Themes: Righting the Wronged, Heroic Mission, Future Barbarians
Main Cast: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Roger Ward
Release Year: 1979
Country: AU
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This stunning, post-apocalyptic action thriller from director George Miller stars Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a policeman in the near future who is tired of his job. Since the apocalypse, the lengthy, desolate stretches of highway in the Australian outback have become bloodstained battlegrounds. Max has seen too many innocents and fellow officers murdered by the bomb's savage offspring, bestial marauding bikers for whom killing, rape, and looting is a way of life. He just wants to retire and spend time with his wife and son but lets his boss talk him into taking a peaceful vacation and he starts to reconsider. Then his world is shattered as a gang led by the evil Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) murders his family in retaliation for the death of one of its members. Dead inside, Max straps on his helmet and climbs into a souped-up V8 racing machine to seek his bloody revenge. Despite an obviously low budget and a plot reminiscent of many spaghetti Westerns, Mad Max is tremendously exciting, thanks to some of the most spectacular road stunts ever put on film. Cinematographer David Eggby and stunt coordinator Grant Page did some of their best work under Miller's direction and crafted a gritty, gripping thrill ride which spawned two sequels, numerous imitations, and made Mel Gibson an international star. One sequence, in which a man is chained to a car and must cut off a limb before the machine explodes is one of the most tense scenes of the decade. The American version dubbed all the voices -- including Gibson's -- in a particularly cartoonish manner. Trivia buffs should note that Max's car is a 1973 Ford Falcon GT Coupe with a 300 bhp 351C V8 engine, customized with the front end of a Ford Fairmont and other modifications. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Review
Though not as polished and fascinating as its sequel, Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior), Mad Max features some of the most impressive and intense action sequences ever filmed. The first effort from writer/director George Miller, the film is reminiscent of a low-budget road movie in the style of Roger Corman. It was Mel Gibson's second film, and his Max is a vengeful loner anti-hero out of a Western. Instead of the yet-to-be-tamed Old West, however, the setting is an eerily barren world vaguely of our own time. And the horses have been replaced by roaring, menacing cars and motorcycles. The movie's weird characters and tawdry atmosphere, though, suggest something more culty, perhaps a post-apocalyptic Japanese anime film. Unlike such mainstream sci-fi films of its day as Star Wars or Alien, Mad Max has a homespun quality. At the time of its release in the United States, Mad Max hardly made a splash, and it wasn't until Mad Max 2's release that the film was recognized in America. However, it was very popular in its native Australia and elsewhere around the world. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Tim Burns - Johnny the Boy; Vince Gil - Nightrider; Lulu Pinkus - Nightrider's Girl; Nick Lathouris - Grease Rat; John Ley - Charlie; Sheila Florance - May Swaisey; Max Fairchild - Benno; George Novak - Scuttle; David Bracks - Mudguts; David Cameron - Underground Mechanic; Reg Evans - Station Master; Peter Ford; Jonathan Hardy - Labatoche; Phil Motherwell - Junior Doctor; Geoff Parry - Bubba Zanetti; Tom Broadbridge; Clive Hearne; Paul Young; Neil Thompson - TV Newsreader
Credit
Jon Dowding - Art Director, Bill Miller - Associate Producer, Clare Griffin - Costume Designer, George Miller - Director, Clifford Hayes - Editor, Tony Paterson - Editor, Brian May - Composer (Music Score), David Eggby - Cinematographer, Byron Kennedy - Producer, Chris Murray - Special Effects, Grant Page - Stunts, Grant Page - Stunts Coordinator, George Miller - Screenwriter
