Product Description
-------------------
In the year 2000, hit-and-run has become the national sport.
It's a no-holds-barred crosss-country race, in which the is
to kill off not only your oponents, but as many pedestrians as
possible. David Carradine takes on Sylvester Stallone in this
classic adrenaline thriller that will make you look both ways
twice before you cross.
.com
----
No doubt about it, Death Race 2000 is one of the greatest
B-movies ever made. A crown jewel in the career of B-movie king
Roger Corman, it's a sublime example of exploitative filmmaking
from a time when Corman's low-budget quickies were about to be
swept aside by the blockbuster success of Jaws and Star Wars, and
all of its outrageous ingredients combined to create a
schlock-movie masterpiece. Liberally infused with director Paul
Bartel's macabre sense of humor, Corman's mandatory formula for
success (R-rated violence and nudity, served up at least once
every 15 minutes) is zanily applied to a near-future scenario
(similar to Rollerball, also released in 1975) in which a fascist
empire appeases its oppressed citizens with "Death Race 2000," an
automotive spectacle in which five costumed racers drive wacky
race cars cross-country from New York to "New Los Angeles,"
scoring points with hit-and-run killings awarded on a sliding
scale, with highest points for hitting children and the elderly!
In addition to "Calamity Jane" (played by former Andy Warhol
acolyte Mary Woronov), "Matilda the Hun" (Roberta Collins), and
"Nero the Hero" (Martin Kove), the hottest contestants are
"Machine " Joe Viturbo (Sylvester Stallone, on the verge of
Rocky stardom) and the reigning champion "Frankenstein" (David
Carradine), whose "Death Race" prowess has reached near-mythic
proportions.
Filmed for $300,000 on desert-road and freeway locations
throughout California's San Fernando Valley, Death Race 2000
packs more entertainment into 78 minutes than most movies can
muster in two hours or more. Although it originated as a serious
short story by Ib Melchior (best known as the writer-director of
The Angry Red Planet), Corman took a cue from Dr. Strangelove and
gave the material a satirical spin, resulting in non-graphic
road-kills that are more hilarious than horrific, especially with
the play-by-play race commentary by legendary disc jockey "The
Real Don Steele," whose priceless performance (along with
Carradine's deadpan drollery) turns Death Race 2000 into a
low-comedy classic. The deadly car bodies were designed by Dean
Jeffries (who also customized the "Monkeemobile") and fitted onto
Volkswagen chassis, and Bartel's ingenious use of a meager budget
epitomized the Corman aesthetic, reaping impressive box-office
profits on its way to becoming one of the most beloved cult
classics of all time. --Jeff Shannon
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Review
------
No doubt about it, Death Race 2000 is one of the greatest
B-movies ever made. A crown jewel in the career of B-movie king
Roger Corman, it's a sublime example of exploitative filmmaking
from a time when Corman's low-budget quickies were about to be
swept aside by the blockbuster success of Jaws and Star Wars, and
all of its outrageous ingredients combined to create a
schlock-movie masterpiece. Liberally infused with director Paul
Bartel's macabre sense of humor, Corman's mandatory formula for
success (R-rated violence and nudity, served up at least once
every 15 minutes) is zanily applied to a near-future scenario
(similar to Rollerball, also released in 1975) in which a fascist
empire appeases its oppressed citizens with "Death Race 2000," an
automotive spectacle in which five costumed racers drive wacky
race cars cross-country from New York to "New Los Angeles,"
scoring points with hit-and-run killings awarded on a sliding
scale, with highest points for hitting children and the elderly!
In addition to "Calamity Jane" (played by former Andy Warhol
acolyte Mary Woronov), "Matilda the Hun" (Roberta Collins), and
"Nero the Hero" (Martin Kove), the hottest contestants are
"Machine " Joe Viturbo (Sylvester Stallone, on the verge of
Rocky stardom) and the reigning champion "Frankenstein" (David
Carradine), whose "Death Race" prowess has reached near-mythic
proportions.
Filmed for $300,000 on desert-road and freeway locations
throughout California's San Fernando Valley, Death Race 2000
packs more entertainment into 78 minutes than most movies can
muster in two hours or more. Although it originated as a serious
short story by Ib Melchior (best known as the writer-director of
The Angry Red Planet), Corman took a cue from Dr. Strangelove and
gave the material a satirical spin, resulting in non-graphic
road-kills that are more hilarious than horrific, especially with
the play-by-play race commentary by legendary disc jockey "The
Real Don Steele," whose priceless performance (along with
Carradine's deadpan drollery) turns Death Race 2000 into a
low-comedy classic. The deadly car bodies were designed by Dean
Jeffries (who also customized the "Monkeemobile") and fitted onto
Volkswagen chassis, and Bartel's ingenious use of a meager budget
epitomized the Corman aesthetic, reaping impressive box-office
profits on its way to becoming one of the most beloved cult
classics of all time. --Jeff Shannon --.com
As part of its ambitious reissue of Corman classics, Buena
Vista's 2005 Special Edition DVD release of
Death Race 2000 is
a bit light on bonus features, but what's there is worthwhile to
the film's many fans. The good-looking transfer presents DR2K in
its original 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and "Playing the
Game" is a too-short (11 minutes) documentary retrospective
featuring interviews with Corman , Woronov, Kove, and
screenwriter Charles B. Griffith, with emphasis on the film's
subversive political satire as a reason for its long-term appeal.
The audio commentary by Corman and Woronov covers similar
territory, and since both producer and actress hadn't seen the
film in many years, their spontaneous reminiscence is both
entertaining and informative about the day-to-day challenges of
low-budget production. Both give due credit to the late Paul
Bartel (with whom Woronov enjoyed a long collaboration including
the cult hit Eating Raoul), and Corman places Death Race 2000 in
proper context, fondly recalling the mid-1970s as a time when
movies weren't hampered by the needless discretion of political
correctness. Understandably, his pride in Death Race 2000 remains
happily undiminished. --Jeff Shannon --Set Contains:
Set Contains:
-------------
As part of its ambitious reissue of Corman classics, Buena
Vista's 2005 Special Edition DVD release of Death Race 2000 is a
bit light on bonus features, but what's there is worthwhile to
the film's many fans. The good-looking transfer presents DR2K in
its original 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and "Playing the
Game" is a too-short (11 minutes) documentary retrospective
featuring interviews with Corman , Woronov, Kove, and
screenwriter Charles B. Griffith, with emphasis on the film's
subversive political satire as a reason for its long-term appeal.
The audio commentary by Corman and Woronov covers similar
territory, and since both producer and actress hadn't seen the
film in many years, their spontaneous reminiscence is both
entertaining and informative about the day-to-day challenges of
low-budget production. Both give due credit to the late Paul
Bartel (with whom Woronov enjoyed a long collaboration including
the cult hit Eating Raoul), and Corman places Death Race 2000 in
proper context, fondly recalling the mid-1970s as a time when
movies weren't hampered by the needless discretion of political
correctness. Understandably, his pride in Death Race 2000 remains
happily undiminished. --Jeff Shannon
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