Death Race 2000

1975
R
1h 20m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

32K

YOUR RATING

David Carradine and Simone Griffeth in Death Race 2000 (1975)

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99+ Photos

B-Action Car Action Dark Comedy Dystopian Sci-Fi Action Comedy Sci-Fi Sport

In a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.In a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.In a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

32K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos179

+ 173

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Explaining why he took the role of Frankenstein in this film, David Carradine said "I started that picture two weeks after I walked off the Kung Fu (1972) set, and that was essentially my image, the "Kung Fu" character, and a lot of people still believe I'm that guy. The idea actually was: No. 1, if you walk off a television series, you better do a movie right away or you might never get to do one. And the second thing was to do something right away that would create the image of a monster to get rid of the image of that little Chinese guy that I'd been playing for four years. And, you know, it did kick-start my movie career."

Goofs
At about 1:05:00 into the film, the airplane holds just one bomb but, nonetheless, multiple explosions occur when it attacks.

Quotes
Machine Gun Joe VeTurbo: You know, Myra, some people might think you're cute. But me, I think you're one very large baked potato.

Alternate versions
The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove a head crushing scene and to edit shots of blood spurts from the car killings and a man's groin being stabbed with Joe's bayonet. All later releases were uncut.

Connections
Edited into Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

User reviews185

Review

Featured review

Carmageddon, or how I learned to stop worrying and love those crazy seventies

'Mad Max' meets the 'Running Man' and they both drive over miss Daisy. 'Death Race 2000' is a disconcerting smithereen job, but also fun. It is unprobable to say the least: 'Frankenstein' as the embodiment of national virtue? Nice thought over a dose of mescaline maybe. With unbelievable music too. Everything seems 2 B possible: ethical correct splatter comedies? You've got it. The acting in this supposed SF (caricatures of the immoral society of the future) is absolutely horrible (apart from Carradine and Griffeth). Add some black humor and non-existing emotions and you have Death Race 2000: the obscure cult flick in which Sly gets slapped around some as driver Machine-Gun Joe Viterbo. And retrospectively one of his best roles, besides 'First Blood' and 'Rocky'.

Luckily there was room in the rating for some graphical splatter and nudity, which is why this has become a cult movie. And fat chance the uncut version will be banned where I live. It is more than questionable if the story is really about the fear of America becoming that chauvinistic and drenched in bloodlust. I get the impression that most of it is just a glorification of violence. But in a more thoroughly humorous way than e.g. Wild Bunch (1969) et al. Imagine the American president has a summer house in Peking, or driver Mathilda the Hun has a nazi-navigator Herman the German...

DR2k was appropriately filmed by the great cinematographer Tak Fujimoto (Badlands, Silence of the lambs, Sixth Sense, and last but not least Ferris Bueller's day off). Good for Paul Bartel that he made Death Race 2000 before George Miller made Mad Max (1978), because it would have been a completely obsolete cartoon otherwise: something like Evil Knievel vs Dick Dastardly. Nevertheless DR2k is quite enjoyable. This movie may be inspired by 'the Cars that ate Paris' (Weir, 1974) and seemed to have inspired 'Carmageddon' (VG) and Mad Max of course. Guys, it's been real. Jesus Chrysler, I'd almost rate this 6/10.

rogierr
Feb 11, 2002
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