Videos Item ID: #335Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City RollersItem DescriptionRoller derby is an American contact sport that has seen a nationwide revival in recent years. Brutal Beauty : Tales Of The Rose City Rollers tells the story of Portland, Oregon’s team, the Rose City Rollers. For more than a year and a half, an embedded film crew documented the thrills and spills of derby life. Through unlimited access to team bouts, practices and the private lives of the players, Brutal Beauty puts the viewer on the inside track to this high-contact, and sometimes dangerous, sport. In their own words, the Rose City Rollers tell how roller derby saved their souls. “Forget Drew Barrymore’s recent foray into rollerderby : Chip Mabry’s Brutal Beauty gives an honest shot of girl-powered adreniline in his documentary on Portland’s own RoseCity Rollers.” Item Reviews5 Responses to “Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers”Leave a Reply |
Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers $19.95 
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The most impressive thing about “Brutal Beauty” is the cinematography. It’s a beautifully shot film, and the production values are even more amazing when you consider it was almost certainly shot on a relentlessly tight budget. “Brutal” is full of vivid characters, and the narrative is forward-moving without ever feeling contrived or nudged along by the filmmaker. The “doughnut scene” is one of many highlights. This is a must-see for any derby fan, but it will also appeal to those who simply enjoy great documentary film-making. Highly recommended.
With all the attention roller derby has received in recent years and it’s apparent resurgence in mass media (i.e. Whip It, use in credit union commercials,Hollywood references) I wasn’t sure what to expect from this film. What I found was an honest, unbiased look into the lives of the women who play this daring blood sport and live to tell about it. We meet all sorts of characters in this tale, the good and bad (but like bad-ass, in a good way), there’s action (scenes from the different bouts and gnarley injuries), a breakdown of the sport itself (the donut scene), the drama of team rivalries (Grrrr) and the inspiring family-like structure that the women form with eachother as teammates and friends. This lil film has it all. Think “A League of Their Own” meets the cast of Jersey Shore and get into a knockdown, dragout fight in a sleazy back alley bar. . . .on skates! I highly recommend this film to anyone even remotely interested in Roller Derby, especially anyone who thinks they got the guts to play! But you don’t have to take my word for it . . . . Duh Duh Dut! (Children of the 80s need only attempt to decode that last reference)
I’ve seen Brutal Beauty twice, once via DVD and once on the big screen. Enjoyed it immensely both times and learned a lot! On the big screen it was really awesome–in the true sense of the word. I’m sure I wasn’t a target audience, and only remembered roller derby from the “olden days.” This movie game me a glimpse into a world I never even knew existed. I enjoyed getting to know the players, and smiled at the description of roller derby using Voodoo doughnuts–actually, it was helpful! If you are a roller derby fan–and even if you aren’t–you will enjoy this documentary.
I hear what the other review is saying about the packaging, but remember this is an independant film. Someone created this movie outside the traditional process.
The story told through the interviews was very interesting. The girls’ personalities are so huge they just jumped off the screen. I found myself really wanting these Rose City Rollars wanting to win the Nationals. I’m not the typical target audience for this sport, and I throughly enjoyed it. GREAT JOB!!!”
This review is in two parts: packaging and actual documentary.
PACKAGING / DISC
For the price, I was expecting something more from the packaging. I know, the packaging doesn’t make the movie. BUT, I paid the same price for LA’s Roller Derby workout and it was at least a professionally mastered/pressed DVD. What I got here was a burned DVD with an inkjet-printed sticker on top. The sticker almost caused it to get stuck in my Macbook. The DVD box cover was printed off on a color laser printer, and the box didn’t have shrinkwrap (I don’t really care about these last two things, just reporting what I got in case you get wound-up about it.) So, for this current price, borrow it from a friend. If it was half the price, then I would say it was worth it, but this is a homemade DVD being sold at pro DVD prices.
DOCUMENTARY
It was the trailer that got me to buy it. I saw it had some Bay Area Derby Girls footage in it, so I knew I had to get it: B.A.D. is my home team! The other reason I got it was to see what they had to say about what derby does for women, in the league and out of the league. Not a lot of that here, but that was sort of a longshot anyway. I also got it for player “White Flight”. After seeing her play against Bay Area, she was my fave Rose City player. But, again I was bummed that there was little footage of her compared to the inordinate amount of footage of Marollin’ Monroe going on and on… Anyway, White Flight, Smack ya Sideways, and Angry Wrench were the best part of the doc’ and really had the ‘new derby’ attitude that is going to be Flat Track 2.0 in the coming years (I would have loved to see about 5-10 minutes more on each of those players.) In my eyes, Roller Derby 2.0 is more women empowerment (as a community), more respect as a “real national sport”, and shedding the last bits of the old WWF-style.
The overall production value of the documentary (the movie, not the physical DVD) was much better than I expected. Not super slick, but very well done with great video, audio and camera work. The music was, well, just okay. A local Portland artist named Boy Eats Drum Machine did the original music. Not overdone, not horrible, just there in a supporting role, and okay.
In short, I was looking for more background on the players (that’s just my thing), a little more of why they play and how it changed their lives. Example: Smack ya’s story was great, but it left me wanting to know more. And I was hoping to hear from more players, but I guess not everyone can have the ability to allow a camera in their face and lives. Really, this doc’ story arc was about Rose City’s drive to go to Nationals over the span of about one season (with some historical imagery from previous seasons.)
The details that are not listed on Amazon:
- There are no interviews from roller derby players outside of Rose City. I was hoping for one or two from B.A.D., of course (it is a documentary, after all), or maybe from another team that plays them…
- There were some interviews on their 2 “superfans”, which was a nice addition.
- Ubiquitous with derby, there is a good amount of swearing. So, if you have a delicate constitution or plan on playing this at your Sunday School, you have been warned. We’re talking somewhere between PG-13 and R, heavily leaning toward an R rating for language. Not complaining, just informing you before there are reviews complaining about ‘a pack of sailors on skates’.
- Shot in Rose City’s hangar, San Francisco’s Fort Mason Herbst Pavilion, and at Denver playoffs/nationals.
I knocked off one star for paying a professional-grade price and getting a homemade burned DVD with a sticker on top. Maybe the next printing will be professionally mastered and printed? Or the price will come down to reflect the burned DVD?
I recommend this for those getting into the sport, and for Rose City fans, of course.