1975's Rollerball is a dystopian SF classic that for some reason doesn't get the same respect other 70s flicks in the genre do. Maybe it's the level of violence, but this isn't violence for violence's sake like, say, Death Race 2000's. It's gladiatorial and creates a number of visceral action set pieces that represents the corporate rat race, in a future that seems more and more probable, where corporations have replaced nations. This new (though by then old) order, based on class, is maintained by the understanding that no one person is more important than the other, and the insane sport of Rollerball - a combination of roller derby, football, hockey and motocross - is the great public example of team over individual. Until James Caan's champion (played against type, he's incredibly soft-spoken) becomes an international sensation, and suddenly the cult of personality threatens the bosses. Though it plays out in a bloody, chaotic game, this is a philosophical conflict, and though dark, it celebrates the freedom of the will

Was it just me or did they keep saying 'Jonathan' way too many times?

Well if nothing else they sure nailed the "show, don't tell" movie mantra with this one. Rollerball is understated and never once resorts to beating you over the head with a single message it chooses to portray. I liked it but would have loved to just see the themes explored a bit more in depth. It felt like an introduction to a world that I wanted to know a lot more about. It was released just about 2 years after Heston's Soylent Green and there are some ambient similarities between the two worlds the films reside in, but that film is an example of how to dive fully in and let the environment tell a good part of the story, something I felt was slightly lacking in Rollerball.

It's well played by Caan, he brings a very soft spoken strength to the role which belies his sporting persona. I know it got a lousy remake in 2002 but I could almost see them adopting this into a modern TV show, it certainly has the material for it.