DERBY (DVD, 1971)

DERBY (DVD, 1971)

It was supposed to be a simple documentary about roller derby. Then Mike Snell came along. In 1972, filmmaker Robert Kaylor (Carny) and producer William Richert (Winter Kills, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon) set out to shoot a cinema verité documentary about roller derby when the 23-year-old Snell walked in to the locker room during an interview and announced his intention to become the next big roller derby sensation.

Kaylor and Richert switched gears to explore the life of the young tire company employee and discovered a world of deceit and ulterior motives as Snell relentlessly pursued his dream.

Contrasting the personal and professional success of Mike’s would-be mentor, Charley O’Connell, with the day-to-day struggles of Snell’s unusual family life, Derby follows in the footsteps of the Maysles brothers as it exposes the decay of American culture pit against the backdrop of a spectator sport that thrives on the spectacle of human combat.