Other Titles • Death Race 2000 • Frankensteins Todesrennen (1975) • Herrscher der Strasse (1975)
Synopses for Death Race 2000 (1975)
1.
In the year 2000, hit and run has become the national sport. It's a no-holds barred cross-country race, in which the aim is to kill off not only your opponents, but as many pedestrians as possible. David Carradine takes on Sylvester Stallone in this classic adrenaline thriller that will make you look both ways twice before you cross.
(36 votes)
2.
No doubt about it, Death Race 2000 is one of the greatest B-movies ever made. A crown jewel in the career of B-movie king Roger Corman, it's a sublime example of exploitative filmmaking from a time when Corman's low-budget quickies were about to be swept aside by the blockbuster success of Jaws and Star Wars, and all of its outrageous ingredients combined to create a schlock-movie masterpiece. Liberally infused with director Paul Bartel's macabre sense of humor, Corman's mandatory formula for success (R-rated violence and nudity, served up at least once every 15 minutes) is zanily applied to a near-future scenario (similar to Rollerball, also released in 1975) in which a fascist empire appeases its oppressed citizens with "Death Race 2000," an automotive spectacle in which five costumed racers drive wacky race cars cross-country from New York to "New Los Angeles," scoring points with hit-and-run killings awarded on a sliding scale, with highest points for hitting children and the elderly! In addition to "Calamity Jane" (played by former Andy Warhol acolyte Mary Woronov), "Matilda the Hun" (Roberta Collins), and "Nero the Hero" (Martin Kove), the hottest contestants are "Machine Gun" Joe Viturbo (Sylvester Stallone, on the verge of Rocky stardom) and the reigning champion "Frankenstein" (David Carradine), whose "Death Race" prowess has reached near-mythic proportions.
Filmed for $300,000 on desert-road and freeway locations throughout California's San Fernando Valley, Death Race 2000 packs more entertainment into 78 minutes than most movies can muster in two hours or more. Although it originated as a serious short story by Ib Melchior (best known as the writer-director of The Angry Red Planet), Corman took a cue from Dr. Strangelove and gave the material a satirical spin, resulting in non-graphic road-kills that are more hilarious than horrific, especially with the play-by-play race commentary by legendary disc jockey "The Real Don Steele," whose priceless performance (along with Carradine's deadpan drollery) turns Death Race 2000 into a low-comedy classic. The deadly car bodies were designed by Dean Jeffries (who also customized the "Monkeemobile") and fitted onto Volkswagen chassis, and Bartel's ingenious use of a meager budget epitomized the Corman aesthetic, reaping impressive box-office profits on its way to becoming one of the most beloved cult classics of all time. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVD As part of its ambitious reissue of Corman classics, Buena Vista's 2005 Special Edition DVD release of Death Race 2000 is a bit light on bonus features, but what's there is worthwhile to the film's many fans. The good-looking transfer presents DR2K in its original 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and "Playing the Game" is a too-short (11 minutes) documentary retrospective featuring interviews with Corman , Woronov, Kove, and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith, with emphasis on the film's subversive political satire as a reason for its long-term appeal. The audio commentary by Corman and Woronov covers similar territory, and since both producer and actress hadn't seen the film in many years, their spontaneous reminiscence is both entertaining and informative about the day-to-day challenges of low-budget production. Both give due credit to the late Paul Bartel (with whom Woronov enjoyed a long collaboration including the cult hit Eating Raoul), and Corman places Death Race 2000 in proper context, fondly recalling the mid-1970s as a time when movies weren't hampered by the needless discretion of political correctness. Understandably, his pride in Death Race 2000 remains happily undiminished. --Jeff Shannon
(37 votes)
3.
Paul Bartel's 1975 cheap-o satire about a futuristic international sport--an anything-goes car race where drivers score points for hitting pedestrians--stars David Carradine as a hero behind the wheel and Sylvester Stallone as his nemesis. The film is clever and macabre enough as a modernist satire, but finally overplays its hand in grim, decadent humor. The sets are gloriously artificial, and former Warhol star Mary Woronov is in sexy, comic form. A DVD release is available. --Tom Keogh
(38 votes)
4.
In the year 2000, Hit-And-Run isn't a crime, it's the national sport! "Low-budget films allow one to experiment, to take chances with a zany idea like Death Race 2000 Paul Bartel had the type of black humor that was required to direct this cross-country racing mayhem; while Chuck Griffith handled 2nd unit direction for the action sequences, featuring futuristic fast cars created by an award-winning designer. To compete with David Carradine's dark hero, I cast Sylvester Stallone as the heavy, whom I had first noticed with his brilliant performance in The Lords Of The Flatbush. This combination was particularly effective, and Death Race 2000 remains one of my most successful films of all time." - Roger Corman. In the year 2000, hit and run has become the national sport. It's a no-holds barred cross-country race, in which the aim is to kill off not only your opponents, but as many pedestrians as possible. David Carradine takes on Sylvester Stallone in this classic adrenaline thriller that will make you look both ways twice before you cross.
(36 votes)
5.
More delightfully sick humor from Bartel (EATING RAOUL). In a boorish future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians--with bonus points for the elderly! Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. Frankenstein, the mysterious returning champion, has become America's hero, but this time he has a passenger from the underground resistance. A legendary cult film.
(34 votes)
6.
In The Year 2000 Hit And Run Isn't A Felony: It's The National Sport.
In the year 2000 auto racing has become very dangerous: It's not only how fast you drive, but how many pedestrians you hit. David Carradine takes on Sylvester Stallone in this adrenaline thriller that will surely make you look both ways before you cross.
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