It's the annual Transcontinental Death Race, a combination Indianapolis 500 and scavenger hunt for psychos. Out of the starting gate roars defending champion Frankenstein (David Carradine), a leather-clad monster of a man, and his major contender, Machine Gun Joe (Sylvester Stallone), a thuggish fifties throwback. Getting to the finish line in New Los Angeles is just half the fun; along the way drivers can pick up bonus points by downing pedestrians: 75 points for toddlers, a whopping 100 for senior cits. Paul Bartel's wry hit (and run) actioner, which also stars Mary Woronov as Calamity Jane, made bloody good fun of bloodsport, beating its own best rival, Rollerball, to the box office. With a title that already seemed destined for the arcade, this Corman quickie inspired Death Race, a controversial videogame introduced in 1976 that featured reckless driving and a body count as the bounty. But Death Race 2000, never ho-hum about the mayhem, is a sly message film that's anything but pedestrian.