ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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In a grim future society, David Carradine ("Kung Fu") competes with Sylvester Stallone ("Rocky", "Rambo") in a cross country auto race that awards points for each pedestrian killed along the way.

The concept seems silly until you remember that we already have a sport that awards points for the largest amount of brain damaged inflicted -- it's called "boxing".

This Roger Corman production has Carradine dressed like "The Devil Girl from Mars" in black cape, skull cap, tights, boots, and gloves. He and Stallone drive customized hot rods with big teeth for grillwork. The fascist government of this near-future age condones the sport.

Directed by Paul Bartel from a screenplay by Robert Thom and Charles B. Griffith, based on a story by Ib Melchior (screenwriter for "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" and director of "Angry Red Planet").
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

After the movie was completed, Roger Corman filmed some new scenes, adding gore to the movie. Paul Bartel was outraged until he saw the new scenes. He thought that the new gore scenes fit the movie, because of how cartoonish they are.

David.

[Bogmeister]

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A new Death Race film was released in 2008; here is a look at the original Death Race.

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____________ Death Race 2000 (1975) - Trailer


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This film has been released on DVD a couple of times.

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From Roger Corman and New World Pictures, the sadistic and satiric racing picture of the future. A sideways look at gladiatorial sports seemed in vogue in '75. Rollerball was released that same year — the serious version of this topic. But Death Race 2000 may have an advantage over such perceived stuffy efforts. It zips along much better, some would say — flashy, irreverent and glorifying its low-budget, exploitation roots. The dark humor is blatant; director Bartel was a satirist, not a science fiction filmmaker.

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The 'future' year in the title is arbitrary — just there to make it sound better. This is essentially a political satire, poking fun at our politicians, our crass news media, and our populace itself, which needs that 'fix' of grisly sports night to get by.

The government here is very anti-European, for example, especially when it comes to the French, reconfiguration the current political climate to some extent at least 20 years beforehand. Brutal killings are greeted with glee by reporters and spectators alike, suggesting a sharp devolution.

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The characters, the racers here may be the strongest asset of the film. Frankenstein is supposedly a cyborg-like star racer. When I first saw this in the seventies, I was perplexed by the name. I expected revelations related to the old Frankenstein monster movies, but it has nothing to do with that. He's not who he seems to be.

Stallone is a hoot as Joe Viterbo, Frankenstein's main competing racer, bellowing at everyone like one of those TV wrestling stars gone amok. He and Carradine have a lengthy fistfight where Stallone. And even though he's tough, it shows he's not yet Rambo.

Woronov was the director's wife and frequent star of his films, and she's great as always. Collins is the female Aryan cutie who follows Nazi principle. Kove is patterned on self-absorbed Roman emperors. There is also a batch of TV newscasters who are very amusing, patterned on Howard Cossell and other overbearing TV personalities.

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The fine points of the race are not for the timid.

It's a cross country race where the racers get extra points for running down pedestrians. I think elderly people and infants are worth the most points.

Bartel & Corman do not shy away from showing the bloody results of the racers scoring. The crazy racecars are equipped with blades, for example, to help the racers in their work.

It all sounds nuts, but in the context of this wild, nearly anarchic world of the film, it works. It shows us what might happen (in that heavy satirical manner) if our society continues to degrade towards such gross mass spectacles indulged by a modern Roman Empire and the inexorable lean towards a fascistic state.

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There's a subplot about a small group of revolutionaries trying to sabotage the race. However, the story doesn't portray them as heroic, and even the ending tells us there are no easy, pat solutions to such a society.

The dark (but funny) tone remains to the very end, and I applaud that. There is also frequent nudity, mostly involving a few of the female characters. This picture seems to have something for everyone — if you can stomach it.



Death Trivia: rated #1 in magazine Maxim's rundown of the best 50 'B' movies (Feb.2000 issue)

BoG's Score: 8 out of 10


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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This is a perfect example of the difference between me and Andrew Bogdan, aka Bogmeister — All Sci-Fi's beloved co-site administrator from 2008 until he passed away in 2015.

Bogmeister wrote a great review for a movie I've never had the slightest urge to watch, and yet he highlighted numerous aspects which make this film seem great!

I definitely need to watch Deathrace 2000 and make an effort to see it through his eyes! If I succeed, I'll be greatly enriched by the experience.

I've added it to my Netflix list.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

Years ago, I read an interview with Mary Woronov where she was asked about Paul Bartel. She said that they were not married, people just assume that they were because they were in so many projects together, but they were very good friends.

This movie has a very good pun in it near the end.

David.

[ralfy]

720p version:

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