Greg Goodsell here. Tonight we have a futuristic big-budget sci-fi quasi-thriller from director Norman Jewison called
ROLLERBALL. I saw this when it was first released theatrically with my late father. He was a sports nut, and I liked sci-fi, so it was a good compromise. However, as we shall see, there's a reason why the low-budget cheap knock-off by Roger Corman, DEATH RACE 2000 (1975) rushed into theaters to beat ROLLERBALL's release, is celebrated and adored, while this film is largely forgotten!
Here is Seventies star JAMES CAAN as the king of the Rollerballers, Jonathan E! Jimmy is still very active today, and has been nominated for a highly coveted golden statuette more than just a few times!
Like many sci-fi films of this era, the future is embarrassingly analog and the art direction is now highly ironic! That number font belongs on a flier for a rave!
As in the currently hugely popular HUNGER GAMES, the world of the future is one of bread and circuses, and the main sport is this thing called Rollerball, which involves distaff elements of basketball, motocross, roller derby and a lot of athletes bashing the shit out of each other! SCORE!
Enjoy this action scene, because there's a definite paucity of action in this hyar movie. The Rollerball scenes take up less than 15 percent of the whole movie which is two hours plus long!
DING! Fire in the hole!
Here is JOHN BECK as Jonathan's best buddy, Moonpie! According to the IMDB, Beck was a one-time champion roller skater and performed many of his own stunts in this film. He was also a proficient boxer and won several amateur titles in his life, most notably the heavyweight 'Golden Gloves' of Chicago. His career stumbled a bit when he took the lead in the notorious stink bomb, THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT in 1977, one of Andy Warhol's countless "favorite films."
Here comes the creepy JOHN HOUSEMAN as Bartholomew, one of the chief executives who keeps the blood-and-death sports rolling for a sensation starved populace! He exhorts the athletes that while they may dream to be rich and powerful, the rich and powerful dream to be Rollerballers!
Just to make sure that Jonathan knows his place in this dystopian society, Bartholomew invites Jonathan to his parlor, decorated with these hideous. razor sharp glass mobiles, and --
WHOOPS! As you can see, Bartholomew's interest in Jonathan is not strictly all business! Seriously, Bartholomew and Mr. Deltoid (Aubrey Morris) from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) should go shop for drapes together!
Now, the Rollerballers know their place in society, but they make sure to take full advantage of all the crumbs the evil corporations throw at them. Gotta love those rubdowns!
In the future, people will go to these swanky cocktail parties and shoot at trees and watch them blow up! I have no idea. To my eyes, this looks like the line to Studio 54 got SO LONG, the revelers had to wait in some foggy forest in upstate New York.
But there is a price to pay for all this extravagant hedonism, and these jocks-for-hire are going to have to put out sooner or later. Uh oh! Moonpie is going to hit the sky like a big pizza pie, and that WON'T be amore!
Moonpie is about to be sacrificed! AAAAAAHHHHHhhhh!
In the future, hospitals will go for the minimalist look.
Jonathan makes a heartfelt visit to the now comatose Moonpie and wonders what's it all about, Alfie!
Really, what's it all about, Alfie? The guys in the locker room seem to ask.
A few specially placed lights, a burbling aquarium and voila -- the future!
Here we go! In the only funny part in a film that takes itself WAAAAAAY too seriously, Sir John Gielgud presides over a gurgling computer that is the repository of the world's history, and the computer plays the “HAL” card!
When you come right down to it, ROLLERBALL is just another jock story about how you should stay true to your ideals, not throw the game in order to further your growth in the corporate ladder, yadda yadda yadda -- Jonathan stays true to his school, BUT –
ROLLERBALL is SO friggin' boring, SO serious about itself, it fails as entertainment. Eegah!!, the man behind these screencaps at one point just got up and walked away and filed his tax returns in lieu of watching this film, just turning his computer on at random. ROLLERBALL in the manner of FAHRENHEIT 451 creates a vision of the future that is even more boring than the present, and for all of its major talent and big budget, is scarcely remembered today!
They used to show "Cult Of The Cobra" all the time on TV when I was a kid, but I never did really like it! Besides the fact that it's a simple accursed mystery tale disguised as a horror flick, the basic premise is just bothersome! 
Here's the basic storyline!! If the stupid American G.I.'s had just done as they were told, there wouldn't have been a problem or a story! They were warned, one guy didn't listen, and now the whole team has to pay the price!
Talent is not a problem as "Cult Of The Cobra" sports an all-star cast that includes Jack (FORBIDDEN PLANET - BART MAVERICK) Kelly, William (109 Episodes of The F.B.I.) Reynolds, David (The Fugitive) Janssen, Marshall (IT! The Terror From Beyond Space) Thompson, Richard (77 Sunset Strip - The Big Valley) Long, and James (Mutiny In Outer Space) Dobson!!!!!! Daru the snake charmer is played by Leonard (The Claw) Strong! In this beginning scene, Daru is telling the boys about the ancient sacred snake ceremony that he will sneak them into for 100 bucks, but there's just one catch, "No Cameras!"
The Asian version of the RCA Victor His Master's Voice logo with a monkey instead of a dog!
I was in The Army! I know what guys do when they're off duty, they get really drunk, and act stupid, no matter what part of the world they're in! Too bad these characters didn't have some pinball machines to keep them occupied and out of trouble!!
"Remember, No Pictures!"
James Dobson's character is an idiot! He thinks he can sneak a picture of the ceremony with one of those old-time flashes that throw a massive white light, and make a big popping sound to boot! Reminds me of the time Tabonga and I smoked a cigarette in the car when my Mom went into the market for five minutes, and we thought she wouldn't notice the smell!!
The Carlssons get credit for the dance numbers! Good Luck finding out any more info on them!
A huge melee breaks out when the guys are discovered and brain bat Dobson tries to make off with the snake urn, like they're not in enough trouble already!!
The other five stage a daring escape!!
Meanwhile, now in the hospital, Dobson has an uninvited guest! All I can say is that the dumbass ends up reaping exactly what he sowed, "The Curse Of The Cobra!"
The boys all head back to America, and the next thing you know, a beautiful stranger shows up in their town! This stunning beauty is one of Tabonga's favourite actresses, the sultry siren Faith Domergue! Faith is a Dungeon Goddess, and her next three movies after this were "This Island Earth," "It Came From Beneath The Sea," and "The Atomic Man!"
David Janssen is the next to go! After some 97 credits, hard working, fast living David succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 48!
Faith's character is named Lisa Moya, and she just recently moved into an apartment directly across from Marshall Thompson's pad. They've only gone out a couple of times, but she already feels compelled to go to David's funeral! 
One by one, the curse takes it's toll! Jack Kelly is the next victim!! Dig that krazy snake eye lens!
There's not a whole lot of suspense here, the viewer knows exactly what's going on from the get go! Looks like they spent a lot on these silhouette images! 
They just don't make movies like this anymore because these days somebody would have looked up cults on Google after the first death, and the film would have only been 20 minutes long!
Everybody else is getting it figured out, but Marshall is a little dense, and doesn't realize Lisa is a snake until after he tosses her off a balcony, and in this amazing transformation scene, changes back to her normal self!!
Aw, Man, snake or not, now I'm never going to get any! Damn, Damn, Damn!!!
Beautiful poster!!
