Rollercoaster (1977)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Tommy Cook (story)
Sanford Sheldon (screen story) ...

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

You are in a race against time...and terror. You are pursuing a nameless, faceless man through America's greatest amusement parks...and, for the first time, you are experiencing the most sensational rides of our time, IN SENSURROUND

Plot:

The plot is about a guile young terrorist who is able to blackmail a series of companies by placing...

Plot Keywords:

Amusement Park | Blackmail | Terrorist | Roller Coaster | Bomb Squad

Cast

George Segal	...	Harry Calder
Richard Widmark	...	Agent Hoyt
Timothy Bottoms	...	Young Man
Henry Fonda	...	Simon Davenport
Harry Guardino	...	Keefer
Susan Strasberg	...	Fran
Helen Hunt	...	Tracy Calder
Dorothy Tristan	...	Helen
Harry Davis	...	Benny
Stephen Pearlman	...	Lyons
G.F. Rowe	...	Wayne Moore (as Gerald Rowe)
Wayne Tippit	...	Police Captain Christie
Michael Bell	...	Demerest
Charlie Tuna	...	Rock Concert MC
Lonny Stevens	...	Federal Agent #1

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Sensurround | Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Kings Dominion - 16000 Theme Park Way, Doswell, Virginia, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The teen-idol fan magazines Tiger Beat and 16 reported to their readers in 1976 that the Scottish glam-rock band the Bay City Rollers were to perform in this film. However, the Rollers never did appear in this (or any other) theatrical film, and another glam-rock outfit, Sparks, are heard on the soundtrack instead.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The last portion of the movie at Magic Mountain is depicted as taking place on July 4th but in fact it's easy to tell the filming was done during the winter months. The trees in the park are all dormant.

Quotes:

[speaking to each other over walkie-talkies]
Young Man: First, Harry, I think I should tell you about the bomb. Would you like to know where it is?
Harry Calder: Sure!
Young Man: You're holding it.

Soundtrack:

Big Boy

Perfect Blend Of Disaster Film & Suspense Thriller

Roller-coaster was released in 1977 to capitalize on the disaster film craze of the 1970's. There's only one problem with this. This is a really good movie. Most of the disaster films of that era were full of cheesy acting and lousy writing ( excluding Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno). Roller-coaster boasts great acting, great plotting, and terrific suspense. The disaster scenes with the roller-coaster crashes are exciting. George Segal, Richard Widmark, and Timothy Bottoms deliver amazing performances. Segal plays the wisecracking reluctant hero with ease. Widmark channels all of the grit that made him a star back in the 1950's. Bottoms plays the psycho with a disturbing calm that will send chills down your spine. The only flaw with the film is quite surprising, Henry Fonda. That's right! I said Henry Fonda. Sacrilege, right? Fonda plays a minor supporting role, but manages to bring the film down to a lower level every time he is on screen. Every other actor in the film takes the script seriously and delivers a great performance. Fonda, however, seems to consider this an unimportant role in an unimportant film. He may have been right if other actors and another director had been involved. But Fonda was wrong. This is essential viewing.