Hell On Wheels
by Bob Ray
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DVD details
Actor: Bad Girl, Good Woman Texas Roller Derby TeamDirector: Bob Ray
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-02-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: IndiePix
DVD Reviews of Hell On Wheels
DVD Review: One Heck of a Ride
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is not so much about roller derby. You rarely see them skate. It is more about the politics behind the uprising of roller derby in Austin, TX. And it was really, really interesting.
There is drama, and lots of it. It captures what happens when the passion for a sport quickly turns into a business. Several key players make decisions with their emotions when they should be using their heads, while other times they are making decisions with their heads when they should be using their hearts. I think that sentence makes sense after you see the movie. I kept getting frustrated with the dysfunctional relationships. It isn't often where you get to see an all female team operating a business. I really wanted to see them prove to the world they can stand together and be strong. They are after all powerful and determined women on the track (admirable women really) but what do they do? They bicker and plot, frequently acting insecure and rarely working as a team. They don't exactly fight the gender bias that women can't work well with one another, both on the professional and personal level. But when it is all said and done, it is entertaining, it is real, and lots of lessons are learned along the way. And the cameras capture the time line of events quite well. I wish it captured more of the strong bonds though (and more of the skating, these gals practice for years and they should be showing it off). You do get to see plenty of cat fight shots (haha I'm not surprised).
It is easy to forget that nothing of this kind was around when this project started. The business isn't epic fail. These gals make the mistakes that future leagues would have made, if it wasn't them. And you gotta admit, despite how rocky it gets, this is still a successful story. And the story is told wonderfully.
DVD Review: The Politics of Roller Derby???
Summary: 4 Stars
In 2001 someone in Austin, Texas, hit upon the idea of bringing back roller derby as an all-female sport. It seemed a strange decision, as few people lamented the sport's demise after the 1970s. Strangely, the second incarnation of roller derby has been a hit; the sport has now spread across the U.S. Hell on Wheels is a documentary about roller derby's resurrection in Austin.
Though the league starts as a way to blow off steam, politics quickly intervenes. Four of the women decide that they are the "owners" of the league and that they are entitled to run it; predictably, this leads to discontent. The bitchy confrontations between the owners and the other skaters are interesting in a voyeuristic way. Given that the league's problems stem from a lack of planning, Hell on Wheels would be a good film for anyone interested in starting a business or any other sort of organization.
Hell on Wheels does a good job of exploring why women choose to participate in roller derby. The skaters all must spend considerable time practicing, but they seem to love the competition and the attention. All is not fun and games, however; a number of the women get serious injuries and the movie shows the injuries in graphic visuals.
Viewers also see that the skaters sacrifice to try to help the league succeed. The women are disproportionately bohemians, but they acknowledge that sex sells. Therefore, they play up to male fantasies. Skaters allow spectators to spank them during the matches. They also wrestle each other in order to raise funds for the league.
In the end, I enjoyed Hell on Wheels. I'm not sure that I took much away from the film other than knowledge of an interesting American subculture. But I enjoyed the ride and, therefore, I recommend this film.
DVD Review: History caught on film, and it isn't pretty
Summary: 5 Stars
In 2001 a performance artist decides to bring back roller derby. He flakes but the women involved decide to bring back the sport as an all girl contact sport on skates. The women work hard and end up having a few bouts, but things start going wrong.
If you have even been part of a club or other recreational group you will probably recognize a lot of what goes on- the old people vs the new people, the pretty, pretty princess problem, the problem that they did not anticipate, the power grab. Even if you don't care about Derby there is a lot you can learn about how groups work (and fail) from this movie.
It is a exhausting ride, even as a viewer. But this is the drama that you don't see on reality television. And the editing is done with a light hand, this is a movie with a story to tell and to much fancy stuff would distract.
This is a honest film. Sometimes it is ugly like rink rash. But in the end you feel like almost everyone involved became something a little.. MORE because of derby. What came out might be MORE awesome or MORE evil but there is, even on film a sense of heightened reality that comes with passion.
And so here it is birth of a sport. The first by women for women sport of my lifetime. And the story is told with full contact.
Description of Hell On Wheels
Fast, fun and inspiring, HELL ON WHEELS is the true tale of a group of hard-hitting Austin, Texas women who resurrect the sport or roller derby, only to find internal strife ripping the fledgling organization apart. Two leagues emerge from the clash and, in four short years, the two Texas leagues overcame all obstacles to revel in undreamed of success. Riding a wave of international acclaim, the Lonestar Rollergirls and the Texas Rollergirls launch a roller derby revival, inspiring hundreds of other leagues to start up across the globe. Shot over a five-year period by filmmakers Bob Ray and Werner Campbell, HELL ON WHEELS is a dizzying clash of athleticism, exhibitionism, egos, politics, and business that is moder-era rollery derby.General DVDs
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