Hell on Wheels DVD
Hell on Wheels DVD
IndiePix
$24.95
Posted Aug 10, 2009
While Hell on Wheels isn’t as dramatic as the title would suggest, it is nevertheless a compelling view of the origins of the modern Roller Derby revival. It’s an independent documentary that takes place between 2001 and 2003, following the women who started Bad Girl, Good Woman and later, the TXRG.
Much of the film is made up of meeting and practice footage, but there is some actual bout footage as well. The real drama of Hell on Wheels comes from the interpersonal conflicts between this group of women and their differing views on how to run the newfound league, as well its goals.
It starts off in 2001, when a mysterious man called (among other things) “Devil Dan” has an idea to start a roller derby team, though it’s more show than sport. However, he doesn’t do a very good job of making his grand ideas into reality. When he vanishes, he leaves behind a group of women with nothing but an idea.
Four women, Heather, Anya, April and Nancy start Bad Girl, Good Woman (later called the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls), christening themselves the “She-E-Os”. It doesn’t take long for a rift to form, however, since the She-E-Os pretty much run the league on their own, and consider themselves the sole owners of BGGW. Many of the skaters feel left out, and defect from BGGW to form their own league, the Texas Rollergirls.
One of the main things I found so compelling about this film is that there was no precedent for this, none of them had any real business training and they were starting from scratch. These women didn’t have anyone to imitate, so set on their own path to create a new version of this sport.
Also, if you can, I strongly suggest getting a copy of Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track by Melissa Joulwan and having it next to you as you watch this film. Many of the events in it are depicted in the book from Melicious’ perspective. She doesn’t play a big part in it, but I found it very interesting to get her point of view on these events.
The audio and video quality of the film varies, but keep in mind, much of this was filmed in restaurants, in houses, etc. so there will be some background noise that sometimes makes the dialogue hard to pick up on. Thankfully, during some of the worst scenes for this, subtitles are included.
There are two different versions of the DVD available from Indiepixfilms.com. Due to a mistake on their part, I own both versions. The 2008 RollerCon edition was the first to come out, and is cheaper, about $20, but has fewer extras. The other version came out later, and costs $25, but comes with 41 deleted scenes as well as commentary tracks from BGGW, the TXRG and the director and producer. There’s also a trailer, scene selections and a couple of music videos. The RollerCon edition only has 8 deleted scenes, and the commentary from director Bob Ray and producer Werner Cambell as well as the trailer and music videos.
Overall, this is definitely a must-see for any derby fan or skater as well as for anyone interested in the modern derby revival.
One last note, the language gets pretty salty, and while it’s not rated, it’s best to treat Hell on Wheels as R-rated for profanity.
Hell on Wheels trailer:
Much of the film is made up of meeting and practice footage, but there is some actual bout footage as well. The real drama of Hell on Wheels comes from the interpersonal conflicts between this group of women and their differing views on how to run the newfound league, as well its goals.
It starts off in 2001, when a mysterious man called (among other things) “Devil Dan” has an idea to start a roller derby team, though it’s more show than sport. However, he doesn’t do a very good job of making his grand ideas into reality. When he vanishes, he leaves behind a group of women with nothing but an idea.
Four women, Heather, Anya, April and Nancy start Bad Girl, Good Woman (later called the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls), christening themselves the “She-E-Os”. It doesn’t take long for a rift to form, however, since the She-E-Os pretty much run the league on their own, and consider themselves the sole owners of BGGW. Many of the skaters feel left out, and defect from BGGW to form their own league, the Texas Rollergirls.
One of the main things I found so compelling about this film is that there was no precedent for this, none of them had any real business training and they were starting from scratch. These women didn’t have anyone to imitate, so set on their own path to create a new version of this sport.
Also, if you can, I strongly suggest getting a copy of Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track by Melissa Joulwan and having it next to you as you watch this film. Many of the events in it are depicted in the book from Melicious’ perspective. She doesn’t play a big part in it, but I found it very interesting to get her point of view on these events.
The audio and video quality of the film varies, but keep in mind, much of this was filmed in restaurants, in houses, etc. so there will be some background noise that sometimes makes the dialogue hard to pick up on. Thankfully, during some of the worst scenes for this, subtitles are included.
There are two different versions of the DVD available from Indiepixfilms.com. Due to a mistake on their part, I own both versions. The 2008 RollerCon edition was the first to come out, and is cheaper, about $20, but has fewer extras. The other version came out later, and costs $25, but comes with 41 deleted scenes as well as commentary tracks from BGGW, the TXRG and the director and producer. There’s also a trailer, scene selections and a couple of music videos. The RollerCon edition only has 8 deleted scenes, and the commentary from director Bob Ray and producer Werner Cambell as well as the trailer and music videos.
Overall, this is definitely a must-see for any derby fan or skater as well as for anyone interested in the modern derby revival.
One last note, the language gets pretty salty, and while it’s not rated, it’s best to treat Hell on Wheels as R-rated for profanity.
Hell on Wheels trailer:
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