Death Race 2000: The Original

We’ve been hearing bits and pieces about the new reincarnation of the B-movie classic Death Race 2000, but the more I hear, the less I see what it has to do with the original other than name. The original Death Race 2000 was interesting right from the tagline: "In The Year 2000, Hit And Run Driving Is No Longer A Felony. It’s The National Sport!" In a post-apocalyptic world, America is now ruled by a dictator known simply as the President who has created a deadly cross-country race for his amusement. The point of the race is to finish with the most points, awarded for the running down of unsuspecting pedestrians. The favored driver, known as Frankenstein (David Carradine), has grown to hate the President and plans to take him out along with anyone who gets in his car’s path. Little does he know that a rebel group bent on ending the race has placed one of their own as his navigator and are planning to take him out before he gets to the President. All of this while competitors like "Machine Gun Joe" (Sylvester Stallone) are out to get him.

This movie offers non-stop B-movie thrills, and it doesn’t get any better than the toothy, tusky Death Race cars, based upon actual hulks of the era and obscured with themed sculpture. If you can’t get your fill of clips and quotes here, then you should definitely take the time to Netflix it or track it down at the local video store.