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Mad Max

  • 1979
  • 14A
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
215K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
839
369
Mad Max (1979)
Accessible official trailer
Play trailer1:54
3 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureSci-Fi

In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.

  • Director
    • George Miller
  • Writers
    • James McCausland
    • George Miller
    • Byron Kennedy
  • Stars
    • Mel Gibson
    • Joanne Samuel
    • Hugh Keays-Byrne
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    215K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    839
    369
    • Director
      • George Miller
    • Writers
      • James McCausland
      • George Miller
      • Byron Kennedy
    • Stars
      • Mel Gibson
      • Joanne Samuel
      • Hugh Keays-Byrne
    • 443User reviews
    • 250Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 8 nominations

    Videos3

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:54
    Watch Official Trailer
    Mad Max: Max Vs. Biker Gang
    Clip 2:10
    Watch Mad Max: Max Vs. Biker Gang
    Mad Max: I Am The Chosen One
    Clip 3:05
    Watch Mad Max: I Am The Chosen One

    Photos209

    Mel Gibson and Steve Bisley in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson and Joanne Samuel in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson and Joanne Samuel in Mad Max (1979)
    Hugh Keays-Byrne in Mad Max (1979)
    Joanne Samuel in Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979)
    Mad Max (1979)
    Mel Gibson and Tim Burns in Mad Max (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mel Gibson
    Mel Gibson
    • Max
    Joanne Samuel
    Joanne Samuel
    • Jessie
    Hugh Keays-Byrne
    Hugh Keays-Byrne
    • Toecutter
    Steve Bisley
    Steve Bisley
    • Jim Goose
    Tim Burns
    Tim Burns
    • Johnny the Boy
    Roger Ward
    Roger Ward
    • Fifi
    Lisa Aldenhoven
    Lisa Aldenhoven
    • Nurse
    David Bracks
    David Bracks
    • Mudguts
    Bertrand Cadart
    Bertrand Cadart
    • Clunk
    David Cameron
    David Cameron
    • Underground Mechanic
    Robina Chaffey
    Robina Chaffey
    • Singer
    Stephen Clark
    • Sarse
    Mathew Constantine
    • Toddler
    Jerry Day
    Jerry Day
    • Ziggy
    Reg Evans
    Reg Evans
    • Station Master
    Howard Eynon
    • Diabando
    Max Fairchild
    Max Fairchild
    • Benno
    John Farndale
    • Grinner
    • Director
      • George Miller
    • Writers
      • James McCausland
      • George Miller
      • Byron Kennedy
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Most of the extras used in the film were paid in beer.
    • Goofs
      When Jessie walks to the car Max is repairing she is wearing sneakers. When she walks around to the passenger side of the car she has on boots with sheepskin trim. When she walks off to the beach she is wearing the deck shoes again.
    • Quotes

      [the Kid is handcuffed to a car that's about to explode]

      Max: The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It'd take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes. Go.

      [the hacksaw is dropped next to The Kid, and Max limps off]

    • Alternate versions
      The original UK cinema and certified video releases (American dub) were cut by 48 seconds by the BBFC to keep an X (18) rating and to prevent the film from being banned, as X was the highest rating. They edited the scene where the bikers tear up the hot-rod with the terrified couple inside. Instead, the scene cut to black as the bikers smashed the first window and resumed on the bird hovering overhead. Though the original uncertified 1982 video release of the American dub from Warner Home Video was released uncut, the cut was re-instated on the 1986 18-rated VHS, but was restored in 1992 when the Australian dialogue version was finally released in the UK and to all later releases with the same rating (although Warner's budget labels SCREEN CLASSICS still put out the American dub with the cut scene well into the 90s). In April 2015, the film was passed with a 15 rating uncut, because of "(the scene's) implied nature and lack of visual detail of the acts themselves". The same reason was given for passing it at 18 uncut back in 1992.
    • Connections
      Edited into Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      Licorice Road
      (uncredited)

      Written and Produced by Nic Gazzana

      Performed by Robina Chaffey

      Sung by Creenagh St. Clair

    User reviews443

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    The Potential of the Australian Film Industry
    Dr. George Miller's low budget Mad Max franchise impacted on Australian culture and altered the perception of Australia and Australians overseas in a way that no other Australian film had done. The films explores themes such as 'man and the environment', 'fear provoking post-apocalyptic future, family', 'masculinity in crisis', 'good versus evil (Max as an iconic hero), Australian ethos and car culture; themes often featured within Australian films yet presented in a stark and dramatic way. The cinematographic impact is powerful; the human and emotional appeal is timeless.

    Australia's barren deserts presented the ideal setting for a post-apocalyptic environment. The film set is more identifiable as Australia as it was filmed around the city of Melbourne. Long deserted roads feature significantly in the film and the cinematographic device of taking long distant shots of Max demonstrates how small he is in the scale of the environment that he is living. It is a relentless, unforgiving environment which demands defeat or survival and marks the characters which play upon its stage.

    Just as the physical setting is stark and desolate, the time setting and its associated events create an atmosphere of fear and foreboding which plays on the minds and emotions of contemporary viewers. In this fear provoking post apocalyptic future the few survivors of the nuclear holocaust are in warfare with one another, the rebel bikers and the police.

    Good versus evil is a dominant discourse in many film genres and one which embraces the Australian ethos. Max possesses some highly valued "Australian" traits; in particular, those of the underdog, the battler, the hero. External forces beyond his control stop him from "winning" completely. Contrary to the Hollywood hero, the Australian hero is a pawn in the game of others, which explains why Max can never quite "win" in absolute terms. There is little public glorification of success in Australia; heroes are remembered for their style rather than for their achievements. (Venkatasawmy, 1996) Mad Max represented a tradition hero, a hero to whom many diverse cultures are able to relate, as a story of a lone hero is a story that goes back through centuries of storytelling, and as a consequence the film achieved colossal success within Australian and around the world. The Australian cultures and lifestyles shown throughout these films give Australians an understanding of their country in the landscape, the language, and the way we treat people, life and life in exceptional circumstances.

    Reference Venkatasawmy, R. (1996), Australian Film in the Reading Room: The Hybridity of Film-making in Australian National Cinema: Formulating a Cinematic Post-Diaspora. Retrieved March 14, 2005, from http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/rama/CHAPT4.htm
    helpful•54
    29
    • MrBenWhite
    • Apr 8, 2005

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    Reboots & Remakes

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    Production art
    Photos

    FAQ10

    • What is Mad Max about?
    • I heard the negatives of this film were lost. What is the story?
    • What make. model and year interceptor is Max driving at the start of the movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 12, 1979 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Bolides hurlants
    • Filming locations
      • Seaford Beach, Seaford, Victoria, Australia(Toecutter gang beach scenes)
    • Production companies
      • Kennedy Miller Productions
      • Mad Max Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $300,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $8,750,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $8,773,197
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono(original release)
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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