This movies budget was pretty much nothing. George Miller literally paid his cast and crew with beer occasionally. It's really a testament to his filmmaking prowess to still manage such an impressive film filled with neck breaking stunts. Personally, I love this film. It's a classic revenge story full of weirdness. A real gem of indie cinema.
Yea, i was thinking the same... why would they watch this version. They probably didnt know. Im from the U.S. and the original version is the best. Dubbed version just sounds weird.
I think that part of the problem for a modern audience is that Max's emotional arc is more subtlety depicted than what you'd expect from a more recent film where it's sometimes ridiculously obvious. Already from the beginning he is struggling when he's playing chicken with The Nightrider. After loosing Goose he tells his chief that he's afraid to turn into a terminal crazy, only with a bronze badge to say that he's one of the good guys and the loss of his wife and son is what finally breaks him. He goes mad.
The second one remains one of the greatest action films of all time. Hasn't aged at all, except for the prologue (someone should re-release it with an updated prologue). If you watch it, be sure to avoid the version that dubbed 'The Humungous' with a corny American accent.
@@bloodofmyenemies uhhhh, sorry MATE but i was referring to the Dubbed Bass in his voice vs the naturally higher pitch in the unedited version. Nowadays they CGI entire people so, pity to the Stunt Guild. I have NEVER been called a "peanut". 😣🤣
This one takes place when society is on the verge of collapse, but the following films all take place after the apocalypse. The second film is definitely better, but you guys really should have watched the version of this film with the original Australian audio.
To be even more specific, Mad Max is the only story that takes place as a historical piece inside the universe Miller has created; Road Warrior, Thunderdome, and Fury Road are all "Tales of the Wasteland", and not all necessarily are stories about Max Rockastanky, but are attributed to him thanks to oral tradition. Which exists as the primary way things are passed from person to person since all forms of greater communication have long since crumbled. But the original still exists just on the edge of a time where things could be preserved, and so is the only "true" story of Max. According to Miller, all of the sequels exist in a non-linear continuity; it doesn't really matter where you believe they land in a timeline, because maybe none of them occurred to Max himself, or maybe all of them did. Who's to say? They're all just words people clinging to hope tell one another to stave away the boredom and the despair. It's also why a certain car tends to show up again and again when, logically, we know it can't because of particular events in each film. They're all stories around a campfire, really. Pretty cool.
It's not post-apocalyptic as such. Society has been on a steep decline, but hasn't collapsed yet. Therefore crime goes rampant, but cops and hospitals and lawyers still exist. So it's "Just shortly before the Apocalypse", which is at odds with the rest of the franchise (and people's expectations of it) which is full on post apocalyptic.
From what I have read about the story line, the movie takes place in 1984, 5 years after the massive oil embargoes and shortages forced the world into a global war. Order has been restored in remote areas where coal power and new sources of oil could be found, however the newly formed police force are having trouble with the encroachment of violent gangs and other have-nots.
@@samuraibeluga3749 They might have fallen already. It's only 5 years in. There was a movie from the 1950's called The Beach, and Australia was the least affected by an all out war. If the winds blew the wrong way, fallout or radioactive debris could've forced survivors into the wasteland.
Just realized also it's the awful dubbed version not seen in the US until 2002. Apparently that version was used in other countries as well, especially to cover up slang words like Oy and Crikey. I had the US version growing up and my God what a load off my back when the Australian original hit the US and finally it was watchable.
Why are you comparing two films 36 years apart? Is Citizen Kane a 4.6 because it wasn't shot in 2020? This was a low budget $350K USD movie by a 1st time feature director, it's not a $185 million blockbuster with tons of CGI. It's a 7/10 all day long for what it is, and you are watching in the wrong dub.
This movie is not supposed to be post apocalyptic. It is supposed to show society beginning to go off the rails and law and order starting to break down. The other movies are After The End of civilization - implied in the 80s to be caused by nuclear war and in Fury Road by environmental disaster.
@@planetfourthreich3022 Agreed. Fury Road seems to be it's own thing and not remotely connected to the previous films for some reason except for the Interceptor magically reappearing at the beginning of the film even though it was trashed in The Road Warrior. I know there was a comic prequel put out around the time of Fury Road's release that explained how Max got another one but it was still contrived AF.
Did he say 4.9, are you serious. This is Mad Max, if you guys gave it a chance and really watched it instead of mocking it, you might have really liked it, now it's too late, you only get to see Mad Max for the first time once! I fell in love with this film the first time i saw it, Amazing work!
It's a shame that this film has a reputation as "post apocalyptic" because it really doesn't fit into that genre at all. The narrative here charts the beginning of the end for ordered society. There's still a police service. There's still some form of a legal system. Insanity and aggression haven't taken over yet, but they're beginning to bubble up. Compared to the rest of the series, this is more Max's origin story, the tragedy of how he lost his faith in law and order and turned to vigilanteism in the name of survival. The American English dubbing in this cut also doesn't do the film any favors.
@@nathanhall9345 Definitely a good comparison. I'd say things are certainly a little farther gone in The Road than they are here, but it's closer to stability than Fury Road or even The Road Warrior.
I didn't even know this dubbed version existed. I was watching and thinking I remembered wrong and I was sure everyone had an australian accent the last time I saw the movie.
I saw a documentary where George Miller said the cameraman was literally on the back of a motorbike racing like a bat out of hell to get some of these shots...its a miracle he wasn't killed. There's no way they would allow that today. Low budget moviemaking at its finest.
I think for a lot of people in the US this was their first exposure to Australian filmmaking. There was probably fear that people would not understand the accents, which in the early 80s might actually have been true!
Free tip guys. Judge a film based on the film itself and what the film is conveying rather than all your preconceptions and disappointment when your ill-informed preconceptions weren’t met.
George Miller didn't have the budget for his proper vision until The Road Warrior. With the little money he did have he made a very impressive action movie, and in return got the bigger budget he needed for the sequels. Also the first movi is when society is on the verge of collapse, starting with The Road Warrior through Fury Road society has completely bottomed out.
Exactly. It was quite an amazing achievement - a low budget Australian film with a bunch of Australian actors that managed to conjure a bleak future setting that gained a cult following around the world and allowed him to make the second movie almost like a remake in a way (a little bit like Evil Dead 2 was in a way a remake of the first Evil Dead but with a bigger budget). It's not perfect of course and so it can't really be judged as a major Hollywood production in terms of script, acting, sound/dubbing, editing etc. as they just didn't have the resources to tick all those boxes. If it's reviewed as a low-budget, indie Australian film then it probably scores a bit higher. I never really enjoyed this movie that much myself, but I respect the vision and ingenuity it took to make it!
It was a pretty impressive achievement for an Aussie independent film to get released in cinemas in North America. I remember seeing the commercial for it on TV here in Canada
@@Theomite what sucks is that Toecutter speaks in a slightly different accent in each scene, because the actor wanted to show the range of his character’s psychosis. With the dub track, that’s lost.
Curiosity about The Mad Max universe. This movie shows the start of decaying of society and that law is a concept that can easily be broken and that the consumerism and gasoline run and a nuclear war( that Will be Shown on the beginning of The second movie) was the final thing that made Mad Max world to become The Wasteland that we see in the second movie. Basically,this movie is the origin of The story of The Road Warrior Mad Max..... And is the origin story of The apocalyptic world he lives in.
@Darkstar This movie was more about the directors observations about the Gas Crisis and Millers experience as emergency room doctor. With that said the first movie is in a dystopian society , one in decline but still functional enough for TV, night clubs, ice cream, etc.
Answer: @ 8:16 you're confused about the guy walking out. The chief just mentioned that no one showed up to court. Not the guy, the girl or anyone in the town.
This reaction is like watching someone who has seen Friday the 13th Part VI going back and watching the first film: "Where's the zombie guy in the hockey mask?" Answer: you have to wait until the sequels!
This is the American release, because they didn't think people would understand the Aussie accent.. It ends up sounding like one of those badly dubbed kung fu films
@@finite187 I'm pretty sure the DVD has the original dub, you just need to switch audio tracks. But to be fair, you wouldn't expect it to be dubbed on your first viewing.
This just shows that when you watch a latter film and then go into this with wrong pre-conceived notions on what it is and couple that with watching the dubbed version, really makes for a not particularly good reaction. I also get doubly annoyed when people misunderstand things and then switch to just mocking what they're watching. This is like the 3rd or 4th movie where that happened after you two completely misunderstood things. Not mad at you, just pointing out an unfortunate trend. Try to take in what a movie is telling you and don't add what you thought it would be to the equation and then get upset when it's not actually there.
Yeah , I felt that too, really enjoy most of their reactions but this one just annoyed me from the start. Shawn even said he wasn't in the mood beforehand , plus they watched the American dubbed version , yuk !
This is one of Gibson's early films. The budget was very low on this film and it depicts the beginning of the collapse of society. Its a brilliant film in its own right and sets the stage for the mad max universe
Wasn't it his first movie? I can't remember if it was mad max or the road warrior that they didnt even have to put makeup on mel gibson because the night before he got into a bar fight n had the scuffs on his face to prove it. Haha the good old days.
This movie had a smaller budget compared to the later ones. It’s a very good movie. The success of this one is what spawned all the sequels. It’s not a Hollywood movie. It was made in Gibson’s native Australia.
12:18 My eyes were literally glued to the screen; waiting to see if you two were really going to kiss. Darn, you guys didn't, you bursted my bubble lmao 🤣🤣🤣
In the beginning, criminal started to cry and self pity coz he met someone who is crazier than he. Like a school bully after meeting someone who doesn't fear him.
Personally I dont think this movie should at all be compared with Fury Rd. Fury Road is not a Mad Max movie, its an ok film, but a total slap in the face of the original character of Max.
The original Australian audio is available on the DVD in the audio menu, watching the film in its original Australian audio adds a lot more to the film, the American dubbed version is horrendous, it pulls you out of the film.
Guys, do you realize you're watching the American version with everyone's voices dubbed over by American voice actors? Do you not notice that Mel Gibson and some of the other actors sound like characters from Speed Racer? lol
They spend half the time chatting and not even watching which means they miss so much and end up missing half the points of the films they watch , i mean they missed that Goose's bike was sabotaged and then proceeded to say what happened to his bike.
A couple of comments: 1) You unfortunately watched the American accented dubbed version instead of the orignal Australian version. 2) You seem to conflate dystopia with post apocalyptic. While post apocalyptic films are dystopian, dystopian films don't have to be apocalyptic. This film was made in the late 70s, as many places were struggling with the oil embargo, inflation, high unemployment, and rapidly rising crime. This film takes place in a near future where the social problems they currently faced at the time had only grown worse.
I think a major issue with this movie is that it doesn't adequately explain any of that to the viewer, which is just poor writing. It fails to give you the basics and leaves the paper thin plot dangling in the wind.
"The Road Warrior" (part 2) is the best of the series. But "Mad Max" is an underrated and vastly "under-seen" gem. And it really adds to the Max character with the backstory.
Just remember people, this movie was a bitch to make, very little money, and the editing done on George Miller's kitchen table... yet, somehow established a movie icon... Thank God for that!🧡
I'm pretty shocked by your low scores. I know the pacing of the original is slower but I think it was important in order to try and make you digest how much Max really lost. Part 2 helps with bringing that message full circle.
The interesting thing is that a low-budget Australian movie showed what really happens if a bunch of people go on a rampage. A modern audience doesn't really understand that in the real world common action movie tropes don't work. You don't fight off a gang of people by being brave.
Yeah, that was my thought also. Oeh, that is not intimidating, oh, I would be much braver. Boy, you look like somebody who would pee their pants, high pitch screaming. 😂
Exactly. The sequel is far superior and is so much better in terms of overall quality. Plus if it wasn't for Mad Max, we might not have got the Wasteland games along with the amazing first two Fallout games.
@@kevincola3184 you can tell how influential it was by the amount of cheap Italian knockoffs that appeared in the bargain bin at the video store after the film came out.
I'm sure everyone will tell you this, but I'll say it anyway: you gotta watch "The Road Warrior." It's far more focused and the action is, for the time, revolutionary.
The movie is set during the early years of a post-apocalyptic event. A time when people were still trying to maintain a degree of law and order, before everything turned to hell. The film depicts that humanity is fighting a losing battle and that the world is gradually descending into chaos.
If you notice that Mel's voice is different that's because it is. The studio's thought that his Australian accent was so thick that they had someone redub it.
I only had Mad Max 3 growing up. I have a real soft spot for it and I feel you'll enjoy it a lot :) It has an epic chase scene at the end with some very good world building that explains a few Things in Fury Road!
Mad Max 3 is a good movie overall, it just doesn't compare to the 2nd movie let alone the 1st movie. I mean it's subjective of course. Obviously you enjoy 3 quite a bit :D
@@LordLOC Yeah its fun with just enough silly. 😊 I was underwhelmed with 1 and 2 after, I saw it a bit too young too so I enjoyed the scenes with the kids he meets up with.
@@HomeworkRadio Ah the kids, the one thing I really didn't like much in 3. Some of them were fine (the older ones, go figure lol) but the youngens were just to annoying for my tastes. The final chase, and ending were great though, and totally worthy of the franchise. And then Fury Road came along and said hold my beer for chases :D
I grew up with Mad Max. Waiting that long between Thunderdome and Fury Road I went into it expecting it to be good. Then I saw the trailer and got really excited. Then I watched the film and for me it was one of the most viscerally emotional experiences in cinema ever. He'd not only crafted a good film, he'd made a masterpiece.
Oh wow that’s the American dubbed version!! Apparently George Miller has never watched this version with the dubbed voices. You’ve missed some really incredible performances with the original voices. Toecutter is far more frightening with Hugh Keays-Byrnes original vocal.
You guys somehow managed to watch the "American Dub" of this film, that's why the voices are so "off" as it's American actors speaking over the Australian actors performance. I've never actually seen the "American Dub" before, I knew there was something wrong the second I heard Goose and the Chief talk, as they have really thick Aussie accents, and in the version you guys watched they sound like they are from an American Soap Opera. Even Mel Gibson has an Aussie accent in the first Mad Max, so it was weird hearing him doing an awkward American accent in this version. Also a bit of trivia for you guys, the actor who plays the main villain "Toecutter" is the same actor who plays "Immortan Joe" in Fury Road.
I have to say, running this film in '79, it didn't seem so awful. Packed the theatre for 4 nights. I challenge you to find an independent British film from '79 as a comparative. This film essentially launched Australian cinema globally. Considering the vision to budget disparity, I think they did pretty well...
Never thought I'd live to see the day when somebody would give this movie anything less than a 9 out of 10. Maybe it has something to do with me first seeing it as a kid during the early 80's. But I've seen it dozens of times since and I still love it. Screw Fury Road.
George Miller added the eyeballs to make the audience have a laugh as a way to keep people invested & not too scared to finish the film, but it was also made to be slightly creepy.
this was made for about $30,000 Aus. Fury Road had a budget of $150m. but you can see little glimpses of the story and world Miller wanted in this, that was truely shown in Fury Road.
Easily one of the best low budget road movies ever made. The U.K. Quad has Max with a double barrel shotgun pointing right at me as it hangs on my wall.
Did you guys watch the *dubbed* version that was done for US audiences? I thought the original audio version was now widely available. The original Aussie accents aren't THAT hard to understand...hope you guys can have another stab at it, the original voices make for a different film... This isn't dystopian really in the sense that the fall of civilization is still *in progress*...we haven't gotten to the POST part yet, that starts with the SECOND film. This film was made back when the Oil and Gas Crisis from the 70's was still fresh in everyone's minds. That resonated to anyone who saw the film back then...and probably still does today...
There is not just post-apocalyptic, there is also circa-apocalyptic. That is what this movie is. It puts everything else into context. Max was a lawman who saw how the law had failed as the world went mad.
You guys are so worried about the branding of the movie, that it feels the same as Fury Road. But why should it? Jeez, just enjoy the story for what it is!
This is the Road Warrior's origin story, which is essentially non-essential since we get that in the beginning of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. I have no idea why people voted for this.
The first film shows the aftermath of the collapse of societal norms and values. Oil is stolen because there is no sense of property or rights anymore. The second film is five years later. International commerce has broken down. Oil is fought over. The third film is twenty years after the first. There was a nuclear war between the second and third. The world has given up on oil. The fourth film (Fury Road) is in my opinion forty years after the first. It really should have had Mel Gibson in it. Everything has broken down and humans are reduced to fighting for water.
The first movie is a masterpiece for people who recognize masterpieces. It was low budget future post-apocalyptic- action-biker- 70s car chase- exploitation revenge flick all in one. IT is one of the great movies from the 70s. This movie ranks up there with other 70s low budget classics like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the original Dawn of the Dead.
As others have said, the first one was about society on the verge of collapsing. The second one (known in the US as The Road Warrior), is set up in a post apocalypse future. It also has among the best car chases in movie history. Mad Max 2 is one of the greatest action movies ever.
Realize, this was a very low budget film. I don‘t have much love for it, but for a little australian low budget flick, it was a huge worldwide success at the time. Having said that, I also hated Fury Road, which seemed to be an overblown empty spectacle to me. The second Mad Max movie is the only one, that I care for a little bit... it‘s not all bad. Thunder Dome is crap again.
I saw this film on the Sci-fi Channel in 2000 in its original widescreen format, and a month later MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR was released. Both are bad ass movies!
I think the first one is good. Clearly it's George Miller and company having a blast in the outback with a bunch of fast cars on a minimal budget. I think you both will enjoy Mad Max 2 more because of the more apocalyptic tone. If anything this movie is a good prologue, when the world was starting to collapse. Also that stunt where the motorcycle guy was hit in the back of the head with the bike looked painful as fuck.
This movies budget was pretty much nothing. George Miller literally paid his cast and crew with beer occasionally. It's really a testament to his filmmaking prowess to still manage such an impressive film filled with neck breaking stunts.
Personally, I love this film. It's a classic revenge story full of weirdness. A real gem of indie cinema.
notice the cardboard cut out on the lorry at the end? the lorry was borrowed off a local company who had no idea what Miller was going to do.
@@raverdeath100 Hahaha, now that's what I call guerilla filmmaking!
@@raverdeath100 Yep and they couldn't damage it at all. Hence why they had that extra "padding" on it.
They BORROWED the motorbikes from a Honda dealership and gave them back trashed.
its stundmen willing to do their thing
American dubbed version, the original Australian is better. The distributor thought American audiences would not understand the Aussie accents.
yeah i saw some aussie actors like the old woman from cell block h. the bad sound takes you out of the moment fkr sure
We, in the UK, must have gotten the Australian audio for the VHS release. I remember everyone sounding Australian.
@@FrancisXLord All that guzzaline?
Yea, i was thinking the same... why would they watch this version. They probably didnt know. Im from the U.S. and the original version is the best. Dubbed version just sounds weird.
@@FrancisXLord You did, the original UK VHS was Aussie dialoged.
I think that part of the problem for a modern audience is that Max's emotional arc is more subtlety depicted than what you'd expect from a more recent film where it's sometimes ridiculously obvious.
Already from the beginning he is struggling when he's playing chicken with The Nightrider. After loosing Goose he tells his chief that he's afraid to turn into a terminal crazy, only with a bronze badge to say that he's one of the good guys and the loss of his wife and son is what finally breaks him. He goes mad.
Well said!
The second movie is the one most people think about with the more post-apocalyptic setting.
The second one remains one of the greatest action films of all time. Hasn't aged at all, except for the prologue (someone should re-release it with an updated prologue).
If you watch it, be sure to avoid the version that dubbed 'The Humungous' with a corny American accent.
@@GK-yi4xv they ALL were dubbed with corny accents cuz the originals didnt sound tough enough.
My fav was the Night Riders original voice. 🤣
@@versetripn6631 He sounds Australian.. Its an Australian film you peanut.
@@bloodofmyenemies uhhhh, sorry MATE but i was referring to the Dubbed Bass in his voice vs the naturally higher pitch in the unedited version.
Nowadays they CGI entire people so, pity to the Stunt Guild.
I have NEVER been called a "peanut".
😣🤣
@@versetripn6631 True, the dubbed version and CGI stunts are for peanuts.
Re-read your comment and get it now. I guess I'm the peanut.
This one takes place when society is on the verge of collapse, but the following films all take place after the apocalypse. The second film is definitely better, but you guys really should have watched the version of this film with the original Australian audio.
Yes, and the US dub is lame.
That fucking US dub was terrible, the original audio is much better, luckily they noticed the dubbing
Kept thinking to myself, This is different to how i remember it, but couldn't figure out what till i read your comment.
To be even more specific, Mad Max is the only story that takes place as a historical piece inside the universe Miller has created; Road Warrior, Thunderdome, and Fury Road are all "Tales of the Wasteland", and not all necessarily are stories about Max Rockastanky, but are attributed to him thanks to oral tradition. Which exists as the primary way things are passed from person to person since all forms of greater communication have long since crumbled. But the original still exists just on the edge of a time where things could be preserved, and so is the only "true" story of Max. According to Miller, all of the sequels exist in a non-linear continuity; it doesn't really matter where you believe they land in a timeline, because maybe none of them occurred to Max himself, or maybe all of them did. Who's to say? They're all just words people clinging to hope tell one another to stave away the boredom and the despair.
It's also why a certain car tends to show up again and again when, logically, we know it can't because of particular events in each film.
They're all stories around a campfire, really. Pretty cool.
Mad Max is basically a Western but with motor vehicles instead of horses so that's would be what you compare it to.
It's not post-apocalyptic as such. Society has been on a steep decline, but hasn't collapsed yet. Therefore crime goes rampant, but cops and hospitals and lawyers still exist. So it's "Just shortly before the Apocalypse", which is at odds with the rest of the franchise (and people's expectations of it) which is full on post apocalyptic.
Perhaps dystopian(?)
Wasting your breath on these two phillistines
From what I have read about the story line, the movie takes place in 1984, 5 years after the massive oil embargoes and shortages forced the world into a global war. Order has been restored in remote areas where coal power and new sources of oil could be found, however the newly formed police force are having trouble with the encroachment of violent gangs and other have-nots.
also the bombs havent fallen yet.
@@samuraibeluga3749 They might have fallen already. It's only 5 years in. There was a movie from the 1950's called The Beach, and Australia was the least affected by an all out war. If the winds blew the wrong way, fallout or radioactive debris could've forced survivors into the wasteland.
The actor who played the villain toe cutter in this one also played immortan joe in Mad max fury road
Hugh Keays-Byrne (18 May 1947 - 2 December 2020) Toecutter in Mad Max (1979), and Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
Beat me to it! 👍
@@kylereese4822 Ride Shiny and Chrome Forever!
@@DarthTach I bet he`s driving the Interceptor right now :):)
Just realized also it's the awful dubbed version not seen in the US until 2002. Apparently that version was used in other countries as well, especially to cover up slang words like Oy and Crikey. I had the US version growing up and my God what a load off my back when the Australian original hit the US and finally it was watchable.
Why are you comparing two films 36 years apart? Is Citizen Kane a 4.6 because it wasn't shot in 2020?
This was a low budget $350K USD movie by a 1st time feature director, it's not a $185 million blockbuster with tons of CGI. It's a 7/10 all day long for what it is, and you are watching in the wrong dub.
Today that would be about $1.4 million.
This movie is not supposed to be post apocalyptic. It is supposed to show society beginning to go off the rails and law and order starting to break down. The other movies are After The End of civilization - implied in the 80s to be caused by nuclear war and in Fury Road by environmental disaster.
Fury road is just something else .. they just have bought the rights for the "Title"
@@planetfourthreich3022 Agreed. Fury Road seems to be it's own thing and not remotely connected to the previous films for some reason except for the Interceptor magically reappearing at the beginning of the film even though it was trashed in The Road Warrior. I know there was a comic prequel put out around the time of Fury Road's release that explained how Max got another one but it was still contrived AF.
@@planetfourthreich3022 Never seen Fury Road. Was it any good mate?
Did he say 4.9, are you serious. This is Mad Max, if you guys gave it a chance and really watched it instead of mocking it, you might have really liked it, now it's too late, you only get to see Mad Max for the first time once! I fell in love with this film the first time i saw it, Amazing work!
George Miller also directed the equally dystopian Babe 2: Pig in the City.
Lol
Yes, and the nightmare horror known as "Happy Feet" :)
@@cowpercoles1194 I thought the sequel was the nightmare.
It's a shame that this film has a reputation as "post apocalyptic" because it really doesn't fit into that genre at all. The narrative here charts the beginning of the end for ordered society. There's still a police service. There's still some form of a legal system. Insanity and aggression haven't taken over yet, but they're beginning to bubble up. Compared to the rest of the series, this is more Max's origin story, the tragedy of how he lost his faith in law and order and turned to vigilanteism in the name of survival. The American English dubbing in this cut also doesn't do the film any favors.
Honestly this movie makes me think of The Road, the slow decline of humanity, the clawing for the last hope of society and normality.
@@nathanhall9345 Definitely a good comparison. I'd say things are certainly a little farther gone in The Road than they are here, but it's closer to stability than Fury Road or even The Road Warrior.
Watching this dub should be illegal.
I am with you friend this is a travesty.
I was a kid in the US when this and Road Warrior hit theaters. When the sequel was released I was surprised to learn Max has an Australian accent
I didn't even know this dubbed version existed. I was watching and thinking I remembered wrong and I was sure everyone had an australian accent the last time I saw the movie.
It should be a labor camp offense.
The spirit of the original is tarnished by the overdubbed American accents.
I saw a documentary where George Miller said the cameraman was literally on the back of a motorbike racing like a bat out of hell to get some of these shots...its a miracle he wasn't killed. There's no way they would allow that today. Low budget moviemaking at its finest.
Yeah half of the stunts would never be allowed to be filmed from the first two films these days.
None of the voices are their own, it was dubbed for the international release. From australian english to american english...
That's the first time I have seen this version, always been the original audio. Wierd
@@MrMikemillard1 Me too and I saw it in the US.
Such a dumb idea hahah.
I think for a lot of people in the US this was their first exposure to Australian filmmaking. There was probably fear that people would not understand the accents, which in the early 80s might actually have been true!
Mel Gibson dubbed his own voice for the Yanks.
Free tip guys. Judge a film based on the film itself and what the film is conveying rather than all your preconceptions and disappointment when your ill-informed preconceptions weren’t met.
George Miller didn't have the budget for his proper vision until The Road Warrior. With the little money he did have he made a very impressive action movie, and in return got the bigger budget he needed for the sequels. Also the first movi is when society is on the verge of collapse, starting with The Road Warrior through Fury Road society has completely bottomed out.
Exactly. It was quite an amazing achievement - a low budget Australian film with a bunch of Australian actors that managed to conjure a bleak future setting that gained a cult following around the world and allowed him to make the second movie almost like a remake in a way (a little bit like Evil Dead 2 was in a way a remake of the first Evil Dead but with a bigger budget). It's not perfect of course and so it can't really be judged as a major Hollywood production in terms of script, acting, sound/dubbing, editing etc. as they just didn't have the resources to tick all those boxes. If it's reviewed as a low-budget, indie Australian film then it probably scores a bit higher. I never really enjoyed this movie that much myself, but I respect the vision and ingenuity it took to make it!
It was a pretty impressive achievement for an Aussie independent film to get released in cinemas in North America. I remember seeing the commercial for it on TV here in Canada
People look back and think it should be a post-apocalyptic epic, but really it's a classic grindhouse action movie.
The film is set before the oil wars. The films that follow are after. This introduces you to Max and how he becomes the Road Warrior.
He was off the grid back when there was a still a grid.
@@DeathRex88 The Australian Govt. defunded the Police. That worked out well for them. Still, Max got his V8.
@@mazza4190 The last of the V8's..
Mel Gibson was 23 years old when the movie was released and yes, it did kickoff his career
and what a career its been!
@@kingscorpion7346 Yes. Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, Apocalypto, Passion of the Christ and some very anti-Semitic comments
@@Blitzo8390 wait, did he direct Apocalypto, produce it? I haven't gotten to see all of it but I'm a little familiar with it.
@@kingscorpion7346 He did direct it
@@Blitzo8390 cool!
"Maybe the world gets a bit more crazier between the films?" Well, cant wait for mad max 3 when they meet master blaster and tina turner
Who runs Bartertown?
@@krisbrown6692 ...Master Blaster.
Not the Raggedy man. haha
I like how it's just "wait till they see Tina Turner" like she becomes a warlord in her own right and not even the character she plays
"That was the worst intimidation I've seen in my life" Are you kidding me bro? That would freak the shit out of me
This was not a Hollywood U.S.A. film. It was an independent film made in Australia.
Why are you watching the american dubbed version?
Lol yeah I noticed that too
Yeah , i think the Netflix US isn’t like that at all . Thank goodness ..
I was honestly surprised it was still available as a default audio track.
@@Theomite what sucks is that Toecutter speaks in a slightly different accent in each scene, because the actor wanted to show the range of his character’s psychosis. With the dub track, that’s lost.
Because they have the old DVD. It took a couple of releases before they finally added the original version on it.
Curiosity about The Mad Max universe.
This movie shows the start of decaying of society and that law is a concept that can easily be broken and that the consumerism and gasoline run and a nuclear war( that Will be Shown on the beginning of The second movie) was the final thing that made Mad Max world to become The Wasteland that we see in the second movie.
Basically,this movie is the origin of The story of The Road Warrior Mad Max.....
And is the origin story of The apocalyptic world he lives in.
@Darkstar yeah
@Darkstar This movie was more about the directors observations about the Gas Crisis and Millers experience as emergency room doctor. With that said the first movie is in a dystopian society , one in decline but still functional enough for TV, night clubs, ice cream, etc.
"nothing in this film makes sense"
me (muttering): "it would if you watched it instead of just taking the piss"
Answer: @ 8:16 you're confused about the guy walking out. The chief just mentioned that no one showed up to court. Not the guy, the girl or anyone in the town.
This reaction is like watching someone who has seen Friday the 13th Part VI going back and watching the first film: "Where's the zombie guy in the hockey mask?" Answer: you have to wait until the sequels!
Really appreciate you two being honest in these and not just giving out empty praise to please everybody.
These guys really need to have every single aspect of a movie explained to them.🙄🤦🏻♂️
“What’s going on?” Idk. Maybe just watch the movie.
The voices are all strange with the over-dubbing, it's a huge distraction, I'd try to the find the original version
This is the American release, because they didn't think people would understand the Aussie accent.. It ends up sounding like one of those badly dubbed kung fu films
@@finite187 I'm pretty sure the DVD has the original dub, you just need to switch audio tracks. But to be fair, you wouldn't expect it to be dubbed on your first viewing.
@@jameshinton2401 Ah ok, so it just defaults to that. Shame
is the shout factory blu-ray the original? I had that one, and I thought that was the one I saw.
@@finite187 Yeah. Annoyingly the DVD they have hides the original dub under the bonus features!
This just shows that when you watch a latter film and then go into this with wrong pre-conceived notions on what it is and couple that with watching the dubbed version, really makes for a not particularly good reaction. I also get doubly annoyed when people misunderstand things and then switch to just mocking what they're watching. This is like the 3rd or 4th movie where that happened after you two completely misunderstood things. Not mad at you, just pointing out an unfortunate trend. Try to take in what a movie is telling you and don't add what you thought it would be to the equation and then get upset when it's not actually there.
Yeah , I felt that too, really enjoy most of their reactions but this one just annoyed me from the start. Shawn even said he wasn't in the mood beforehand , plus they watched the American dubbed version , yuk !
The stunts in this movie are completely off the wall. They REALLY took some serious risks.
This is one of Gibson's early films. The budget was very low on this film and it depicts the beginning of the collapse of society. Its a brilliant film in its own right and sets the stage for the mad max universe
Wasn't it his first movie? I can't remember if it was mad max or the road warrior that they didnt even have to put makeup on mel gibson because the night before he got into a bar fight n had the scuffs on his face to prove it. Haha the good old days.
This movie had a smaller budget compared to the later ones. It’s a very good movie. The success of this one is what spawned all the sequels. It’s not a Hollywood movie. It was made in Gibson’s native Australia.
12:18 My eyes were literally glued to the screen; waiting to see if you two were really going to kiss. Darn, you guys didn't, you bursted my bubble lmao 🤣🤣🤣
In the beginning, criminal started to cry and self pity coz he met someone who is crazier than he. Like a school bully after meeting someone who doesn't fear him.
Yeah, he got spooked and it shot his confidence all to hell.
When you look up at the night sky remember him.. The Night Rider,!!
Personally I dont think this movie should at all be compared with Fury Rd. Fury Road is not a Mad Max movie, its an ok film, but a total slap in the face of the original character of Max.
You need to find a copy with the original audio. These overdubs are distracting.
The original Australian audio is available on the DVD in the audio menu, watching the film in its original Australian audio adds a lot more to the film, the American dubbed version is horrendous, it pulls you out of the film.
The biker gang weren't acting, they were a real biker gang.
Well technically they where acting
Well to be fair, the gang members with dialog were real actors, it was just the extras with no dialog that had some real bike gang members involved.
@@piffinyonnies On some gorgeous Z1000 Kawasaki bikes too.!
Guys, do you realize you're watching the American version with everyone's voices dubbed over by American voice actors? Do you not notice that Mel Gibson and some of the other actors sound like characters from Speed Racer? lol
" They let him go because he had a lawyer " ?
NO they let him go because no one turned up to give evidence/statements..
They spend half the time chatting and not even watching which means they miss so much and end up missing half the points of the films they watch , i mean they missed that Goose's bike was sabotaged and then proceeded to say what happened to his bike.
A couple of comments:
1) You unfortunately watched the American accented dubbed version instead of the orignal Australian version.
2) You seem to conflate dystopia with post apocalyptic. While post apocalyptic films are dystopian, dystopian films don't have to be apocalyptic. This film was made in the late 70s, as many places were struggling with the oil embargo, inflation, high unemployment, and rapidly rising crime. This film takes place in a near future where the social problems they currently faced at the time had only grown worse.
I think a major issue with this movie is that it doesn't adequately explain any of that to the viewer, which is just poor writing. It fails to give you the basics and leaves the paper thin plot dangling in the wind.
@@brandonfuller7429 It explains it by saying "a few years in the future" at the beginning. It made sense to people in the 70s.
"The Road Warrior" (part 2) is the best of the series. But "Mad Max" is an underrated and vastly "under-seen" gem. And it really adds to the Max character with the backstory.
Well now you HAVE to see the sequel THE ROAD WARRIOR (in the US), one of the greatest films ever made.
The Toecutters gang constantly shadowing his family is still scary.
Beyond Thunderdome is the best of the series though. Two men enter, one man leaves.
Light me Johnny....
Your watching the american dubbed version lol
I’ve never heard the dub before it certainly is strange.
Oh god, it’s the international dub!
It's the American dub.
Boys, this is the origin story, it takes place before the events that lead to Road Warrior etc. So naturally, it won't look like the other films.
These two are idiots. You haven't watched enough of their videos to know that yet?
@@jackspratt7264 Hang on now. They may miss things, but they're not idiots, they clearly love movies.
Hugh Keays-Byrne who plays Toecutter recently died, he also played Imortan Joe in Fury Road.
Just remember people, this movie was a bitch to make, very little money, and the editing done on George Miller's kitchen table... yet, somehow established a movie icon... Thank God for that!🧡
I'm pretty shocked by your low scores. I know the pacing of the original is slower but I think it was important in order to try and make you digest how much Max really lost. Part 2 helps with bringing that message full circle.
If max's family had died in the first 20 minutes it would have been every other revenge film and there never would have been more than one fim
The voice overs drove me nuts in this. Glad my copy isnt like that.
Yeah the voice dubbing sucks
I'm really surprised because I don't know a single person who has this version (in the US).
Thankfully Darth Vader didn't have a British voice.
Mad Max 2 : Road Warrior is miles better than the original. Fury Road is my favourite though
The guy on screen right “I would defend and fight”. Bro, you would have pissed down your leg once the motorcycles started chasing you!
The interesting thing is that a low-budget Australian movie showed what really happens if a bunch of people go on a rampage. A modern audience doesn't really understand that in the real world common action movie tropes don't work. You don't fight off a gang of people by being brave.
@@quintoblanco8746 Even if you're a trained fighter you'll be lucky to handle yourself against two or three people, much less a gang.
Yeah, that was my thought also. Oeh, that is not intimidating, oh, I would be much braver. Boy, you look like somebody who would pee their pants, high pitch screaming. 😂
The second one really is a lot better in my opinion just because their budget was higher
Exactly. The sequel is far superior and is so much better in terms of overall quality. Plus if it wasn't for Mad Max, we might not have got the Wasteland games along with the amazing first two Fallout games.
@@kevincola3184 you can tell how influential it was by the amount of cheap Italian knockoffs that appeared in the bargain bin at the video store after the film came out.
It is better, but it's good to see this to sort of set the mood. I do like how the second one still maintain a low budget "look" however.
@@doplinger1 Yeah, I love that they kept most things from the first, and just improved them instead of removing or changing them.
I'm sure everyone will tell you this, but I'll say it anyway: you gotta watch "The Road Warrior." It's far more focused and the action is, for the time, revolutionary.
The movie is set during the early years of a post-apocalyptic event. A time when people were still trying to maintain a degree of law and order, before everything turned to hell. The film depicts that humanity is fighting a losing battle and that the world is gradually descending into chaos.
Except the "Apocalypse" hadn't happened yet.
Budget? George Miller literally edited this film on his kitchen table.
The first one is literally Max's origin story. It takes place before the apocalypse that creates the world the other movies are set in
In the og it takes place as society begins to fall apart, it doesnt become fully apocalyptic until road warrior
The poster for the movie doesn't show Max at all. It's actually the character Goose.
Fun Fact: The actor playing Toecutter is the same actor that played Immortan Joe
How can you say the main villan's death wasn't impactful? He literally impacted with a truck.
This movie feels like a fever dream. The second one is much, much better.
If you notice that Mel's voice is different that's because it is. The studio's thought that his Australian accent was so thick that they had someone redub it.
I only had Mad Max 3 growing up. I have a real soft spot for it and I feel you'll enjoy it a lot :) It has an epic chase scene at the end with some very good world building that explains a few Things in Fury Road!
Mad Max 3 is a good movie overall, it just doesn't compare to the 2nd movie let alone the 1st movie. I mean it's subjective of course. Obviously you enjoy 3 quite a bit :D
@@LordLOC Yeah its fun with just enough silly. 😊 I was underwhelmed with 1 and 2 after, I saw it a bit too young too so I enjoyed the scenes with the kids he meets up with.
@@HomeworkRadio Ah the kids, the one thing I really didn't like much in 3. Some of them were fine (the older ones, go figure lol) but the youngens were just to annoying for my tastes. The final chase, and ending were great though, and totally worthy of the franchise. And then Fury Road came along and said hold my beer for chases :D
@@LordLOC Yeah. I think this must have been one of the 1st adult films (15) I ever saw. My friends mum had it on VHS 📼 😊👍
I love Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Highly underrated.
I grew up with Mad Max. Waiting that long between Thunderdome and Fury Road I went into it expecting it to be good. Then I saw the trailer and got really excited. Then I watched the film and for me it was one of the most viscerally emotional experiences in cinema ever. He'd not only crafted a good film, he'd made a masterpiece.
the ending scene inspired the whole ''SAW'' series.
I thought of Jigsaw straight away.
Oh wow that’s the American dubbed version!! Apparently George Miller has never watched this version with the dubbed voices. You’ve missed some really incredible performances with the original voices. Toecutter is far more frightening with Hugh Keays-Byrnes original vocal.
You guys somehow managed to watch the "American Dub" of this film, that's why the voices are so "off" as it's American actors speaking over the Australian actors performance.
I've never actually seen the "American Dub" before, I knew there was something wrong the second I heard Goose and the Chief talk, as they have really thick Aussie accents, and in the version you guys watched they sound like they are from an American Soap Opera.
Even Mel Gibson has an Aussie accent in the first Mad Max, so it was weird hearing him doing an awkward American accent in this version.
Also a bit of trivia for you guys, the actor who plays the main villain "Toecutter" is the same actor who plays "Immortan Joe" in Fury Road.
The rare exception where the sequel is exceptionally better than the first one...The Road Warrior is the one, although Mad Max is still pretty good.
I have to say, running this film in '79, it didn't seem so awful. Packed the theatre for 4 nights. I challenge you to find an independent British film from '79 as a comparative. This film essentially launched Australian cinema globally. Considering the vision to budget disparity, I think they did pretty well...
Oh god dont tell me you watched the US redub!!!
You’ve watched some weird version. Mels voice and everyone else in this is Australian and this was American. This must be US version. It’s terrible.
No. I mean, I'm in America and have never, ever seen this version. Not even on TV. This is weird.
I think the lesson here is that if you're in a movie and your name is Goose, you're going to die.
Never thought I'd live to see the day when somebody would give this movie anything less than a 9 out of 10. Maybe it has something to do with me first seeing it as a kid during the early 80's. But I've seen it dozens of times since and I still love it. Screw Fury Road.
Americans dubbing an Australian movie. So funny 😂.
I'm a Kiwi and I didn't even know there was an American audio version, though I guess I'm not surprised. Wow that was awful.
George Miller added the eyeballs to make the audience have a laugh as a way to keep people invested & not too scared to finish the film, but it was also made to be slightly creepy.
when you said, "what the hell is that?", I think it was her dead dog hanging
this was made for about $30,000 Aus. Fury Road had a budget of $150m. but you can see little glimpses of the story and world Miller wanted in this, that was truely shown in Fury Road.
6 is fair but 4.9 is disappointing son.
Until now I did not realize how absurdly horrific was the dubbed version.
Easily one of the best low budget road movies ever made. The U.K. Quad has Max with a double barrel shotgun pointing right at me as it hangs on my wall.
Did you guys watch the *dubbed* version that was done for US audiences? I thought the original audio version was now widely available. The original Aussie accents aren't THAT hard to understand...hope you guys can have another stab at it, the original voices make for a different film...
This isn't dystopian really in the sense that the fall of civilization is still *in progress*...we haven't gotten to the POST part yet, that starts with the SECOND film. This film was made back when the Oil and Gas Crisis from the 70's was still fresh in everyone's minds. That resonated to anyone who saw the film back then...and probably still does today...
The bad guy in this movie is also the bad guy in Fury Road
Furry Road?
@@kuhpunkt 1) damn autocorrect. 2). Clearly you knew what it was referring to
@@rileyandmike Of course.
@@kuhpunkt That's a whole different movie right there lmao.
There is not just post-apocalyptic, there is also circa-apocalyptic. That is what this movie is. It puts everything else into context. Max was a lawman who saw how the law had failed as the world went mad.
You guys are so worried about the branding of the movie, that it feels the same as Fury Road. But why should it? Jeez, just enjoy the story for what it is!
The main bad guy in this movie is the same guy who plays the bad guy in Fury Road.
when the blond one talks i feel like im losing braincells
This is the Road Warrior's origin story, which is essentially non-essential since we get that in the beginning of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. I have no idea why people voted for this.
I think because "Mad Max 2" wasn't on the poll. I think everyone would have voted for that one instead.
The first film shows the aftermath of the collapse of societal norms and values. Oil is stolen because there is no sense of property or rights anymore.
The second film is five years later. International commerce has broken down. Oil is fought over.
The third film is twenty years after the first. There was a nuclear war between the second and third. The world has given up on oil.
The fourth film (Fury Road) is in my opinion forty years after the first. It really should have had Mel Gibson in it. Everything has broken down and humans are reduced to fighting for water.
The first movie is a masterpiece for people who recognize masterpieces. It was low budget future post-apocalyptic- action-biker- 70s car chase- exploitation revenge flick all in one. IT is one of the great movies from the 70s. This movie ranks up there with other 70s low budget classics like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the original Dawn of the Dead.
Love this movie, pity about the dubbing. Gotta love the Australian bush. Greetings from Australia. The American accents ruined it completely.
Agreed.
As others have said, the first one was about society on the verge of collapsing.
The second one (known in the US as The Road Warrior), is set up in a post apocalypse future.
It also has among the best car chases in movie history.
Mad Max 2 is one of the greatest action movies ever.
Realize, this was a very low budget film. I don‘t have much love for it, but for a little australian low budget flick, it was a huge worldwide success at the time. Having said that, I also hated Fury Road, which seemed to be an overblown empty spectacle to me. The second Mad Max movie is the only one, that I care for a little bit... it‘s not all bad. Thunder Dome is crap again.
I saw this film on the Sci-fi Channel in 2000 in its original widescreen format, and a month later MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR was released. Both are bad ass movies!
The Road Warrior was released long before 2000.
I think the first one is good. Clearly it's George Miller and company having a blast in the outback with a bunch of fast cars on a minimal budget. I think you both will enjoy Mad Max 2 more because of the more apocalyptic tone. If anything this movie is a good prologue, when the world was starting to collapse.
Also that stunt where the motorcycle guy was hit in the back of the head with the bike looked painful as fuck.
Fun Fact: The actor who played Toecutter also played Immortan Joe in Fury Road...!