The Road Warrior (1981)

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

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

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

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston

8 wins & 10 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

Wandering the deserted highways of an energy-starved dystopian Australia after eradicating the Night Rider's followers in Mad Max (1979), the former patrolman, Max Rockatansky, finds himself roaming the endless wasteland scavenging for food and precious petrol. Suddenly, in the scorched wilderness, the hungry for fuel Max chances upon a small oil refinery; however, the place is under siege by Lord Humungus' barbarian horde of biker warlords, hell-bent on destruction and mayhem. Now, to get his hands on as much gas as he can carry, "Mad" Max will have to provide the defenceless community with a powerful truck to transport the gasoline to safety; nevertheless, this is easier said than done. Is Max, the battle-scarred Road Warrior, up to the task?

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | gasoline | car truck chase | car chase | refinery | 

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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 | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,527,864, 23 May 1982

Gross USA:

$23,667,907

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,667,907

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 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

Max Fairchild played Benno Swaisey in Mad Max (1979), then played the "Broken Victim" in this film. He is the bigger of the two individuals tied to the front of the vehicle driven by Humongous.

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Goofs

When Wez wheelies his bike away from Mundi Mundi lookout, the Golden Youth is played by a female stand-in wearing black leather cuffs on his/her biceps, which he doesn't wear in any other scene.

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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 ...

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Alternate Versions

The initial US release redid the main title with a lightning bolt design to read "THE ROAD WARRIOR" as opposed to "MAD MAX 2". The text has also been changed to yellow on the opening credits for the US release as opposed to the original white (the font remains the same).

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Connections

Referenced in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series: Boxman (2014)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday
(uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User Reviews

This stirring movie in comic-strip style is packed with unbelievable car stunts, thrills, chills and noisy action

Violent movie about a futuristic road-warrior cop with high-velocity action and kinetic energy .This classic is set a few years from now, a dangerous, desolate post-industrial world of the future where rules the strongest law . It concerns about the ex-police named Max (Mel Gibson), some cutthroats and revenge takes place. The nasties attack , rape, ravage to hapless and unfortunates. But vengeance will be terrible against some bands of depraved crazies thirsty for blood on high facility roads. A group (commanded by Mike Preston) located at an oil fortress is besieged by motorised warlords looking for fuel and they'll have to fight against the cutthroats, a band of depraved crazies (Vernon Welles and several others) thirsty for blood and survive some battles to-the-death with lots of blood and gore, including throating-slit ,beheading, impaling and blow up.

This exciting picture packs kinetic action , thrills, chills, shocks and abundant violence. Spectacular stunt-work plenty of motorcycle races, cars with bounds and leaps and explosions . Top-notch Mel Gibson as revenger angel at one of his first main roles, he embarks a spectacular escape against vicious murderous. Rumbling and screeching musical score fitting to action by Brian May. Special and weird futuristic atmosphere created by cameraman Dean Semler who reflects splendidly the barren outdoors. The motion picture is stunningly directed by George Miller, author of the excellent post-apocalypse ¨Mad Max¨ trilogy along with the writer and producer Byron Kennedy. It's followed by ¨Mad Max beyond Thunderdome¨ with Tina Turner, George Ogilvie, Frank Thring and again Bruce Spence as sympathetic helicopter pilot. In addition, numerous imitations as the recent ¨Doomsday¨(2008, Neal Marshall), rip offs, and exploitations ,especially Italians products. Rating : Good, better than average, this is one of the most successful Aussie movie of all time. This remarkable action film will appeal to Science Fiction buffs. Rating : 8'5, Above average. Well worth watching.