Categories & segments

Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

James Caan gives a fascinating sports performance that alternates between athletic charisma and sleepy line readings.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:07Read transcript
  • One host calls James Caan's work his favorite performance in a sports movie that can be great in one minute and terrible in the next.
  • Caan is praised for looking like a credible athlete and carrying an elite athlete's mystique and charisma.
  • The sleepy delivery is interpreted as a man lulled by a world that supplies his house, partner, and money while he comes alive during the sport.
Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:50Read transcript
  • Vincent Canby's review is described as dismissing the film as frivolous rather than satire.
  • Gene Siskel is reported to have awarded two stars and called the film vapid, pretentious, and arrogant.
  • Roger Ebert is reported to have awarded three and a half stars, although the panel could not find his review online.
  • James Caan is reported to have rated Rollerball eight out of ten while saying the character gave him little to do.
Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

Most Rewatchable Scene

The opening game, dystopian party, Tokyo game, final, and Jonathan-Bartholomew argument form the field.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:06Read transcript
  • The opening credits, pregame warmups, corporate anthem, and first Houston-Madrid game are proposed together as a rewatchable opening sequence.
  • The opening game is praised for making the invented sport understandable through wide shots, close-ups, scoring, and Moonpie's swooper role.
  • Jonathan's team lecture and the interview that introduces his scoring and injury records are added as scene candidates.
  • The futuristic party is praised for revealing designer-drug use, assigned relationships, social control, and casual environmental destruction without exposition.
  • The Houston-Tokyo game is nominated for its no-penalties premise, escalating violence, ball-to-the-head impact, and Moonpie's injury.
  • Jonathan erasing Ella's videos during their breakup is proposed as another rewatchable scene.
  • The final against New York is nominated for its no-penalties setup, attrition, strategy, and Jonathan's survival.
Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

The most "year the movie came out" thing

The 1975 future lacks phones and internet, features a centralized computer, and lets Caan hit a heavy bag bare-handed.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:59Read transcript
  • The women's distinctly mid-1970s styling is proposed as the clearest period marker.
  • The future's lack of cell phones and internet, despite its centralized computer, is proposed as a 1975 conception of technology.
  • Allowing James Caan to hit a heavy bag bare-handed is selected as an unsafe 1970s production detail.
Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

What’s Aged the Best?

The invented sport, corporate critique, production design, pills, violence, and Enberg's call

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:58Read transcript
  • The convincing design of Rollerball as a playable sport is the first Aged Best choice.
  • John Houseman's villain, the bright interiors, enormous televisions, pills, empty cityscape, and tracksuits are praised as durable parts of the imagined future.
  • The film's corporate-control metaphor and prediction of corporate branding are judged more resonant over time.
  • Book censorship and erased history are singled out as ideas that have aged well.
  • The film's anticipation of football violence is identified as another element that aged well.
  • Dick Enberg's game commentary is praised as an enduring strength.
Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Moonpie’s helmet removal and the ball striking a player’s head

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:33Read transcript
  • Jonathan scoring against Tokyo with fans visible behind the glass is nominated for its 1970s-hockey feel.
  • Moonpie's helmet removal after his injury is proposed as another visual choice.
  • The ball striking a player's head wins because the impact remains vivid decades later.
Rollerball The Rewatchables
Rollerball poster
Rollerball

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The corporation's convoluted effort to remove Jonathan and the blonde girlfriend

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:37Read transcript
  • The corporation's elaborate attempt to force Jonathan out is questioned when it could instead have removed him quietly.
  • The blonde girlfriend and her confrontation with Jonathan are criticized as a weak part of the film.
Displaying discussions 1945 - 1956 of 8808 in total