Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

After being exiled from the most advanced town in post apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.

Directors:

George Miller, George Ogilvie

Writers:

Terry Hayes, George Miller

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Mad Max Rockatansky
Bruce Spence	...	Jedediah the Pilot
Adam Cockburn	...	Jedediah Jr.
Tina Turner	...	Aunty Entity
Frank Thring	...	The Collector
Angelo Rossitto	...	The Master
Paul Larsson	...	The Blaster
Angry Anderson	...	Ironbar
Robert Grubb	...	Pig Killer
George Spartels	...	Blackfinger
Edwin Hodgeman	...	Dr. Dealgood
Bob Hornery	...	Waterseller
Andrew Oh	...	Ton Ton Tattoo
Ollie Hall	...	Aunty's Guard
Lee Rice	...	Aunty's Guard

Storyline

Left for dead in the unforgiving deserts of post-nuclear Australia, after defeating Lord Humungus' barbarian horde of bikers in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), the former officer of the tough Main Force Patrol, Max Rockatansky, happens upon Bartertown: the remote market-town outpost in the middle of the dry Wasteland, and the realm of the autocratic Queen Aunty Entity. There, a lethal challenge awaits Max, who, in return for his freedom and provisions, must engage in a bloody match to the death with the grotesque symbiotic being, the Master/Blaster. However, an unforeseen complication after the brutal fight in the stronghold's combat arena, The Thunderdome, will banish, once more, Max into the vast wilderness, only to discover the peaceful haven of The Lost Tribe: a community of marooned children who survive on their own, waiting for the arrival of the legendary Captain Walker. Is "Mad" Max, indeed, their saviour? Can he overthrow Bartertown's ruthless tyrant?

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | cage match | australian outback | group of children | death match | 

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Taglines:

A lone warrior searching for his destiny...a tribe of lost children waiting for a hero...in a world battling to survive, they face a woman determined to rule.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [UK] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Filming Locations:

Far Northern South Australia, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,283,714, 14 July 1985

Gross USA:

$36,230,219

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$36,230,219

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Australia this film is simply referred to as "Mad Max 3". There are four films in the franchise so far. Mad Max (1979) is the first. The second film, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), was released in the United States as simply The Road Warrior (released and referred to as Mad Max 2 in Australia). It was not marketed as a Mad Max film upon its American release, for fear of its foreign credentials hurting its U.S. box office. This has caused confusion for Americans who thought it was just a stand alone film, but it is definitely the second in the Mad Max franchise, all produced and directed by George Miller. IMDB now lists the second film as "The Road Warrior". Quentin Tarantino, a teenager when it was released, accidentally calls it "The Road Warrior", before correcting himself and calling it "Mad Max 2" in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008), which explored Australian exploitation cinema. The recently released Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is the fourth in the franchise, and the first to not star Mel Gibson.

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Goofs

As Max is clearing the path for the plane, and just before he reaches Aunty's armada, he climbs out of his truck on the right side (where the steering wheel is). However, when he jumps off the truck, he jumps from the left side.

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Quotes

Max: Who are you?
Slake: We're the waiting ones.

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Crazy Credits

Mel Gibson, who plays Mad Max, is listed again among the Stunt Crew in the End Credits.

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Alternate Versions

Scenes filmed but cut from the final film: Max comforting the dying Ghekko while facing Bartertown from the desert dunes and telling him it's Tomorrowmorrow land (this scene can be glimpsed in the Tina Turner video for We Don't Need Another Hero.) Max waking in Crack in Earth in the middle of the night and remembering his wife Jessie and crying, realising he is no better than the people he has hunted for so long.

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Connections

Featured in South Australian Film Corporation 40th Anniversary Showreel (2012)

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Soundtracks

One of the Living
Written by Holly Knight
Performed by Tina Turner with Device
Produced by Mike Chapman (as Mike Chapman)
Copyright (c) 1985 Makiki Publishing Co. Ltd.

User Reviews

Gorgeous, delirious post-apocalypse fable

Who could not love this movie? It's got more imagination than five average postbomb flicks, incredible visual design, enough alternate societies with enough backstory apiece for three more movies (including an aboriginal clan who look like Peter Pan's Lost Boys and speak a dialect you'll be copying for days after you see it), car chases, amazing costumes, one of the most original death-duel sequences ever, Tina Turner, *and* Mel Gibson! I mean, goddamn, what more do you want? I personally want another movie just set in Bartertown AND a movie that follows what happens to Anna Goanna and her clan, and they don't even have to have Mel Gibson in them - that's how rich I think the imaginative depth of this movie is. I like it more every time I see it. Genuinely something special.