Deathsport (1978)

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I distinctly recall this being on Italian TV when I was still a kid and, as far as I can tell, I watched it along with another violent David Carradine sport flick CANNONBALL (1976); however, at this juncture, I couldn't remember any of the details relating to its plot (if so it can be called)! The film is confused (a mix of DEATH RACE 2000 and ROLLERBALL {both 1975}) and dreary post-apocalyptic junk passing off as thrilling entertainment: apparently, the world has been reduced to two warring factions – gladiator-type 'runners' (complete with anachronistic skimpy costumes), among them Carradine, son of a legendary female leader, and vicious motorcyclists determined to eliminate the former, including Richard Lynch (who had already killed Carradine's mother); ruling the planet, then, is an old man slowly succumbing to brain damage! Of course, a tough woman (Claudia Jennings) is bound to figure in all of this – even so, her most notable contributions are a couple of totally gratuitous nude torture sequences! The repetitive action, hampered by the obvious low-budget, isn't exactly exciting and certainly not credible (definitely seeming silly in the age of STAR WARS [1977]); predictably, it all ends with a duel-to-the-death between Carradine and Lynch – no guess as to who emerges victorious either! I guess the film is a harmless way to kill 80 minutes, but there's nothing remotely remarkable about it – which is why it's so forgettable in the first place!

Inexpensive sequel to "Death Race 2000" (1975), that bares little relation (both in content and quality) to the original. Gone is the camp dialogue and black humour - arrived is a painfully ear-splitting synthesiser score, pyrotechnic displays and banal screenplay. The only redemption that can be attributed to "Deathsport" is its cast and some of the action sequences. In a distant, post apocalyptic future, reticent hero David Carradine (no reprisal of his Frankenstein role here) competes in a motorcycle race that is actually a spectator sport. Having mashed a few brains beneath the wheels of his motorcycle, our cyborg hero develops a cult following much to the chagrin of the evil Ankar (Richard Lynch in fine form). Ankar considers himself the bigger enchilada, and sets out to annihilate Carradine and his flock.Formula science fiction fare, with a just a hint of talent, courtesy of a capable cast and some light humour. Alongside the fearless Carradine is former Playboy playmate, Claudia Jennings, whose frequent disrobing more than compensates for her apparent lack of thespian skills. Sadly, this was to be her swansong. The three principals are ably assisted by veterans William Smithers (playing it straight, as always), and David MacLean (playing it up, as always)."Deathsport" features some fluent action sequences and macabre special effects, but unlike its witty predecessor, the laughs are largely unintentional. When all the trailblazing is over and done, and Jennings has put her clothes back on, you can't help but feel short-changed. But then, as the credits disappear into the back of your TV set, the film's origins are revealed. You nod your head and forgive, because you understand. It's a New World Picture. They don't write 'em like that anymore ...

I have to say that this movie was the most surprisingly good movie I have ever seen! (thats why I call it a sleeper hit) I bought this movie mainly because I loved Death Race 2000 so much. Now I want everyone to know it is not a sequel, it just happens to have Death in the title and star the wonderful David Carradine. I also liked how "Deathsport" solved the flaw of "Death race 2000" by saying that the movie takes place in a thousand years after tomorrow. I really thought with the bad rating and the more serious plot that it was going to suck balls big time. But then when I played it I was so shocked, that it actually was awesome. Notice I said "awesome" and not "good" because I even know that, yes, its a terrible movie. But it is also extremely entertaining. I have literally not seen so many explosions in a movie. The movie does have huge flaws and is done horribly, but its definitely a "its so bad, its good" type movie. Now it isn't so bad that its unwatchable (i.e. Plan 9), in fact I find it very watchable. I will say go into this movie prob with a friend who also likes s***ty b-movies because its hard to laugh at this movie by yourself. *Minor Spoilers* If you like movies with naked playmates, motorcycle explosions, some overkill, horses when shot disappear, awesome music by "Jerry Garcia", sci-fi cliques, anti-climatic deaths (including a too short duel), gladiator fights, cavemen, painted backgrounds, nomad groups a thousand years in the future, city-states, and a little girl in a guinea pig cage then this movie is for you!

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* The basic, and I mean basic, premise of this film is that a deranged president (John Hulmes) and his `Statesmen' capture wandering nomads to fight against `death machines' to gain their freedom and to satisfy his sadistic needs. However, the President's mental health is failing and sensing weakness, his right hand man Ankar Moor (Richard Lynch) decides that the time is right to increase his own grip on power. Whilst this may sound like a promising story line it is unfortunately as far as the writers managed to develop the script, so essentially a five minute idea gets padded out to make a 90 minute film. This is achieved by adding a completely pointless `sub-plot' involving mutants kidnapping a young girl from Deneer's (Claudia Jeenings) tribe and lots of footage of bike chases. Who the mutants are and why they kidnap the girl is deemed by the writers to be completely irrelevant to the viewer. The prop budget in this film is minimal to say the least and makes a Dr Who episode seem grossly lavish. The `death machines' are essentially motorbikes with bits of silver metal attached and have an alarming tendency to explode at slightest contact (reminiscent of The Simpsons' vehicles). In fact a large chunk of the budget must have been spent on pyrotechnics because things explode and catch on fire throughout the last half of the film. The dialogue is extremely cumbersome and was probably written during a heavy smoking session. Corradine seems distracted and listless, whilst Lynch half-heartedly hams it up, leaving only former Playboy Playmate Jeenings seemingly intent on making any effort. This being a Corman production she of course has to be nude at some point (which must be considered a positive in this film) and she duly obliges during a bizarre light bulb torture scene. The same device is also used to provide a rather lame conclusion to the President story line. Another oddity in this film is the `musical score' which at times sounds like the keyboard player is suffering from a fit and at times alternates between droning sounds and jazz! The sound effects seemingly `borrow' heavily from the Star Wars library – listen out for what sounds like Vader's breathing, the phazer effects and the Tie-Fighter like `screaming' sound whilst the bikes travel through the tunnels. With the film meandering aimlessly mid-production and in danger of not getting finished Corman stepped in and the sense of desperation can be seen in the final product. This is essentially a poor second cousin to Deathrace 2000, a film that strangely benefited from Stallone's character. I'd only recommend this to Corman die-hards or cult completists. Note: Watch out for the unfortunate extra who gets unintentionally set alight during the cave scenes (you can see him frantically diving to the ground and becoming engulfed in a plume of extinguisher vapour).