Because Summer Needed One More Crappy Remake
By Craig Kennedy - May 10th, 2008; 11:50 pm
I’ll stick with the original, thanks.
Paul W.S Anderson’s Death Race, the remake of Paul Bartel’s satiric 1975 drive-in favorite Death Race 2000 has been moved up from September 26 to August 22. I guess this means they’re not counting on any Oscar nominations.
Bartel’s Roger Corman produced original starred David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov and others in a futuristic cross-country race where the goal was not to finish first, but to run over as many pedestrians as possible along the way.
Anderson’s remake appears to eliminate the pedestrian killing angle and instead mixes in elements of The Running Man with convicts racing for their lives. It stars Jason Statham, Joan Allen and Ian McShane.
Source: Coming Soon
Filed under: News
The original is such a plucky, happily bombastic piece of ’70s derring-do, that to even think about remaking it seems like unmitigated hubris, especially for a guy incapable of making anything remotely watchable.
How’d he get that cast? Joan Allen?
$$$.
The original isn’t just a 70s movie, it’s a subversive, satirical, political 70s movie. I don’t think PWSA has ever had a political thought more interesting than ‘tax incentives determine where I shoot’.
@Jeff
Yeah, he’s kind of like a higher class Uwe Boll in that respect. If Boll is K-Mart, than Anderson is at least a Wal-Mart (although maybe not a supercenter).
Where’s the fun if the pedestrians are spared?
“Anderson’s remake appears to eliminate the pedestrian killing angle”
Then it’s not DEATH RACE 2000! Isn’t it odd how when Hollywood remakes exploitation pictures they take out the exploitation?
I saw Death Race 2000 again a couple years back and I’m sorry, but it was barely watchable. I really don’t care if Paul W S Anderson is remaking it, especially if it means he’ll be staying away from other projects that might, might yield something interesting. It’s a stretch considering Anderson is now the go-to guy for stinky big budget video game-to-movie adaptions (sorry Uwe, it’s true) but it could happen.
Bioshock, Halo, and Half-life could all yield interesting popcorn movies in the right hands.
I love Death Race 2000, but then my tiny little brain was probably damaged at the age of 6 when my father would drag the kids to the drive-in for such age-inappropriate fare.
Nevertheless, regardless of what you think of the movie, you have to be against a remake that takes away the angle that gave the original a reason to exist in the first place.
It’s a remake in name only. It’s Running Man with cars, but Driving Man sounded stupid so they decided to rip off Death Race instead for the built in recognition factor.
I’ll grant you the remake is pointless in that it ignores the point of the original…I’m just so worn down by Hollywood’s incessant need to remake anything and everything remotely memorable that I really only gripe when they remake a true classic film.
The Weinsteins remaking Seven Samurai? Gets my blood boiling. This? Not so much.
“We’re remaking IT’S ALIVE minus the killer baby.”
“We’re remaking COUNT YORGA without the vampire.”
“We’re remaking PIRHANA but without fish.”
Soon we’ll hear The Birds remake is about paper airplanes.
Holy crap, Christian! I *love* “It’s Alive.” Creeped me out for life. Although, for some weird reason, I ended up feeling bad for “it.”
Craig, I’m also part of the generation spawned by inappropriate trips to the movies (thanks Papa!). In fact, I do believe I saw “Scarface” when I was 6 or so. I remember being scarred by “Lifeforce.”
I was scarred too by LIFEFORCE — I thought all space vampires were naked beautiful women. No such luck.
That’s how they getcha.
LMAO. I guess some scars are better than others :-)
ETA: Your comment reminds me of something my brother said to me when we saw “A Clockwork Orange:” “I guess there is no underwear in the future.”
It’s Alive was another one of those movies where the commercial scared the bejesus out of me.
hahahah…”no underwear in the future”
There was none in most of humanity’s past too. So why the hell do we wear it?
We live in barbaric times, Sartre my friend.
The ad campaign is what undoubtedly led to the film being Larry Cohen’s biggest hit. Here’s the ad that scared the shit out of many us back in the day:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=F8xe8p6zECQ
And here’s ad for the 2008 remake — minus the monster baby:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gmcwgqtI3_s
Wow, I didn’t know the original was PG! What a lightweight I was (coughcough am)
What’s with the anti-underwear sentiment here, guys? Bras are a wonderful invention, says the chick.
ETA: I’ll concede when it comes to knickers, though.
I’m with Dorothy.
I don’t know, whenever I wear a bra, I find it scratchy and constrictive.
What an amazing visual!