Death Race 2000 (1975)

(This post is part of the Futurethon hosted by Cinematic Catharsis and Realweedgiemidget Reviews)

If there was ever a Golden Age for dystopian science fiction movies, it might well have been the Seventies. The decade saw the release of such films as A Clockwork Orange (1971), Silent Running (1972), Soylent Green (1973), and Rollerball (1975).  Among the best known dystopian science fiction movies from the Seventies was Death Race 2000 (1975). What sets it apart from other dystopian sci-fi movies of the decade is that it actually has a sense of humour.

Death Race 2000 is set in the year of its title. Following the World Crash of '79, during which there was widespread economic and civil unrest, the United States has become a fascist dictatorship. To keep the population complacent, the government offers up its own version of "bread and circuses," the Transcontinental Road Race. During the Transcontinental Road Race, racers cross the country, racking up bonus points for every person they kill along the way. As might be expected, the race is the year 2000 is complicated by a plot by a resistance group intent on disrupting the event. As to Frankenstein (David Carradine), the race's reigning champion, he has his own agenda.

In part, Death Race 2000 owes its existence to the novel Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. Producer Roger Corman had wanted to adapt Damnation Alley as a movie, but 20th Century Fox held its film rights (the studio would eventually release their adaptation of the novel in 1977). Unable to produce a film based on Damnation Alley, Roger Corman then optioned the film rights to the short story "The Racer" by Ib Melchior. Published in 1956 in the men's magazine Escapade, the story was about a race during which  racers earn points for the number of pedestrians they kill. It was at this time that United Artists had announced Rollerball, a big budget, dystopian science fiction movie that also featured a violent, futuristic sport. Roger Corman figured that with Death Race 2000 he could capitalize on the publicity building up to the release of Rollerball.

The first script for Death Race 2000 was written by Robert Thom, who had written such films as All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) and Wild in the Streets (1968). Director Paul Bartel thought Robert Thom's script could not possibly be filmed, and then wrote his own draft of the screenplay. This was in turn rewritten by Charles B. Griffith, who had written Not of This Earth (1956), Little Shop of Horrors (1960), and The Wild Angels (1966).

The lead role of Frankenstein was ultimately filled by David Carradine,then best known for the TV series Kung Fu. Paul Bartel had seen him in the play The Royal Hunt of the Sun and was suitably impressed. In addition to David Carradine, Death Race 2000 also featured cast members who would shortly become famous. Sylvester Stallone played Frankenstein's chief rival, the Chicago style gangster Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, only a little over two years before the release of Rocky (1976). Martin Kove, who would later play John Kreese, the antagonist in the Karate Kid movies, played the Roman-themed racer Nero the Hero.

Of course, among the biggest stars of Death Race 2000 are the cars themselves. They were designed by James Powers and constructed by Dean Jeffries (who had also been responsible for Black Beauty on The Green Hornet and the Monkeemobile on The Monkees). The cars were constructed using Volkswagen chassis. Unfortunately, none of them could go over 40 miles per hour. The cars were then shot undercranked in long shots to give the illusion of speed.

Director Paul Bartel and producer Roger Corman would come to a disagreement during the shooting of Death Race 2000. Paul Bartel felt that the concept of the movie was inherently violent, so there need be little blood shown on the screen. At the same time, Paul Bartel insisted on humour in the film. Roger Corman thought the audience would want violence in the film. Once Paul Bartel had finished filming Death Race 2000, he sent out a second unit to shoot scenes involving blood that could be inserted into the film. As it turned out, most of the blood inserts could not be used, as the MPAA threatened to rate Death Race 2000 "X." Afterwards the MPAA gave it an "R" rating, some of the blood inserts were put back into the film.

Death Race 2000 ultimately cost $480,000. It made a respectable profit, earning $4.8 million in the Untied States alone. The film received decidedly mixed review from critics. Roger Ebert's review was largely negative and he was surprised by the presence of children in the theatre, stating "... I was torn between walking out immediately and staying to witness a spectacle more dismaying than anything on the screen: the way small children were digging the gratuitous bloodshed." In The New York Times, Lawrence Van Gelder wrote that Death Race 2000 has  "....nothing to say beyond the superficial about government or rebellion. And in the absence of such a statement, it becomes what it seems to have mocked—a spectacle glorifying the car as an instrument of violence." On the other hand, Tom Shales of The Washington Post and Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times were more positive with regards to Death Race 2000. Tom Shales called it, "..one of the zippier little B pictures of the year," while Kevin Thomas called it, "a fine little action picture with big idea."

Much of the reason Death Race 2000 may have received mixed reviews upon its initial release is that the film was in some ways something of an anachronism. While Roger Corman cut much of Paul Bartel's humour from the film, it plays like such works of Sixties camp as the 1960s TV show Batman and the movie Barbarella, but with ultraviolence thrown in to boot. The racers are all colourful characters with cars that match their respective personalities. As mentioned above, Sylvester Stallone plays Machine Gun Joe, a racer who acts and looks like a 1920s Chicago gangster, while Martin Kove's Nero the Hero has an ancient Roman theme, right down to his helmet. The other racers are the Western themed "Calamity Jane" Kelly (Mary Woronov) and the neo-Nazi  Matilda "The Hun" (Roberta Collins). Not only are the racers over the top, but so too are the numerous deaths throughout the film. While Roger Corman simply wanted an ultraviolent science fiction action movie, Paul Bartel delivered what is at times a cartoonish comedy.

Of course, in addition to being intentionally camp, Death Race 2000 also works as satire. It portrays the media as exploitative, covering every death during the Transcontinental Road Race in detail. The government in Death Race 2000 has gone so insane as to believe its own propaganda, and has no concern for the safety of its citizens. Only the Resistance is treated with some respect in the film. Sadly, in some ways Death Race 2000 seems a bit prescient, given the popularity of reality shows and, even more so, the media's habit of airing bodycam videos of people's deaths.

While Death Race 2000 received mixed reviews upon its release, it has since become a cult film. In 1995 a series of comic books serving as a sequel to the film, Death Race 2020, was published. In 2008 a poorly received remake, Death Race, was released. It was followed by two direct-to-video sequels. In 2017 there was an official sequel to the film, produced by Roger Corman and released direct to video, Death Race 2050. This sequel was somewhat better received than the 2008 remake.

While Death Race 2000 received mixed reviews upon its initial release, its reputation has improved since. It currently has a rating among critics of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, it long ago became a cult film. Ultimately, Death Race 2000 is a camp classic that combines gratuitous violence with a sly sense of humour to satirize both the media and the government.