Video Reviews and News : ****Excellent ***Good **Ordinary *Poor : Movies
- Share via
Recent videocassette releases, reviewed by Times critics.
** “Rollerball.”
MGM/UA. $ 29.95. 1975. R.
It’s got the smoothest, glossiest finish imaginable, but something inside it doesn’t jell: Norman Jewison’s science-fiction parable about a totalitarian, conformist world, and the deadly game--a mix of roller derby, the wall of death and premeditated homicide--which keeps the masses happy and sated. The conflict is between the one rollerball superstar (James Caan) whose expertise sends an unfortunate message of individual glory, and the ruthless executives forcing him to retire. The movie, unfortunately, has the same featureless Q.E.D. as the game itself: Blood on a blank surface.
More to Read
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.