Death Race 2000
Encyclopedia
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult
action film
directed by Paul Bartel
, and starring David Carradine
, Simone Griffeth
and Sylvester Stallone
. The film takes place in a dystopia
n American
society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment. The screenplay
is based on the short story
The Racer by Ib Melchior
.
has been destroyed by a financial crisis
and a military coup. Political parties have collapsed into a single Bipartisan Party, which also fulfills the religious functions of a unified church and state. The resulting fascist
police state
, the United Provinces, is headed by the cult figure "Mr. President" (Sandy McCallum). The people are kept satisfied through a stream of gory gladiator
ial entertainment, which includes the bloody spectacle of the Annual Transcontinental Road Race, depicted as a symbol of American values and way of life. The coast-to-coast, three-day race is run on public roads, and points are scored not just for speed, but for the number of innocent pedestrians struck and killed.
Frankenstein (David Carradine
) is the most celebrated racer and is the government's champion. He is reputed to be part machine, rebuilt after many crashes. He regularly battles with the other teams, particularly "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone
), who hates being second.
The film is set at the start of the 20th annual race, during which a resistance group led by Thomasina Paine (Harriet Medin), a lineal descendant of Thomas Paine
, one of the original American revolutionaries of the 1770s, is attempting to assassinate Frankenstein and replace him with one of their agents. The "Resistance" is assisted by Paine's great granddaughter Annie (Simone Griffeth
), Frankenstein's navigator, who is intending to lure him into a planned ambush where he is to be replaced by a double. Disruption of the race by the Resistance is blamed on the French
by the state, who are also blamed for ruining the country's economy and telephone system.
It emerges that Frankenstein is not a willing government stooge, nor is there a single Frankenstein. The current Frankenstein is simply one of many people specially trained to race in the role. "When one is used up, they bring in another," he tells Annie. The current Frankenstein also has his own plan to end the tyranny: win the race and shake hands with Mr. President, detonating a grenade which has been implanted in his prosthetic right hand (he refers to it as a "hand grenade".)
Frankenstein successfully outmaneuvers both the rival drivers and the Resistance, and is declared the winner and sole survivor, although he is wounded and unable to carry out his original grenade attack plan (with Annie using the grenade to kill Joe Viterbo when he attacks them near the end of the race). Annie dons Frankenstein's disguise and plans to stab the President on the victory podium. Greeting the president as he congratulates Frankenstein (and declares war on the French), Annie is mistakenly shot and wounded by her grandmother. Frankenstein finally succeeds in killing the President by ramming the podium with his car.
In an epilogue
, Annie and Frankenstein are wed, and Frankenstein, now President, abolishes the race and the perverse laws of the Provinces, though he does make a point of running over objecting (and objectionable) reporter Junior Bruce (Don Steele
).
Many of the cars were re-bodied VWs and a few were sold after the film to museums for more than it cost to make them, according to Roger Corman.
The aircraft seen in the latter part of the film is a Rutan VariViggen
.
gave the film zero stars in his review, deriding it as being in "poor taste, unnecessarily gratuitous in both nudity and violence."
The film, however, has long been regarded as a cult hit, and was often viewed as superior to Rollerball
, made in the same year; another dystopia
n science fiction sports film, similarly focusing on the use of sports as an "opiate".
released a Deluxe Edition DVD
and Blu-ray
on June 22, 2010 in region 1.
Previous editions were released on DVD and VHS
by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and New Concorde
, among others.
comic book
entitled Death Race 2020 was published in 1995 by Roger Corman
's short-lived Cosmic Comics imprint. It was written by Pat Mills
of 2000 AD
fame, with art by Kevin O'Neill
. The pair had already worked together on several comics including Marshal Law
. The comic book, as the title indicates, took place 20 years after the film and dealt with Frankenstein's return to the race. New racer characters introduced included Von Dutch
, The Alcoholic, Happy the Clown, Steppenwolf, Rick Rhesus, and Harry Carrie.
The comic book series lasted eight issues.
directed a remake entitled Death Race
, which was released August 22, 2008, starring Jason Statham
. The prequel began production in late August 2007. Besides Statham, this new version also stars Ian McShane
, Joan Allen
, and Tyrese Gibson. It also includes a cameo
(by voice-over
) of David Carradine
reprising his role as Frankenstein. A direct-to-DVD
prequel
titled Death Race 2 starring Luke Goss
, Ving Rhames
, Tanit Phoenix
and Danny Trejo
was released on January 18, 2011
Video games
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed by Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
, and starring David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, Simone Griffeth
Simone Griffeth
Simone Griffeth McDonald is an American actress.-Career:The tall, blonde Griffeth starred in a number of movies in the 1970s, followed by numerous recurring roles in many prime-time TV series through the early 1990s, including her role of serious minded reporter Gretchen, on the series Ladies Man...
and Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
. The film takes place in a dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
is based on the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
The Racer by Ib Melchior
Ib Melchior
Ib Jørgen Melchior is a novelist, short story writer, film producer, film director, and screenwriter of low-budget American science fiction movies, most of them released by American International Pictures...
.
Plot
In the year 2000, the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has been destroyed by a financial crisis
Financial crisis
The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these...
and a military coup. Political parties have collapsed into a single Bipartisan Party, which also fulfills the religious functions of a unified church and state. The resulting fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
police state
Police state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
, the United Provinces, is headed by the cult figure "Mr. President" (Sandy McCallum). The people are kept satisfied through a stream of gory gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
ial entertainment, which includes the bloody spectacle of the Annual Transcontinental Road Race, depicted as a symbol of American values and way of life. The coast-to-coast, three-day race is run on public roads, and points are scored not just for speed, but for the number of innocent pedestrians struck and killed.
Frankenstein (David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
) is the most celebrated racer and is the government's champion. He is reputed to be part machine, rebuilt after many crashes. He regularly battles with the other teams, particularly "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
), who hates being second.
The film is set at the start of the 20th annual race, during which a resistance group led by Thomasina Paine (Harriet Medin), a lineal descendant of Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, one of the original American revolutionaries of the 1770s, is attempting to assassinate Frankenstein and replace him with one of their agents. The "Resistance" is assisted by Paine's great granddaughter Annie (Simone Griffeth
Simone Griffeth
Simone Griffeth McDonald is an American actress.-Career:The tall, blonde Griffeth starred in a number of movies in the 1970s, followed by numerous recurring roles in many prime-time TV series through the early 1990s, including her role of serious minded reporter Gretchen, on the series Ladies Man...
), Frankenstein's navigator, who is intending to lure him into a planned ambush where he is to be replaced by a double. Disruption of the race by the Resistance is blamed on the French
Anti-French sentiment in the United States
Anti-French sentiment in the United States is the manifestation of Francophobia by Americans. It signifies a consistent hostility toward the government, culture, and people of France that employs stereotypes.-Understanding anti-French sentiments:...
by the state, who are also blamed for ruining the country's economy and telephone system.
It emerges that Frankenstein is not a willing government stooge, nor is there a single Frankenstein. The current Frankenstein is simply one of many people specially trained to race in the role. "When one is used up, they bring in another," he tells Annie. The current Frankenstein also has his own plan to end the tyranny: win the race and shake hands with Mr. President, detonating a grenade which has been implanted in his prosthetic right hand (he refers to it as a "hand grenade".)
Frankenstein successfully outmaneuvers both the rival drivers and the Resistance, and is declared the winner and sole survivor, although he is wounded and unable to carry out his original grenade attack plan (with Annie using the grenade to kill Joe Viterbo when he attacks them near the end of the race). Annie dons Frankenstein's disguise and plans to stab the President on the victory podium. Greeting the president as he congratulates Frankenstein (and declares war on the French), Annie is mistakenly shot and wounded by her grandmother. Frankenstein finally succeeds in killing the President by ramming the podium with his car.
In an epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
, Annie and Frankenstein are wed, and Frankenstein, now President, abolishes the race and the perverse laws of the Provinces, though he does make a point of running over objecting (and objectionable) reporter Junior Bruce (Don Steele
Don Steele
Don Steele, born Donald Steele Revert , was one of the most popular disc jockeys in the United States, from the middle of the 1960s until his retirement in May 1997...
).
Cast
- David CarradineDavid CarradineDavid Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
as Frankenstein - Simone GriffethSimone GriffethSimone Griffeth McDonald is an American actress.-Career:The tall, blonde Griffeth starred in a number of movies in the 1970s, followed by numerous recurring roles in many prime-time TV series through the early 1990s, including her role of serious minded reporter Gretchen, on the series Ladies Man...
as Annie Smith - Sylvester StalloneSylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
as "Machine-Gun" Joe Viterbo - Sandy McCallum as "Mr. President"
- Louisa MoritzLouisa Moritz-Early life:Louisa Moritz was born Louisa Castro in Havana, Cuba and left Cuba during the upheaval of the 1950s, hiding on a ship and eventually making her way to New York City. She chose the stage last name of Moritz after seeing the Hotel St...
as Myra - Don SteeleDon SteeleDon Steele, born Donald Steele Revert , was one of the most popular disc jockeys in the United States, from the middle of the 1960s until his retirement in May 1997...
as Junior Bruce - Mary WoronovMary WoronovMary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...
as "Calamity" Jane Kelly - Roberta CollinsRoberta CollinsRoberta Collins was a film and television actress who was known for her attractive physique, blonde, curly hair, and Marilyn Monroe appearance...
as Matilda the Hun - Martin KoveMartin KoveMartin Kove is an American actor who has appeared in feature films and television series.-Film appearances:His best-known roles may have been on the 1980s hit CBS television series Cagney & Lacey as Detective Victor Isbecki and in the 1984 hit film The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai Sensei John Kreese...
as Nero the Hero - Joyce JamesonJoyce JamesonJoyce Jameson was an American actress best remembered for her blonde bimbo roles during the Marilyn Monroe period...
as Grace Pander
Cars and Aircraft
The cars in the Transcontinental Road Race each have a specific theme. Each contestant represents the fantasy of a reckless driver.- Nero the HeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
- RomanRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. The car (a modified Fiat 850 Spider) resembles a lion complete with teeth (the historical Nero enjoyed throwing his enemies to the lions). Nero is the first to be destroyed when he runs over a booby-trapped doll planted by the Resistance, which he mistakes for a real baby. His Navigator is named after Cleopatra. - Matilda the Hun - Nazi. The car (a modified VW Karmann-Ghia) resembles a V-1 flying bombV-1 flying bombThe V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
and has what appears to be a pulse jet engine. Her car is destroyed after driving off a cliff due to a fake detour set up by the Resistance. She is the second to die in the race. Her navigator is named "Herman the German' Boch - Calamity JaneCalamity JaneMartha Jane Cannary Burke , better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans...
- Cowgirl. The car resembles a bull and runs over a matadorMatadorA torero or toureiro is a bullfighter and the main performer in bullfighting, practised in Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Mexico, France and various other countries influenced by Spanish culture. In Spanish, the word torero describes any of the performers who actively participate in the bullfight...
early in the film. She is lured to a junkyard and blown up by the Resistance. Her navigator is named Pete; Pete is run over by Matilda while fixing Calamity's car. - Machine Gun Joe Viterbo - GangsterGangsterA gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
. The car resembles a black CadillacCadillacCadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
, has a knife and (non-working) machine guns mounted on the front. Joe is the last to die (killed by Frankenstein's grenade). - FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
- American. His car (a Shala Vette by Dick Dean, also known as "Gator's Car") resembles a monster with red eyes, scales and teeth. He is the only one who survives the race.
Many of the cars were re-bodied VWs and a few were sold after the film to museums for more than it cost to make them, according to Roger Corman.
The aircraft seen in the latter part of the film is a Rutan VariViggen
Rutan VariViggen
|-Sources and references:****...
.
Reception
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film zero stars in his review, deriding it as being in "poor taste, unnecessarily gratuitous in both nudity and violence."
The film, however, has long been regarded as a cult hit, and was often viewed as superior to Rollerball
Rollerball (1975 film)
Rollerball is a 1975 American dystopian fiction film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by William Harrison, who adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which first appeared in 1973 in Esquire magazine.-The Game:...
, made in the same year; another dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n science fiction sports film, similarly focusing on the use of sports as an "opiate".
Home media
Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
released a Deluxe Edition DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on June 22, 2010 in region 1.
Previous editions were released on DVD and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and New Concorde
New Concorde
New Concorde is a Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons as one of the first production companies to develop and take advantage of video as a distribution...
, among others.
Comic book series
A sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
entitled Death Race 2020 was published in 1995 by Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
's short-lived Cosmic Comics imprint. It was written by Pat Mills
Pat Mills
Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
of 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
fame, with art by Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (comics)
Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
. The pair had already worked together on several comics including Marshal Law
Marshal Law (comics)
Marshal Law is an English-language superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill. One of the first major creator-owned characters for a major publisher, it was first published by Epic Comics in 1987...
. The comic book, as the title indicates, took place 20 years after the film and dealt with Frankenstein's return to the race. New racer characters introduced included Von Dutch
Kenny Howard
Kenneth Robert Howard , also known as Dutch, Von Dutch, or J. L. Bachs , was a motorcycle mechanic, artist, pinstriper, metal fabricator, knifemaker and gunsmith...
, The Alcoholic, Happy the Clown, Steppenwolf, Rick Rhesus, and Harry Carrie.
The comic book series lasted eight issues.
Remake
Paul W. S. AndersonPaul W. S. Anderson
Paul William Scott Anderson , also known as Paul W. S. Anderson or Paul Anderson, is an English film director who regularly works in science fiction movies and video game adaptations.-Life and career:...
directed a remake entitled Death Race
Death Race (film)
Death Race is a 2008 action film produced, written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Jason Statham. Though referred to as a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 in reviews and marketing materials, director Paul W.S. Anderson stated in an interview and the DVD commentary that he...
, which was released August 22, 2008, starring Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
. The prequel began production in late August 2007. Besides Statham, this new version also stars Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
, Joan Allen
Joan Allen
Joan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...
, and Tyrese Gibson. It also includes a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
(by voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
) of David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
reprising his role as Frankenstein. A direct-to-DVD
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
titled Death Race 2 starring Luke Goss
Luke Goss
Luke Damon Goss is an English singer and actor. Since 1994, he has been married to backing singer Shirley Lewis, , and has one stepdaughter, Carli. In January 2007, he and wife Shirley moved permanently to Los Angeles, but still maintain a residence in London...
, Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
, Tanit Phoenix
Tanit Phoenix
-Early life:Phoenix was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to a family of Irish and Dutch descent. Her father, a Quantum Mechanics lecturer and former skydiver, is a descendant of 19th century immigrants from Tullylish, Ireland. Growing up, Phoenix excelled at a variety of activities,...
and Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo
Dan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
was released on January 18, 2011
Other references
- The 1982 video game Maze Death Race for Sinclair ZX81Sinclair ZX81The ZX81 was a home computer produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public...
computers (and 1983 for Sinclair ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
computers) resembles the film by its cover artwork and title, and car-driving content. - The CarmageddonCarmageddonCarmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
video game series (Carmageddon, Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now and Carmageddon 3: TDR 2000) all borrow heavily from the plot, characters and car designs in the film. - DeathtrackDeathtrackDeath Track or Death Track Racing was a first person futuristic driving computer game produced for the PC by Dynamix and published by Activision in 1989...
was another video game based around car combat. In it, you traveled across the country, blowing up other cars. The obvious similarities between the game and this film suggest that the game was inspired by it. - In the beginning of the song Isle of Dead by BucketheadBucketheadBrian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
, a short excerpt from the movie can be heard.
See also
- The Cars That Ate ParisThe Cars that Ate ParisThe Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly,...
- Rollerball (1975 film)Rollerball (1975 film)Rollerball is a 1975 American dystopian fiction film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by William Harrison, who adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which first appeared in 1973 in Esquire magazine.-The Game:...
- The Running ManThe Running Man (film)The Running Man is a 1987 American action film loosely based on Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, and Richard Dawson....
- The Road Warrior
Video games
- Death Race (1976 game)Death Race (1976 game)Death Race is a controversial arcade game, released by Exidy in 1976. While not the first violent video game to appear, it was the first video game to inspire a great deal of protest and controversy in the United States.-Overview:...
- Roadwar 2000Roadwar 2000Roadwar 2000, sometimes referred to as Roadwar 2K, is a 1986 computer game published by Strategic Simulations, Inc.. It is a turn-based strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic future which greatly resembles the world portrayed in the Mad Max movie series.-Description:In 1999, a terrorist group...
- CarmageddonCarmageddonCarmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
- Death RallyDeath RallyDeath Rally is a top-down perspective racing video game developed by Remedy, published by Apogee and distributed by GT Interactive. It was released on September 6, 1996...