To me, this movie is perfection.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This cheesy cult classic has a great premise which is unfortunately spoilt by poor direction and a whole "cheap" feel to the film, due no doubt to the low budget. For fans of cult films though, this one is worth a watch, and Roger Corman was also involved in its production, making it unmissable in some circles. It's one of those films where the fun comes from watching things get destroyed - lots of cars get blown up by explosives, pedestrians are continually splattered by fast-moving vehicles, and in an exciting moment a car is chased by a plane dropping bombs! Aside from the entertaining chase bits - which only become vaguely repetitive - a whole lot of other stuff is thrown into the script. There's a vicious streak of black comedy (the "hits" scored by the drivers as they run over the public are portrayed amusingly), and even a social comment in there somewhere on America's obsession with violence - a theme which became even more popular in the '80s. Intermittently there are bits of romance and drama, but these never get in the way of the trashy spirit of the thing. We've got gratuitous nudity and gratuitous gore (wheels running over heads, etc.), sure factors to appeal to any red-blooded male.As for the acting, most of it is quite bad, but in a fun sense. Nobody really takes themselves seriously. Sylvestor Stallone - in one of his first roles - isn't afraid to be the obnoxious, violent villain of the piece who's out for himself and himself only, and his portrayal fits the character very well. However, it's David Carradine who stands out as the crippled Frankenstein, a man who always wears a fetish rubber suit and mask due to his various limbs having been replaced by surgeons after many, many accidents. Due to obvious budgetary constraints, these mechanical additions are never seen but rather implied. It's difficult not to like a film which takes literally the term "hand grenade", a film which has an annual euthanasia day where old residents are wheeled out into the road and left to die, or where a band of rebels do their best to destroy the opponents. And watch out for that twist ending! Camp, cheesy and quite bad, DEATH RACE 2000 disappoints yet remains influential to this day, via the computer game CARMAGEDDON and its sequels.

Finally after all these years watched the 1975 B movie cult classic "Death Race 2000" as I'm now watching and dissecting the films of independent and B movie king producer Roger Corman. And I must say this was a thrill a fun classic that entertains never a dull moment and the movie moves quick as it states it's plot and the message of winner seek all is compelling and entertaining! Anyway this picture was ahead of it's time as in 1975 it portrayed a futuristic year that being 2000 and the country is a mess with corrupt morals and politicians being yes men and always at unrest(really that turned out to be true and continues). The only big things in this society is that hit and run driving is a national sport an event that is three days across the country, as with this high speed contest is won by the driver who collects the most points by running over and killing people like pedestrians and spectators. And to challenge things are a group of anti-race activists trying to stop racing for good.The all-time champ is the win at all cost rebel Frankenstein(the late David Carradine in a good role)who's so smooth yet intimidating in a rubber black mask of latex(makes a viewer thank of sadism)and out of the group of race foes it's the young and hot "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo(in one of Sly Stallone's very early roles)that presents the biggest threat to knock Frankenstein from the race throne. Also to spice this dark sci-fi action up is the appearance of many hot females as plenty of skin is shown as the guys even make cross country stops at massage parlors! Overall "Death Race 2000" is one nice little cult picture a B movie gem that as you watch it's a fine feel good time it has it all sex, action, death, and the challenge of a corrupt political state, true not everything did come true in 2000 still much of it would as these themes shown in 1975 would ring true for the year 2000 and beyond. Plus the work of the late Carradine is A okay and it was nice seeing Stallone in some B movie work just one year before his "Rocky" classic.

People tend to compare Paul Bartel's "Death Race 2000" to Norman Jewison's "Rollerball". I saw it as more analogous to Sidney Lumet's "Network", Peter Hyams's "Stay Tuned", and the "Hunger Games" franchise. All these movies depict the United States as a society whose idea of entertainment is the lowest, cruelest material. The difference is that "Death Race 2000" and "Stay Tuned" are comedies. The former is the sort of movie that encapsulates the '70s, while the latter was probably inadvertently predicted the rise of reality shows. Another movie that loosely resembles "DR2000" is the Italian mondo movie "Cannibal Holocaust". In one scene a character says that the audience likes having its senses assaulted. Here we see the drivers killing pedestrians, and the race's audience loves seeing it.Of course, it's possible to ignore all that and simply accept the movie as a zany exploitation flick. It's certainly an enjoyable one. David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone all appear to be having fun with the material. Paul Bartel later directed "Eating Raoul", in which he cast himself and "DR2000" co-star Mary Woronov.Really fun movie.

Roger Corman is known for making ultra-low-budget, B-grade (or lower) motion pictures that have lots of violence and nudity. DEATH RACE 2000 is no different in that regard. Personally, I haven't seen any other Roger Corman pictures besides this one, but if this is any indication of what they're usually like than I'll just stop here. I know that this film was limited by its low budget, but it still failed to entertain me with what it did have. There was some attempt at social satire, but it was all surface and supported by some of the worst acting I've ever seen. David Carradine is given top billing (as he is the main character), but I thought that Sylvester Stallone's limited, one-note performance was more fun to watch. Overall, the film fails at social satire and only makes up for it a little bit with some decent racing sequences (considering the budget).