Directed by:
Paul BartelCinematography:
Tak FujimotoComposer:
Paul ChiharaCast:
David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov, Roberta Collins, Martin Kove, Louisa Moritz, Joyce Jameson, John Landis, Paul Bartel (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
In the year 2000, hit and run has become the national sport. It’s a no-holds-barred cross-country race, in which the aim is to kill off not only your opponents, but as many pedestrians as possible. Favorite driver, Frankenstein (David Carradine) takes on Machine Gun Joe Viterboe (Sylvester Stallone) in this classic, adrenaline thriller. However, this year’s events are about to be complicated by the efforts of a small but dedicated army of revolutionaries. Their overthrow of Mr President hinges on the sabotage of the Race and the elimination of Frankenstein, but Frankenstein himself is not what he seems. (Signal One Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (3)
That’s one hell of a freak show. The President of the United States declares a race across America during where they are allowed to kill pedestrians. There are bonus points for kills, least for men, most for small children and the elderly. The racing crews – always a man and a woman – have different styles, one looks like Nazis, another like ancient Romans. The main character, played by David Carradine, looks like he came out of a S&M club and his main competitor is the cowboy Stallone. It’s really awesome and a great thing to watch with a group. :)
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With a slight dose of perverse taste and a certain benevolence towards everything you see here, you may actually be satisfied with the result. The "1970s" view of the year 2000 has been very entertaining for contemporary viewers since the 1990s, so even here the filmmakers didn’t forget to make it absurd, dominated by a dictatorial president who is no stranger to the American flag (with hands clasped in a fighting grip instead of white stars) and the very idea of the demonic race. It's not about winning or participating, but about hitting as many people as possible. This idea is fun, but unfortunately, its execution consists of the exaggerated chatter of the characters behind the wheel instead of the real road rage we know from Mad Max. All of this might be forgiven with a certain amount of perspective, but despite its insanity, the result is not "insane" enough to be interesting at least in form, meaning the resulting film is a rather boring affair. It will probably find its cult audience, but I won't watch it a second time.
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Intellectually idiotic and cheap trash that not even the time it was made and the obvious exaggeration can excuse. This disrespect for human life can not be accepted even with humour; the only good thing about its bizarre futuristic premise are a couple of decent car chases and the beauty of Simone Griffeth, the rest could be appreciated only boozed-up and with a group of similarly altered mates. 40%
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