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

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

Terry Hayes (screenplay) &
George Miller (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 May 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Ruthless... Savage... Spectacular

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Gasoline | Warrior | Refinery | Australian | Australia

Awards:

8 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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
Kristoffer Greaves	...	Mechanic's Assistant
Max Fairchild	...	Broken Victim
Tyler Coppin	...	Defiant Victim
Jerry O'Sullivan	...	Golden Youth (as Jimmy Brown)
Tony Deary	...	Grinning Mohawker
Kathleen McKay	...	Victim
Guy Norris	...	Bearclaw Mohawk
Anne Jones	...	Tent Lover
James McCardell	...	Tent Lover
Harold Baigent	...	Voice of Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joanne Samuel	...	Jessie (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
George Miller

Writing credits
Terry Hayes		screenplay &
George Miller		screenplay &
Brian Hannant		written by

Produced by
Byron Kennedy	....	producer

Original Music by
Brian May

Cinematography by
Dean Semler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael Balson
David Stiven
Tim Wellburn

Art Direction by
Graham 'Grace' Walker		(as Graham 'Grace' Walker)

Costume Design by
Norma Moriceau

Makeup Department
Bob McCarron	....	special makeup effects
Karla O'Keefe	....	make-up artiste
Lesley Vanderwalt	....	makeup supervisor
Kathy Coultrup	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Patrick Clayton	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Patrick Clayton	....	first assistant director
Brian Hannant	....	first assistant director
Brian Hannant	....	second unit director
Phillip Hurst	....	third assistant director (as Phil Hurst)
Toivo Lember	....	second assistant director
Andrew Plain	....	additional assistant director
Mark Thomas	....	assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Steve Amezdroz	....	assistant art director
Melinda Brown	....	special props designer
Melinda Brown	....	special props maker
John Daniell	....	stand-by props
Peter De Bono	....	construction team
Philip Henderson-Wilson	....	construction team
Michael Lehmann	....	construction team
Frederick Santos	....	construction team
Dennis Smith	....	construction manager
Kerrin Stevens	....	construction stand-by
George Tsoutas	....	construction team
Pauline Walker	....	art department assistant
Pauline Walker	....	props buyer
Derek Wyness	....	construction team
George Zukiwskyj	....	construction team

Sound Department
Anne Breslin	....	assistant sound editor (as Anne Breslan)
Lloyd Carrick	....	sound recordist
Chris Goldsmith	....	boom operator
Byron Kennedy	....	sound mixer
Bruce Lamshed	....	sound mixer
Bruce Lamshed	....	supervising sound editor
Mike O'Donnell	....	assistant sound editor
Penn Robinson	....	sound editor
Roger Savage	....	sound mixer
Andrew Steuart	....	sound editor (as Andrew Stewart)
Marc van Buuren	....	sound editor (as Mark Van Buuren)
David Watts	....	sound consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
Mark Clayton	....	special effects assistant
Jeff Clifford	....	special effects chief (as Jeffrey Clifford)
Steve Courtley	....	special effects team
Mont Fieguth	....	special effects team (as Monte Fieguth)
David Hardy	....	special effects team
Brian Hunter	....	special effects construction
Greg Mulhearn	....	special effects construction

Visual Effects by
Kim Priest	....	optical effects
Richard Wilmot	....	optical effects operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Max Aspin	....	stunt coordinator
Glenn Boswell	....	stunt team (as Glen Boswell)
Vern Dietrich	....	acrobatic stunts
Gerry Gauslaa	....	stunt team
Bob Hicks	....	stunt team
Guy Norris	....	stunt team
Kim Noyce	....	stunt team
Dennis Williams	....	stunt driver
Melissa Grillett	....	acrobatic double: Feral Boy (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Brock	....	camera assistant: second unit
Dean Bryan	....	assistant electrician
Gary Carden	....	assistant grip (as Garry Carden)
Graham Carter	....	grip: second unit
Derry Field	....	focus puller: main unit
Derry Field	....	second camera assistant: main unit
Bill Grimmond	....	second cameraman/operator: main unit
Carolyn Johns	....	still photographer
Andrew Lesnie	....	documentary cameraman
Peter Lipscombe	....	additional camera assistant: main unit
Graeme Mardell	....	key grip
Andrew McLean	....	clapper/loader
Richard Merryman	....	focus puller
John Morton	....	gaffer
Paul Moyes	....	best boy
Geoffrey Simpson	....	second unit cameraman (as Geoff Simpson)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Terri Lamera	....	wardrobe machinist (as Terry Lamera)
Shelley Lodge	....	pre-production wardrobe assistant
Pam Maling	....	wardrobe machinist
Roger Monk	....	wardrobe master
Margaret Thomas	....	wardrobe machinist

Editorial Department
Ruth Beach	....	assistant editor
Arthur Cambridge	....	colour grading
Margaret Cardin	....	negative cutter
Michael Chirgwin	....	additional editor
Philip Dickson	....	assistant editor
Les Fiddess	....	assistant editor (as Les Fiddes)
George Miller	....	additional editor
Alison Pickup	....	editor's assistant
Christopher Plowright	....	additional editor
Annabelle Sheehan	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Brian May	....	conductor
Roger Savage	....	music mixer
Roger Savage	....	music recordist
Brian May	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Roger Savage	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
John Brand	....	unit driver
Ralph Clark	....	transport manager
Sue Clark	....	unit driver
Jack Skyver	....	unit driver
Dennis Williams	....	truck precision driver

Other crew
Bill Anderson	....	mechanics team
Rosanne Andrews-Baxter	....	production coordinator
Dale Aspin	....	animal handler
Dale Aspin	....	animal trainer
Catherine Barber	....	production accountant
Linda Bates	....	producer's assistant
Dixie Betts	....	office liaison: Sydney
George Bischoff	....	mechanics team
Barry Bransen	....	motorcycle buyer
Barry Bransen	....	motorcycle mechanic
Kevin Cross	....	unit runner
Jenny Day	....	pre-production coordinator
Harvey Else	....	helicopter pilot
Ray Fowler	....	caterer
Gerry Goodwin	....	autogyro pilot
Bill Gooley	....	laboratory liaison
Hugh Gooley	....	security guard
Sandy Gore	....	dialogue coach
Arthur Henley	....	truck mechanic
John Hurrel	....	helicopter pilot
David Jeffrey	....	security guard
Stuart Johnson	....	mechanics team
Byron Kennedy	....	presenter (as Kennedy Miller)
Mardy Kennedy	....	director's pre-production assistant
Steve Knapman	....	location manager
Grant Larkin	....	traffic supervisor
Jennifer Lee-Lewes	....	accounts assistant
George Miller	....	presenter (as Kennedy Miller)
Allan Mills	....	mechanics team
Ian Mitchell	....	unit runner
Peter Moyes	....	assistant caterer
John Murch	....	mechanics team
Guy Norris	....	motorcycle mechanic
Gordon Parr	....	mechanics team
Catherine Phillips	....	producer's secretary
Linda Ray	....	continuity
Marshall Read	....	mechanics team
Clive Smith	....	mechanics team
David Thomas	....	chief car mechanic (as Dave Thomas)
Reg West	....	security guard
Athnea Willcocks	....	unit nurse
Angelika Wyness	....	unit nurse
Derek Wyness	....	security guard

Production Companies

• Kennedy Miller Entertainment (made by) (as A KENNEDY MILLER ENTERTAINMENT Production also)
• Kennedy Miller Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1981) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Victor Michailides (1982) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1982) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1982) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures An AOL Time Warner Company) (as Warner Bros. Pictures A TimeWarner Company also)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1982) (France) (theatrical)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1985) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1999) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (2001) (Greece) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1982) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1997) (1998) (2006) (2008) (2010) (Finland) (TV)
• Nelonen (2000) (2001) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Scanvideo (1984) (Finland) (VHS)
• Sub (2009) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1991) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (198?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• AAV Australia  music mixed & recorded at (as A.A.V. Australia)
• AAV Australia  post-production sound (as A.A.V. Australia)
• Ansett Airlines (I)  the producers wish to thank
• Australian Army and Navy  the producers wish to thank
• Berger Paints  the producers wish to thank
• Budget Rent-a-Car  the producers wish to thank (as Budget Rent-A-Car)
• CIG Medishield  the producers wish to thank (as C.I.G.)
• Cinesound Movietone  special thanks for the use of their library footage included in the opening montage
• City and People of Broken Hill, The  special thanks (as The City and People of Broken Hill)
• Coca Cola  the producers wish to thank (as Coca-Cola)
• Dunlop Olympic Tyres  the producers wish to thank
• Electrolux  the producers wish to thank
• Film Australia  sound mixed at
• Hella  the producers wish to thank
• Hoover  the producers wish to thank
• Mack Trucks  special thanks
• Mathews Haritos  the producers wish to thank
• Mitch Consultancy  casting
• Mr. Juicy Fruit Juices  the producers wish to thank
• Nashua  the producers wish to thank
• Nikon  the producers wish to thank
• O'Brien Glass Industries  the producers wish to thank
• Optical & Graphics  titling (as Optical & Graphic)
• Philips / TMC Radio Division  the producers wish to thank
• Pics  the producers wish to thank
• Spectrum Films International  post-production facilities (uncredited)
• Spectrum Films  post-production sound
• Wormald International  the producers wish to thank

Also Known As:

"Mad Max 2" - Australia (original title)
"The Road Warrior" - USA

Runtime:

95 min | UK:96 min | USA:94 min | Argentina:96 min | Germany:87 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (1989) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) (2006) | USA:R | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Canada:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1982) (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | UK:X (original rating) | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM18 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 (cable rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | UK:18 (tv rating) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2013) | Finland:K-18 (1982) (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Kennedy Miller Entertainment

Trivia:

In one scene, Max eats a can of "Dinki-Di" dog food. "Dinki-Di" is Australian slang for "genuine, real."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Max carries the 4 metal cans full of gasoline to retrieve the truck, the cans appear empty by the way they are swaying back and forth from the pole he's using to carry them. In addition, when the gyro captain drops them to the ground once they reach the autogyro the cans make a hollow-sounding noise, also indicating that they are empty.

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Brows Held High: Zardoz (#1.2)" (2011)

Exhilarating action thriller.

*** 1/2 out of ****

After so many years The Road Warrior still remains one of the most exhilarating action films to ever grace the screen. The car chases are as excitingly pulse-pounding as ever and no film has yet to surpass the final chase as the best in movie history. Yes, in terms of pure action, not many films have been able to equal The Road Warrior's thrills.

The film takes place presumably years after the conclusion of Mad Max. The world has been devastated by a third world war and has suffered a setback by he rarity of gasoline. The loner, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is still wandering around the Australian wasteland, thousands of miles from civilization, in search of gasoline. He comes across a gyro-pilot (Bruce Spence), who tells him of a compound that's producing fuel.

Max brings the pilot along with him and studies the compound from atop a cliff. It seems a large gang also wants the gasoline and has been besieging the refinery for a long time now. They are a pack of madmen, led by the Humungus, a hugely muscular man who wears a hockey mask to cover his face. An attempt is made by the people inside the compound to find a rig large enough to haul the fuel but the effort is brought down when Humungus' men take down all the cars.

Max, finding a perfect moment to strike a bargain, makes a deal with one of the survivors and makes it to the compound. Eventually, he makes another deal there, as he tells the people inside that in return for as much gasoline as he can carry, he'll bring the rig to them. What follows is classic edge-of-the-seat action entertainment.

Having inspired dozens of rip-offs, The Road Warrior still remains the best of the bunch due to the great lead performance from Mel Gibson and the unrivalled car chases, which are very much worth mentioning. The movie begins with a rousing commentary over the events that led to the destruction of government. What follows next is a short and exciting car chase. True, the following half-hour does move by a bit slowly, but it all builds up to a lightning paced final 45 minutes.

The final chase, in particular, is an exercise in action craftsmanship. Director George Miller has staged one of the most brilliant and downright exciting action scenes ever. So many spectacular stunts and on-road carnage occur during this sequence, to describe it simply wouldn't do it justice.

Miller's cinematography is decidedly Un-Hollywood. He gives us many breathtaking camera angles, some of which are sometimes a bit shaky, which serves to make the action even more involving. Looking back at the film now, it might not appeal to a wide range of viewers. The odd characters (mainly the villains), ultra-violence, dark tone, and the sparse dialogue may seem a little too offbeat for some people.

Mel Gibson remains the only world-renowned actor in the whole film. He does a terrific job as the character Max, one of his best and most interesting characters. The development of Max is another intriguing component of The Road Warrior, and serves the film by giving it a human edge by featuring Max's slow transformation from loner to savior. Not only that, Gibson also creates a great action hero. There's not a moment in the film when we aren't rooting for Max to smash Humungus and his gang. Bruce Spence as the gyro-pilot is decent in his role and offers the film's few humorous moments.

Virginia Hey is also pretty good as the Warrior Woman, and though the script doesn't exactly give her a lot to do, she plays the part well. Mike Preston also shows a lot of honor as the compound's leader.

On the other side of the equation are the actors who portray the villains. Surprisingly enough, though the characters are outlandish, no one ever goes over-the-top. Vernon Wells and Kjell Nilson are absolutely menacing and frightening as the lead villains, Wez and Humungus. They personify evil itself, creating characters who we truly grow to despise.

To be honest, I am a little surprised that the critics enjoyed this every bit as much as I did. The film doesn't delve very deeply into philosophical issues and doesn't exactly have a lot of grand things to say. I suppose with the acclaim this film received goes to show that critics do truly watch movies primarily for entertainment.

As I mentioned before, the film was the benchmark of a genre that grew in popularity. The premise of a loner helping a group of people in need has been used a bit too much now. Most notably is the big-budget flop, Waterworld (which is a good movie I recommend), though none have yet to match the outright intensity of The Road Warrior.