Death Race 2000

"In the year 2000, hit and run driving is no longer a felony. It's the national sport!"

1975 1h 20m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 603

ActionScience FictionComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a boorish future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians. Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. Frankenstein, the mysterious returning champion, has become America's hero, but this time he has a passenger from the underground resistance.

“In the year 2000, hit and run driving is no longer a felony. It's the national sport!”

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Where to watch · US

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Best of British Tv Amazon ChannelSubscription

Cast

David Carradine
Frankenstein
Simone Griffeth
Annie Smith
Sylvester Stallone
Machine Gun Joe Viterbo
Mary Woronov
Calamity Jane
Roberta Collins
Matilda the Hun
Martin Kove
Nero the Hero
Louisa Moritz
Myra
Don Steele
Junior Bruce

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Bartel
Writers: Ib Melchior, Charles B. Griffith, Robert Thom
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $8M — a 26.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

51 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Death Race (1975) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Bartel, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Chihara. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tina Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Bartel directs. Tak Fujimoto behind the camera. Paul Chihara scores. Tina Hirsch cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $8M — a 26.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
451 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Part of the "Death Race (1975) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Paul Bartel, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Paul Chihara. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Tina Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9David Carradine and Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "In the year 2000, hit and run driving is no longer a felony. It's the national sport!".
11IMDB entry: tt0072856 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Original score: Paul Chihara
Editing: Tina Hirsch
Makeup / hair: Patricia Hutchence
Sound: Ben Burtt
Stunt coordinator: Ronald Ross
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Status: Released
Budget: $300,000
Box office: $8,000,000
Return: 2667% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Death Race 2000 (1975)

Part of

Death Race (1975) Collection

The Death Race movies series collection.

Also by

Paul Bartel

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2017-05-13
★ 6/10
If anyone ever asks you what a "Cult Classic" is, you can just tell them to Google it-- I mean, show them this film. Death Race 2000 is great 1970's cheese with a ripper of a Stalone role thrown in for good measure. Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go.

Production companies