Death Race 2000

No doubt about it, Death Race 2000 is one of the greatest B-movies ever made. A crown jewel in the career of B-movie king Roger Corman, it's a sublime example of exploitative filmmaking from a time when Corman's low-budget quickies were about to be swept aside by the blockbuster success of Jaws and Star Wars , and all of its outrageous ingredients combined to create a schlock-movie masterpiece. Liberally infused with director Paul Bartel's macabre sense of humor, Corman's mandatory formula for success (R-rated violence and nudity, served up at least once every 15 minutes) is zanily applied to a near-future scenario (similar to Rollerball , also released in 1975) in which a fascist empire appeases its oppressed citizens with Death Race 2000, an automotive spectacle in which five costumed racers drive wacky race cars cross-country from New York to New Los Angeles, scoring points with hit-and-run killings awarded on a sliding scale, with highest points for hitting children and the elderly