MST3K
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Deathsport is a 1978 science fiction B-film produced by Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush and Nicholas Niciphor. The film stars David Carradine and Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings. It would be one of Jennings' last films before her death.

Sypnosis[]

"A thousand years from tomorrow" after the Neutron Wars, the world is divided into a barbaric collection of city states surrounded by wastelands where only mutant cannibals and independent warriors, known as Range Guides, can live. Led by Lord Zirpola, the city state of Helix is planning war on another city state, Tritan, for their fuel supply. Hoping to prove the superiority of their newest weapons, the Death Machines (laser-equipped dirt bikes), they create a new pastime - Deathsport.

The death penalty has been replaced by Deathsport, where criminals battle each other to the death in return for gaining their freedom. Lord Zirpola has managed to capture legendary Range Guide Kaz Oshay (Carradine) and he wants to add a female Range Guide for an upcoming Deathsport event. A female Range Guide, Deneer (Jennings), is captured while leading a group of Tritans across the desert. A child, Tara, is taken by the mutant group during the attack to capture Deneer. In a Helix jail, Kaz Oshay bonds with Deneer and vows to escape with her and find the group's child.

After enduring torture and facing his mother's killer, Ankar Moor, Oshay and Deneer are forced onto the Deathsport motocross field, which is mined with explosives. They easily defeat the other riders and escape from Helix with two other prisoners, Dr. Karl and his son Marcus. During the escape, though, the doctor is killed.

Eventually, they rescue Tara from the mutant cannibals and battle the other Death Machine riders who followed them. Finally safe, Deneer delivers Marcus to Tritan, while Oshay faces Ankar Moor in "honorable" combat, using Whistlers (swords that make a sound like music). After a bloody battle, Oshay decapitates Ankar Moor, thus becoming the greatest Range Guide alive. The film ends with Oshay, Deneer and Tara riding their horses off into the sunset.

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • In November of 2023, Joel Hodgson announced that Deathsport was one of the films planned to be used in Season 14. The crowd-funding campaign was not successful, so it remains to be seen if Deathsport will be used in any future MST3K projects.
  • This is a follow-up to the 1975 film Death Race 2000, also starring David Carradine.

MST3K Connections[]

Critical Response[]

  • Leonard Maltin wrote: "Two stars ... Not as campy or enjoyable as earlier film, though Claudia unclothed is a visual asset."[1]

References[]

  1. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, 2015 Edition
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