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:

Mad Max meets the challenge!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the night torture sequence, Humungus is seen giving a passionate yet incomprehensible speech. He is actually reciting a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe entitled "Der Erlkönig"[5]. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking or "Erlkönig", king of the elves.

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Goofs

When the pink Desoto skids to a halt outside the refinery gate and gets torched, it's riding on oversized truck tires mounted on shiny chrome wheels. Every time it's visible on-screen after it explodes, it's wearing normal car tires with plain stamped-steel wheels.

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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 opening chase sequence jumps straight into the action with the camera pulling out of the V8's supercharger. This scene was originally shot with Max driving past a farm that Wez and others were ransacking, the bodies of the owners hanging dead from a tree. Seeing Max they all ran to their vehicles and gave chase and there were several cars. The camera then panned out of the car's charger to signify a short passage of time and THEN the scene is as we know it with just Wez and two cars still still in pursuit due to the Interceptor's power.

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Connections

Referenced in Revelation Road: The Black Rider (2014)

User Reviews

The quintessential action film

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...

What can be said that hasn't already? The Road Warrior is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular action films ever made. It's very rare that I grant the score of 10 for a movie, but this one gets it and deserves it. From the opening imagery and narration, it almost seems like we're watching an alternate reality rather than a future sci-fi film, much unlike Mad Max's "A FEW YEARS FROM NOW..." prologue. This was a film that inspired countless ripoffs and wannabes; perhaps imitation is the most sincere form of flattery (I was secretly hoping the Y2K computer bug would destroy society so that I could put on my black leather jacket, get a pair half-pair] of football shoulder pads, and a sawed-off shotgun so I could drive around the desert and kill people for their gasoline).

I've always loved movies presenting larger-than-life heroes. Indiana Jones, Conan, Dirty Harry, Flash Gordon, James Bond, Luke Skywalker, Robocop, whoever Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee play, John McClain ... the list goes on and on. But Mel Gibson's Mad Max is #1 on my list of the greatest action movie protagonists of all-time.

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:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,527,864, 23 May 1982

Gross USA:

$23,667,907

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,668,369

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 87 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1