Death Race (1973)

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This film is set in WWII and the Germans in North Africa are on retreat now that the Americans have gone on the offensive. When two P-40 pilots are sent to destroy a mine field (just HOW they would do that, I have no idea), they see a small column of German vehicles. One dives to engage them and is miraculously shot down by the tank*! The second plane lands nearby to rescue the downed pilot and in doing this, the tank damages the second plane so badly it cannot fly. So, it's forced to drive about the desert avoiding the German tank...sort of like a game of cat and mouse. What's next?The one thing that startled me about the film was the casting of Lloyd Bridges as the German tank commander. His accent made him sound just like an American actor TRYING (and not succeeding in the least) in doing a German accent. Why they didn't have him play one of the pilots is beyond me. And, why they didn't have Eric Braeden (who was part of the crew) play the tank commander I do not know...especially since Braeden IS German and played a German commander in the TV series "Combat!" as well as "Rat Patrol".So apart from the difficult to believe premise and odd casting of Bridges, is the film any good? Well, it is rather entertaining watching Lloyd Bridges play a bit of a maniac! Not the least bit realistic...but fun in a kitschy way. Otherwise, no...it's not a very good film.*The German tank in the film is actually an American Sherman tank. This is because after the war, there were very few German tanks left....and there were thousands of Shermans. In fact, in most films the German tanks are American tanks and often Shermans or Walker Bulldogs sub for German tanks.

The equipment is worth watching in this movie. The two P-40's are nice to watch, and what other movie shows a P-40 being "bombed up" with a really big 500 pounder. The tank is a chance to see armor work in real sand. It is a late model M-4 but so what, it looks good and is fun to watch in desert terain, which is not all flat as it really was in North Afrika. And wasn't that sargent in Rat Patrol? All the actors give a good show and I liked this movie for its location, equipment and action.

I remember this as an intriguing chase film, with a grounded fighter plane being chased across the North African desert by a lone Panzer. Given how movies sometimes get made, I can't help but wonder if this nifty little film came about for one reason, that the producers had access to a vintage tank and a (non-flying) fighter plane for a week or two....Doug McClure is good as the stalwart American pilot but Bridges is oddly cast as a Rommel wannabe, intruding on the kind of roles Eric Braeden/ Hans Guddergast usually played before breaking into soap operas.

This is for all you "Death Race" fans who want to see this movie one more time. It was re-released on VHS in 1986 under the title: "State of Division". Please Note: that the cover and description don't really match the original movie, but it is indeed "Death Race". The quality of the video / audio is iffy at best but it most certainly watchable. My understanding is that the movie is out of print (OOP) but I have found several copies. I paid a whopping 9 bucks for a new copy. Best of luck...