History Film / Rollerball

* SocietyMarchesOn: The anti-individualist bent of the bad guys makes sense within the context of the mid-20th century American business world (or the Japanese business world then and now, but that's neither here nor there), which was associated with stifling conformity, but missed the mark as to what the actual hypercapitalist, neoliberal Reagan era and beyond turned out to be like. Modern capitalist culture encourages "individualism" (so long as it involves buying stuff to make you "stand out"), while discarding the petty concerns of one's own self in favor of helping others is a socialist ideal. Today, the concept of ''corporations'' trying to stamp out individualism in favor of conformity would baffle mainstream audiences, who associate this kind of dystopia with an [[Creator/GeorgeOrwell Orwellian]], all-powerful government instead.

* BloodierAndGorier: The film is far more violent than the original.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The librarian (played by Ralph Richardson) who programs Zero, and, it appears, Zero, itself.

There's also a 2002 remake, directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan and starring [[Film/AmericanPie Chris Klein]] as Jonathan, which features twice the blood and half the plot, as well as Wrestling/PaulHeyman as a game announcer.

* BallCannon: Jonathan E invokes this as retribution for the on-track killing of his best friend. Jonathan beats the killer nearly senseless, then drags the inert fellow onto the track so that his head rests in the launching lane. Moments later, a fresh steel ball is fired from the game cannon, obliterating the victim's head. No foul is called for this, of course.

* BerserkButton: Through most of the movie, Bartholomew is amazingly calm and reasonable when dealing with Jonathan, until he pointedly suggests that Jonathan can be made to quit the game. When Jonathan answers that Bartholomew can't make him do anything, the executive shouts, "Don't say that! DON'T EVER SAY THAT!"

* ExtremeSportsExcusePlot: InAWorld where CorporateWarfare is waged through a sport and provides BreadAndCircuses, the man who plays it better can be a very visible symbol of obedience or rebellion.

* ExtremeSportsExcusePlot: TheRemake makes it even more of an "excuse plot" than the original because it could have technically been any damn sport as the "circuses" in BreadAndCircuses in the middle of modern-day Eastern Europe but the BigBad invented Rollerball to maximize potential worldwide ratings. And like other examples of this Trope, the plot conspires so that Johnathan will kick the bad guys' asses by going wild with a Rollerball ball instead of anything else within arm's reach.

** UsefulNotes/RollerDerby is skated nearly exclusively on quads (which are, in fact, specified in every code of the sport). So what would have been Zeerust in the 80s and 90s is not so much anymore (never mind that the rules of roller derby have evolved away from a Main/ProWrestling style spectacle and toward genuine athletic competition).

* SocietyMarchesOn: The anti-individualist bent of the bad guys makes sense within the context of the mid-20th century American business world (or the Japanese business world then and now, but that's neither here nor there), which was associated with stifling conformity, but missed the mark as to what the actual hypercapitalist, neoliberal Reagan era and beyond turned out to be like. Modern capitalist culture encourages "individualism" (so long as it involves buying stuff to make you "[[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan stand out]]"), while discarding the petty concerns of one's own self in favor of helping others is a socialist ideal. Today, the concept of ''corporations'' trying to stamp out individualism in favor of conformity would baffle mainstream audiences, who associate this kind of dystopia with an [[Creator/GeorgeOrwell Orwellian]], all-powerful government instead.

* BattleChant: When star player Jonathan E scores the winning goal in the final game, despite rules changes meant to destroy him, the crowd begins chanting his name in a building crescendo. This portends a social revolution in which the corporate masters lose control of their formerly docile populace.

* BloodSport: Rollerball, of course. (Quickly turning into a DeadlyGame as the story progresses.)

* FinishHim: In the Houston-New York game at the end, [[spoiler: Jonathan tackles the last New York player and is about to smash his head in with the ball. After a moment, he instead gets up, goes over to the goal, and jams the ball in for the winning score.]]

* {{Zeerust}}: Liquid-state computing and pistol-sized plasma blasters, yet their skaters never progressed from quads to blades? (The movie was made in 1975. In-line skates had been invented by then, but were practically unknown to the public until they were openly distributed in 1981, six years after this film's debut.)

* JumpCut: Several of them. Hell, there are ''two'' jump cuts at the same time in one scene near the end of the movie!

%%* FictionalSport

* CorporateWarfare: The Corporate Wars are mentioned as a GreatOffscreenWar, but when Jonathan tries to find out more details he gets stymied.

%%* FictionalSport

* WinOneForTheGipper: Subverted. Before the final game against New York, Jonathan skates into the locker room where the rest of the Huston team is waiting. Nothing is said. They just stare at each other, since they all know the odds are none of them will survive the game.

* TheBigBoard
* BittersweetEnding: Jonathan has survived and become a hero, and it is implied that this victory is a portent of a successful insurrection, but he wins at a horrible cost. He's the sole survivor, all his teammates - and the opposing team - dead or badly injured, winning a game in an arena littered with corpses. Truly, the price of freedom is high.
* BloodierAndGorier: The remake is far more violent than the original.

* ChekhovsGun / TemptingFate: Moonpie is contemptuous of the Japanese players' short stature, though he's warned that even small opponents can cream a big guy three-on-one. Three guesses how Moonpie gets clobbered in the Houston/Tokyo game.

* FictionalSport
* [[FilmOfTheBook Film of the Short Story]]: The film is an adaptation of "Roller Ball Murder" by William Harrison.

* {{Gorn}}: In the remake.
* JumpCut: Several of them in the remake. Hell, there are ''two'' jump cuts at the same time in one scene near the end of the movie!

* ParallelPornTitles: Don't ask

* TreacherousAdvisor: Bartholomew, who initially gives Jonathan almost fatherly advice to quit the game, is soon plotting to have him killed when that advice is rejected.

There's also a 2002 remake, directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan and starring [[Film/AmericanPie Chris Klein]] as Jonathan, which features twice the blood and half the plot. The game announcer is Wrestling/PaulHeyman.

There's also a 2002 remake, directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan and starring [[Film/AmericanPie Chris Klein]] as Jonathan, which features twice the blood and half the plot. The announcer is Wrestling/PaulHeyman.

There's also a 2002 remake, directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan, with twice the blood and half the plot. The announcer is Wrestling/PaulHeyman.

''Rollerball'' is a 1975 dystopian sci-fi/action film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Creator/JamesCaan.

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