Le Toboggan de la mort

This is probably my favorite childhood film having seen it 30 times at the theater during the summer of '77 (to put it in perspective I only saw Star Wars 12 times) and it still holds up very well. I'm sure part of that is the nostalgia factor as it seems to capture a time and place(s) pretty well, but there's a bit more to its appeal to me than that. It works because none of the characters are grossly exaggerated caricatures but everyday men with foibles like struggling to quit smoking. The Caulder character is identifiable because of his family and work failings while Bottom's soft-spoken psychopath (which probably would be portrayed as over the top if the movie were to be made now) is much more in tune with an understated realism that most contemporary madmen you see on screen today lack. While the Widmark character of Hoyt is a pretty much by the book portrayal of a federal dick, his sardonic exchanges with Segal lend an heir of authentic, yet begrudging mutual respect. That credit should go to the screenwriters. Henry Fonda's exchanges with Caulder are similar in their edge and that makes for an understanding of what Harry is up against in trying to stop the bomber. Susan Strasberg as Caulder's love interest is sympathetic, and very pretty, but isn't given much screen time outside of being a nanny for Caulder's daughter...a minor complaint to be sure.

After Roller-coaster came down from my long since demolished local three screen multiplex and had its initial HBO run it sadly all but seemed to disappear from my life, outside of an occasional run on late night TV during the eighties, but reappeared in 1998 when I stumbled upon a VHS copy from a company called GOODTIMES at a Tower Record store in Seattle. I was ecstatic. I still pull it off the shelf every once in awhile to remind myself that some of the minor films of the seventies that weren't appreciated in their day deserve another view.

i thought this was a pretty good little thriller.it kept me entertained throughout,and it never became boring.In a nutshell,it's a about a guy who blows up a roller coaster ride and extorts money from the owners of other amusement parks to keep more of the same from happening to their roller coasters.Timothy Bottoms plays the psychopath,with George Segal as his main nemesis.Bottoms is quite chilling and cold,and Segals' character matches wits him.watch for a young Helen Hunt,as well.i really liked the music by Lalo Schifrin,which is reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann.it really added to the atmosphere.the tension and suspense is down to the wire in this one.for me,Roller-coaster is a 6/10

A mysterious young man (Bottoms) derails a Roller-coaster with a bomb, killing or injuring passengers, then attacks more amusement parks across the US in order to extort $1m from the companies running them. It is not immediately obvious that these attacks were deliberate, as opposed to being accidents (e.g. through metal fatigue), so the Amusement Park owners can keep what is happening quiet. It also makes it easier for the extortionist as he has public hysteria to threaten the owners with if they don't pay him off.

Harry Calder (Segal) works for Standards and Safety. He had inspected the derailed Roller-coaster, realises other amusement parks have suffered similar problems and finds out about the plot. Calder gets involved more deeply than he envisaged, as he becomes a reluctant 'bag man' for the $1m, whilst the FBI try to catch the mystery man, just as the US heads towards 4th July and a wealth of potential targets.

This movie is a decent suspense thriller and I have seen it several times. I have never regarded it as part of the 'disaster' movie genre and feel such a description is both lazy and inappropriate. Whilst the Roller-coaster crash scenes were fairly horrible for the time, they seem pale today. The horror is in the mind, and there are only a couple of such scenes in the movie. It is not therefore a bloody horror flick, either.

I don't know if this misconception comes from bad marketing, suggesting that this is a disaster movie, or if there were suggested scenes of gore and blood for the horror fans, in order to con people into the cinema, or if this is down to the critics of the time being lazy and perhaps even reviewing a movie they didn't see. I am a little too young to have seen or read anything at the time.

This is a suspense thriller, even though there is no suspense about 'whodunit', but the movie's style is familiar and it is no surprise to see 'Columbo' creators Levinson and Link in the credits.

The strength of this movie is the cynical, maverick, but quick-witted Calder character that is played so well by Segal. He also has the often-amusing story thread to play with of trying to quit smoking (you wonder if 'Airplane' got the "picked a hell-of-a-day to quit smoking" from Roller-coaster). Calder, we also find, is divorced from his wife, amicably, and has a daughter called Tracy (Helen Hunt, in a child role that hints of the actress to come), and he has a lover, Fran (Strasberg).

Widmark gives FBI Agent Hoyt authority and a little added depth as the film progresses and he spars nicely, if not quite equally, with Segal's Calder. Henry Fonda, in his 70s, essentially has a cameo as Calder's boss, and Strasberg is underused as Calder's girlfriend, in a role that you suspect may have had a little more to it in the script than there was in the movie's final cut. I smell a plot twist that was cut for some reason, perhaps time.

Bottoms is suitably chilling as the amoral, perhaps sociopathic extortionist, because he is young, good-looking, quiet, polite, intelligent, clean-cut, and, as he corrects Calder about his "psychological profile", this is for him a business transaction; he is only interested in the money.

Some may feel that this character is a bit thin, and this may (again) be down to a cut from the original script, but he might simply have been written that way. You don't really need to know more than you ever find out about this character, but because he is a cool, calm sort of a madman, as opposed to the more traditional 'raving lunatic', you may be left wanting at the lack of an obvious answer or explanation for his actions.

There are hints, however. As well as the sociopathic traits, he is an explosives expert, electronics expert, about 30 and, in an early scene, a decent marksman. In mid-1970s USA, what does that suggest? Perhaps the guy running the amusement park duck shoot has him correctly pegged; perhaps not. The Bottoms character simply smiles and walks away, staying mysterious.

There are also bit parts for Harry Guardino, Craig Wasson and Steve Guttenberg, and it features real life band, Sparks.

I recommend this movie. It is a suspense movie that appeals to the brain rather than a horror or disaster movie that appeals more to the senses. It has become a bit dated, as, for example, a $1m extortion fee seems small these days, and Roller-coaster rides were really at their height then, so the enthusiasm for the rides by adults indicates a bygone era, and a 70s movie in setting and style is too distinctive to be anything else, but that now becomes part of its latter-day charm.

Roller-coaster is also a duel of wits, with Segal perfectly cast, and Bottoms, as I say, suitably chilling. With both characters being intelligent and quick-witted, able to plan and to improvise, this adds to the plot, the tension and therefore the overall enjoyment.

You might also recall and bear in mind that this movie was made at the time of "Son of Sam", "The Hillside Stranglers" and Ted Bundy.

I'd watched this thriller/disaster movie on Italian TV as a kid; I was looking forward to re-acquainting myself with it via the Universal DVD, as part of my ongoing Richard Widmark tribute – but, unfortunately, the viewing was plagued by multiple freezing and jumps (beginning at the 47-minute mark and recurring every quarter of an hour or so thereafter!).

Despite some pacing problems which render the film a tad overlong, Roller-coaster is entertaining and fairly solid as these things go: once again, the casting sees a star in every major role. George Segal is the safety officer hero (his intelligence concealed by an essentially bemused countenance, he's ideal for playing the slightly neurotic common man suddenly thrust in the midst of a precarious situation), Timothy Bottoms the young extortionist/bomber (whose targets are various amusement parks across the U.S.), and Widmark plays the veteran F.B.I. agent out to get him (he also shares a typically antagonistic relationship with Segal). Henry Fonda appears as the hero's cantankerous boss (though featured in many of these films, his roles were always brief and basically thankless), Susan Strasberg as Segal's current girlfriend, Harry Guardino a local cop (curiously enough, he had appeared with both Widmark and Fonda in MADIGAN [1968], another policier but much classier). By the way, Segal's daughter here is played by a very young Helen Hunt!

Another interesting connection to an earlier thriller featuring a member of the film's cast is NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY (1968) with Segal; in both titles, the hero is contacted by the killer prior to making his moves (with this in mind, Bottoms' clean-cut appearance lends the latter a chilling quality – though the characterization, in itself, is fairly limited). Incidentally, the film is more concerned with the chase for the killer (generating reasonable suspense towards the end – especially in the way he determines to plant another bomb on an inaugural roller-coaster ride after his initial gizmo is detected) rather than depicting his mayhem; in fact, there's only one major disaster sequence early on (but it's an undeniably spectacular one)! I should mention, at this point, Lalo Schifrin's rather schizophrenic music – the carousel jingle is quite effective, but the scoring of the suspense sequences is gratingly monotonous!

P.S. Director Goldstone followed this with another star-studded epic – WHEN TIME RAN OUT… (1980), about an erupting volcano – which, however, was a notorious production that brought the disaster movie cycle to a lamentable conclusion. I wouldn't mind revisiting it at this stage, though

Thrilling and entertaining catastrophe movie with some clichés and stereotypes containing enjoyable performances from George Segal and Richard Widmark ; dealing with a psychotic person who plans a massive killing spree in amusement parks . Police and FBI are called in to investigate and trace the crimes to a young man (Timothy Bottoms) , as this is a race against time and terror . They are pursuing a nameless, faceless man through America's greatest amusement park . This disaster movie blends action , intrigue , breathtaking spectacle, suspense and emotional byplay . ¨Rollercoaster¨ was a successful film that grossed at box office . The FBI led by superior officer named Hoyt (Richard Widmark) and helped by technical supervisor Calder (George Segal) learn of the plot and rush to the scene , as the psychopath blackmails a whole conglomerate of companies for a million dollars . Still , they may be too late , as an all-star cast finds itself lined up in the sights of a madman . They spend most of their time devising various ways for avoid to psychopath carries out his aims : a massive killing spree in parks and rollercoasters especially . As our heroes get stuck in the before it blows up and when slaughter takes place they go into action ; as they pay tribute to policemen . There takes place a struggle between two forces , the cops along with FBI and the sinister assassin and ultimately erupts when the crowd turns almost effortlessly and devours itself in a climax of panic .

Exciting film that packs thrills , noisy action , overwhelming scenes , suspense , emotion and turns out to be pretty entertaining . This formula intrigue movie belongs to catastrophe genre of the 70s , being the undisputed king , ¨The towering inferno¨ along with ¨Earthquake¨ , ¨Two minutes warning¨ and many others ; this formula disaster movie was widely developed by Irwin Allen , previously winner of numerous Oscars for ¨Poseidon¨ until the failures as ¨Beyond Poseidon¨, ¨Swarm¨ and ¨When the time ran out¨ . ¨Rollercoaster¨ results to be an intriguing and thrilling film . Filmed at the height of the disaster genre from the 7os , this entry in the spectacular series profits of a strong acting by starring trio George Segal , Richadd Widmark and Henry Fonda . Good performance by Timothy Bottoms , the filmmakers later decided that the movie was more suspenseful if the motive behind the Young Man's actions were never known, as well as keeping the audience from sympathizing with the Young Man's situation . Succeeds in combining various talented actors , an all star cast came together that tie for film's top casting honors ; furthermore a top-notch secondary casting such as Harry Guardino , Susan Strasberg , William Prince , Robert Quarry and a teenager Helen Hunt and Craig Wasson , Steve Guttenberg's first film . Furthermore , most of the actors portraying police officials in the film were actual police officers from the surrounding area . And for the first time, you are experiencing the most sensational rides of our time, to be presented in "Sensurround", a special low-frequency bass speaker setup consisting of four huge speakers loaned by distributors to select theaters showing the film , this system was employed only during certain sequences of the film, and was so powerful that it actually cracked plaster at some movie theaters. "Sensurround" was employed in only three other films released by Universal: Earthquake, Midway, and the theatrical release of Battlestar Galactica .

Colorful and gripping photography in Panavision by David Walsh , including persistent high-angle shots , subjective camera-work and use of long lenses . Some of the amusement park scenes were shot at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, just north of Richmond and also partially filmed at Ocean View Park in Virginia (including the destruction of the roller-coaster) and the roller coaster featured in the main climax of the movie is the Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA and was the first to feature a complete 360-degree vertical loop . Intriguing and thrilling score by Lalo Schifrin in his usual style . This big-budgeted disaster movie was professionally directed by James Goldstone , an ordinary TV movies director and subsequently made another catastrophe film , the disastrous ¨When time ran out¨ . Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable disaster movie.