Mad Max | | Cast : | Mel Gibson | | Director : | George Miller (II) | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 1979 | | DVD Released Date : | January 01, 2002 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 08, 2005 | | Summary | A trend-setter | Content
 | Mad Max is a interesting little piece of movie history. While the script isn't all that compelling and the movie itself is obviously in the low budget arena Mad Max still stands out. Why? Because the movie for one doesn't try to be more than what it is. It's about fast moving vehicles and the heroes/villians who ride them. Move just a step above that and you get character development from both sides. Not much beyond that, but again the movie doesn't pretend to have more.
This is Mel Gibson's first starring movie role and he took the world by storm. This movie was a perfect vehicle to launch Mel's career. It gave him a chance to play the hansome hero with a full range of emotions (which he pulls off quite well). If it weren't for Gibson this movie wouldn't be anywhere near as good. Sure you get some good supporting actors, but lets face it. This movie is about Max, and Max has to carry the story.
The supporting cast for Mel isn't just the actors, but the vehicles as well. The police in this destopic future ride in fast interceptor cars. The bad guys are a nomad bike gang riding in various motor bikes. Max gets a really sweet car that becomes his trademark in not just this movie but the sequel as well. The cars definitely have character and the way they are filmed shows it. The chase scenes are fast and furious. No speeding up the cameras to make it look fast here. This is the sort of excitement the movie excels at.
My only complaint is that Mad Max ends up just being a series of events that happen one after the other. The tie ins are sparse and the script is weak because of it. Then again this isn't Gone with the Wind. Still I have to at least mention it.
This DVD is a must have for any MM fans. Not only do you get the American released english version, but you also get the original Australian dub. Of the two the original comes out on top. Not because the "American" dub is bad. It's actually pretty good in the sense that the voice actors did a good job of it. The problem is the American version was done in mono and you don't get nearly as much environmental sounds and background noises as you do in the original. Also the Aussie dub is in stereo, which beats out mono anyday.
The DVD also comes with a couple featurettes that really hit home for the fans. One is more about Gibson and one is more about the movie. Both are very informative documentaries. I think even longstanding fans of Mad Max would find some new info in these.
To be honest Mad Max is not for everyone. If you demand blockbuster budget Hollywood style movies this isn't it. If you demand high art or deep stories you won't get it here either. However if you can get into a low budget movie that did one heck of a job in the car chasing department or are a fan of Mel Gibson then this is the movie for you. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 07, 2005 | | Summary | Raw, powerful retelling of lawlessness and revenge | Content
| `Mad Max', an Australian flick and one of the very first movies to feature Mel Gibson has probably been seen by most people after they saw the two sequels, `The Road Warrior' and `Mad Max, Beyond Thunderdome'. This circumstance has probably lead to a lot of misunderstandings about the circumstances of the original `Mad Max' plot.
Basicly, the story is about the failure of an organized system of justice, leading to a downward spiral of individual, outlaw revenge and retribution. Unlike the relatively new post-apocalyptic genres exemplified by the latter two movies, the issues of revenge are as old as the classic Greek playwrights, all the way up through Eugene O'Neill's take on the old Greek story of revenge in `Mourning Becomes Electra'.
There is but one little clue that this is a post nuclear war scenario. This is when we see a rusty and delapidated sign warning of a `Forbidden Area'. The only corroboration is the relatively poor condition of the sign over the entrance to the police station. Balanced against these minor visual clues is the spanking new sign over the door to the service station indicating that this is a licensed auto mechanic and the very clean and efficient looking hospital room and building.
So, if there is any failure of civilization, it is largely metaphorical and seen in the failure of the constraints of lawful behavior to prevent a series of events based on unbridled libido and revenge.
Of the `Mad Max' trilogy, the second, `The Road Warrior' is probably the best for many reasons, and it's connection to our current subject is loose at best and it's production values are far superior, but our original has an odd rawness about it which should not be confused with poor quality. TV stations would not be running this flick regularly if it did not have something special to offer.
By far the most valuable currency offered up by `Mad Max' is the anxiety created for Max's wife and child in the last third of the movie. The fear is about as raw as it comes, with an odd similarity, based on the crude cinematic technique all the way around, with the terror of the original `Texas Chain Saw Massacre'. The horror movie is much less artfully done and draws a lot of it's impact from pure quantity of gore, but there is a strong sense that both movies gain from a lack of polish.
Oddly, I think most of the juice in this movie comes less from Gibson's performance as that of the heavies. Unlike Harrison Ford's early appearances in `Star Wars', for example, I see little of the promise which Gibson shows in the second and third films in this series.
I will go out of my way to watch the second and third movies, but the first, this `Mad Max' is really something of a guilty pleasure which survives rewatching and grows in stature as time goes by.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 09, 2005 | | Summary | Very good action film | Content
| "Mad Max" (1979) is a remarkable sci-fi actioner starring Mel Gibson, fresh from Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Arts, and directed by George Miller, a film buff with film school training. Gibson plays Max Rockatansky, a loner cop patrolling a post-apocalyptic Australia. The highways have become the arena for death games between nomad bikers and cops like Max, along with his partner, Goose (Steve Bisely). Enter the Nightrider (Vince Gil), a vicious biker escaping custody. He has just stolen a car from the Main Force Patrol (MFP) headquarters. A road chase between Max and the Nightrider results in the death of the latter. Unbeknownst to Max, Nightrider's buddys come to town to seek revenge. They are headed by a demented lunatic named Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne). His followers are the mysterious Bubba Zanetti, the drug-addled Johnny the Boy (Nightrider's replacement; not yet a full member), and psychopathic rapists/homosexuals Mudguts, Cundalini, Starbuck, and Diabando. Whilst seeking vengeance upon Max, they wreak much havok along the way. This includes an assault on a young couple, and the slaying of Goose. A horrified Max quits the force, and takes his wife, Jessie (Joanne Samuel), and their baby Sprog, on a much-needed vacation. Unfortunately, Jessie is almost raped by the Toecutter and his gang, but she doesn't tell Max what happened. Rather, the Toecutter gang catches up with them and viciously murders Jessie and Sprog, leaving Max with no choice but to embark on an explosive path of vengeance upon his tormentors. The biker gang is completely without empathy, except for Johnny the Boy, who became a full gang member only after reluctantly setting Goose on fire. The Toecutter is perhaps the creepiest, nastiest villain to ever grace the screen, while Bubba Zanetti epitomizes the ruthless killing-machine whose mission to destroy Max. The other bikers are no less sadistic than the Toecutter. The movie works mostly because of Gibson's performance as the damaged hero, Max. It also features great effects and remarkable stunts, and spawned an even more successful sequel, The Road Warrior (1981). Overall, a very good action film. Only quibble: actors' voices were re-dubbed with American voices, out of fear that audiences wouldn't comprehend the Australians' accent. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 02, 2005 | | Summary | Future, OK. Pockalyptic: no way. | Content
| As one or two viewers have pointed out, this is NOT a pockalyptic movie. Everything functions normally, except for the attitudes of the players. It's set "some time in the future". The point is, it's merely projecting certain social trends ahead of its time --- 1979, was it? Otherwise, it's a straightforward revenge plot, and in other ways rather reminiscent of "The Wild One", with about 100% more dirt and grit. But it is Different, and has a class of its own. This is down to the Oz scenery and the Oz actors, and the Oz attitudes. My version doesn't have the Strine sound or the slang, and the American so-called English dubbing is atrocious, so I have to overlook that. Maybe I shouldn't be reviewing the Special Edition. Mel is definitely a more sympathetic character in this early mode, before he turned into the Mad Mel of The Patriot and the Passion of the Christ, both of them appallingly bad films. Apparently he called himself Pork Chops at this stage, and his bum does look a bit big in his leathers. Still, the crashes and stunts are great. Is there a bit of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in this film ? Could be, unless I've got the dates wrong. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 24, 2005 | | Summary | "I am the Night Rider" | Content
| Yeah you heard me. I am the Night Rider. Mad Max is a brilliant movie of a post apolytic cop who is driven mad, especially when he seeks revenge on Toe Cutter and his Glory Riders. They get his best friend, his wife, and his sanity.
Gibson is brilliant as Max, you girls will love the leather pants. And if you think its wacky, remember this is Australia, mate. ***** |
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