Watcher
24-02-2002, 11:30 PM
<I><B>TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT </I></b>
<center><b>
<h2>ROLLERBALL SPECIAL EDITION</h2>
Release Date: 13 Feb 2002
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Rating: M15+
RRP: $36.95 </center>
<UL>SPECIAL FEATURES AND SPECS</b></center>
<LI>Return To The Arena: The Making Of Rollerball
<LI>Audio Commentary by Norman Jewison
<LI>Audio Commentary by William Harrison
<LI> Original Rollerball Featurette
<LI>Theatrical Trailer
<LI>Theatrical Teaser
<LI>3 TV Spots
<LI>Rollerball Still Galleries
<LI>English language in Dolby Digital 5.1
<LI>Main Feature Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew.
<LI>Special Feature Subtitles: English and Swedish
<LI>Aspect: 1.85:1 widescreen 16:9 enhanced.
<LI>Dual Layer/single sided
<LI>Running Time: 119.40 Mins.</UL>
<center><b>CAST</b></center>
James Caan , John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn,
Pamela Hensley, Barbara Trentham, Ralph Richardson, Shane Rimmer &
Alfred Thomas
DIRECTED BY: Norman Jewison
<center><B>FROM THE BACK COVER</b></center>
No cover was provided with the review copy, so here's an exerpt from the official media release.
The Year Is 2018. There are no wars. There is no crime. There is only..... The Game.
Tuned to their televisions, the people of the year 2018 watch “Rollerball”: a brutal mutation of football, motor-cross and hockey. Jonathan.E. (James Cann, Misery) is the champion player – a man too talented for his own good. The Corporation has taken away the only woman Jonathan loves (Maud Adams, Octopussy) but they can’t take away his soul – even if the diabolical corporate head (John Houseman, The Paper Chase) tells him he’d rather retire…or suffer the old- fashioned way. The result is a film that thrills you with non-stop terror, action and suspense.
<center><b>AUDIO/VISUAL</b></center>
Rollerball: Special Edition has just the one main audio option which is Dolby Digital 5.1
I felt that the audio was focused very much towards the front sound stage for most of the time with the rears and sub only getting occasional use.
The rears were used sparingly and not used to give any real dramatic effect.
There was some slight ambient sound on the odd occasion, and some more noticeable surround noises but they were mainly used in the more dramatic game and crowd scenes.
The sub pretty much made a rumble or two in these occasions too, but that was about it.
The dialogue in the movie appeared to be mostly clear, easy to understand and didn't show any signs of problems with being in sync.
I must make mention of the classical music used in this movie as it is really well placed at times and just adds so much to the "feel" of the movie.
The best example I can think of is the opening sequence of a darkened arena that slowly lights up as the various staff enter and set up for a game. This is done to the sound of a very familiar classical theme of the Bach: Toccata which was recorded in Albert Hall -England on one of the biggest organs in the world and it just sounds awesome. This gives the movie more of a timeless feel, that wouldn't have been achieved by using some hip tune from the early to mid seventies which definitely would have dated the movie.
The two Audio commentaries are in Dolby 2.0 surround and the layer change was well placed and barely noticeable in a darkened screen.
Rollerball: Special Edition has aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen and is 16:9 Enhanced.
The video transfer of this DVD really does show the age of this film, but it's still more than acceptable and I'll stick my neck out and go as far as saying it's a good transfer.
Colours definitely have a dull and sometimes murky look to them as do flesh tones, but on the other hand, they can be somewhat clear and show no signs of bleeding which doesn't take anything away from the movie due to its dark and sometimes slightly gruesome feeling.
Fine grain does show up at times and nicks, scratches and marks are also there, which may distract some purists. These imperfections do appear throughout the movie, but my opinion however is that the movie is from 1975 and it doesn't look too bad for a movie of its age. It's not a perfectly clean transfer but as I said earlier, it's more than acceptable.
<center><B>Extra features…..</b></center>
Return To The Arena: The Making Of Rollerball -
This is a 25 minute "making of" feature which takes an in depth look at the development of the movie from the very beginning of Director Norman Jewison wanting to make a futuristic movie, finding the book "The Rollerball Murders" and expressing his interest in making the movie, hiring cast and crew and stuntmen, the designing and building of the Rollerball rink/stadium, the development of the actual Rollerball game in the movie(rules etc) and much more.
There are short snipets of some of the cast and crew(as they are now) including the Director, Editor, Screen Writer, Stuntman and Actor John Beck who played Moonpie talking about various parts of the movie from developmental stages through to filming and the final product.
This is a fantastic feature which is not only enjoyable to watch but is also very interesting and informative.
Audio Commentary by Producer/Director Norman Jewison -
Norman Jewison provides a fairly consistent commentary here with no overlong pauses or silences.
He talks about everything he can think of to do with the movie including casting, production, story ideas, the concept of the movie from his point of view, locations used and so much more.
He provides a wealth of information and though he does have a tendency to jump from subject to subject (sometimes without finishing what he was saying first) you are treated to a very interesting and informative commentary which is a worthy addition to this DVD.
Audio Commentary by William Harrison -
William Harrison provides a semi interesting commentary here where he focuses mainly on the movie, explaining the meaning of many of the scenes and basically what is going on throughout the movie that isn't shown but is implied. He does also talk in part about the development of the movie including certain filming angles used, adding humour to the script, scenes he felt needed to be in the film and more. Although he offered some great information and covered a lot of things the previous commentary didn't, you will find that this commentary is not as fast paced or consistent as the first and there tends to be fairly long pauses/silences in the commentary which can be a little dull.
Having said that, this is still a fairly interesting and informative commentary to watch and is well worth at least one viewing if you are a fan of the movie.
Original Rollerball Featurette -
Here you will find the original Rollerball featurette which I am guessing was made when the film was produced. This feature which runs for just under 8 minutes shows clips from the movie, clips of some of the cast and crew talking about the movie and some behind the scenes clips aswell.
The quality of the audio and video is not that great but this is a very interesting and enjoyable feature and is a worthy addition to this DVD. Fans of the movie will love this!
Theatrical Trailer -
This is a very nice trailer which runs for just under 3 minutes.
It gives a basic outline of what the movie is about without giving away to much of the plot.
This trailer is presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
Theatrical Teaser -
This theatrical teaser which runs for just under a minute focuses very much on "The Game" of Rollerball and shows some very cool scenes from the movie. It is presented in widescreen with
Dolby 2.0 audio.
3 TV Spots -
Spot #1 runs for 0.53 minutes
Spot #2 runs for 0.26 minutes
Spot #3 runs for 0.11 minutes
Each of the 3 TV spots start out the exact same way, the only difference being that they run for different lengths of time. They are very cool to watch and are a worthy addition to the DVD.
Rollerball Still Galleries -
This feature is split into 2 sections:
Production Design - This section runs for 0.39 minutes and is a series of 9 still shots of design drawings for the movie. This is set out like a slide show and the pictures change automatically.
Production Photographs -This section runs for 2.01 minutes and is a series of 30 still shots from the movie, behind the scenes and some which look like promotional pics. This is also set out like a slide show where the pictures change automatically approximately every 4 seconds.
<center><B>OVERALL</b></center>
Rollerball is an interesting film that portrays a dark and somewhat grim future where corporations have taken over from governments and have influence and control over everything in every day life.
Violence is very much a part of the game called Rollerball and hurting or even killing opposition team members is cheered by the adoring fans.
The movie is centred around Jonathan E (James Caan), who is the star player for Houston and how he isn't too comfortable about the corporation's decision for him to retire.
Every time the game of Rollerball is featured in the movie, you can be certain that there's going to be some descent bloodshed and plenty of violence. The game against Tokyo is a real beauty!
Rollerball isn't for the faint hearted or the squeamish.
The DVD features quite reasonable quality audio and video for a movie that's around 27 years old.
The extra features are pretty informative for anyone who's a fan of this movie and they do provide viewers with a good insight into the production of the movie.
Check it out if you think that you'll like a movie where guys on roller skates hang off the back of motorbikes and do laps of a sloped arena while beating the crap out of each other with the ultimate purpose being the ability to throw an oversized pinball into a single goal at the side of the track.
Sound confusing? It isn't really once you see it for yourself and enjoy it for what it is..... Original, entertaining with a bit of gratuitous violence thrown in for good measure.
Rollerball: Special Edition was released on Feb 13, 2002 and has a RRP of $36.95<TABLE WIDTH="90%" ALIGN="center" BORDER="1">
<tr><td><B>VIDEO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>7.5/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>AUDIO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>8/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>EXTRAS</b> </td><td><B>7/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>THE MOVIE</b> </td><td><B>9/10 </b></td></tr>
<tr><td><B>OVERALL</B> </td><td><B>8.5/10 </b></td></tr></table>
<center><b>
<h2>ROLLERBALL SPECIAL EDITION</h2>
Release Date: 13 Feb 2002
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Rating: M15+
RRP: $36.95 </center>
<UL>SPECIAL FEATURES AND SPECS</b></center>
<LI>Return To The Arena: The Making Of Rollerball
<LI>Audio Commentary by Norman Jewison
<LI>Audio Commentary by William Harrison
<LI> Original Rollerball Featurette
<LI>Theatrical Trailer
<LI>Theatrical Teaser
<LI>3 TV Spots
<LI>Rollerball Still Galleries
<LI>English language in Dolby Digital 5.1
<LI>Main Feature Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew.
<LI>Special Feature Subtitles: English and Swedish
<LI>Aspect: 1.85:1 widescreen 16:9 enhanced.
<LI>Dual Layer/single sided
<LI>Running Time: 119.40 Mins.</UL>
<center><b>CAST</b></center>
James Caan , John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn,
Pamela Hensley, Barbara Trentham, Ralph Richardson, Shane Rimmer &
Alfred Thomas
DIRECTED BY: Norman Jewison
<center><B>FROM THE BACK COVER</b></center>
No cover was provided with the review copy, so here's an exerpt from the official media release.
The Year Is 2018. There are no wars. There is no crime. There is only..... The Game.
Tuned to their televisions, the people of the year 2018 watch “Rollerball”: a brutal mutation of football, motor-cross and hockey. Jonathan.E. (James Cann, Misery) is the champion player – a man too talented for his own good. The Corporation has taken away the only woman Jonathan loves (Maud Adams, Octopussy) but they can’t take away his soul – even if the diabolical corporate head (John Houseman, The Paper Chase) tells him he’d rather retire…or suffer the old- fashioned way. The result is a film that thrills you with non-stop terror, action and suspense.
<center><b>AUDIO/VISUAL</b></center>
Rollerball: Special Edition has just the one main audio option which is Dolby Digital 5.1
I felt that the audio was focused very much towards the front sound stage for most of the time with the rears and sub only getting occasional use.
The rears were used sparingly and not used to give any real dramatic effect.
There was some slight ambient sound on the odd occasion, and some more noticeable surround noises but they were mainly used in the more dramatic game and crowd scenes.
The sub pretty much made a rumble or two in these occasions too, but that was about it.
The dialogue in the movie appeared to be mostly clear, easy to understand and didn't show any signs of problems with being in sync.
I must make mention of the classical music used in this movie as it is really well placed at times and just adds so much to the "feel" of the movie.
The best example I can think of is the opening sequence of a darkened arena that slowly lights up as the various staff enter and set up for a game. This is done to the sound of a very familiar classical theme of the Bach: Toccata which was recorded in Albert Hall -England on one of the biggest organs in the world and it just sounds awesome. This gives the movie more of a timeless feel, that wouldn't have been achieved by using some hip tune from the early to mid seventies which definitely would have dated the movie.
The two Audio commentaries are in Dolby 2.0 surround and the layer change was well placed and barely noticeable in a darkened screen.
Rollerball: Special Edition has aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen and is 16:9 Enhanced.
The video transfer of this DVD really does show the age of this film, but it's still more than acceptable and I'll stick my neck out and go as far as saying it's a good transfer.
Colours definitely have a dull and sometimes murky look to them as do flesh tones, but on the other hand, they can be somewhat clear and show no signs of bleeding which doesn't take anything away from the movie due to its dark and sometimes slightly gruesome feeling.
Fine grain does show up at times and nicks, scratches and marks are also there, which may distract some purists. These imperfections do appear throughout the movie, but my opinion however is that the movie is from 1975 and it doesn't look too bad for a movie of its age. It's not a perfectly clean transfer but as I said earlier, it's more than acceptable.
<center><B>Extra features…..</b></center>
Return To The Arena: The Making Of Rollerball -
This is a 25 minute "making of" feature which takes an in depth look at the development of the movie from the very beginning of Director Norman Jewison wanting to make a futuristic movie, finding the book "The Rollerball Murders" and expressing his interest in making the movie, hiring cast and crew and stuntmen, the designing and building of the Rollerball rink/stadium, the development of the actual Rollerball game in the movie(rules etc) and much more.
There are short snipets of some of the cast and crew(as they are now) including the Director, Editor, Screen Writer, Stuntman and Actor John Beck who played Moonpie talking about various parts of the movie from developmental stages through to filming and the final product.
This is a fantastic feature which is not only enjoyable to watch but is also very interesting and informative.
Audio Commentary by Producer/Director Norman Jewison -
Norman Jewison provides a fairly consistent commentary here with no overlong pauses or silences.
He talks about everything he can think of to do with the movie including casting, production, story ideas, the concept of the movie from his point of view, locations used and so much more.
He provides a wealth of information and though he does have a tendency to jump from subject to subject (sometimes without finishing what he was saying first) you are treated to a very interesting and informative commentary which is a worthy addition to this DVD.
Audio Commentary by William Harrison -
William Harrison provides a semi interesting commentary here where he focuses mainly on the movie, explaining the meaning of many of the scenes and basically what is going on throughout the movie that isn't shown but is implied. He does also talk in part about the development of the movie including certain filming angles used, adding humour to the script, scenes he felt needed to be in the film and more. Although he offered some great information and covered a lot of things the previous commentary didn't, you will find that this commentary is not as fast paced or consistent as the first and there tends to be fairly long pauses/silences in the commentary which can be a little dull.
Having said that, this is still a fairly interesting and informative commentary to watch and is well worth at least one viewing if you are a fan of the movie.
Original Rollerball Featurette -
Here you will find the original Rollerball featurette which I am guessing was made when the film was produced. This feature which runs for just under 8 minutes shows clips from the movie, clips of some of the cast and crew talking about the movie and some behind the scenes clips aswell.
The quality of the audio and video is not that great but this is a very interesting and enjoyable feature and is a worthy addition to this DVD. Fans of the movie will love this!
Theatrical Trailer -
This is a very nice trailer which runs for just under 3 minutes.
It gives a basic outline of what the movie is about without giving away to much of the plot.
This trailer is presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
Theatrical Teaser -
This theatrical teaser which runs for just under a minute focuses very much on "The Game" of Rollerball and shows some very cool scenes from the movie. It is presented in widescreen with
Dolby 2.0 audio.
3 TV Spots -
Spot #1 runs for 0.53 minutes
Spot #2 runs for 0.26 minutes
Spot #3 runs for 0.11 minutes
Each of the 3 TV spots start out the exact same way, the only difference being that they run for different lengths of time. They are very cool to watch and are a worthy addition to the DVD.
Rollerball Still Galleries -
This feature is split into 2 sections:
Production Design - This section runs for 0.39 minutes and is a series of 9 still shots of design drawings for the movie. This is set out like a slide show and the pictures change automatically.
Production Photographs -This section runs for 2.01 minutes and is a series of 30 still shots from the movie, behind the scenes and some which look like promotional pics. This is also set out like a slide show where the pictures change automatically approximately every 4 seconds.
<center><B>OVERALL</b></center>
Rollerball is an interesting film that portrays a dark and somewhat grim future where corporations have taken over from governments and have influence and control over everything in every day life.
Violence is very much a part of the game called Rollerball and hurting or even killing opposition team members is cheered by the adoring fans.
The movie is centred around Jonathan E (James Caan), who is the star player for Houston and how he isn't too comfortable about the corporation's decision for him to retire.
Every time the game of Rollerball is featured in the movie, you can be certain that there's going to be some descent bloodshed and plenty of violence. The game against Tokyo is a real beauty!
Rollerball isn't for the faint hearted or the squeamish.
The DVD features quite reasonable quality audio and video for a movie that's around 27 years old.
The extra features are pretty informative for anyone who's a fan of this movie and they do provide viewers with a good insight into the production of the movie.
Check it out if you think that you'll like a movie where guys on roller skates hang off the back of motorbikes and do laps of a sloped arena while beating the crap out of each other with the ultimate purpose being the ability to throw an oversized pinball into a single goal at the side of the track.
Sound confusing? It isn't really once you see it for yourself and enjoy it for what it is..... Original, entertaining with a bit of gratuitous violence thrown in for good measure.
Rollerball: Special Edition was released on Feb 13, 2002 and has a RRP of $36.95<TABLE WIDTH="90%" ALIGN="center" BORDER="1">
<tr><td><B>VIDEO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>7.5/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>AUDIO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>8/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>EXTRAS</b> </td><td><B>7/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>THE MOVIE</b> </td><td><B>9/10 </b></td></tr>
<tr><td><B>OVERALL</B> </td><td><B>8.5/10 </b></td></tr></table>