
The almost fourteen-minute opening sequence plays out along the lines of a near silent flick in that the gentleman we are focused on (Timothy Bottoms mad bomber character) speaks almost not at all the whole time. We watch Bottoms' sicko character stroll calmly through the park and take it all in just moments before he wreaks havoc on the place. It's all supposed to feel very Hitchcockian and it works for the most part. The first rollercoaster crash that we see is still a little grisly and conveys the terror of such an event pretty well (watch for the dummies though). In a time when JAWS had frightened vacationers away from beaches a few years prior, this movie was attempting to make them skiddish about amusement parks. It's like Hollywood was going after popular recreational spots. ROLLERCOASTER was actually a little later in the cycle of these movies. It's also a film that was probably in theaters at the same time as STAR WARS at some point. I'm fascinated by the idea that there was some couple or family trying to decide between STAR WARS and ROLLERCOASTER for their night out entertainment.
Let's talk about George Segal for a second. Can I just say that I love that there was a time when he was a leading man in big Hollywood motion pictures. Not to say that he's not a handsome fella, but he - like Elliott Gould - feel like the stars of a bygone era. I just adore Segal in this movie. He has my vote for one of the grumpiest, most openly sarcastic main characters in all of cinema. He snipes and grumbles his way through this thing in the most entertaining way. It's neat that they made it a subplot that his character is trying to quit smoking so as to help motivate his extra grouchy moments. He's not even above blackmailing his boss. Because of his defiant attitude, he ends up coming off like a subtle badass. He takes no crap from anybody - even the mad bomber. That sarcasm plays a dual role though in that it amps up the tension a bit when he and the bomber are engaged in their cat and mouse game. It seems like it might be a bad idea to have a smartass like this dealing with a no-nonsense maniac with his finger on a detonator.
Another notable and fun thing about ROLLERCOASTER is that it is one of a small group of films that were presented the Senssurround process. It was an interesting experiment - often consisting of equipping theaters with giant speakers that - combined with an extra amount of bassiness and the speaker placement - could actually physically shake a theater. It worked best in a film like EARTHQUAKE, when it functions as basically a very analog predecessor to today's D-BOX seating. ROLLERCOASTER has a few longer sequences of point-of-view rollercoaster riding that would have been accompanied by the heavy rumbling of Senssurround. It's just an interesting gimmick to draw people into theaters. That seems to be a battle that has being fought since television came onto the scene until right now.
Other things I like about this movie - Richard Widmark as an equally cranky FBI man who is immediately at odds with Segal. Widmark is one of the original cinematic wise-asses and he can carry off that kinda thing quite well. Just watch PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET for a great example.
Also, Timothy Bottoms is consistent in his eerily calm, monotone psychopath is passably chilling here and that helps the movie a bit. I always enjoy a movie with a solid villain and this guy is downright ambitious as well as methodical.
Watching it now, I was constantly thinking about how different the investigative process was in films before the internet and cell phones. People have to call each other from landlines and big accidents were not all over social media within a matter of hours and it took longer to see patterns. Segal's character actually gets an early clue from a print newspaper in the bottom of a birdcage in a pet shop. Just a few other fun things about ROLLERCOASTER - and they have to do with bit parts. Most memorable is a very young Helen Hunt playing George Segal's daughter. Secondly, is an on-stage performance by the band Sparks - which always seemed an odd choice to me, but I love it. Lastly, keep an eye out for Craig Wasson as a random hippie ROLLERCOASTER rider in line with his girlfriend. Oh and last but not least is Lalo Schifrin's wonderful calliope theme for the film. Great stuff.
This Shout Factory Blu-ray looks pretty good. The colorful palette of the amusement park backdrops is served well by the format.
Special Features:
Shout has included a new on-camera interview with writer Tommy Cook. It runs about thirteen minutes and features Cook discussing how he came up with the original story that became the script for ROLLERCOASTER and how he went about getting the script to Universal. Cook is a very interesting character and a lively storyteller so it's a nice little featurette.

Special Features:
Shout has got a couple nice supplements here that I wouldn't have expected for a disc like this. First is a new 26-minute interview with director Larry Peerce. This is a neat interview for me as I am always curious about the behind the scenes on a movie like this with a big cast such as this one. The disc also has includes the broadcast television version of the movie (in standard definition), which used reshoots to change the story and give the film a different ending.
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