2000 at 6:58PM
There's a sweet coincidence. Stop by next week--"Running Man" is already on tap to be Guy Movie of the Week for the November 27th issue.

Name: chris ruff
Subject: the order of things
-- Nov 20, 2000 at 6:19PM
one of the bigger problems i face in my life is trying to decide which movie to watch first: "running man" or "rollerball" on video marathon day.

Name: neil cain
Subject: rollerball
-- Oct 15, 2000 at 2:46AM
The original FIOLM WAS GOOD, WITH MANY TEENAGERS LIKE US, INTO SOCCER WANTING TO HAVE A GO, IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO START THE GAME UP ACROSS THE WORLD, SLIGHTLY TONED DOWN, AS IT IS NO MORE VIOLENT THAN BOXING, AMERICAN FOOTBALL OR RUGBY AND WOULD BE A RATINGS WINNER FOR TV IN THE USA AND EUROPE


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