I would consider this film a haunting masterpiece if the titular sport weren’t so boring to watch when they aren’t synchronize rollerskating. The majority of Rollerball, though somewhat dated, is still gorgeous to look at with its lonely, majestic long shots. The story is magnificent and makes you realize that The Hunger Games and all other movies about sports that dehumanize and uses its players in a dystopian world owes huge debt of gratitude for permission to stand in Rollerball’s shadow. The acting, especially by James Caan, is so understated, gentle and pitch perfect in contrast with the visual spectacle as if reflecting the oppressive principle of trying not to be individuals or attract the wrong attention. The political message is scarily germane to today, especially with the failure of education/knowledge in one haunting scene and the relational gender consequences of such a society taken to its extreme. A must see. What was haunting was the idea that even without an understanding of the forces that the main character was facing or even how to rebel, the idea of the innate value of being excellent and gifted at anything can be its own rebellion.