Review of Death Race 2000 (1975) by Jeffrey R — 12 Aug 2013

In an alternate timeline of the late 1970s, the United States is no more due to a financial crisis and military coup. Major political parties have collapsed into a single Bipartisan Party, which also acts as a unified national church. The resulting fascist police state, the United Provinces, is headed by "Mr. President" (Sandy McCallum). The country is kept satisfied through a stream of gory gladiatorial entertainment, including the Annual Transcontinental Road Race, a symbol of "modern values and way of life". During the coast-to-coast, three-day race points are scored not just for speed, but for the number of innocent pedestrians killed during the race. Mr. Frankenstein (David Carradine) is the most celebrated racer and is the government's champion and national icon. He is supposedly part human and part machine, rebuilt after numerous crashes over his career, and constantly wears a mask in the face of public because of supposed facial disfigurements. Though he regularly quarrels with the other drivers, Frankenstein's main foe is "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone), who is constantly bitter about being overshadowed by Frankenstein's celebrity and is obsessed with trying to beat him. Each race driver has a theme. Frankenstein drives a Shala Vette, a custom-built car designed by Dick Dean cast in the semblance of an alligator. Joe is a Gangster, and his car has a giant knife and machine guns mounted on the front. His navigator is the feisty, blonde haired Myra (Louisa Moritz). Nero The Hero, a fan of the Roman Empire, drives "The Lion", a feline-shaped Fiat 850 Spider, and his navigator is Cleopatra. Matilda The Hun, a Nazi, has the "The Buzz-Bomb", a VW Karmann-Ghia shaped like V-1 flying bomb, and her navigator is Herman 'The German' Boch. Cowgirl Calamity Jane's car resembles a bull and her navigator is named Pete. In 2000, during the 20th annual race, a resistance group led by Thomasina Paine (Harriet Medin), a descendant of 1770s American Revolutionist Thomas Paine, plans to rebel against Mr. President's regime by sabotaging the race (killing every driver) and abducting Frankenstein as leverage against the President. The group is assisted by Paine's great granddaughter Annie (Simone Griffeth), Frankenstein's latest navigator. She plans to lure him into an ambush to be replaced by a double...

The classic cult movie "Death Race 2000", directed by the late Paul Bartel and co-produced by the legend Roger Corman, is let´s say the b-cousin of the great sci-fi movie "Rollerball" that came out the same year. I reckon there´s resemblances to "The Running Man" as well. It´s a violent and black humoured exploitation movie with a social/political agenda that puts forward a near future where a totalitarian regime keeps the populace happy with a hit and run car racing. It´s a b-movie yes, but it´s made in a way that still gets the message across on how a totalitarian government doesn´t hesitate in using any sort of methods to keep citizens at bay. I reckon it´s also a comment on the increasing violence in our society that has numb us, thus we simply have become used to it and react less and less on it and even crave it. A topic as current as ever. Maybe it´s just a matter of time before we actually put gladiator sports with a deadly outcome on the tv...