Mad Max is an iconic landmark in Australian cinema. Its tale of fuel injected revenge resonated with Australian audiences and became the most successful film at the box office at the time in that country. Although, does it hold up? If you compare it to the sequels and other more recent films you'll be underwhelmed. Although if you understand the context on why the film was made, the limitations of the filmmakers and the sheer dedication of the crew (particularly the daring stunt people) you'll be impressed. Also if you're an aspiring filmmaker like me, this is a good film to come back to for inspiration.
The story takes place in the not too distant future where a highway gang led by the Toecutter terrorises innocent people. Max Rockatansky is a Main Force Patrol officer, who along with his fellow officers, attempt to bring Toecutter's gang down, but the influence of law and order is corrupting around them. Max then loses everything held dear to him, pushing him over the edge and leading him to enact a personal vendetta on the gang members responsible for his loss.
Mad Max was the brainchild of George Miller and he continued to direct the sequels. He had first hand experience in the emergency room witnessing the horrific injuries caused by road incidents. This sparked the concept of Mad Max and its dystopian world directly reflects the context of road safety in Australia and like many dystopian films questions where we are heading as a society.
Mad Max was made on an estimated $350,000, with most of the crew being paid in beer for their efforts. The opening pursuit of the Nightrider is one of the most impressive sequences, George Miller sacrificed his van to be wrecked for one of the shots, they used real rockets to attach to Nightriders car before it explodes and stunt men got severely injured afterwards. For a low budget film, Byron Kennedy and George Miller took tremendous risks to make it as engaging and entertaining as possible. It was also all edited in George Miller's kitchen... for a film that was edited in a kitchen I can forgive some of the awkward pacing and edits scattered throughout.
The cast is also fantastic, Mel Gibson for one of his first roles is great as the title character and demonstrates his talent from so early on his career. The gang members are all very memorable with each having their little quirks and you end up despising every single one of them by the end of the film.
Mad Max is an impressive first entry that started a cultural phenomenon. Whether you find Max to be a hero, an anti-hero or a delusional fascist hell bent on vengeance, you can't deny he is an Australian legend who audiences can't get enough of!
The story takes place in the not too distant future where a highway gang led by the Toecutter terrorises innocent people. Max Rockatansky is a Main Force Patrol officer, who along with his fellow officers, attempt to bring Toecutter's gang down, but the influence of law and order is corrupting around them. Max then loses everything held dear to him, pushing him over the edge and leading him to enact a personal vendetta on the gang members responsible for his loss.
Mad Max was the brainchild of George Miller and he continued to direct the sequels. He had first hand experience in the emergency room witnessing the horrific injuries caused by road incidents. This sparked the concept of Mad Max and its dystopian world directly reflects the context of road safety in Australia and like many dystopian films questions where we are heading as a society.
Mad Max was made on an estimated $350,000, with most of the crew being paid in beer for their efforts. The opening pursuit of the Nightrider is one of the most impressive sequences, George Miller sacrificed his van to be wrecked for one of the shots, they used real rockets to attach to Nightriders car before it explodes and stunt men got severely injured afterwards. For a low budget film, Byron Kennedy and George Miller took tremendous risks to make it as engaging and entertaining as possible. It was also all edited in George Miller's kitchen... for a film that was edited in a kitchen I can forgive some of the awkward pacing and edits scattered throughout.
The cast is also fantastic, Mel Gibson for one of his first roles is great as the title character and demonstrates his talent from so early on his career. The gang members are all very memorable with each having their little quirks and you end up despising every single one of them by the end of the film.
Mad Max is an impressive first entry that started a cultural phenomenon. Whether you find Max to be a hero, an anti-hero or a delusional fascist hell bent on vengeance, you can't deny he is an Australian legend who audiences can't get enough of!