This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's chilling to know that some of the things depicted are coming true. In putting books online the danger isn't just losing them but CHANGING them as they are now doing with the works of Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming. When the movie premiered in Washington, DC a senator asked Norman Jewison how far in the future the movie was set in. Jewison said about 30 or 40 years and the senator replied that he thought these things where happening now. There was a layer of verisimilitude hearing the announcer Dick Enberg, who was a real NBC sportscaster. Jewison was appalled when businessmen approached him about forming a REAL rollerball league!
Yep. Roald Dahl's books are being edited and rewritten to remove any language the could be deemed offensive, in an attempt to make the reading experience more 'inclusive'. Creepy crawly. In some ways, this is even worse than what's depicted in the film. It leaves one to wonder just how far things will go in the name of almighty (at the moment, anyway) diversity.
Media hardware redundancy is also a real problem. Vast amounts of data are stored on storage systems that no longer have the hardware that exists to read them, like magnetic tape, 5.25" floppies, laser disc and similar old products. You can't put everything on "the cloud" - one 'Carrington Event' and it's all gone forever.
"The game was created to demonstrate the futility of individual effort." Fun Fact: This is one of the first films ever to include the stunt performers' names in the final credits. The Quick Stop Roof Award Fact: The game of Rollerball was so realistic and fun to play that the cast, extras, and stunt performers played it between takes on the set. Location Location Fact: The Rollerball game sequences were filmed in the Olympic Basketball Arena in Munich, West Germany. Munich citizens were invited to the filming to serve as spectators to the games. Director Norman Jewison intended this film to be anti-violence, but audiences so loved the action of the game that there was actually talk about forming Rollerball leagues in the wake of this film, which horrified him.
This is one of my favourite 70s dystopias. If you can have a favourite dystopia. A great performance from James Caan and an extremely unsettling Houseman. This is very prophetic as to corporate power.
Mussolini's definition of fascism: the merger of state and corporate power. We're already losing our freedoms bit by incremental bit. Our thoughts and opinions are being deleted if they don't coalesce with the accepted narrative. Very, very dangerous times indeed.
John Houseman, who played Bartholomew, was one of Orsen Wells Mercury Theater Company, who did the radio adaptation of H.G. Wells 'War of the Worlds'. He had largely retired from acting, but returned to the screen with this and 'The Paper Chase', and worked steadily until his death. His last onscreen role was in 'The Naked Gun' as the driving instructor.
This made a huge impact on me and my brother. It made us think about what was happening off the playing surface and on the boardrooms behind the scenes. A good film makes you question things. The sad part is we are not too far off of the world of Rollerball, with sports like UFC, and bigger and bigger corporations.
Great review of a very interesting film. I first saw this as a kid and of course was caught up in the excitement of the ‘game’ but even then remember also being excited by Jonathan’s refusal to conform when given no good reason. As an adult, although society has of course been extrapolated to this completely dystopian future, it’s depressing how much further down this path we seem to have gone since I first saw this movie.
Another nice reaction. I love that you are checking out all this great sci fi from the post-2001, pre-Star Wars era. I highly recommend Phase IV (1974). For unrelated reasons that may become apparent, I also recommend Thief (1981).
Nice. An essential '70s sci-fi flick. Love the design of the film above all. The final freeze frame shot with Bach's Toccata & Fugue is iconic. You'd like 1973's _The Final Programme,_ based on the Michael Moorcock books. Psychedelic, apocalyptic, tongue-in-cheek UK sci-fi.
Rollerball does have something of an arthouse film look and feel. The attention to color, set and sound design, camera work and costumes makes for a film not quite like any other.
One of the classic '70's dystopia films. The original, is a visceral body-slam of a film, much better than the recent anaemic remake. James Caan looks genuinely battered, by the climax. John Houseman is excellent as the blandly evil face of the corporate bureaucracy. The Power Corporation's HQ, is actually the BMW head office in Munich, btw.
Oooh, Rollerball huh? I love this movie, so I can't wait to see this reaction. I wasn't a fan of the remake, except for the fact that the instrumental score was good imo.
Another great reaction video: your observations regarding color schemes and costuming always give me great insights (I really don't know about that stuff on my own). Meanwhile, it's called the Garland Waltz! That's what that is! BTW, the rollerball coach was Shane Rimmer, a regular in Gerry Anderson shows like UFO! (As well as Slim Pickens' copilot in Dr. Strangelove... and a submarine commander in The Spy Who Loved Me.... and... ) May I recommend a similar-themed but more political and satirical Death Race 2000 (1975, directed by Paul Bartel, produced by Roger Corman)? Thanks!
I was 10yrs old when i first saw this film when it came out in 75. I've watched it continuously throughout my life and it's number 17 on my "20 Films to see before you die" list. But watching your video is giving me the same vibe of seeing it for the first time (again) and I'm actually finding out ap few new things during your commentary. Big thumbs up! I'm a fan.
Wow you are going through all of my favorite movies. I just watched this again a few months ago in honor of James Caan's passing. Your insights are SO spot on!!! Thanks so much!!! When we were young my buddies and I wanted to play a simplified "safer" version of this game SO SO bad!!!! LOL
This is one of Norman Jewison's best films and I recommend watching if you haven't seen them: Moonstruck (1987), Agnes of God (1985), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), In the Heat of the Night (1967), THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (1966), Also my factoid to share about the film is: The game of Rollerball was so realistic that the cast, extras, and stunt personnel played it between takes on the set. At the time of the film's release, howard Cosell interviewed Norman Jewison and James Caan on ABC's Wide World of Sports showing clips from the film and with the two of them explaining the rules of the game. Audiences who saw the film so loved the action of the game that Jewison was contacted multiple times by promoters, requesting that the "rights to the game" be sold so that real Rollerball leagues might be formed. Jewison was outraged, as the entire point of the movie was to show the "sickness and insanity of contact sports and their allure." Norman is still alive at the age of 96.
12:30 I saw this in the theater when I was 14. I remember thinking the tree-torching scene was the most decadent thing I'd ever seen. It says a great deal about the mindset. Yes, I've chopped and burned firewood but torching a living tree as it's rooted in the Earth just to watch it burn, a party activity? Yikes.
Just came across your channel due to "The Time Machine" & this hidden gem of a filmmaking. A stroke of genius in storytelling, casting (John Houseman was simply fantastically disturbing) & score. I really enjoyed your intellectual take, you are quite insightful. I cannot imagine a world without books. (My wife said I cannot buy another one til we get a bigger house!😄) As a lifelong student of history, the dystopian & apocalyptic edge of films troubles me more today than ever before. Add this movie to the likes of "1984", "THX 1138", "Gattica" etc. Much of the content of these stories are sadly not very farfetched. We are just lemmings, in little boxes driving around, paying little attention to the powers that be. I'm subscribing because of your sincere nature, demeanor & commentary. Hope to see more films like "Rollerball".
Entertaining reaction and brilliant review. Refreshing that you are not a big sports fan, and just experienced the film for everything it has to offer. I saw this in the theater in 1975. While the film isn't for everyone, I've always thought it has been vastly underrated.
I saw this movie for the very first time at a science fiction convention before home video really took off. I've seen it five or six times over the decades since, and every time I watch it I notice something I missed before. For example, watch the faces of the players before the game starts. Do those look like pro athletes who are about to play a game they love? No, they're terrified. They're gladiators. Even before the league starts messing with the rules. I have a different take on the ending. Which means spoiler alert. But if I understand correctly, it's OK to talk spoilers if Alexa has watched the movie already, so here it is: There isn't going to be any revolution. There's nothing in the movie to suggest that's in the cards. The fact is, the people in the crowd don't even really understand why they're cheering for Jonathan. After the movie, he's going to fly back to the ranch and his helicopter is going to have a malfunction. Just as he predicted it would. But it's kind of a happy ending anyway. Not a hopeful one. Humanity is finished. But the oligarchy couldn't bend Jonathan to their will. It was only a personal victory. But that was the only victory he could have achieved. That freeze frame was a snapshot of the last free man. Nothing that happens after that will ever matter again. But they could not make Jonathan complicit in the murder of human civilization.
Ralph Richardson as the archivist with the faulty computer - "We've just lost the 13th century. Oh well, there was only Dante and a few corrupt popes". The Rollerball games were filmed in Munich apparently. Is that forest in the rain Black Park in Buckinghamshire (UFO etc)? Could be anywhere I suppose.
This was one of my favorite movies and quite the social commentary when it came out. And "roller derby" was the hot thing to watch on TV. You should check it out! My team was the "Bay Area Bombers!" I hope you can enjoy it, too. 😊
"I love how she's there knitting." It used to be so common to see a woman knitting while waiting somewhere. Some of the "canceled" digital books are getting erased, or blocked from providers like Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble.
The danger of culling digitized literature is already present in Cinema/TV. Keep hearing about networks erasing movies and shows from streaming archives.
I remember the tag line in the preview trailer: "In the not too distant future, there will be no crime. There will be no poverty. There will be no war. But there WILL be...Rollerball!" I think the whole point is that the game was intended to fulfill humanity's need for violence, in a time when most actual violence has been eradicated from society.
This film often gets overlooked as a dystopian sci-fi classic because of its sports-centric elements, but it cuts deep, particularly at a time when most people still viewed corporations and governments as separate entities. Sure, there was influence and lobbying, but the idea of corporations ever superseding or becoming an arm of the government wasn't a big thing until novels/films like this one, "Network," "Westworld," "Soylent Green," and "The Stepford Wives"---then the yuppified '80s economic boom revived public trust in companies to an extent, and this sort of media faded for about 20 years. I strongly recommend you review "Running Man," an '80s answer to "Rollerball," which centers around a violent game show that the public worships. It satirizes everything from consumer culture to reality TV, even before there was such a term, by taking a "1984"/"Fahrenheit 451" approach, e.g., the use of omnipresent surveillance and deep-fakery.
Hi Alexa, Again, another amazing reaction & analysis (I always find your reactions to colour and fashion fun too). This is one of my favourite Sci-fi movies from the early 70's, along with Forbin Project, Andromeda Strain and Silent Running. As for losing a century, Crowley (Good Omens) would prefer losing the 14th century: "The great thing about time, is that every second it's taking me further and further away from the 14th century" Lastly, Delenn in Babylon 5 (I think you'd love her outfit) has this to say about the power of the individual when looking at a Japanese Stone Garden : "Notice the waves, each moving in its own order, predictable, unchanging. But drop in a single stone and see how the pattern changes. Everything around it is altered. On my world, there are books, thousands of pages long, about the power of one mind to change the Universe, but none said it as clearly as this."
This movie has a few scenes of prescience re: the internet and censorship when Jonathan goes to the data center and the technician cant find what Jonathan needs to find... (James Caan passed away last July btw)
Great react… I think your analysis is top notch. I’d like to take your concept of cities seizing power in a different direction. Since the corporations have the means of production whereas government can only take what others produce, the international corporations would wind up at the top of the pyramid with what ever government structures are in place ultimately serving to maintain control and order among the governed. Open to other ideas… keep’em coming!!!
You got it right away. Johnathon is on the way to becoming Caesar, and the corporation knows it. When the movie came out, all the Sports Channels were predicting that Sports where going to become more violent in the next few years, in order to get the people's attention.
The fight scene is kind of long but with a line such as I came to chew gum and kick ass the movie is designed in a way for a certain demographic that does not usually consider the social commentary issues involved: consumerism, conformity and corrupt elites. I myself do not find the reveal of Aliens a cop out but I can understand why some people do
Director Norman Jewison intended this film to be anti-violence, showing the insanity of contact sports and their allure…but audiences who saw the film so loved the action of the game that Jewison was contacted multiple times by promoters, requesting that the "rights to the game" be sold so that real Rollerball leagues might be formed.…, which horrified him.
Great reaction and analysis. One of my favourite films. Never watch the remake! If you think disappearing books are an issue, keep an eye on the push to move towards virtual currency...
Excellent - and often thought-provoking - remarks in this one! Something about this reaction made it a 10! The reaction is almost better than the movie, which I like! The movie I give a 7. The reaction is a 10! (PS: You've seen "Fahrenheit 451", right? (1966, based on the Ray Bradbury book, directed by Francois Truffaut, in English). Something you were talking about in this video reminded me of that book/movie; I'm sure that title has been thrown at you before.
The 70’s had lots of good sci fi dystopian thought provoking films. Imagine if all knowledge and history was erased other than that of what those in power allowed you to have, not the 1st time thats been explored!
Hi Alexa, I'm not too familiar with your videos at this point but, based on your commentary and the other movies you mentioned, I think you may like Logan's Run (1976)
Sorry buddy. Because orange and blue are opposite each other on the colour wheel they are contrasting, not complimentary. It means they clash. Orange and blue, red and green etc.
The overriding goal of the game in the film is to distract the populace in a culture without war or crime. In the short story the film is based on, "Roller Ball Murder", it's right there in the title: to eliminate any man with the strength, endurance, intelligence, and leadership ability to pose a threat to corporate power.
Terry Talks Movies RUclips Channel did a video about this movie: ruclips.net/video/VG6gaLYv17U/видео.html I basically agree with him that the film like Soylent Green is about human civilization circling the drain. The 70s was a very pessimistic time!😊
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's chilling to know that some of the things depicted are coming true. In putting books online the danger isn't just losing them but CHANGING them as they are now doing with the works of Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming. When the movie premiered in Washington, DC a senator asked Norman Jewison how far in the future the movie was set in. Jewison said about 30 or 40 years and the senator replied that he thought these things where happening now. There was a layer of verisimilitude hearing the announcer Dick Enberg, who was a real NBC sportscaster. Jewison was appalled when businessmen approached him about forming a REAL rollerball league!
Yep. Roald Dahl's books are being edited and rewritten to remove any language the could be deemed offensive, in an attempt to make the reading experience more 'inclusive'. Creepy crawly. In some ways, this is even worse than what's depicted in the film. It leaves one to wonder just how far things will go in the name of almighty (at the moment, anyway) diversity.
Media hardware redundancy is also a real problem. Vast amounts of data are stored on storage systems that no longer have the hardware that exists to read them, like magnetic tape, 5.25" floppies, laser disc and similar old products. You can't put everything on "the cloud" - one 'Carrington Event' and it's all gone forever.
"The game was created to demonstrate the futility of individual effort."
Fun Fact: This is one of the first films ever to include the stunt performers' names in the final credits.
The Quick Stop Roof Award Fact: The game of Rollerball was so realistic and fun to play that the cast, extras, and stunt performers played it between takes on the set.
Location Location Fact: The Rollerball game sequences were filmed in the Olympic Basketball Arena in Munich, West Germany. Munich citizens were invited to the filming to serve as spectators to the games. Director Norman Jewison intended this film to be anti-violence, but audiences so loved the action of the game that there was actually talk about forming Rollerball leagues in the wake of this film, which horrified him.
Agreed 🍩🕺
Yup LOL
saw this when I was very young and loved the action....saw it many years later and loved the story
This is one of my favourite 70s dystopias. If you can have a favourite dystopia. A great performance from James Caan and an extremely unsettling Houseman. This is very prophetic as to corporate power.
Agreed and well said
Mussolini's definition of fascism: the merger of state and corporate power.
We're already losing our freedoms bit by incremental bit. Our thoughts and opinions are being deleted if they don't coalesce with the accepted narrative.
Very, very dangerous times indeed.
John Houseman, who played Bartholomew, was one of Orsen Wells Mercury Theater Company, who did the radio adaptation of H.G. Wells 'War of the Worlds'. He had largely retired from acting, but returned to the screen with this and 'The Paper Chase', and worked steadily until his death. His last onscreen role was in 'The Naked Gun' as the driving instructor.
I remember he was also in the Fog.
I saw this back in the 70s. Just a kid at the time. Brutal movie. Went back and got it on Bluray.
This made a huge impact on me and my brother. It made us think about what was happening off the playing surface and on the boardrooms behind the scenes. A good film makes you question things. The sad part is we are not too far off of the world of Rollerball, with sports like UFC, and bigger and bigger corporations.
Great review of a very interesting film. I first saw this as a kid and of course was caught up in the excitement of the ‘game’ but even then remember also being excited by Jonathan’s refusal to conform when given no good reason. As an adult, although society has of course been extrapolated to this completely dystopian future, it’s depressing how much further down this path we seem to have gone since I first saw this movie.
Another nice reaction. I love that you are checking out all this great sci fi from the post-2001, pre-Star Wars era. I highly recommend Phase IV (1974). For unrelated reasons that may become apparent, I also recommend Thief (1981).
I've got into the habit of watching the movie before watching your video and it's a great way to see movies I've not seen before.
I completely agree! I do that with my fave reactors.
Nice. An essential '70s sci-fi flick. Love the design of the film above all. The final freeze frame shot with Bach's Toccata & Fugue is iconic. You'd like 1973's _The Final Programme,_ based on the Michael Moorcock books. Psychedelic, apocalyptic, tongue-in-cheek UK sci-fi.
Dont watch mac and me creepiest puppets it's from 1988😨
Rollerball does have something of an arthouse film look and feel. The attention to color, set and sound design, camera work and costumes makes for a film not quite like any other.
Orange was a very popular color in the 1970's.
One of the classic '70's dystopia films. The original, is a visceral body-slam of a film, much better than the recent anaemic remake. James Caan looks genuinely battered, by the climax. John Houseman is excellent as the blandly evil face of the corporate bureaucracy.
The Power Corporation's HQ, is actually the BMW head office in Munich, btw.
Oooh, Rollerball huh? I love this movie, so I can't wait to see this reaction. I wasn't a fan of the remake, except for the fact that the instrumental score was good imo.
Another great reaction video: your observations regarding color schemes and costuming always give me great insights (I really don't know about that stuff on my own). Meanwhile, it's called the Garland Waltz! That's what that is!
BTW, the rollerball coach was Shane Rimmer, a regular in Gerry Anderson shows like UFO! (As well as Slim Pickens' copilot in Dr. Strangelove... and a submarine commander in The Spy Who Loved Me.... and... )
May I recommend a similar-themed but more political and satirical Death Race 2000 (1975, directed by Paul Bartel, produced by Roger Corman)?
Thanks!
I remember a very young Sylvester Stallone played a Villian in Death Race 2000.
I was 10yrs old when i first saw this film when it came out in 75. I've watched it continuously throughout my life and it's number 17 on my "20 Films to see before you die" list. But watching your video is giving me the same vibe of seeing it for the first time (again) and I'm actually finding out ap few new things during your commentary. Big thumbs up! I'm a fan.
Thank you!
Excellent analysis throughout. Most other “reaction” viewers miss all the important points.
That's why I have books still. Came for the movie review. Got a Shakespeare quote. Total win.
Wow you are going through all of my favorite movies. I just watched this again a few months ago in honor of James Caan's passing. Your insights are SO spot on!!! Thanks so much!!! When we were young my buddies and I wanted to play a simplified "safer" version of this game SO SO bad!!!! LOL
Always a treat to listen to your reaction and comments. You know my opinion already.
Warmest salutations as ever dearest Alexa
I'm surprised Alexa didn't notice Shane Rimmer from UFO, and some James Bond movies.
I did, it just wasn’t a huge deal to me :) it is a reaction in that it depends on how I react lol
This is one of Norman Jewison's best films and I recommend watching if you haven't seen them:
Moonstruck (1987),
Agnes of God (1985),
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973),
Fiddler on the Roof (1971),
In the Heat of the Night (1967),
THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (1966),
Also my factoid to share about the film is:
The game of Rollerball was so realistic that the cast, extras, and stunt personnel played it between takes on the set. At the time of the film's release, howard Cosell interviewed Norman Jewison and James Caan on ABC's Wide World of Sports showing clips from the film and with the two of them explaining the rules of the game. Audiences who saw the film so loved the action of the game that Jewison was contacted multiple times by promoters, requesting that the "rights to the game" be sold so that real Rollerball leagues might be formed. Jewison was outraged, as the entire point of the movie was to show the "sickness and insanity of contact sports and their allure."
Norman is still alive at the age of 96.
12:30 I saw this in the theater when I was 14. I remember thinking the tree-torching scene was the most decadent thing I'd ever seen. It says a great deal about the mindset. Yes, I've chopped and burned firewood but torching a living tree as it's rooted in the Earth just to watch it burn, a party activity? Yikes.
I felt your speech
Didn't have the opportunity to see this in the theatre, but have caught it more than a few times since then. I do enjoy the use of Bach's music.
Overall I liked your editing style/pace. Better than many. (Classy bee anecdote and Shakespeare quote).🤠
Loved your Henry V speech.
Just came across your channel due to "The Time Machine" & this hidden gem of a filmmaking. A stroke of genius in storytelling, casting (John Houseman was simply fantastically disturbing) & score. I really enjoyed your intellectual take, you are quite insightful. I cannot imagine a world without books. (My wife said I cannot buy another one til we get a bigger house!😄) As a lifelong student of history, the dystopian & apocalyptic edge of films troubles me more today than ever before. Add this movie to the likes of "1984", "THX 1138", "Gattica" etc. Much of the content of these stories are sadly not very farfetched. We are just lemmings, in little boxes driving around, paying little attention to the powers that be. I'm subscribing because of your sincere nature, demeanor & commentary. Hope to see more films like "Rollerball".
Entertaining reaction and brilliant review. Refreshing that you are not a big sports fan, and just experienced the film for everything it has to offer. I saw this in the theater in 1975. While the film isn't for everyone, I've always thought it has been vastly underrated.
the cast and stunt team loved playing rollerball that much they would play it in their free time
EXCELLENT REACTION AND ANALYSIS KIDDO!!!
I saw this movie for the very first time at a science fiction convention before home video really took off. I've seen it five or six times over the decades since, and every time I watch it I notice something I missed before. For example, watch the faces of the players before the game starts. Do those look like pro athletes who are about to play a game they love? No, they're terrified. They're gladiators. Even before the league starts messing with the rules.
I have a different take on the ending. Which means spoiler alert. But if I understand correctly, it's OK to talk spoilers if Alexa has watched the movie already, so here it is:
There isn't going to be any revolution. There's nothing in the movie to suggest that's in the cards. The fact is, the people in the crowd don't even really understand why they're cheering for Jonathan. After the movie, he's going to fly back to the ranch and his helicopter is going to have a malfunction. Just as he predicted it would.
But it's kind of a happy ending anyway. Not a hopeful one. Humanity is finished. But the oligarchy couldn't bend Jonathan to their will. It was only a personal victory. But that was the only victory he could have achieved. That freeze frame was a snapshot of the last free man. Nothing that happens after that will ever matter again. But they could not make Jonathan complicit in the murder of human civilization.
Ralph Richardson as the archivist with the faulty computer - "We've just lost the 13th century. Oh well, there was only Dante and a few corrupt popes". The Rollerball games were filmed in Munich apparently. Is that forest in the rain Black Park in Buckinghamshire (UFO etc)? Could be anywhere I suppose.
This was one of my favorite movies and quite the social commentary when it came out. And "roller derby" was the hot thing to watch on TV. You should check it out! My team was the "Bay Area Bombers!"
I hope you can enjoy it, too. 😊
Jonathan,Jonathan,Jonathan,JONATHAN,JONATHAN,JONATHAN,JONATHAN!
"I love how she's there knitting."
It used to be so common to see a woman knitting while waiting somewhere.
Some of the "canceled" digital books are getting erased, or blocked from providers like Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble.
The danger of culling digitized literature is already present in Cinema/TV. Keep hearing about networks erasing movies and shows from streaming archives.
Watch the movie network from the 70s 👍
Oh, Alexa. :) Thanks for an unexpected take. And Henry V.
Bill loved this movie. He always wanted to make an expanded AD of it like he did with Escape From New York.
Energy - Fire - red orange.
I remember the tag line in the preview trailer: "In the not too distant future, there will be no crime. There will be no poverty. There will be no war. But there WILL be...Rollerball!" I think the whole point is that the game was intended to fulfill humanity's need for violence, in a time when most actual violence has been eradicated from society.
This film often gets overlooked as a dystopian sci-fi classic because of its sports-centric elements, but it cuts deep, particularly at a time when most people still viewed corporations and governments as separate entities. Sure, there was influence and lobbying, but the idea of corporations ever superseding or becoming an arm of the government wasn't a big thing until novels/films like this one, "Network," "Westworld," "Soylent Green," and "The Stepford Wives"---then the yuppified '80s economic boom revived public trust in companies to an extent, and this sort of media faded for about 20 years. I strongly recommend you review "Running Man," an '80s answer to "Rollerball," which centers around a violent game show that the public worships. It satirizes everything from consumer culture to reality TV, even before there was such a term, by taking a "1984"/"Fahrenheit 451" approach, e.g., the use of omnipresent surveillance and deep-fakery.
Hi Alexa,
Again, another amazing reaction & analysis (I always find your reactions to colour and fashion fun too).
This is one of my favourite Sci-fi movies from the early 70's, along with Forbin Project, Andromeda Strain and Silent Running.
As for losing a century, Crowley (Good Omens) would prefer losing the 14th century:
"The great thing about time, is that every second it's taking me further and further away from the 14th century"
Lastly, Delenn in Babylon 5 (I think you'd love her outfit) has this to say about the power of the individual when looking at a Japanese Stone Garden :
"Notice the waves, each moving in its own order, predictable, unchanging.
But drop in a single stone and see how the pattern changes. Everything around it is altered.
On my world, there are books, thousands of pages long, about the power of one mind to change the Universe, but none said it as clearly as this."
Well done with the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V!
The 1970s and early 1980s had great belt buckles.
This movie has a few scenes of prescience re: the internet and censorship when Jonathan goes to the data center and the technician cant find what Jonathan needs to find... (James Caan passed away last July btw)
Perfect reaction to this classic James Caan movie 🪦James you were a legend.
Great react… I think your analysis is top notch. I’d like to take your concept of cities seizing power in a different direction. Since the corporations have the means of production whereas government can only take what others produce, the international corporations would wind up at the top of the pyramid with what ever government structures are in place ultimately serving to maintain control and order among the governed. Open to other ideas… keep’em coming!!!
Thank you!
Loved your review, very thoughtful with nice cultural references.
You got it right away. Johnathon is on the way to becoming Caesar, and the corporation knows it. When the movie came out, all the Sports Channels were predicting that Sports where going to become more violent in the next few years, in order to get the people's attention.
They did a Remake of this.
It was Nothing like the Original, Definitely Worth Skipping.
Wow - a review AND a poem ! Sweet !
Also, "A Face in the Crowd", 1957
Its takes place in 2018. Its like Roller derby on steriods.
AWESOME a favorite of mine ❤️
The fight scene is kind of long but with a line such as I came to chew gum and kick ass the movie is designed in a way for a certain demographic that does not usually consider the social commentary issues involved: consumerism, conformity and corrupt elites. I myself do not find the reveal of Aliens a cop out but I can understand why some people do
Keep up the good work Alexa!
Director Norman Jewison intended this film to be anti-violence, showing the insanity of contact sports and their allure…but audiences who saw the film so loved the action of the game that Jewison was contacted multiple times by promoters, requesting that the "rights to the game" be sold so that real Rollerball leagues might be formed.…, which horrified him.
Great reaction and analysis. One of my favourite films. Never watch the remake! If you think disappearing books are an issue, keep an eye on the push to move towards virtual currency...
Excellent - and often thought-provoking - remarks in this one! Something about this reaction made it a 10! The reaction is almost better than the movie, which I like! The movie I give a 7. The reaction is a 10! (PS: You've seen "Fahrenheit 451", right? (1966, based on the Ray Bradbury book, directed by Francois Truffaut, in English). Something you were talking about in this video reminded me of that book/movie; I'm sure that title has been thrown at you before.
The 70’s had lots of good sci fi dystopian thought provoking films. Imagine if all knowledge and history was erased other than that of what those in power allowed you to have, not the 1st time thats been explored!
Movie Suggestion: "Frogs", 1972
i hated the scene where they blew up those trees
Hi Alexa, I'm not too familiar with your videos at this point but, based on your commentary and the other movies you mentioned, I think you may like Logan's Run (1976)
I have seen it many times, I acted in an audio drama version of it at BrokenSea.
Sure, using those incinerator guns on living trees is a crime, but man, they'd be great for brush cleanup after an ice storm.
Comfort. The root of all problems.
Sorry buddy. Because orange and blue are opposite each other on the colour wheel they are contrasting, not complimentary. It means they clash. Orange and blue, red and green etc.
I see, and how many color theory University classes did you attend for a BFA in art?
@@alexachipmanit’s a great movie 🎉
Great movie 🎉
This remind me of the battle Angela alita game
Control. Control. Control. Hence I’m a antagonistic A-hole.
Frenzy-1972
The overriding goal of the game in the film is to distract the populace in a culture without war or crime. In the short story the film is based on, "Roller Ball Murder", it's right there in the title: to eliminate any man with the strength, endurance, intelligence, and leadership ability to pose a threat to corporate power.
Terry Talks Movies RUclips Channel did a video about this movie:
ruclips.net/video/VG6gaLYv17U/видео.html
I basically agree with him that the film like Soylent Green is about human civilization circling the drain. The 70s was a very pessimistic time!😊
Well.. keep doing ‘Henry the V’…
There was a remake in the 2010s. I didn't see it but I've heard that it was really bad.
What happened to Colin Kaepernick reminded me of Rollerball.
I don’t know why, but my comment disappeared again from before this video went public
RUclips can be weirdly glitchy - esp if links are in a comment.
@@alexachipman Yeah but there were no links in the original comment.
Good movie 🍪👍
Great movie a total classic