Rollerball (1975 Film) - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

  • The short story was presented in audio form on the '70s American Sci-Fi radio program called Mindwebs.
  • IJK Software based its Commodore 64 game Rocketball (1985) on Rollerball.
  • The video game Speedball (1988), developed by the Bitmap Brothers for the Amiga and later ported to other systems, bears many similarities to Rollerball and includes specific references to the film, such as Jonathan E tapping his knuckles before the start of a game.
  • In the videogame Rocky Legends, close to the arena in Times Square there is a theater with a large Rollerball billboard with the tagline (In the future...).
  • In the cyberpunk manga Battle Angel Alita, Motorball is a popular, bloody sport based on Rollerball.
  • The Devo Corporate Anthem music and video are a nod to the film. The band has described themselves as "the Warner Brothers Rollerball team."
  • In episode 4 "Now You Coliseum, Now You Don't" of the 2008 British Animated television series the Chop Socky Chooks features the villain Dr. Wasabi capturing the story's protagonists, forcing them to play a game similar to Rollerball. The episode's plot is similar to the plot of the original Rollerball movie.
  • The UK comedy show "The Goodies", used Rollerball as a premise for the episode "2001 & A Bit". As Rollerball was not exciting to the audience, they created a new version, called Rolleregg, a mix between Rollerball and an egg-and-spoon race.
  • In the 1984 movie The Ice Pirates the characters are seen watching Rollerball (match sequences) as if a real sport.
  • In the 2000 episode of The Simpsons, Bart to the Future, President Lisa Simpson is seen honoring the players of the Negro Leagues of Rollerball.
  • In the episode "The Red Ball" of The Boondocks, the final scene of the kickball match is a nod to the final scene of Rollerball.
  • The Australian stoner rock band Rollerball take their name from this movie.

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