Roger Corman
Umbrella Entertainment
R4 DVD
Death
Race 2000 has the reputation of being one of the most classic B grade films
ever made and it certainly lives up to its reputation. It is so utterly
bizarre, outrageous and just plain ridiculous on so many levels that it is
truly rip-roaring entertainment.
Made
in 1975 Corman has created a very kitsch version of the future. It is the year
2000 and American has been at war with Europe forever (it especially has an
issue with France) and the fascist Mr.President has been running the US (now
called United Provinces of America) from abroad since 1979. Strangely the sets,
cars and fashion looks like they have come out of the Seventies !
To
control the population the future is focused on providing violent entertainment
and sports and the focus of this is the annual “Intercontinental Race” which is
a free-for -all cross country race. But this is not like any other race, you
get points for everyone you run over with specific scores for children, the
elderly and women. There are five cars and drivers - "Calamity Jane"
(Mary Woronov), "Matilda the Hun" (Roberta Collins), and "Nero
the Hero" (Martin Kove). The major contenders are "Machine Gun"
Joe Viturbo (Sylvester Stallone) and the reigning champion
"Frankenstein" (David Carradine), whose "Death Race"
prowess has reached god-like proportions. Each has a navigator.
The
various drivers offer a diverse range of personalities from politically
incorrect Nazi Aryan warriors Matilda the Hun to the aggressive yet verbally
challenged Joe Viturbo and the national hero Frankenstein whose body has been
replaced with various synthetic parts due to accidents in the three races he
has won.
Of
course there is a patriotic revolt underfoot as a resistance has grown against
the fascist US government and they are working to destroy the race. They have
implanted a member of their team as Frankenstein’s driver but soon they find
things are more complicated than they thought as Frankenstein has an agenda of
his own.
This
truly is a cult classic filled with ridiculous scenarios and outrageous acting.
The major characters being David Carradine, a very young Sylvester Stallone and
one of my favourite cult actresses Mary Woronov.
As
a cult classic this is one of the best, it is full of kitsch and camp. There
are empty headed TV personalities, gratuitous nudity and breast shots,
Euthanasia days for the elderly, girls who want to be killed for their five
minutes of fame on the track and a new way to play chicken.
There
is quite a bit of B grade blood and gore, but surprisingly not as much as one
may expect from the title. The emphasis is on black humour and comedy and the
race takes first place over the occasional violence which has been made in an
obviously faked manner to emphasis the cartoonish nature of the race. This is
further emphasized by deliberate speeding up of the racing throughout the film.
While
you may expect the cars to look superb, they are clearly made on a very limited
budget, they are just normal cars painted with silly attachments such as guns
and horns. This, of course, makes the film all the more cheesy and amusing. The
futuristic backgrounds are even worse and enough to make your sides hurt with
laughter.
This
is a truly awesome work of cult entertainment and indeed ranks as one of the
best of the cult car race films ever made.
Death
Sport is not quite as impressive as Death Race 2000. In many ways cult classics
come about by accident and while Corman was able to recast Carradine, many of
the actors from Death Race 2000 were no longer available (or too expensive,
Stallone had by now done Rocky and was a household name). The plot is also not
as impressive and most of the satire of the first film has been lost in the
second. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a very fun film with lots of silly B
grade action, but it just doesn’t reach the heights of madness that the first
film did.
In
Death Sport Carradine is a rebel warrior in the year 3000 caught up in the battle
in a post apocalyptic world which includes all manner of gladiators on
motorbikes, cannibals, mutants and god knows what else.
It
also stars the sexy Claudia Jennings which is significant as she offers some
gratuitous nude torture scenes which ups the sexiness of Death Sports to a new
level!
It
works to pack in lots of action and is certainly entertaining.
Umbrella
has produced a new 2 Disc set including both titles which will be more than
enough to satisfy the most hungry exploitation junkies appetite.
This review will appear in Volume 2 No.2
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
If you came to this page directly (and
missed our menu), click here
to go to the Synergy Magazine front page. (http://www.synergy-magazine.com)