Mad Max (1979)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

George Miller (story) and
Byron Kennedy (story) ...

Release Date:

12 April 1979 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Maximum Force of the Future.

Plot:

In a dystopic future Australia, a vicious biker gang murder a cop's family and make his fight with them personal.

Plot Keywords:

Biker | Road | Motorcycle Gang | Highway | Police

Awards:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Max
Joanne Samuel	...	Jessie
Hugh Keays-Byrne	...	Toecutter
Steve Bisley	...	Jim Goose
Tim Burns	...	Johnny the Boy
Roger Ward	...	Fifi
Lisa Aldenhoven	...	Nurse
David Bracks	...	Mudguts
Bertrand Cadart	...	Clunk
David Cameron	...	Underground Mechanic
Robina Chaffey	...	Singer
Stephen Clark	...	Sarse
Mathew Constantine	...	Toddler
Jerry Day	...	Ziggy
Reg Evans	...	Station Master

Also Known As:

Mad Max (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Çilgin Maks (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
As Motos da Morte (Portugal) [pt]
Interceptor (Italy) [it]
Mad Max (Argentina) [es]
Mad Max - O ekdikitis tis nyhtas (Greece) [el]
Mad Max: Salvajes de la autopista (Spain) [es]
Pobesneli Maks (Serbia) [sr]

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (theatrical rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:16 | UK:18 (cut) (1986) | Ireland:18 | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM18 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) (1999) (uncut) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1982) (cut) | Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (special edition) | Canada:R | France:-16 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | New Zealand:(Banned) (original rating) | New Zealand:R18 (re-rating) | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Anakie Rd, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Trivia:

The auto accident scene was made as realistic as possible, thanks to director's George Miller's experience as a medical doctor.

Goofs:

Continuity: Goose falls on his left leg during his crash in the opening chase scene. In his next scenes, he has a cast on his right leg.

Quotes:

[the Kid is handcuffed to a car that's about to explode]
Max: The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It'd take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes. Go.
[the hacksaw is dropped next to The Kid, and Max limps off]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: The Big Sleep (#3.19)" (1999)

Mad Max, the one that launched a franchise and a hundred knock-offs.

Mad Max (1979) is a low budget Aussie film that became a huge success in the U.S. because of it's sequel Mad Max 2 a.k.a. The Road Warrior. Not only did this movie spawned a franchise but it created a new genre of film (the post apocalyptic wasteland/road film) many rip-offs and pro wrestlers inspired by the movie and it's sequels.

Mel Gibson (in his greatest role in my opinion) stars as "Mad" Max, a cop who has seen too much while trying to enforce the law in a dying society. After clashing with the Night Rider, he incurs the wrath of his bikie buddies Toecutter and co. Toecutter has to be one of the most scuzziest and at the same time coolest bad guys. I like the way he tries to justify him and his crew's actions. Ditto for his right-hand man Bubba. Beautiful cinematography, fast paced action and awesome stunts make this movie a winner.

I have seen both versions of the movie (the U.S. dubbed version and the original Aussie soundtrack). For full enjoyment stick to the original version because they sound like real people, not like cartoon characters or cheesy b-movie villains. A true winner.

Highly recommended.