Tagarchief: Death Race 2000

Dungeon Classics #2: Death Race 2000

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Death Race 2000 (1975, USA)

Director: Paul Bartel
Cast: David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov
Running Time: 84 mins.

Is there really a movie about a future race in which contestants have to kill people to score points? Yup. This is it. And it gets even better: old people and children earn more points! The top racers are the cape and mask wearing Frankenstein (David Carradine), who has more mechanical parts in him than Darth Vader, and Machine Gun Joe (a young Sylvester Stallone), who got his name by unloading his machine gun in the audience. Other drivers include the outrageously named Nero the Hero and Herman the German. Oh, and the drivers all have navigators, who not only read maps, but also have sex with the drivers in between laps! Who needs Google Maps? The makers obviously had a lot of fun shooting this cult classic and they never forgot what they were making; a funny, violent action B-movie. The tagline says it all: ‘In the year 2000 hit and run isn’t a felony… it’s the national sport!’ Followed by the abominable Death Race 2050 in 2017.

Death Race 2

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Roel Reiné
Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson, Tony Giglio
Cast: Luke Goss, Lauren Cohan, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames

Year / Country: 2010, South Africa
Running Time: 96 mins.

Direct-to-video sequel to Paul W.S. Anderson’s Death Race from 2008, which was in itself a remake of the Roger Corman produced cult movie Death Race 2000 from 1975. Anderson did come up with the story, but the director of this futuristic actioner is Dutchman Roel Reiné.

Storywise, this is a prequel to the first film and tells the origins of legendary driver Frankenstein. In the near future, prisons are run by private corporations, and in order to optimize the profits, they organise bloody spectacles that viewers can watch through paid internet streams. First, inmates fight one on one in bloody battles, but as audiences get bored, a deadly race is organised with fast cars armed with machine guns, napalm and missile launchers. Inmate Luke (Luke Goss), a talented getaway driver, is forced to participate.

In a film like this, it’s inevitable to encounter some implausibilities, which could be forgivable if the usually talented cast weren’t burdened with poorly written roles and clunky dialogue. The high-speed action is executed with skill, though the spectacular opening chase scene sets a standard that the rest of the film struggles to match.

One highlight is the ending – a satisfying homage to the 1975 cult classic that fans will undoubtedly appreciate.

If you’re seeking bloody violence, this film delivers in spades. Just don’t expect much beyond that.

Rating:

Biography: Roel Reiné (1969, Eindhoven, The Netherlands) went to the States after the success of his first film The Delivery. He had breakfast with Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, who told him, ‘you have to live here to make movies.’ Reiné made one more movie in The Netherlands before he moved to the States.

Filmography (a selection): The Delivery (1999), Adrenaline (2003), Pistol Whipped (2008), Drifter (2008), Deadwater (2008), Wolfseinde (2008-2009, TV Series), The Marine 2 (2009), The Lost Tribe (2010), Death Race 2 (2010), Death Race 3: Inferno (2013), Michiel de Ruiter (2015), Hard Target 2 (2016), Redband (2018)

Death Race

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Tyrese Gibson

Year / Country: 2008, USA, Germany, UK
Running Time: 106 mins.

Death Race is supposed to be a remake of Death Race 2000, a Roger Corman produced cult gem from the seventies. While there is certainly resemblance; it is all about a gladiator-like futuristic car race, there are many differences as well. Death Race 2000 was a cynical, humoristic and over the top look at the future, while Death Race doesn’t seem to be more than a straightforward action flick. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, the target audience just might be a little different.

In 2012, a financial crisis threw the Western world into chaos. Jensen Ames (Statham) is an ex-racer who is framed for murdering his wife. In jail he has to replace legendary driver Frankenstein in the internet hit ‘Death Race’. While Ames makes a great Frankenstein, the real monster is warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) who directs the deadly race to make a killing from the broadcasting. But Ames is not one to simply play ball. He has an escape-plan to execute, a conspiracy to solve and enemies to exterminate.

The plot is very predictable, but the concept works well enough to forgive the film this flaw. It seems that in every movie director Anderson directs, he does one thing extremely well and a lot of other things very wrong. In this movie it is the action that blows off the screen. The internet streaming footage is also fabulous. His writing skills leave a lot to be desired though. This is mainstream Hollywood work.

Statham has become quite the badass action star. I preferred David Carradine in the Frankenstein role in the original, but Statham is nevertheless okay. However, Tyrese Gibson is a lousy replacement for Machine Gun Joe. Watching Sylvester Stallone in that part was a thousand times cooler, though it is not entirely Gibson’s fault. The script doesn’t give him much to work with. In the acting department, there is great support from Joan Allen as queen bitch and Ian McShane as Ames’ biggest supporter.

That leaves one comment to be made; the ending is excruciating. But since the largest part of the film is about racing, this movie can be called a modest success. It is certainly the best thing Anderson has done in years.

Rating:

Biography: Paul W.S Anderson (1965, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK) gained some notoriety in his native England with his ultra-violent feature debut Shopping in 1994. Its relative success allowed him to direct action / sci-fi films in Hollywood, including the financially successful Mortal Kombat. In 2002 he resurfaced another video game adaptation, Resident Evil. He next was given the helm for the long-awaited film adaptation of the popular Dark Horse comic book, AVP: Alien Vs. Predator.

Filmography (a selection): Shopping (1994), Mortal Kombat (1995), Event Horizon (1997), Soldier (1998), The Sight (2000, TV), Resident Evil (2002), AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), Death Race (2008), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), The Three Musketeers (2011), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), Pompeii (2014), Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Monster Hunter (2020)

Eating Raoul

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Paul Bartel
Written by: Paul Bartel, Richard Blackburn
Cast: Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran

Year / Country: 1982, USA
Running Time: 83 mins.

After directing racing flicks Death Race 2000 and Cannonball!, Paul Bartel decided to make a more personal movie. Roger Corman, who had kick-started Bartel’s career with Death Race 2000, would not finance it, so Bartel raised the 500.000 dollar himself by putting up his parents house for sale. The result was Eating Raoul, a demented comedy of sorts about Hollywood, cannibalism and weird sex. It became a sleeper hit and got good critical reviews, especially in Europe.

The story revolves around Paul and Mary Bland, a square couple living in Hollywood. The couple is played by Bartel himself and Mary Woronov, another Corman veteran. The Blands want to open up a countryside restaurant, but lack financial means. A solution presents itself in the form of a swinger (their apartment building is full of them), a lifestyle the Blands – with their refined taste – disapprove of. When this swinger accidentally dies in their apartment, they come up with a very distinctive business model: lure swingers into their apartment and murder them for their money. It becomes a great financial success.

Then Raoul from the title gets involved (played by Robert Beltran, later Star Trek Voyager actor). He is a blacksmith, who discovers their secret and wants a partnership. After not too long, Raoul becomes a big problem the Blands have to deal with. Witty lines such as: ‘We’re having a friend for dinner’ (sounds familiar?) and a couple of hilarious gags make this an enjoyable little film. If you have a taste for the bizarre (it even got dwarves and stuff), Eating Raoul is an oddity that won’t disappoint.

Rating:

Biography: Paul Bartel (1938, New York – 2000, New York) majored in theater arts at UCLA and studied film directing in Rome. After getting his first work experience with Roger Corman he directed a number of low budget cult films. He also worked as a writer and an actor. He died in 2000 from a heart attack.

Filmography: The Secret Cinema (1968, short), Naughty Nurse (1969, short), Private Parts (1972), Death Race 2000 (1975), Cannonball! (1976), Eating Raoul (1982), Not for Publication (1984), Lust in the Dust (1985), The Longshot (1986), Amazing Stories (1986/87, TV episodes), Shelf Life (1993), The Comic Strip Presents…(1993, TV episode), Clueless (1996, TV episode)