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Mad Max
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Mad Max (1979) -- In a dystopic future Australia, a vicious biker gang murder a cop's family and make his fight with them personal.

Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   30,801 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
George Miller
Writers:
George Miller (story) and
Byron Kennedy (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Mad Max on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 April 1979 (Australia) more
Tagline:
The Maximum Force of the Future. more
Plot:
In a dystopic future Australia, a vicious biker gang murder a cop's family and make his fight with them personal. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
4 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(88 articles)
Top Ten Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic Films
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 6 July 2009, 2:25 AM, PDT)

Gibson Confirms He Is To Be A Dad
 (From WENN. 26 May 2009, 1:05 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A quarter of a century on now (from the original filming) and still an icon of Aussie movie making! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
93 min
Country:
Australia
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
UK:X (theatrical rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:16 | UK:18 (cut) (1986) | Ireland:18 | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM18 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) (1999) (uncut) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1982) (cut) | Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (special edition) | Canada:R | France:-16 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | New Zealand:(Banned) (original rating) | New Zealand:R18 (re-rating) | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Max's yellow Interceptor was a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan (previously, a Melbourne police car) with a 351ci Cleveland V8 engine and many other modifications. The Big Bopper, driven by Roop and Charlie, was also a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan, but was powered by a 302ci Cleveland V8. The March Hare, driven by Sarse and Scuttle, was an in-line-six-powered 1972 Ford Falcon XA sedan (this car was formerly a Melbourne taxi cab). The most memorable car, Max's black Pursuit Special - frequently designated a (V8) Interceptor based on a mechanic's quote in Mad Max 2 - was a limited GT351 version of a 1973 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop (sold in Australia from December 1973 to August 1976) which was primarily modified by Murray Smith, Peter Arcadipane and Ray Beckerley. After filming was over, this Interceptor was bought and restored by Bob Forsenko, and is currently on display in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Cumbria, England. The Nightrider's vehicle, another Pursuit Special, was a 1972 Holden HQ LS Monaro coupe. The car driven by the civilian couple that is destroyed by the bikers is a 1959 Chevrolet Impala sedan. Of the motorcycles that appear in the film, 14 were donated by Kawasaki and were driven by a local Victorian motorcycle gang, the Vigilantes, who appeared as members of Toecutter's gang. By the end of filming, fourteen vehicles had been destroyed in the chase and crash scenes, including the director's personal Mazda Bongo (the small, blue van that spins uncontrollably after being struck by the Big Bopper in the film's opening chase). more
Goofs:
Continuity: The explosion of the Nightrider's car erupts a few frames before contact. more
Quotes:
Johnny the Boy: Whacked right out of his skull man! He ain't never comin' back! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Top Secret! (1984) more

FAQ

An urban myth is the stuntman on the bridge was killed when hit by his own bike. Does anyone have proof this is true ?
more
31 out of 52 people found the following comment useful:-
A quarter of a century on now (from the original filming) and still an icon of Aussie movie making!, 10 January 2003
Author: Noel Bailey (uds3@hotmail.com) from Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia

It was the very rawness and budgetary constraints of this little flick that made it what it was. A new kind of action hero in a new kind of world! Gibson's laughably underpaid (though unavoidably so) contribution cannot be underestimated. He imbued Max with more than the script actually merited. An attitude perhaps that struck a chord with many office-desk (wannabe) vigilantes. After all, Max takes control of his own life - is not cowed by authority. Max is everyman, the one inside us that few get the chance to let loose. He is part Jesus, part Che, part James Dean, all Australian yobbo! But this guy gets the job done - drop Max into Iraq next month and see how far Saddam Hussein gets trying to stock up on sarin!

Raw energy is what MAD MAX was all about! Distilled, tempered and inflamed by the time THE ROAD WARRIOR came around but at this juncture. a man on a mission and with the best tricked-up car since....well, THE CAR ! For those of you incidentally, totally mortified that his glorious black-hearted Interceptor was rendered dead-meat in MAD MAX 2, be comforted by the fact that it DOES in fact reside still in a museum in London (Why there and not Sydney I know not...perhaps for the same reason Australia still is not host to the cricket-ashes urn!) What chance of either's return when Greece can't even get the Elgin Marbles back?

Much has been made (and remembered) of the high-power car chases in this film, held by many in absolute reverence. In fact after the main cops vs The Nightrider work-out in the first few minutes of the flick, its pretty much all downhill in the action stakes - nothing subsequently in MAD MAX (1) comes near this brief sequence. This situation (with a way bigger budget) was inarguably reversed by the time THE ROAD WARRIOR came along. The stunts in THAT film have never been surpassed and remember this was without CGI fx.

MAD MAX has that indefinable 'something" the sequels didn't...perhaps just a raw innovation couldn't be duplicated - rather like ur first kiss. It might not have been the best, but it sure IS fondly remembered.

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Why It Is X-Rated ? jasim88
Fix The Music david_moffatt
MRS MAX SAXOPHONE? louhaby
Too Bad Imdb Does allow ratings of ZERO ptskelly
Hacksaws Elijah_Thibideau
Has anyone noticed the all of the gay references in this movie? heather_blus
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