Death Race 2000 [UMD] DVD

Death Race 2000
Cult hero Paul Bartel directed this low-budget satire in which America's passion for cars, violence, and sporting events are finally brought together in one convenient package. In the not-so-distant future, the United States has become a totalitarian regime overseen by the charming but sinister Mr. President (Sandy McCallum), who, in order to satisfy the masses' need for entertainment (and to quench their thirst for violence), has created a new national sport -- the Death Race, a nationwide road rally in which the winner is not determined by who finishes first, but by who scores the most points along the way by running over hapless pedestrians. Aspiring champions Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone), Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), Nero the Hero (Martin Kove), and Matilda the Hun (Roberta Collins) are all looking to take the top honors away from Frankenstein (David Carradine), a half-man/half-machine who has been built to be the best racer on Earth and can outrun and outkill anyone on the circuit. However, not everyone likes the Death Race, and revolutionary leader Thomasina Paine (Harriet Medin) wants to sabotage the event in the name of restoring democracy; her plan is to foil Frankenstein's expected victory by smuggling her daughter Annie (Simone Griffeth) into Frankenstein's race car as his navigator. Featuring David Carradine at the height of his Kung Fu fame (and Sylvester Stallone a year before Rocky), Death Race 2000 was a major drive-in hit in 1975; Bartel and Carradine teamed up for another road race movie, Cannonball, a year later, and a semi-sequel, Death Sport, appeared in 1978. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast David Carradine as Frankenstein Simone Griffeth as Annie Sylvester Stallone as Machine Gun Joe Viterbo Mary Woronov as Calamity Jane Roberta Collins as Mathilda The Hun Martin Kove as Nero the Hero Louisa Moritz as Myra

Crew Robin Royce - Art Director B.B. Neel - Art Director Jane Ruhm - Costume Designer Dennis Jones - First Assistant Director Paul Bartel - Director Tina Hirsch - Editor Paul Chihara - Composer (Music Score) Beala Neel - Production Designer Tak Fujimoto - Cinematographer Roger Corman - Producer Richard MacLean - Special Effects Ib Melchior - Screen Story Charles B. Griffith - Screenwriter Robert Thom - Screenwriter

Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is the type of bad movie that can be very good, or, at least, a whole lot of fun -- the formula for a cult classic. It offers a surprisingly effective mix of violence, sex, and humor, all the more impressive given its modest budget. B-movie veteran David Carradine is appropriately gruff as the weary Frankenstein, and a pre-Rocky Sylvester Stallone is cast with comic perfection as -- what else? -- an Italian thug. Rounding out the extensive group of bizarre competitors is cult favorite Mary Woronov, as the cowgirl Calamity Jane. The gore gets a little excessive, perhaps not surprising given that the film was produced by Roger Corman, legendary for high-quality, low-budget exploitation films. The movie is not entirely without redeeming moral value, however. Like 1987's The Running Man, it does a good job of satirizing the blood lust of professional sports and the TV shows that enable and encourage it. Maybe this is a film that one shouldn't think too much about. But if you can handle spurious accusations against the "treacherous French," and you don't mind assigning point values to pedestrians, Death Race 2000 is a heck of a trip. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide
 

Venice International Film Festival, Film Presented (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: Additional Features: Original theatrical trailer Bonus audio commentary Original trailer DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1: Alternate Wide Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 78 min