Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
"Mad Max 2" (original title)

In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits.

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

Terry Hayes (screenplay), George Miller (screenplay),

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston

8 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Max
Bruce Spence	...	The Gyro Captain
Michael Preston	...	Pappagallo (as Mike Preston)
Max Phipps	...	The Toadie
Vernon Wells	...	Wez
Kjell Nilsson	...	The Humungus
Emil Minty	...	The Feral Kid
Virginia Hey	...	Warrior Woman
William Zappa	...	Zetta
Arkie Whiteley	...	The Captain's Girl
Steve J. Spears	...	Mechanic
Syd Heylen	...	Curmudgeon
Moira Claux	...	Big Rebecca
David Downer	...	Nathan
David Slingsby	...	Quiet Man

Storyline

An former Australian policeman now living in the post-apocalyptic Australian outback as a warrior agrees to help a community of survivors living in a gasoline refinery to defend them and their gasoline supplies from evil barbarian warriors.

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Plot Keywords:

gasoline | warrior | refinery | australian | australia | 

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Taglines:

In the future, cities will become deserts, roads will become battlefields and the hope of mankind will appear as a stranger.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Road Warrior

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,527,864 (USA) (21 May 1982)

Gross:

$2,527,864 (USA) (21 May 1982)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Entertainment, Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 87 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) (as Dolby Stereo) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the gyrocopter flies off carrying 2 people, one of them is a dummy as 2 real people would have been too heavy for the machine to carry.

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Goofs

When the Gyro Captain is reaching for the can of dog food that the dog is eating out of, it shows him reaching with his right hand, yet when we see the shot with the dog and the can, a left hand is seen reaching out for it. He is also holding a wooden spoon with that right hand which then is missing in the shot with the can.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted land. But most of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called "Max". To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time. When the world was powered by the black fuel. And the desert sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed...

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Connections

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

User Reviews

MAD MAX - back and better than ever

After the enormous success of "Mad Max" in 1979, it was predictable that a sequel would follow. In fact, two sequels followed, and the first of these is "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior".

Released in the U.S. simply as "The Road Warrior", "Mad Max 2" begins with a narration re-introducing us to wandering ex-cop Max (Gibson) ... and then we're off. In post-apocalyptic Australia, Max wanders the nuclear waste lands in search of Earth's most precious resource: gasoline. When he discovers a band of people guarding a large deposit of fuel, he lends his services as a driver to help them escape from a vicious group of bandits intent on taking the gas for themselves.

"Mad Max 2" is one of the best sequels ever. It's everything the original was and more. Mel Gibson is great, and the cast performs very well. Brian May's skills as a composer have improved, and he gives a very fast-paced score. George Miller's directing skills have also improved, and he deals us out some intense car sequences that have yet to be rivaled.

This film is special because, although it was very popular when released and is even more popular now, it is unique in that it is not afraid to be just that. If that confused you, let me put it this way: George Miller has created a film that, while trying to improve the flaws from past films, is not afraid to be original and un-Hollywood. And I must say, Mr. Miller pulls it off excellently.

I love "The Road Warrior" as well as the rest of the "Mad Max" series. I would say that "Mad Max 2" is quite possibly the greatest film to come out of Australia. It is one of Mel Gibson's best and one of the best sci-fi films ever. "Mad Max 2" is essential.