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Safari 3000
Safari 3000
	Movie Poster
Directed by	Harry Hurwitz
Written by	Arthur Gardner; Michael Harreschou; Jules V. Levy
Produced by	Arthur Gardner
Starring	David Carradine; Stockard Channing; Christopher Lee
Cinematography	Adam Greenberg
Edited by	Samuel E. Beetley
Music by	Ernest Gold
Production; company	Levy-Gardner-Laven
Distributed by	MGM/UA Entertainment
Release date	1982;
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Safari 3000 is a 1982 American action-adventure comedy film directed by Harry Hurwitz and starring David Carradine, Stockard Channing, and Christopher Lee. The film was shot on location in Africa.^[1]

Plot

Daredevil stunt driver Eddie Miles has been hired to drive Count Borgia's second car in the "African International Rally;" he immediately gets himself fired by humiliatingly defeating his boss in a test race. Mischief-maker Playboy's writer J.J. Dalton asks her editor to send her to cover the race; she will be the navigator for Freddie Selkirk, her pilot friend. The editor, enticed by the idea of having her many miles away, consents.
On arrival, she finds out Freddie will be unable to run (or do anything else for that matter), so she buys a decrepit car and looks for a pilot, just as Eddie is looking for a car to drive. After he demonstrates his nerve-racking driving capabilities and the poor condition of the car, he suggests J.J. interview Count Borgia while he steals an engine from him. That's the beginning of their disagreements.
As the three-day rally progresses, they manage to smooth things over, strike a friendship, and start a romance. A young baboon joins them, and together they face the dangers of the wilderness, cunning natives, and the dastardly opera-singing Count Borgia, who together with his minion Feodor, will stop at nothing to get his revenge and win the rally.

Principal cast

Actor	Role
David Carradine	Eddie Miles
Stockard Channing	J.J. Dalton
Christopher Lee	Count Lorenzo Borgia
Hamilton Camp	Feodor
Ian Yule	Freddy Selkirk

Reception

Safari 3000 was panned by contemporary reviews. Film critic JoAnn Rhett said about it, "Every once in a while comes a movie so unredeemably [sic] rotten that a bullet through the brain – yours or the filmaker's – seems the simplest, cleanest course. [...] Racism, sexism, unappealing performances by all, dumb music – name them, they're here."^[2] Arts and entertainment critic Lawrence Toppman said, "[...] Aside from being sexist, racist, and xenophobic toward non-Americans, this "comedy" hasn't two funny minutes out of its 90. [...]"^[3] TV Guide called it a "weakly scripted adventure," adding, "as its title suggests, is mostly a rip-off of DEATH RACE 2000 (1975). Strictly for the nondiscriminating."^[4]

Reviews of the film's DVD release were more forgiving: "What’s amazing about this auto-salvaged mess is that it isn’t just some low-budget schlock studio production. No. This isn’t a Roger Corman Eat My Dust-cum-Grand Theft Auto-cum-Smokey Bites the Dust stock footage recycler: MGM/United Artists — obviously hoping for some Smokey stank on the ol’ celluloid — ended up with a knock off Disney’s The Love Bug. But not all is lost: Christopher Lee is wonderfully deadpan and its adept at comedy. Who knew?! And Stockard Channing is quite the champ dealing with all of the baboons. And ol’ David is Dave: he never disappoints."^[5] Film historian Lee Pfeiffer said, "The movie is one of those guilty pleasures that doesn't have the slightest pretense of being anything beyond lightweight entertainment. It's a fun romp and will especially appeal to those who find The Cannonball Run too complicated and Bergmanesque to warm to."^[6]

Home media

Safari 3000 was released on DVD on November 22, 2011, as part of the MGM Limited Edition Collection.^[7]

References

^ The New York Times
^ Rhett, JoAnn (June 4, 1982). "Flicks. 'Hanky Panky' at South Park". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. p. 2D – via Newspapers.com. Film notes are written by JoAnn Rhetts [...]
^ Toppman, Lawrence (May 27, 1982). "The Film Guide. Movie reviews by Lawrence Toppman". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, NC. p. 2D – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Safari 3000 Reviews". TV Guide. 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
^ R.D. Francis (December 8, 2020). "Safari 3000 (1982): Fast and Furious Week". B&S About Movies. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
^ Lee Pfeiffer (May 28, 2012). "DVD REVIEW: "SAFARI 3000" (1982) STARRING DAVID CARRADINE, CHRISTOPHER LEE AND STOCKARD CHANNING". Cinema Retro. Retrieved January 27, 2023. There is barely any effort to provide a story line. Most of the action consists of endless car chases with nary an explanation as to how the participants are refueling their vehicles over the 3,000 run in the most desolate of locations. The only supporting characters are bizarrely inserted into the mix without the slightest attempt to develop their personalities. These blink-and-you-miss them participants in the race are merely catalysts for some spectacular car crashes. Despite all of this, I have to admit that I rather enjoyed the unpretentious goofiness of Safari 3000. Channing is typically spunky and likable while Carradine and Lee get rare opportunities to show off their comedic talents. Lee is particularly amusing, spouting pretentious dialogue and quotes from the classics even while ludicrously clad in his bizarre costume. What makes the film durable is the spectacular scenery and impressive cinematography by Adam Greenberg (in one memorable scene a giraffe is captured in a long distance race against a car). Perhaps most improbably, the score is by the legendary composer Ernest Gold, who provided classic themes for Exodus and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Suffice it to say, his work on Safari 3000 will not be placed atop his list of grand achievements.
^ "Safari 3000 DVD". Blu-ray.com. 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.