Mad Max
Encyclopedia
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian
action film
directed by George Miller
and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy
over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson
, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story of breakdown of society
, love and revenge. It became a top-grossing Australian film and has been credited for further opening up the global market to Australian New Wave
films. The film was also notable for being the first Australian film to be shot with a widescreen
anamorphic lens.
The first film in the franchise
, Mad Max spawned sequels Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior in 1981 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
in 1985. The fourth film in the series, tentatively titled Mad Max 4: Fury Road is in pre-production.
n future Australia, law & order
has begun to break down. Berserk motorcycle gang member Crawford "Nightrider" Montizano has escaped police custody and is attempting to outrun the Main Force Patrol (MFP) in a stolen Pursuit Special
(Holden Monaro). Though he manages to elude his initial pursuers, the MFP's top pursuit man, Max Rockatansky
, then engages the less-skilled Nightrider in a high-speed chase, resulting in the death of Nightrider in a fiery crash.
Nightrider's motorcycle gang, led by Toecutter and Bubba Zanetti, is running roughshod over a town, vandalizing property, stealing fuel and terrorizing the populace. Max and officer Jim "Goose" Rains arrest Toecutter's young protege, Johnny "the Boy" Boyle, when Johnny, too high to ride, stays behind after the gang rape
s a young couple. When no witnesses appear for his trial, the courts throw the case out and Johnny is released. An angry Goose attacks Johnny and must be held back; both men shout threats of revenge. After his lawyer drags Johnny away, MFP Captain Fred "Fifi" McPhee tells his officers to do whatever it takes to apprehend the gangs, "so long as the paperwork's clean."
A short time later, Johnny sabotages Goose's motorcycle; it locks up at high speed, throwing Goose from the bike. Goose is unharmed, though his bike is badly damaged; he borrows a ute to haul his bike back. However, Johnny and Toecutter's gang are waiting in ambush. Johnny throws a brake drum at Goose's windshield, which shatters and causes Goose to crash the ute; Toecutter then instructs Johnny to throw a match into the gasoline leaking from Goose's wrecked ute, while Goose is trapped inside. Johnny refuses; Toecutter first cajoles, then verbally and physically abuses him. Johnny eventually throws the lit match into the wreckage, which erupts in flames.
Goose is severely burned. After seeing his charred body in the hospital, Max becomes disillusioned with the Police Force. Worried of what may happen if he continues working for the MFP - and that he is beginning to enjoy the insanity - Max announces to Fifi that he is resigning from the MFP. Fifi convinces him to take a holiday first before making his final decision.
While at the coast, Max's wife, Jessie and their infant son run into Toecutter's gang, who attempt to rape her. She flees, but the gang later finds them again at the remote farm where she and Max are staying. The gang runs over Jessie and their son as they try to escape, leaving their crushed bodies in the middle of the road. Max arrives too late to save them.
Filled with rage, Max dons his police leathers and takes a supercharged black Pursuit Special
(Ford Falcon XB GT 351) to pursue the gang. After torturing
a mechanic for information, Max methodically hunts down the gang members: he forces several of them off a bridge at high speed, shoots Bubba at point blank range with his shotgun, and forces Toecutter into the path of a semi-trailer truck
. Max finally finds Johnny, who is looting a car crash victim he presumably murdered for a pair of boots. In a cold, suppressed rage, Max handcuffs Johnny's ankle to the wrecked vehicle whilst Johnny begs for his life. Max ignores his begging and sets a crude time-delay fuse with a slow fuel leak and a lighter. Throwing Johnny a hacksaw
, Max leaves him the choice of sawing through either the handcuffs (which will take ten minutes) or his ankle (which will take five minutes). Max wordlessly drives away; as he clears the bridge, the vehicle explodes thus killing Johnny. Max continues driving into the darkness, the movie ending with his ultimate fate unknown.
was a medical doctor
in Victoria, Australia, working in a hospital emergency room, where he saw many injuries and deaths of the types depicted in the film. While in residency at a Melbourne
hospital, he met amateur filmmaker Byron Kennedy
at a summer film school in 1971. The duo produced a short film, Violence in the Cinema, Part 1, which was screened at a number of film festival
s and won several awards. Eight years later, the duo produced Mad Max, working with first-time screenwriter
James McCausland (who appears in the film as the bearded man in an apron in front of the diner).
Miller believed that audiences would find his violent story to be more believable if set in a bleak, dystopic future. The film was shot over a period of 12 weeks in Australia, between December 1978 and February 1979, in and around Melbourne. Many of the car chase scenes for Mad Max were filmed near the town of Little River
, just north of Geelong. The movie was shot with a widescreen anamorphic
lens, the first Australian film to use one.
Screenplay writer James McCausland drew heavily from his observations of the 1973 oil crisis
' effects on Australian motorists:
Mel Gibson, a complete unknown at this point, went to auditions with his friend and classmate, Steve Bisley
(who would later land the part of Jim Goose). Gibson went to auditions in poor shape, as the night before he had got into a drunken brawl with three men at a party, resulting in a swollen nose, a broken jawline, and various other bruises. Gibson showed up at the audition the next day looking like a "black and blue pumpkin" (his own words). He did not expect to get the role and only went to accompany his friend. However, the casting agent liked the look and told Gibson to come back in two weeks, telling him "we need freaks." When Gibson returned, the filmmakers did not recognize him because his wounds had healed almost completely; he received the part anyway.
Due to the film's low budget (A$
380,000), only Gibson was given a jacket and pants made from real leather. All the other actors playing police officers wore vinyl outfits.
The film's post-production was done at Kennedy's house, with Wilson and Kennedy editing the film in Kennedy's bedroom on a home-built editing machine that Kennedy's father, an engineer, had designed for them. Wilson and Kennedy also edited the sound there.
police car) with a 351 c.i.d. Cleveland V8 engine and many other modifications.
The Big Bopper, driven by Roop and Charlie, was also a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan and also a former Victorian Police car, but was powered by a 302 c.i.d. V8. The March Hare, driven by Sarse and Scuttle, was an in-line-six-powered 1972 Ford Falcon
XA sedan (this car was formerly a Melbourne taxi cab).
The most memorable car, Max's black Pursuit Special
was a limited GT351 version of a 1973 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop
(sold in Australia from December 1973 to August 1976) which was primarily modified by Murray Smith, Peter Arcadipane and Ray Beckerley. After filming of the first movie was completed, the car went up for sale but no buyers were found; eventually it was handed over to Murray Smith (film mechanic).
When production of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior began, the car was purchased back by George Miller for use in the sequel. Once filming was over the car was left at a wrecking yard in Adelaide
and was bought and restored by Bob Forsenko. Eventually it was sold again and is currently on display in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
in Cumbria, England.
The Nightrider's vehicle, another Pursuit Special, was a 1972 Holden
HQ LS Monaro
coupe.
The car driven by the young couple that is destroyed by the bikers is a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air
sedan.
Of the motorcycles that appear in the film, 14 were KZ1000s
donated by Kawasaki
. All were modified in appearance by Melbourne business La Parisienne - one as the MFP bike ridden by 'The Goose' and the balance for members of the Toecutter's gang, played in the film by members of a local Victorian motorcycle club, the Vigilantes.
By the end of filming, 14 vehicles had been destroyed in the chase and crash scenes, including the director's personal Mazda Bongo
(the small, blue van that spins uncontrollably after being struck by the Big Bopper in the film's opening chase).
) in 1979.
When shown in the U.S. during 1980, the original Australian dialogue was revoiced by an American crew. American International Pictures
distributed this dub after it underwent a management re-organisation. Much of the Australian slang and terminology was also replaced with American usages (examples: "See looks!" became "See what I see?", "windscreen" became "windshield", "very toey" became "super hot", and "proby" -probationary officer- became "rookie"). AIP also altered the operator's duty call on Jim Goose's bike in the beginning of the movie (it ended with "Come on, Goose, where are you?"). The only dubbing exceptions were the voice of the singer in the Sugartown Cabaret (played by Robina Chaffey), the voice of Charlie (played by John Ley) through the mechanical voice box, and Officer Jim Goose (Steve Bisley
), singing as he drives a truck before being ambushed. Since Mel Gibson was not well known to American audiences at the time, trailers and TV spots in the USA emphasized the film's action content.
The original Australian dialogue track was finally released in North America
in 2000 in a limited theatrical reissue
by MGM, the film's current rights holders. It has since been released in the U.S. on DVD with both the US and Australian soundtracks on separate tracks.
Both New Zealand
and Sweden
initially banned
the film, the former due to the scene where Goose is burned alive inside his vehicle. It mirrored an incident with a real gang shortly before the film's release. It was later shown in New Zealand in 1983 after the success of the sequel, with an 18 certificate. The ban in Sweden was removed in 2005 and it has been shown on TV and is also available in video stores.
condemned Mad Max, saying that it had "all the emotional uplift of Mein Kampf
" and would be "a special favourite of rapists, sadists, child murderers and incipient [Charles] Mansons
." After the initial US release, Tom Buckley of The New York Times
called it "ugly and incoherent". However, Variety
magazine praised the directorial debut by Miller. As of April 2011, the film had a 95% "Fresh" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes
, and is widely considered as one of the best films of 1979. In 2004, The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.
Though the film had a limited run in North America and earned only $8 million there, it did very well elsewhere around the world and went on to earn $100 million worldwide. Since it was independently financed with a reported budget of just , it was a major financial success. For 20 years, the movie held a record in Guinness Book of Records as the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture, conceding the record only in 1999 to The Blair Witch Project
. The film was awarded three Australian Film Institute
Awards in 1979 (for editing, sound, and musical score). It was also nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Keays-Byrne) by the American Film Institute
. The film also won the Special Jury Award at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival.
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed by George Miller
George Miller (producer)
George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is most well known for his work on the Mad Max movies, but has been involved in a wide range of projects, including the Oscar-winning Happy Feet and "Babe" family films.Miller is the older brother...
and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy
Byron Kennedy
Byron Eric Kennedy Born Melbourne was an Australian film producer best known for the Mad Max series of films....
over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story of breakdown of society
Societal collapse
Societal collapse broadly includes both quite abrupt societal failures typified by collapses , as well as more extended gradual declines of superpowers...
, love and revenge. It became a top-grossing Australian film and has been credited for further opening up the global market to Australian New Wave
Australian New Wave
The Australian New Wave was an era of resurgence in worldwide popularity of Australian cinema...
films. The film was also notable for being the first Australian film to be shot with a widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
anamorphic lens.
The first film in the franchise
Mad Max (franchise)
The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979...
, Mad Max spawned sequels Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior in 1981 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, written by Miller, Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes, and starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It is the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise...
in 1985. The fourth film in the series, tentatively titled Mad Max 4: Fury Road is in pre-production.
Plot
In a dystopiaDystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n future Australia, law & order
Law and order (politics)
In politics, law and order refers to demands for a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent and property crime, through harsher criminal penalties...
has begun to break down. Berserk motorcycle gang member Crawford "Nightrider" Montizano has escaped police custody and is attempting to outrun the Main Force Patrol (MFP) in a stolen Pursuit Special
Pursuit Special
The Pursuit Special is the fictional model of car driven by the officers of the fictional MFP in the Mad Max franchise of films.-Mad Max:...
(Holden Monaro). Though he manages to elude his initial pursuers, the MFP's top pursuit man, Max Rockatansky
Max Rockatansky
"Mad" Max Rockatansky, sometimes referred to as The Road Warrior and The Man with No Name, is the main character from director George Miller's Mad Max franchise, appearing in the films Mad Max, Mad Max 2, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome...
, then engages the less-skilled Nightrider in a high-speed chase, resulting in the death of Nightrider in a fiery crash.
Nightrider's motorcycle gang, led by Toecutter and Bubba Zanetti, is running roughshod over a town, vandalizing property, stealing fuel and terrorizing the populace. Max and officer Jim "Goose" Rains arrest Toecutter's young protege, Johnny "the Boy" Boyle, when Johnny, too high to ride, stays behind after the gang rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
s a young couple. When no witnesses appear for his trial, the courts throw the case out and Johnny is released. An angry Goose attacks Johnny and must be held back; both men shout threats of revenge. After his lawyer drags Johnny away, MFP Captain Fred "Fifi" McPhee tells his officers to do whatever it takes to apprehend the gangs, "so long as the paperwork's clean."
A short time later, Johnny sabotages Goose's motorcycle; it locks up at high speed, throwing Goose from the bike. Goose is unharmed, though his bike is badly damaged; he borrows a ute to haul his bike back. However, Johnny and Toecutter's gang are waiting in ambush. Johnny throws a brake drum at Goose's windshield, which shatters and causes Goose to crash the ute; Toecutter then instructs Johnny to throw a match into the gasoline leaking from Goose's wrecked ute, while Goose is trapped inside. Johnny refuses; Toecutter first cajoles, then verbally and physically abuses him. Johnny eventually throws the lit match into the wreckage, which erupts in flames.
Goose is severely burned. After seeing his charred body in the hospital, Max becomes disillusioned with the Police Force. Worried of what may happen if he continues working for the MFP - and that he is beginning to enjoy the insanity - Max announces to Fifi that he is resigning from the MFP. Fifi convinces him to take a holiday first before making his final decision.
While at the coast, Max's wife, Jessie and their infant son run into Toecutter's gang, who attempt to rape her. She flees, but the gang later finds them again at the remote farm where she and Max are staying. The gang runs over Jessie and their son as they try to escape, leaving their crushed bodies in the middle of the road. Max arrives too late to save them.
Filled with rage, Max dons his police leathers and takes a supercharged black Pursuit Special
Pursuit Special
The Pursuit Special is the fictional model of car driven by the officers of the fictional MFP in the Mad Max franchise of films.-Mad Max:...
(Ford Falcon XB GT 351) to pursue the gang. After torturing
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
a mechanic for information, Max methodically hunts down the gang members: he forces several of them off a bridge at high speed, shoots Bubba at point blank range with his shotgun, and forces Toecutter into the path of a semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
. Max finally finds Johnny, who is looting a car crash victim he presumably murdered for a pair of boots. In a cold, suppressed rage, Max handcuffs Johnny's ankle to the wrecked vehicle whilst Johnny begs for his life. Max ignores his begging and sets a crude time-delay fuse with a slow fuel leak and a lighter. Throwing Johnny a hacksaw
Hacksaw
A hacksaw is a fine-tooth saw with a blade under tension in a frame, used for cutting materials such as metal or plastics. Hand-held hacksaws consist of a metal arch with a handle, usually a pistol grip, with pins for attaching a narrow disposable blade. A screw or other mechanism is used to put...
, Max leaves him the choice of sawing through either the handcuffs (which will take ten minutes) or his ankle (which will take five minutes). Max wordlessly drives away; as he clears the bridge, the vehicle explodes thus killing Johnny. Max continues driving into the darkness, the movie ending with his ultimate fate unknown.
Cast
- Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
as Max RockatanskyMax Rockatansky"Mad" Max Rockatansky, sometimes referred to as The Road Warrior and The Man with No Name, is the main character from director George Miller's Mad Max franchise, appearing in the films Mad Max, Mad Max 2, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome... - Joanne SamuelJoanne SamuelJoanne Samuel is an actress who remains best known for her role as the screen wife of Mel Gibson in the 1979 film Mad Max....
as Jessie Rockatansky - Hugh Keays-ByrneHugh Keays-ByrneHugh Keays-Byrne is an English character actor who moved to Australia in 1973. He is well-known in Australia as a television and film actor...
as Toecutter - Steve BisleySteve BisleySteve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
as Jim "Goose" - Tim Burns as Johnny the Boy
- Geoff Parry as Bubba Zanetti
- Roger Ward as "Fifi" Macaffee
- David Bracks as Mudguts
- Bertrand Cadart as Clunk
- Stephen Clark as Sarse
- Brendan Heath as Sprog Rockatansky
- Mathew Constantine as Toddler
- Jerry Day as Ziggy
- Howard Eynon as Diabando
- Max Fairchild as Benno
- John Farndale as Grinner
- Sheila FloranceSheila FloranceSheila Florance was an Australian film and television actress.After working in theatre in London and appearing on Australian television, Florance played small roles in several Australian films of the 1970s, including Mad Max...
as May Swaisey - Nic Gazzana as Starbuck
- Paul Johnstone as Cundalini
- Vincent GilVincent GilVincent Gil is an Australian film and television actor best known for his portrayal of the character Nightrider in the 1979 film Mad Max. Gil has also starred in many Australian television shows such as Neighbours, A Country Practice and Prisoner.-External links:...
as The Nightrider - Steve Millichamp as "Roop"
- John Ley as "Charlie"
- George Novak as "Scuttle"
- Reg EvansReg EvansReginald "Reg" Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian television, theatre, and cinema from the 1960s....
as the station master - Nico LathourisNico LathourisNico Lathouris is an Australian actor of Greek descent. Nico has many years of acting experience in the theatre, film and television. He has worked on the television series Police Rescue He appeared in George Miller's Mad Max movie as a car mechanic...
as a car mechanic
Conception and production
George MillerGeorge Miller (producer)
George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is most well known for his work on the Mad Max movies, but has been involved in a wide range of projects, including the Oscar-winning Happy Feet and "Babe" family films.Miller is the older brother...
was a medical doctor
MBBS
MBBS was a popular BBS system in the Nordic countries during the mid-1990s. It was created by a team of Oslo-based enthusiasts, led by Mike Robertson. As many BBS systems of that era, it was only available for the DOS platform. Since one process could only handle one node, multitaskers such as...
in Victoria, Australia, working in a hospital emergency room, where he saw many injuries and deaths of the types depicted in the film. While in residency at a Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
hospital, he met amateur filmmaker Byron Kennedy
Byron Kennedy
Byron Eric Kennedy Born Melbourne was an Australian film producer best known for the Mad Max series of films....
at a summer film school in 1971. The duo produced a short film, Violence in the Cinema, Part 1, which was screened at a number of film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s and won several awards. Eight years later, the duo produced Mad Max, working with first-time screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
James McCausland (who appears in the film as the bearded man in an apron in front of the diner).
Miller believed that audiences would find his violent story to be more believable if set in a bleak, dystopic future. The film was shot over a period of 12 weeks in Australia, between December 1978 and February 1979, in and around Melbourne. Many of the car chase scenes for Mad Max were filmed near the town of Little River
Little River, Victoria
Little River is a town in Victoria, Australia, 51 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Wyndham and Greater Geelong. At the 2006 Census, Little River had a population of 375.-History:...
, just north of Geelong. The movie was shot with a widescreen anamorphic
Anamorphic format
Anamorphic format is a term that can be used either for: the cinematography technique of capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film, or other visual recording media, with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio; or a photographic projection format in which the original image requires an...
lens, the first Australian film to use one.
Screenplay writer James McCausland drew heavily from his observations of the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
' effects on Australian motorists:
Mel Gibson, a complete unknown at this point, went to auditions with his friend and classmate, Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
(who would later land the part of Jim Goose). Gibson went to auditions in poor shape, as the night before he had got into a drunken brawl with three men at a party, resulting in a swollen nose, a broken jawline, and various other bruises. Gibson showed up at the audition the next day looking like a "black and blue pumpkin" (his own words). He did not expect to get the role and only went to accompany his friend. However, the casting agent liked the look and told Gibson to come back in two weeks, telling him "we need freaks." When Gibson returned, the filmmakers did not recognize him because his wounds had healed almost completely; he received the part anyway.
Due to the film's low budget (A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
380,000), only Gibson was given a jacket and pants made from real leather. All the other actors playing police officers wore vinyl outfits.
The film's post-production was done at Kennedy's house, with Wilson and Kennedy editing the film in Kennedy's bedroom on a home-built editing machine that Kennedy's father, an engineer, had designed for them. Wilson and Kennedy also edited the sound there.
Vehicles
Max's yellow Interceptor was a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan (previously, a VictorianVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
police car) with a 351 c.i.d. Cleveland V8 engine and many other modifications.
The Big Bopper, driven by Roop and Charlie, was also a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan and also a former Victorian Police car, but was powered by a 302 c.i.d. V8. The March Hare, driven by Sarse and Scuttle, was an in-line-six-powered 1972 Ford Falcon
Ford Falcon
The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...
XA sedan (this car was formerly a Melbourne taxi cab).
Pursuit Special
The Pursuit Special is the fictional model of car driven by the officers of the fictional MFP in the Mad Max franchise of films.-Mad Max:...
was a limited GT351 version of a 1973 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop
Hardtop
A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
(sold in Australia from December 1973 to August 1976) which was primarily modified by Murray Smith, Peter Arcadipane and Ray Beckerley. After filming of the first movie was completed, the car went up for sale but no buyers were found; eventually it was handed over to Murray Smith (film mechanic).
When production of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior began, the car was purchased back by George Miller for use in the sequel. Once filming was over the car was left at a wrecking yard in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and was bought and restored by Bob Forsenko. Eventually it was sold again and is currently on display in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum was in the English town of Keswick, Cumbria, and owned a collection of celebrity television and film vehicles...
in Cumbria, England.
The Nightrider's vehicle, another Pursuit Special, was a 1972 Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
HQ LS Monaro
Holden Monaro
The Holden Monaro is an automobile that was produced by GM Holden Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of General Motors, between 1968 and 1977 and between 2001 and 2005...
coupe.
The car driven by the young couple that is destroyed by the bikers is a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air
Chevrolet Bel Air
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1950–1975 model years. Hardtops in the Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950–1952, but it was not a distinct series of its own until...
sedan.
Of the motorcycles that appear in the film, 14 were KZ1000s
Kawasaki Kz1000
The Kawasaki Kz1000 is a motorcycle manufactured in Japan by Kawasaki released in September 1976 as a 1977 model to replace the KZ900. It has an in-line 4-cylinder engine and a 5-speed transmission, in a 'one down and four up' configuration...
donated by Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
. All were modified in appearance by Melbourne business La Parisienne - one as the MFP bike ridden by 'The Goose' and the balance for members of the Toecutter's gang, played in the film by members of a local Victorian motorcycle club, the Vigilantes.
By the end of filming, 14 vehicles had been destroyed in the chase and crash scenes, including the director's personal Mazda Bongo
Mazda Bongo
The Mazda Bongo, also known as Mazda E-Series and Mazda Access, was a van manufactured by Japanese automaker Mazda from 1978 to 2001.-First generation :...
(the small, blue van that spins uncontrollably after being struck by the Big Bopper in the film's opening chase).
Release
Mad Max was initially released in Australia (through Village Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures is an Australian motion picture production company. It is a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, an Australian entertainment company. Most of its films are co-produced in partnership with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema...
) in 1979.
When shown in the U.S. during 1980, the original Australian dialogue was revoiced by an American crew. American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
distributed this dub after it underwent a management re-organisation. Much of the Australian slang and terminology was also replaced with American usages (examples: "See looks!" became "See what I see?", "windscreen" became "windshield", "very toey" became "super hot", and "proby" -probationary officer- became "rookie"). AIP also altered the operator's duty call on Jim Goose's bike in the beginning of the movie (it ended with "Come on, Goose, where are you?"). The only dubbing exceptions were the voice of the singer in the Sugartown Cabaret (played by Robina Chaffey), the voice of Charlie (played by John Ley) through the mechanical voice box, and Officer Jim Goose (Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
), singing as he drives a truck before being ambushed. Since Mel Gibson was not well known to American audiences at the time, trailers and TV spots in the USA emphasized the film's action content.
The original Australian dialogue track was finally released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 2000 in a limited theatrical reissue
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
by MGM, the film's current rights holders. It has since been released in the U.S. on DVD with both the US and Australian soundtracks on separate tracks.
Both New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
initially banned
Banned films
For nearly the entire history of film production, certain films have been banned by film censorship or review organizations for political or moral reasons...
the film, the former due to the scene where Goose is burned alive inside his vehicle. It mirrored an incident with a real gang shortly before the film's release. It was later shown in New Zealand in 1983 after the success of the sequel, with an 18 certificate. The ban in Sweden was removed in 2005 and it has been shown on TV and is also available in video stores.
Reception
The film initially polarised critics. In a 1979 review, the Australian social commentator and film producer Phillip AdamsPhillip Adams
Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams, AO is an Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, social commentator, satirist and left-wing pundit. He currently hosts a radio program, Late Night Live, four nights a week on the ABC, and he also writes a weekly column for the News Limited-owned newspaper, The...
condemned Mad Max, saying that it had "all the emotional uplift of Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
" and would be "a special favourite of rapists, sadists, child murderers and incipient [Charles] Mansons
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
." After the initial US release, Tom Buckley of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called it "ugly and incoherent". However, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine praised the directorial debut by Miller. As of April 2011, the film had a 95% "Fresh" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, and is widely considered as one of the best films of 1979. In 2004, The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.
Though the film had a limited run in North America and earned only $8 million there, it did very well elsewhere around the world and went on to earn $100 million worldwide. Since it was independently financed with a reported budget of just , it was a major financial success. For 20 years, the movie held a record in Guinness Book of Records as the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture, conceding the record only in 1999 to The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...
. The film was awarded three Australian Film Institute
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
Awards in 1979 (for editing, sound, and musical score). It was also nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Keays-Byrne) by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
. The film also won the Special Jury Award at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival.