One man's ambition causes one of the greatest financial disasters in history.

This Rollerball, a 2002 remake of the excellent 1975 original, is one of the most notorious failed would-be blockbusters of recent years. Chris Klein struggles as Jonathon Cross, star of the violent game of the title, a mixture of speedway, hockey and rollerskating for the WWF generation. Perfunctory support comes from Rebecca (X Men) Romijn-Stamos, while Jean Reno is the promoter prepared to sacrifice player's lives for TV ratings. The remake could not be more different from the original in tone, as formal elegance is replaced by a cacophonic heavy metal soundtrack and MTV-style editing that makes the games impossible to follow. Set in the present, this Rollerball ironically fulfils the original's suggestion that the near future would be a big business, media-dominated world of blood and circuses. The film's best asset is relocating the story in a crumbling and corrupt Russia, a world sufficiently alien to have a genuinely science fictional resonance; the elaborate production design and wild profusion of costumes suggest post-communism, post-modern, global melting pot freefalling out of control, paying homage to Ridley Scott's seminal Blade Runner (significantly, perhaps, LL Cool J's character is called Ridley). Not quite as disastrous as expected, one still wonders how John (Die Hard) McTiernan made an action thriller this mediocre.

On the DVD: Rollerball's commentary by Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is jokey, amiable and reveals plenty of filmmaking trivia without offering anything substantial. The "Rollerball Yearbook" presents text profiles of the four teams and 11 key players linked to "highlights", i.e., montages taken from the film of the participants. This also has sections on six areas of the "Roller Dome" and three sections on "Game Gear", which amounts to a photo gallery of costumes, masks and bikes. Also included is the theatrical trailer and trailers for three other SF movies. The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is excellent, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is suitably dynamic and raucous. There are subtitles in six languages as well as English and English for Hard of Hearing, while the disc also contains French and Spanish dubs of the main feature. --Gary S Dalkin

Norman Jewison's dystopian Rollerball portrays a near-future in the aftermath of the Corporate Wars, in which nations have crumbled and conglomerates rule. In place of freedom the people are given bread and circuses: material comfort and rollerball itself. Played on a circular, slanted track by men on skates and motorbikes, this extreme sport is the ultimate extrapolation of the primitive blood lust implicit in many team sports. James Caan is outstanding as Jonathan E, star player with the Houston team.

In the elegant detachment of Jewison's direction, emphasised by the stark, alienating use of classical music, there are echoes of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Notwithstanding the brilliantly staged arena sequences, Rollerball is essentially about freedom versus conformity and the corruption of unfettered capitalism, with Caan leading an existential rebellion in the tradition of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 which leads to a chilling, apocalyptic finale. Certainly the most prophetic film of the 1970s, Rollerball has an intelligence and power overlooked by those who simply denounce its brutal violence.

On the DVD: Rollerball arrives on DVD with clear three-channel Dolby Digital sound, although obviously it lacks the impact of a more modern 5.1 soundtrack. The 1.77:1 transfer is anamorphically enhanced and is generally very sharp and detailed with excellent colour. Some scenes show a lot of grain, but this is presumably a consequence of having to shoot with very fast lenses to capture the swift and dramatic action under indoor lighting conditions.

"Return to the Arena--The Making of Rollerball" is a new 25-minute documentary (4:3 with letterboxed film clips) that features Jewison, Harrison and various other personnel reminiscing about the making of the film. The highlight of the extras are commentary tacks from the Jewison and Harrison, and while there is inevitably some overlap of information, and some quite lengthy gaps in Harrison's track, there is also much to interest the serious film buff. Also included is an original seven-minute promotional featurette "From Rome to Rollerball: The Full Circle", the chilling original trailer, the teaser trailer and a trailer for the remake.--Gary S Dalkin

Featuring a selection of English bottoms.

David talks about his career, his expectations, his relationship with Sven Goran Eriksson and much more. A heart-warming drama in which Anne Bancroft stars as a New York collector of rare books. Little does she know that a letter to a small bookshop in London will lead to a 20 year love affair with the staff and the city. This is the story of Cactus Jack Slade, the worst badman in the West, who has his beady eyes on a gold mine strongbox. Whenever he finds himself faced with a few hurdles he consults a book called 'How To Be A Badman'."

Mike Jagger landed into the pop world with a bang. What followed, everyone knows. But did you know the reason behind the mysterious death of Brian Jones? Find answers to many more unanswered questions in this documentary.