Death Race 2000 (1975)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1974
Running Times: 80m
Length:
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: Metrocolor
Ratio:
Sound: mono

DIRECTION

Directed by: Paul Bartel

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Copyright: © 1974 Columbia Associates Ltd.
Production Company: New World Pictures presents
Produced by: Roger Corman
Associate Producer: Jim Weatherill
Production Manager: Peter Cornberg

SCRIPT
Screenplay by: Robert Thom and Charles Griffith
From a story by Ib Melchior [The Racers]

DIRECTION
Second Unit Directors: Lewis Teague, Charles Griffith
Assistant Director: Dennis Jones
Script Supervisor: Arrah Robinson

PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographed by: Tak Fujimoto
Second Unit Camera: Eric Saarinen, Henning Schellerup
Gaffer: Brian Swain
Key Grip: Michael Bryar

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Edited by: Tina Hirsch
Associate Editors: Michal Goldman, Lewis Teague

MUSIC
Music by: Paul Chihara

SOUND
Sound Mixer: Lee Alexander

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Costumer: Jane Rum
Make-Up: Pat Hutchence

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Richard MacLean

TITLES AND OPTICALS
Special Optical Effects: Jack Rabin and Associates

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Directors: Robinson Royce, B.B. Neel
Cars Designed by: James Powers
Propmaster: Keith Michl

OTHER CREW
Cars Constructed by: Dean Jeffries

LOCATIONS
Location Manager: Gil Valle

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
And thanks to the following for their kind cooperation: U.S. Department of the Interior; Bureau of Land Management, Bakersfield District Office; Synanon Foundation; Van Viggen Aircraft Supplied by: Rutan Aircraft Factory; Electro Helmets Division of Electrofilm, Inc

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: Ronald Ross
Stunts: Conrad E. Palmisano, Harry Wowchuk (both uncredited)

CAST

David Carradine (Frankenstein)
Simone Griffeth (Annie Smith)
Sylvester Stallone (Machine Gun Joe Viterbo)
Mary Woronov (Calamity Jane Kelly)
Roberta Collins (Matilda the Hun)
Martin Kove (Nero the Hero)
Louisa Moritz (Myra)
The Real Don Steele (Junior Bruce)
Joyce Jameson (Grace Pander)
Carle Bensen (Harold)
Sandy McCallum (Mr President)
Paul Laurence (special agent)
Harriet White|Harriet Medin (Thomasina Paine)
Vince Trankina (Lieutenant Fury)
Bill Morey (Deacon)
Fred Grandy (Herman the German)
William Shephard (Pete)
Leslie McRay (Cleopatra)
Wendy Bartel (Laurie)
Jack Favorite (Henry)
Sandy Ignon (FBI agent)
John Landis (mechanic)
Darla McDonell (Rhonda Bainbridge)
Roger Rook (radio operator)

UNCREDITED CAST

Paul Bartel (Frankenstein's doctor)

PLOT SUMMARY

In the year 2000, the United Republics of America is ruled over by the authoritarian Mr President and the masses are kept placated by the lethal Annual Trans-Continental Road Race. The winner of the race is not merely the first driver across the line in New LA, but the one who racks up the most points, scored by running down innocent bystanders. The 2000 race is being run by an unlikely quintet of outrageous participants in their personalized, souped-up killing machines - down-home country girl Calamity Jane Kelly in the Stud Bull wages a personal feud with cute neo-Nazi Matilda the Hun aboard her Buzzbomb, while Nero the Hero spends much of his time preening himself for his disinterested public. Stars of the Road Race world are Machine Gun Joe Viterbo and his hated rival Frankenstein, the president's champion, a man re-built so often that he hides his supposedly disfigured face behind a mask and can no longer remember who he actually is.

CAPSULE REVIEW

One of Corman's most successful and best loved movies, Death Race 2000 is, by turns, a sly satire on 70s America, a hi-octane splatter-fest and a pure kitsch artifact. Recalling nothing so much as a bloodstained reworking of TV cartoon classic Wacky Races (1968 - 1970), it's a witty and deftly produced B-movie classic. (Full Review)

AVAILABILITY

Germany
DVD Distributors: Laser Paradies

Greece
Video Distributors: IVC

UK
Video Distributor: Brent Walker

USA
Theatrical Distributors: New World Pictures
Video Distributors: Warner Home Video; New Horizons Home Video
DVD Distributors: Digital Multimedia Limited (00243); New Horizons Home Video (Roger Corman Classics NH 00144)

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: R

Finland
Rating: K-18

Germany
Rating: 16

Norway
Rating: 16; 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: R

West Germany
Rating: 16

TIMELINE

1975
April
Day Unknown: USA – theatrical release

November
28: West Germany – theatrical release

1976
June
28: Sweden – theatrical release

October
22: Finland – theatrical release

1998
February
24: USA - DVD releases (Digital Multimedia Limited (00243); New Horizons Home Video (Roger Corman Classics NH 00144))

2002
December
18: Germany - DVD release (Laser Paradies)

POSTER TAGS

In The Year 2000 Hit And Run Driving Is No Longer A Felony. It's The National Sport!

A Cross Country Road Wreck!

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Anno 2000 la corsa della morte - Italian title
Carrera de la muerte del año 2000, La - Spanish title
Carrera mortal - Venezuelan title
Carrera mortal 2000 - Argentine title
Corrida da Morte - Ano 2000 - Brazilian title
Course à la mort de l'an 2000, La - French title
Etos 2000: Koursa thanatou - Greek title
Frankensteins Todesrennen - Austrian/West German title
Herrscher der Straße - Frankensteins Todesrennen - German DVD title
Herrscher der Strasse - West German title
Kalmanralli 2000 - Finnish title
Ölüm yarisi 2000 - Turkish title
Rally thanatou sto etos 2000 - Greek re-release title
Sasikvdilo rbola 2000 - Georgian title
Seigneurs de la route, Les - French video title
Wyscig smierci - Polish title

LINKS

REMAKE
Death Race (2008)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trashorama Show Vol. 6 (1999)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976)
Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America (1992)

SEE ALSO
Deathsport (1978)

REFERENCES

PERIODICALS

The Dark Side June 1995 p.20 (UK)
review

Halls of Horror no.27 p.19 (UK)
note

The Movie p.1740
credits, review

BOOKS

Nightmare Movies by Kim Newman p.140
review

The Illustrated Frankenstein Movie Guide by Stephen Jones p.64
credits, review

Omni's Screen Flights / Screen Fantasies: The Future According to Science Fiction Cinema (New York: Doubleday (1984)  ISBN: 0385191995)
production notes (Death Race 2000: New World's Violent Future by Paul Bartel)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

aircraft, cars, children, death sports, dictatorships, dolls, the future, hand grenades, impalement, land mines, masks, nazis, politics, the president, races, reporters, sabotage, satire, television, terrorists, weddings, wheelchairs

Last Updated: 27 September, 2009