Mad Max (1979)

A vengeful Australian policeman sets out to avenge his partner, his wife and his son whom were murdered by a motorcycle gang in retaliation for the death of their leader.

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

James McCausland (screenplay), George Miller (screenplay),

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Max
Joanne Samuel	...	Jessie
Hugh Keays-Byrne	...	Toecutter
Steve Bisley	...	Jim Goose
Tim Burns	...	Johnny the Boy
Roger Ward	...	Fifi
Lisa Aldenhoven	...	Nurse
David Bracks	...	Mudguts
Bertrand Cadart	...	Clunk
David Cameron	...	Underground Mechanic
Robina Chaffey	...	Singer
Stephen Clark	...	Sarse
Mathew Constantine	...	Toddler
Jerry Day	...	Ziggy
Reg Evans	...	Station Master

Storyline

A vision of an apocalyptic future set in the wastelands of Australia. Total social decay is just around the corner in this spectacular cheap budget gang orientated road movie, where the cops do their best to lay down the law and the outlaw gangs try their hardest to defy the system. Leather clad Max Rockatansky husband, father and cop turns judge, juror and executioner after his best friend, wife and baby are killed. Here we see the final days of normality of a man who had everything to live for, and his slip into the abyss of madness. Mad Max is the antihero on the road to vengeance and oblivion.

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Plot Keywords:

motorcycle | biker | mad max | motorcycle gang | australia | 

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Taglines:

The Maximum Force of the Future.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios (us) Official Facebook

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1979 (Australia)

Also Known As:

As Motos da Morte

Filming Locations:

Anakie Rd, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Gross:

AUD 5,625,000 (Australia)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Productions, Crossroads, Mad Max Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 93 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because he was relatively unknown in the US, trailers and previews did not feature Mel Gibson, instead focusing on the car crashes and action scenes.

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Goofs

When Max hears Jessie screaming when she's being chased by bikers in the woods, he grabs his rifle and runs towards here with no shoes on. In the next sequence, after Max takes a few steps towards the woods, he's wearing shoes.

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Quotes

Goose: What a turkey! Hey, fella! You're a turkey!

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Connections

Referenced in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

User Reviews

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

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.