Customer Reviews

Rollercoaster

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Based on the title, I had originally thought Rollercoaster (1977) was going to be a disaster type movie that were popular in the 70's like Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), or The Towering Inferno (1974), but it turned out to be something a lot different. I guess it was for the best, as a film about a rollercoaster that was running out of control, throwing stars of old off at various points, probably wouldn't have worked too well and would have been like scraping the bottom of the disaster-venue barrel.

The film stars George Segal as Harry Caulder, a government safety inspector who's thrown into a situation having to deal with a terrorist (Timothy Bottoms) bent on blowing up rollercoasters, harming and killing innocent amusement park patrons unless his demands are met. Also in the film are Richard Widmark as federal agent Hoyt, Henry Fonda as Caulder's boss (Fonda appears for like a total of five minutes in two or three scenes...long enough to pick up a check, I suppose), Susan Strassberg as Caulder's girlfriend, and a teenagish Helen Hunt as Caulder's daughter.

The film wastes very little time as Bottom's character strikes, blowing up part of the track on a large rollercoaster. The cars crash, people die horribly, and Caulder is called in...Apparently, he had just inspected this ride a few months prior, and now this accident and the subsequent deaths has everyone asking, "What happened?" No one, it seems, has bother to do a thorough inspection of the damaged track, otherwise they would have noticed it had been blasted apart, and everyone is assuming it a just an accident due to equipment failure or some such thing. I would suspect the insurance company would want to have had this done before they paid out any monies, but what the heck do I know? Anyway, another accident happens at another park, and Caulder gets wind of a meeting between the big wigs of five different amusement parks all over the country, and decides to try and attend. During the meeting, they learn the motive behind the attacks, and also learn of the terms required by the terrorist in order for him to stop. Since attacks by the same person happened in different states, the feds (Widmark) are called in, but the terrorist has taken a shine to Caulder, and requests he be involved in the events soon to follow. Will the terrorists' demands be met? Or will he strike again? What exactly is his deal? Does he just hate rollercoasters, or amusement parks in general?

The film wasn't bad. As I said, this isn't a disaster movie, but more of a game of cat and mouse, with the feds chasing Bottoms' character, trying to determine his next move. Caulder, who managed to piece together a number of elements early on, get caught up in the proceedings, having to play the terrorists' games hoping to avoid any future tragedies. Other than the somewhat gruesome scenes (which were actually toned down prior to release) at the beginning, this film just had a strong feel of a television production to me. There was an effort to try and create a level of suspense, in the sense of a Hitchcock film, but the predictability overwhelmed this more often than not, along with a few glaring plot holes, stereotypical characters, and contrived plot devices. And the music...I like Lalo Schifrin, but I found the music that accompanied Bottoms' character, especially when he was getting ready to do evil things, to become very annoying. The rollercoaster photography was nice, and I am sure it played much better on the big screen, and the actors were all competent in their roles.

Presented here is a nice looking wide screen print, although not without some very minor speckling on the picture in one or two parts. It's noteworthy to mention the film was released in Sensurround, a process that `augmented the violent action on screen by intense waves of high decibel sound, enough, in some documented cases, to crack ribs.' according to Haliwell's Film Companion. The gimmick never really caught on as it often disrupted films being show in adjoining theaters, causing complaints to theater managers who decided it just wasn't worth the trouble. Only two other films, Earthquake (1974) and Midway (1976) also used the process before it was discontinued. Special features include production notes, bios, a trailer, and some web links. While predictable, Rollercoaster was not a bad ride, although at a run time of two hours, it could have been shortened a little bit, adding a little more quickness to the pacing. Oh yeah, look for a cameo by Steve Guttenberg around 82 minutes into the film, as Federal Agent #3. Don't blink, or you'll miss it.

Cookieman108

Think you're safe from terror when you enter an amusement park? This underrated 1977 thriller will make you think twice about that assumption. What JAWS did for the beaches, DUEL for the highways, and PSYCHO for motel showers, ROLLERCOASTER does for amusement parks--turns them into places where absolutely no one is safe.

George Segal is quite good as a cynical civic inspector looking into two very suspicious amusement park ride "accidents." He soon comes into phone contact with a young man (Timothy Bottoms), who is actually perpetrating these accidents to extort one million dollars from the owners of these parks. The result is slowly escalating suspense leading to a very tense conflict between Bottoms, Segal, and an FBI team headed by a very cynical agent (Richard Widmark).

Boosted by Lalo Schifrin's often sinister Herrmann/Stravinsky-like score and James Goldstone's efficient direction, ROLLERCOASTER isn't the disaster movie it is often pegged as. Rather, it is an unjustifiably overlooked movie that deserves a revival. Look for a very young Helen Hunt as Segal's daughter.

This is a very enjoyable film all around. The cast are great, in particular Timothy Bottoms, George Segal and Richard Widmark. Its nice to see Henry Fonda in his small role. The plot is pretty standard but that is nothing to complain about here, since it is executed very well. Shots from the POV of a rollercoaster rider are neat and interesting to see indeed. It looks like they have fun making the film and there really isn't a reason to see why a viewer wouldn't have fun watching it? Look for Helen Hunt as a teenager and a walk on by Steve Guttenberg. Enjoy!!

Okay, nobody ever thought it was really safe to get on the rollercoaster, but somebody has plans to make it even scarier. The somebody (Timothy Bottoms) knows a thing or two about electronics, demolitions and engineering, which he uses in derailing the coasters in a series of spectacular and deadly "accidents". Detonating small and untraceable remote-bombs on coaster tracks - precisely at the spot where the coaster goes fastest - the mystery man starts with small parks. At first written off as accidents, the bomber moves to larger parks with flashier rides and richer owners. Only intrepid insurance investigator Harry Calder (George Segal) from LA spots an obvious pattern. Worming his way into a meeting of the amusement park CEO's, Calder attracts the attention of the FBI, and then the mystery man himself. Calder is maverick, not a team player - he's not afraid to call it like it is or follow any lead to the ends of the world, but in Bottoms's character, Harry's met his match. The bomber turns Harry into a reluctant participant of the crime, having him collect the extortion money from the park owners and deposit it on a dead drop area in the middle of a targeted amusement park. In an elaborate sequence, and communicating with Harry over a walkie-talkie, the bomber sends Harry on an elaborate wild-goose chase in which he's forced to ride every ride while carrying the money and what may be a bomb.

This was probably just TV-movie of the week fodder for the late 1970's, but it's irresistible today mostly because it is a sort of time capsule for big-budget disaster movies from the period, featuring established big-name stars in meaningless and small parts (Henry Fonda has a bit part as George Segal's boss in a scene where we learn that Harry isn't a team player; Richard Widmark plays the head FBI investigator, an anonymous part that allows him to be cordial enough at first when he thinks he'll never have to deal with Segal's character, and appropriately annoyed when it's obvious that that will become impossible; Helen Hunt plays Harry's daughter in a part that gives no hint to her future fame). With the ludicrous 70's fashions, the rotary phones and the cars and the flick is funnier than scary. Add in the unintended irony of cinematography that almost looks like a travelogue for parks that nobody would want to visit after watching this movie, and "Rollercoaster" is an absurd treat. At its heart, the film is paced like a rollercoaster - slow only to build up to the scary parts (usually when the mystery man worms his way onto the scene). This is a perfect rental.

I just watched this movie for the first time since 1977 when it was released. It was every bit as enjoyable on T.V. (with help from a surround sound system and bigscreen) as I remembered it in the theatres. It takes you back to the semi-innocent 70's and brings back memories (for those of you old enough) of what theme parks were like back then.

I think a lot of credit should be given to Timothy Bottoms for his outstanding performance as the bomber/terrorist. He really stole the show with his quiet, devious, loner-esque character with the choir-boy face. He reminded me of the villan played in the movie Dirty Harry. What ever happened to Timothy Bottoms?

My favorite part of the movie is where George Segal's character is being led around Kings World theme park by the bomber in an attempt to lose the tail being put on by the FBI. It was an ingenious and believable plan that had everyone fooled.

It all adds up to a tense and exciting movie with a creative plot and excellent actors to complete the package. If you can get used to the bell-bottom pants and polyester again, you'll really enjoy this thriller. Cheers.

If you're looking for a campy, over-produced, disaster film of the seventies, you're gonna be disappointed. If you can get over the title of this film and actually watch it, you're gonna be plesently surprised. The premise may seem silly, but it actually works. Great acting, a smart script, even smarter dialogue, and excellent editing make this a real thriller. The suspense is almost on the same line as "Jaws". Sure the gaudy setting may be a turn-off, but just pay attention to the story and action and you'll become engaged. What makes this film so unique is the fact that people go to amusement parks everyday without the notion of anything going wrong. You can feel for this film because we've all been in the situation where we know something bad can happen, but our own enjoyment can distract us. What "Poltergeist" does to the suburbs and "Speed" does to public transportation, "Rollercoaster" does the same thing to the least likeliest place of terror- family amusements parks. Also, if you're planning a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles, you'll DEFINITELY want to check this movie out!

I love this film! I'm a little biased as I'm a coaster enthusiast and there aren't that many decent coaster films around, but this really is good! The suspense is great, the soundtrack is cheesy fairground - which is great and it just personifies the 70's to me. I'd love to ride some of the coasters in the film, but living in the UK makes it hard! If you love cheesy 70's thrillers such as Earthquake, Towering Inferno, etc. then this is another "must see" for you.

1977's ROLLERCOASTER was written by the team (Richard Levinson and William Link) responsible for many of the best COLUMBO episodes on TV. This film relies on subtle, well-plotted suspense and humor to hook you, and it works. The characters are for the most part enjoyably cynical and grouchy, and the interplay between George Segal and Richard Widmark is especially fun. Look for a very young Helen Hunt as Segal's daughter -- and an early walk-on by one of the stars of DINER. See if you find and similarities in the phone conversations between Segal's character and Timothy Bottoms' character here, and the conversations between Clint Eastwood's character and John Malkovich's character in IN THE LINE OF FIRE.

If you have the patience to enjoy an old-fashioned thriller that doesn't bash you over the head with attention-deficit-disorder-paced editing a la Michael Bay or Simon West, check it out.

Rollercoaster is one of the finer examples of great 1970s thrillers you'll find, but for some reason, it's mostly flown under the radar for all these years. Maybe it was because it came out in a time where disaster films ruled the box office, but in a film that seemed to fit the bill, there simply isn't much disaster. Or maybe it's the fact that a movie set around roller coasters, or people blowing them up simply isn't exiting/interesting enough. But I assure can assure you, Rollercoaster is surprisingly good and tense. It thrills, it excites, and it gives you serious hate for 70s fashion/music. Did I mention it can also be found on Netflix Watch Instantly?

The real highlight here is Timothy Bottoms as the rollercoaster bomber. He's never given a name, he's never given a motive, and he's only credited as "Young Man." He's the type of guy you wouldn't mind hanging out with, and as long as his plan comes together, he's actually a pretty happy guy. Timothy Bottoms does a lot with little to go on, and succeeds by operating the character using the delivery in the minimal dialogue he's given, and his facial expressions. Oh, those facial expressions. He doesn't even need to speak. The camera could stay on Timothy Bottoms' face the whole movie and you'd stay compelled. It's hard to believe that this kid would one day grow up to be a George W. Bush impersonator and "The Asylum" member, but hey, he's the highlight of this movie. Plus, Helen Hunt is in this film briefly, and the great Steve Guttenburg makes a quick cameo in his first movie role.

The plot is fairly straight forward. Imagine a terrorist bomber blowing stuff up and setting stuff on fire as part of an elaborate extortion scheme involving amusement parks. But as simple as the proceedings are, they're still well done. Scenes/shots linger and go on forever. The camera keeps following roller coasters, lingers on bombs waiting to go off, lingers on faces, and shots of people having fun at an amusement park. It all makes for surprisingly tense proceedings, and hey, it was the 70s, so it all seems plausible. Also, George Segal makes for a likable main character to follow around, and tends to lighten to mood and make the proceedings more enjoyable, even though he's a lowly safety inspector. The only real problem I have with the movie is the ending, which simply feels to rushed.

Overall, if you can get past the bad 70s fashion and music, you have a great performance by Timothy Bottoms, a roller coaster crashing, and a Steve Guttenburg sighting. What's not to love? Check this underrated thriller out at least once, and make sure to grab some cotton candy while you're at it.

I first saw part of this little gem in 1985 on TV, but never got to see all of it until about 1997 - 20 years after it was made, when I found a copy on VHS. After seeing it on the IMDB again I decided to pick it up from Amazon. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

The premise is fairly straightforward; a psychopathic young terrorist (Timothy Bottoms) is first seen planting a small explosive on the tracks of a rollercoaster at a now-defunct park in Virginia. After the park opens, the fiend is seen detonating the explosive, and when the rollercoaster hits the spot, horror ensues. Cars fly off the tracks; a car falls upside-down on top of its passengers; and another crashes through a sign. Immediately after the tragedy, a safety inspector, Harry Calder (George Segal) is called in to investigate. He soon finds the disaster was a deliberate act, and things get worse when a similar accident involving the destruction of a ride by arson occurs in Pittsburgh. The FBI, led by Special Agent Simon Davenport (Henry Fonda) reluctantly takes Harry up of his suspicion that the next target will be a newly-opening rollercoaster in California, and they enter the park to try to find the bomber. Will they succeed...or will another rollercoaster go off the rails?

The acting is pretty stellar; Fonda, Richard Widmark, Segal & Bottoms all turn in good performances. Susan Strasberg is also effective as Harry's wife Fran, and look for a young Helen Hunt as Harry's daughter.

This isn't a true disaster movie, such as the Poseidon Adventure or Towering Inferno; it's meant strictly as a thriller, and it more than meets that expectation. The only reason I give the DVD 4 stars instead of 5 is the relatively small number of special features; it only includes a theatrical trailer (which is pretty good) and production notes.