Death Race 2000 (1975)
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In a totalitarian future, a murderous transcontinental road race serves as a violent spectacle to pacify a ruined society.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the year 2000, the Transcontinental Road Race features five drivers with wrestling-style personas: Frankenstein, Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, Calamity Jane, Matilda the Hun, and Nero the Hero. A resistance group led by Thomasina Paine and her granddaughter Annie Smith (Frankenstein's navigator) plans to sabotage the race. They successfully kill Nero, Matilda, and Calamity Jane. Annie discovers that 'Frankenstein' is actually a series of interchangeable wards of the state who are replaced whenever they are mutilated. The current Frankenstein intends to kill the President with a grenade in his prosthetic hand, but Machine Gun Joe attacks him, forcing Annie to kill Joe with the grenade. Frankenstein wins the race but is too wounded to complete his plan. Annie dons Frankenstein's costume to attempt to assassinate the President, but Thomasina shoots her, thinking she is Frankenstein. The real Frankenstein then rams the President's stage, killing him. Frankenstein becomes the new president, marries Annie, and appoints Thomasina as Minister of Domestic Security to dissolve the dictatorship.
- First release year
- 1975
- Runtime (minutes)
- 80
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Paul Bartel
- Writers
- Robert Thom · screenplay; Charles B. Griffith · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- David Carradine · Frankenstein; Simone Griffeth; Sylvester Stallone; Louisa Moritz; Don Steele; Mary Woronov; Martin Kove; Harriet White Medin · Thomasina Paine
- Genres
- dystopian; science-fiction; action; comedy
- Themes
- Totalitarianism; Violence as entertainment; Social satire; Rebellion
- Tone and mood
- Satirical; Campy; Violent; Dystopian
- Premise and plot tags
- Dystopian; Science Fiction; Action; Road Movie; Satire
- Source material / true-story basis
- Ib Melchior's 1956 short story 'The Racer'
- Franchise connections
- Death Race
- Content notes
- Violence; Gore
- Reception
- The film initially received mixed reviews but became a commercial success and a cult hit. It is praised for its political satire and racing sequences, though some critics found it 'goofy' or 'sleazy'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 80% · scale: Certified Fresh · review count: 84
- Awards and nominations
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills · Nominated · 2001 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The custom-built cars were not street legal.; Mary Woronov did not know how to drive a car, so her close-ups were shot with her car towed behind a flatbed truck.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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