Death Race 2000 (1975)

Yes, the one that set it off, when Jason Statham was just a pup (there's also a new one, that's lingered on DVD shelves for a few months). This is that one, so unique, loudly and beautifully shot, while being conservatively or cleverly funny, due to it's concept, but also being ultra and graphically, sickeningly violent in some cases. Carradine at the wheel again, another cross country race to win, but more so, a race of survival, where the competitors earn points for running down humans, bloodily, different genders and ages, earning different number rewards. Sly as a dirty, mafioso type contestant, playing Carradine's Bill Mckinney to Carradine in Cannonball, is a nice piece of character work, while Carradine is Carradine in an unexceptional performance, as the legendary Frankenstein. It's fun watching Sly get angry, and he gets angry a lot. People who want to take digs at his acting, should watch this. One major highlight is the fast talking, rhyming, and energetic, commentator. Simone Griffith, as Carradine's hot navigator, has beautiful screen presence beauty, especially in the raw, while Lilyan Chauvin lends fine support as the head of a movement against Frankenstein, while we have a Barbra Eden looking like, news reporter, who has many dear personal friends of hers, while we have a president, who's hauntingly memorable. This unique piece of film making, stands unique to anything else around. When I think of Death Race 2000, that's what I think, a colorfully loud gem of a movie, an original, one of a kind, with beautifully and carefully shot images, some of them, nicely angled, that no other movie can touch. Could be A Clockwork Orange, if a road, by those splendid color. A must see for movie buffs, and conniseurs.

Killing Innocent Pedestrians with You Car and "Scoring" Points, the More Feeble and Innocent the More Points. Elderly and Babies Racking Up the Highest. That Sadistic, Brutal Fantasy is the Premise for this Cult Film by Producer Roger Corman and Director Paul Bartel.Where the Black-Hearted "Dream" Originated in the Mind of the Species is Unknown but it is a Dark Side of Human Thought that has Taken Hold in Pop-Culture and this Film is Probably the Starting Point for the Video Games and Movies that Exploit for Profit the Underlying Abnormal Psychology (Or is it?).A Big Hit when Released to Drive-Ins and B-Movie Outlets across America, it has since become a Bono-Fide Cult Movie because of the Outrageous Concept, the Bizarre Characters, and the Colorful, Cheezy Comedy.David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone Star alongside Cartoon Inspired Volkswagen Mock-Ups with Wrestle-Mania Type Costumes. Roger Corman's Eye for Box-Office Dollars and Low-Budget Talent contributes Significantly to the Look, the Making, and the Marketing of this Dated, Goofy, Guilty Pleasure.It Doesn't Hold Up all that well, but is Certainly an Artifact of its Time and can be a Hoot. It Looks Great and is One Slick-Sick-Flick.

People tend to compare Paul Bartel's "Death Race 2000" to Norman Jewison's "Rollerball". I saw it as more analogous to Sidney Lumet's "Network", Peter Hyams's "Stay Tuned", and the "Hunger Games" franchise. All these movies depict the United States as a society whose idea of entertainment is the lowest, cruelest material. The difference is that "Death Race 2000" and "Stay Tuned" are comedies. The former is the sort of movie that encapsulates the '70s, while the latter was probably inadvertently predicted the rise of reality shows. Another movie that loosely resembles "DR2000" is the Italian mondo movie "Cannibal Holocaust". In one scene a character says that the audience likes having its senses assaulted. Here we see the drivers killing pedestrians, and the race's audience loves seeing it.Of course, it's possible to ignore all that and simply accept the movie as a zany exploitation flick. It's certainly an enjoyable one. David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone all appear to be having fun with the material. Paul Bartel later directed "Eating Raoul", in which he cast himself and "DR2000" co-star Mary Woronov.Really fun movie.

Death Race 2000The one thing to look forward to in a dystopian society is the live broadcast of the annual human blood sport.Thankfully, this post-apocalyptic action movie has full coverage.In the year 2000, a band of rebels plot to usurp the omnipotent Mr. President (Sandy McCallum) by sabotaging a state sanctioned death race across country in which racers garner points by running over pedestriansWhile their efforts work on lesser racers like Machine-Gun Joe (Sylvester Stallone), Nero the Hero (Martin Kove) and Matilda the Hun (Roberta Collins), it fails when it comes to the mysterious wheelman Frankenstein (David Carradine).Produced by B-Movie schlockmeister Roger Corman, this 1975 adaptation of an obscure fantasy novel was and is still ahead of its time in terms of apocalyptic parables - but not so much in the over-the-top acting or trashy special effects.Incidentally, if a points system were instated, hit-and-run drivers would come forward.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca