He was also in a biker a film called Stone in 74 which is generally seen as a prequel movie to Mad Max. They even started putting it in the posters in the US after Mad Max's popularity. "Before Max there was Stone".
You’re gonna love Mad Max The Road Warrior. It has the dystopian feel, you asked for. Awesome plot, great characters, a much bigger budget than in the first one and the best car chase in the movie history at that time. I really recommend that you watch The Road Warrior!
@@johnellizz I haven’t watched those two movies which you mention. The car chase in the original Gone in 60 seconds does look good (just watched a few clips from it) but when I notice that six persons involved in the movie have the last name, Halicki, I’m not so sure about the quality. Well, there’s nothing wrong in making a B-action movie (the lack of great actors in Gone in 60 s), the first Mad Max, if you look at the budget, was a B-movie, The Road Warrior was an A-movie. I can see similarities with Race with The Devil. I’d like to watch that one some day. I was never hooked on Nicolas Cage’s Gone in 60 seconds, don’t know why. I’ve watched several movies from the 70’es but in 74 and 75 I was very young, and I don’t recall that any of those movies was shown in the country where I live. Btw, thanks for the info, it’s interesting to know where George Miller got the inspiration for the final chase scene.
@@prebenpoejensen8256 Halicki plays the driver in Gone In 60 Seconds and I think he wrote and produced it as well. He was killed on a movie years later when a telephone pole crushed his car. But if you watch the 40 minute long chase in Gone In 60 Seconds you''ll be wondering how he and many others weren't killed making that film. It shares the feeling of being insanely dangerous with Mad Max 2's chase.
@@johnellizz 40 m. long!!!!! I only watched a few short clips. Would love to watch it just once. Poor guy, meeting his death in a car accident irl. Yeah, it shares the feeling of being insanely dangerous with Mad Mad 2’s chase. I must search for more info about how they made tgat chase in Gone in 60 s.
@@prebenpoejensen8256 You can watch the movie (Gone In 60 Seconds) with the original music or there's an updated techno soundtrack. As for me, I prefer the techno as it really enhances the excitement of the chase scene. Yes, do see this chase scene it's beyond insane and nothing else like it exists.
Fun Fact: When Mad Max was originally released in the USA and Canada, the dialogue was all dubbed over by voice actors using American accents because the US distributors believed that the Australian accents and slang might be too difficult for some American audiences to understand. You know, kind of like Canadian accents. 😂 LOL Just kidding. The voices used in the dubbing were the same voice actors that had been used in Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and Japanese animated features like Speed Racer.
On a $400,000 dollar budget, the film made $100 million dollars at the box office! Mel Gibson was 23 when he was cast. The movie takes place in the year 1999-2000. The movie was filmed in location in Broken Hill, Australia. Most of the driving stunts were done in one take. Critics gave this movie mixed reviews, calling it exploitative and violent, but have warmed up to the film later on, calling the best action movie ever made.
Okay, here are the facts. They had only one of each car available as they did of each motorbike. Most of the cars (except for the Black Pursuit Special) were old run down or ex-police vehicles bought at auction and held together by tape and wire. Mel Gibson was born in the US, moved with his family to Australia in his teens. The burnt hand you see of Goose in the hospital was actually that of the actress that played the old lady at the end who tries to save Jessie who was also in the long running popular Aussie TV show that made it big the USA 'Prisoner'. Most of the stunts were done by a small handful of stuntmen and race car drivers. No one was injured during production. However the original actress who was to play Jessie on day one of production was hitching a ride with the Stunt Man Grant Page and on their way to the set on a motorbike, a truck pulled out in front of them and they slid and crashed casing both Grant and the actress to break their legs among other damage. Grant continued to work with a broken leg and did most of the car crashes in the movie. The budget was under $400,000 AUD, which was back then about $250,000 USD. It grossed over 100 million dollars US world wide making it the highest cost to profit movie in history until the Blair Witch Project. This movie is set in a world similar to our lockdown situation a few years back where there are curfews and restrictions along with a major oil shortage as two major nations are in war with one another. There are way more facts, but lets leave it at that for now. Cheers.
As for the dystopia, that really increases as the saga goes on. In this part, it's relatively normal (reeelatively), but 2 and 3 up the ante of the dystopia big time. Mel Gibson had appeared in a film called "Summer City" and a few episodes of legendary Aussie soap, "The Sullivans" before this, but this was by far his breakthrough role.
@@AubreySciFi yeah, it was gallipoli and mad max 2 that really made gibson a star. Mad max 1 was r rated and bsck then an r rating was the kiss of death for movies. Mad max 1 only took off when vhs came out, around 1982.
Fun Fact: Max Rockatansky's V-8 Interceptor Pursuit Special is actually a modified Ford Falcon, which was produced by Ford Motor Company from 1959 to 1970, and was a sister vehicle to the Ford Mustang and built on the same platform. The Falcon sold poorly in the USA, however, and was discontinued in 1970, but it continued to be a popular seller in Australia. Max's car is a 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT351, a limited edition hardtop (sold in Australia from December 1973 to August 1976), which was primarily modified by Murray Smith, Peter Arcadipane, and Ray Beckerley. The main modifications are the Concorde front end and the supercharger protruding through the hood (for looks only; it was not functional).
Fury Road is pristine excellently executed big movie magic, 2 is pure balls and guts and true mayhem caught on film. Balls and guts beats pristine every time in an action movie.
Mad Max is set at a time when civilization is at the brink of collapse. It show's Max's origin. He was a Cop, a father, and a husband before the collapse. In the next movie, "The Road Warrior". Society has fallen, and it's the beginning of the dystopian future you witnessed in "Fury Road". "The Road Warrior" is my favorite of the "Mad Max" films. It's more Sci-fi. I think you'll enjoy it. Fun Fact: The Guy who played the boss bad guy in "Mad Max" "Toe-Cutter". Also played the boss bad guy in "Fury Road" "Immortan Joe". His real name is Hugh Keays-Byrne. He just passed in 2020. Mel Gibson was born in New York and his family moved to Australia when he was just a boy. That's why his accent comes and goes.
Some actual motorcycle gang members and a lot of people paid in beer. George Miller was an ER doctor. His personal experience seeing actual crash victims was critical in the inspiration of this film. One story I heard is that Mel Gibson was an aspiring actor but he just came to the audition with his friend, the guy who played Goose. Mel had just previously been in a bar fight and got hired on as a goon because of the look of his face. But when he showed up again all healed up. He got recast because he looked the hell of a lot better.
first couple of drafts had Max originally as an ambulance driver, the director George Miller was an emergency room doctor and used his salary from that to help fund the film.
The 2nd movie - The Road Warrior - starts all the real legacy of the franchise. THAT is a good movie. The 3rd movie is also very good. Not much backstory for Max. He's more like the man w/ no name (Clint Eastwood) character.
Fun Fact: The reason that Mel Gibson's Australian accent seems to be wavering, Jen, is because Mel Gibson is actually American, not Australian. LOL He was born in Peeksill, New York in 1956 of Irish descent, his paternal grandmother being born in Australia to Irish parents. After his father was awarded $145,000 in a work-related-injury lawsuit against the New York Central Railroad in 1968, his family relocated to West Pymble, Sydney, Australia when Mel Gibson was just 12 years old, and he acquired a light Australian accent during his teenage years. They moved for both economic reasons and to avoid having Mel's eldest brother being drafted into the Vietnam war. Mel Gibson has dual Irish and American citizenship and is also an Australian permanent resident even though he lives in the USA.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is one of the greatest action films ever. if you're intrigued by the original, you'll see a more fully realized version of the same themes in Road Warrior. epic movie
Several of the action sequences had to be filmed in a single take, as this was a low budget film, and it was indeed filmed in Australia. There was little no margin for error. Safety during the stunts was indeed a huge consideration, even in the scene where the stuntman got hit by the motorcycle. Not everything goes as planned, and sometimes, the miscalculations work in the film's favor. Fortunately, the movie was a huge hit, so they had plenty to spend on the sequels: Road Warrior and Beyond Thunder Dome. The early 80's TV series Knight Rider is not related.
Grant Page was the lead stuntman and turned up for the shoot on crutches after being injured in a previous movie. He just cracked on with crashing the cars despite his legs being in plaster. Page was the busiest stuntman in Australia during the 1970's and was absolutely fearless. There were 2 doccos made at the time chronicling his career Danger Freaks and The Stuntmen.
Yes, Jen, all of the Mad Max films were filmed in Australia by Australian filmmaker George Miller, who would also go on to direct films like The Witches of Eastwick, Lorenzo's Oil, Babe, Happy Feet, and the Nightmare At 20,000 Feet segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Gibson got the job by accident he went to support his best friend Steve Bisley- Jim Goose. The crew took photos of him because he'd been in a bar fight, when they called him to return weeks later they met "pretty" Mel and gave him the part. The fan theory is that Toe Cutter barely survived the crash and became Imortan Joe.
The opening scene: Difficult to pick up, but the "Toecutter" driving the black car is a gang leader that just escaped from police custody with his girlfriend, and that black car is a police pursuit vehicle.
"I'm scared, Fif. You know why? It's that rat circus out there. I'm beginning to enjoy it." "What is this, funny week?" "Look. Any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, you know? A terminal crazy... only I got a bronze badge to say I'm one of the good guys." Fun Fact: Hugh Keays-Byrne, Tim Burns, and Reg Evans (Toecutter, Johnny the Boy, and the stationmaster) were all classically-trained Shakespearean stage actors. Hugh Keays-Byrne modeled his performance of Toecutter after historical records written about Mongolian warlord Temujin, also known as Genghis Khan. Tim Burns (Johnny the Boy) was so into character that he annoyed everyone on-set, and was abandoned one day during lunch while handcuffed to the wreck. I Am The Law Fact: The "get-out-of-jail-free card" that Goose gives the triker was an on-set joke. Because of the limited budget, the biker gang was an actual biker gang (the Vigilantes), and they had to ride to the set each day in-costume; often with their prop weapons displayed. Since the production company expected them to be pulled over by the local police, each was given a letter explaining the film's peculiar requirements, and asking for law-enforcement's understanding and cooperation.
The dystopia gets worse and worse as the story goes on. Basically this is the first movie in the timeline and is when the world and society is just starting to fall apart. Between this movie and the second one there is a nuclear war and society completely ends.
it continues with the "Road warrior, beyond thunderdome and then fury road. Mel gibsons accent was so thick that american audiences couldnt understand the dialog so his voice was dubbed. There is rumors that the character in fury road is the child from the second movie. wonder if that is true.
Nobody could imagine what would come later--70's highway thrillers were just coin of the realm for action Ozploitation. As Quentin Tarantino joked "You know you're in Australia when you're terrorized by a sadistic biker gang..." (There's a great documentary, "Not Quite Hollywood", on how Australia started writing its own goofy all-out rules for B-movies by the end of the 70's...Remember when all we got was "Picnic at Hanging Rock", and we thought "Australian" meant "Highbrow art film?" 😂 )
I remember this quote from "Not Quite Hollywood." "I never thought that Australia was a place that needed culture of any description. But we did feel we had to have it, as we had to have the opera house, something to put on stamps. Slowly of course it began to grow, because it only really grows when decaying things because culture is after all, cheese or yogurt."
Gibson was born 50 miles outside NYC,and the family moved to Australia when he was 12,so he did have an Australian accent by the time he made this movie.
It puts everything into better perspective if you realize that the character of Mad Max is, in essence, a legendary drifter in the wastelands after the fall of civilization. All the future tales are told from the perspective of those who tell of meeting him for a brief moment as he passes in & out of their lives. (Which is why he never sticks around at the end of any of the tales about him (i.e., Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior... Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome, or Mad Max: Fury Road)) He's like those heroes in the old western stories... a mysterious tragic figure who doesn't really want to get involved with the happenings, but his heart and/or circumstances drag him in... and he sticks around to "right the wrong" and then moves on because those "happy endings" aren't there for him
The Road Warrior had a much higher budget. It was originally called Mad Max 2 in the US...but I think the first movie established that Max might be angry.
Director George Miller was often short on money and couldn't pay the cast and crew. He made up for it by handing out lots of beer and cooked hot dogs/hamburgers. Nobody complained cuz everybody was having a great time.
The guy who got bonked with the motorcycle: The shot called for the bikers to ride towards the bridge, lay their bikes down, and slide to a stop. The bikers kept daring and egging each other on to go faster, so the stunt was more violent than planned. The biker in the red helmet was doubling for someone else and the helmet was much too big for him, that's why it gets knocked so far forward and looks like the guy's head was almost knocked off.
Thanks for another great reaction video, Jen! You're quite right, the first Mad Max movie doesn't have a lot of sci-fi or action-adventure elements to it. As I stated in my first comment, the first Mad Max was more grounded in the reality of what was going in in the world during the energy crisis and gasoline shortage of the 1970s where crime, inflation, and urban decay were on the rise and society seemed to be collapsing, and projecting this into a dystopian near-future scenario. It was also more of a revenge movie, similar to the 1974 film Death Wish with Charles Bronson. The sequel, The Road Warrior(Mad Max 2 in Australia) is much more of a post-apocalyptic action adventure/sci-fi movie set in a world following a nuclear holocaust. I hope you check that one out.
Thanks for watching this movie, Jen! To answer your question, the first Mad Max has very little to do with the sequels. The first movie was influenced by the energy crisis and gasoline shortage of the 1970s due to the wars and crises in the Middle East and OPEC shutting down oil distribution, which sent gasoline prices soaring and was partially responsible for the recession and inflation of the 1970s. The urban decay, rising crime rate, and collapsing infrastructure of many western countries during the 1970s inspired the dystopian future of Mad Max, which was trying to predict where this urban decline would eventually lead. By contrast, the sequel, Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior, depicted a post-apocalyptic future following a nuclear holocaust, which resulted in the two films bearing little similarity to each other aside from the main character.
I see it as two points on the timeline. In mad max the world is just starting to come apart due to the fuel shortage. However the fuel shortage leads to a nuclear war over resources which happens between the first and second movie.
@@markcarpenter6020 I hardly see how a fuel shortage would lead to a nuclear war. George Miller wrote both films from entirely different points of view. The only reason Max Rockatansky is even in The Road Warrior is because Miller wanted to continue Max's story rather than create an entirely new character. But originally it wasn't even supposed to be Max.
@@44excalibur you don't see how nations fighting over resources can lead to a nuclear war? Specially when it is the one resource society would collapse without. The world runs on petroleum. It is used as fuel fuel for transportation, shipping, agriculture, and construction. And it is used in the production of plastics, lubricants, paints, etc etc etc. Might I suggest you play or at least read the in game history of the fallout games? The entire game series takes place after a nuclear war between America and China over oil reserves.
@@markcarpenter6020 If we're talking about the oil rich Soviet Union and the USA? No. Cuba, West Germany, etc. These were reasons that might push the USA and the USSR to nuclear war, not the Middle East and OPEC.
@@44excalibur I believe the nuclear war in mad max was caused by the US and USSR fighting over the middle east. And considering the time period it is very easy to see it as an escalation of force in such a conflict. Brinkmanship gone wrong. And that is assuming it wasn't started by India, Pakistan, Israel or one of the other nuclear armed nations.
The Gibson family are American, they moved to Australia when Mel was 16 (his brother 18) so he would have had a natural American accent so would not have completely lost his American accent in his early 20's when this was filmed.
There are so many of your questions that I want to answer. First off, Mel was born in the US. He came to Australia as a child. The budget of the film was very low. It held the record in Australia for a long time, as far as box office returns for budget. Australia can be a very hot place, and cold. This was shot in the state of Victoria. The scene in the underground car park was at Melbourne University. I live in Victoria and we have been experiencing temperatures around 0 degrees celsius, as it is winter.
There are 2 sequels with Mel Gibson second movie is probably the best of all of them. Third one has one of more memorable 80s songs in soundtrack-"We don't need another hero"
The first three Mad Max movies are definitely the same character. Fury Road may or may not be the same Max (obviously played by a different actor). It may be someone who met Max and took on his name after his death, like carrying on the tradition of a legendary figure named Max who roams the wasteland. Even if it IS the same character, it doesn't necessarily take place AFTER the Mel Gibson movies, it's just one story out of Max's life. When this was released in America, not only did they dub it with American actors, they didn't have much confidence in the story, so the advertising focused more on his car than anything else. If you haven't seen them, I HIGHLY recommend Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry films. Not only are they good movies, but Dirty Harry is an iconic character that other films and characters reference. Everyone should see them at least once.
There is a sequel called Mad Max: The Road Warrior where it takes place sometime over this and Yes,Fury Road is indeed a sequel to The original trilogy of movies(Mad Max,Mad Max 2: Road Warrior,Mad Max: Beyond The Thunderdome).
There is a novelization of the movie, with much more background and a lot more depth to many scenes. You find out how Max got the nickname and the skills he has from fighting the Armalite Gangs. There is a fan reading of the book, you can find it on the channel Audiobooks for the damned
The leathers may seem strange given the hot setting, but in context they makes perfect sense. Leather is fairly lightweight, protective, long lasting and replaceable. If you're in a service that requires high speed pursuit, such as an interceptor role, leathers would be almost ideal, especially if we assume that the department was on a tight budget. As a side note, when it comes to pursuits the interceptor is generally driving a much more high speed vehicle and has had training in that particular set of tactics. In vehicular pursuits, there may come a time when regular squad cars can't keep up. For some police departments that have little to no air support, a faster car is the only viable option other than just letting them go and hoping someone else can get them down the line. There are of course other situations in which they might be used, and some departments have none at all. It very much depends upon their needs. This came out the year after I was born, and I was probably about eight or so when I first saw it. Likely too young, but turned out mostly alright. I've always liked Mel. I know that some folks are still mad at him, but who among us hasn't gotten liquored up and said something stupid at least once? I hope you have a lovely day, Miss Jen and all.
Looking up the exact details Production Budget 200k USD Marketing Budget 150k USD Gross: 99.75m USD Net: 99.75 / 2 - 0.2 - 0.15 = 49.525 million USD The budget is listed all the way from 200k to 400k. From the more reliable sources it appears the total budget was $350k USD for filming and marketing. Another reliable source shows the filming at $200k USD, which is where I get the 150k USD Marketing budget. From various sources, including Beyond the Trailer, we know that studios get about half the worldwide box office gross. Take away production and marketing costs and you get their net profit. Now there are sometimes other deals, like actors getting a percentage of the gross after it makes x amount, or directors similar things to get them to work for less, but back in the day, this was less common.
This wasn't low budget, it was no budget. 1970s Australia was good at producing films that were incredibly cheap but still massively entertaining. I think it works really well because so much Australian lore is about the outback - almost everyone lives in half a dozen coastal cities, and then there's this vast landmass full of snakes and poisonous spiders, where life was hard and things could get bad very easily. The country used to have a real Wild West side to it that it's mostly trying to forget about today.
"And he doesn't seem to have an Australian accent? It seems to be wavering... yeah, it definitely seems to come in and ooouuut." Yeah, it's a bit distracting when people's accents waver like that, isn't it, Jen? LOL
One of the greatest car stunt scene in an older movie....the subway chase in the French Connection. The chase was done on a street that was open, the director did not have permits or closed the street to civilians.
To me Mad max 1 is a story of how a man loses his soul . He gets revenge but is left with nothing but to drive into the wasteland . Mad max 2 is how he starts to get it back. I havent been able to make it more than halfway through fury road However mad max 1 ,2 and to a lesser extent 3 were a core of my childhood.
Immortan Joe is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. He is portrayed by Hugh Keays-Byrne. who Also play The role vilain in this First movie!!
Thank you watching the version with the original audio. They did a version with overdubbed English voices and it's unwatchable. They thought Americans wouldn't understand the Australian accents.
The 'Knight Rider' television series debuted on the NBC Network in 1982, Jen, three years after Mad Max was released in 1979. Its title may or may not have been inspired by the 'Night Rider' character from Mad Max. lol
To answer your other question, he did a couple of other films in Australia apart from Mad max. 'Tim' with Piper Laurie (look her up) and one of the great Australian films of all time, Gallipoli.
They had a budget of $350,000 bucks. Mel had bit roles in a lot of things in Australia and l think his first movie was 'Tim'. But this is the movie that started his rocketship too stardom.
There was Mad Max, MM2: Road Warrior, MM: Beyond Thunderdome. All three starred Mel Gibson (born American, moved to Australia, for which MM was his first film while still in film school). Being this was the first film, the evolution of the background elements, etc., continues with the other films in the trilogy. This film, an original screenplay, was done in a budget, lacked licenses for some stuff, extras paid sometimes with beer, extras brought their own bikes, etc. Totally guerilla filming in which the director, who was a doctor, paid for stuff out of his pocket, etc. Some items from IMDB (and there was a lot of trivia): Most of the extras used in the film were paid in beer. The "get-out-of-jail-free card" that Goose gives the triker was an on-set joke. Because of the limited budget, the biker gang was an actual biker gang (the Vigilantes), and they had to ride to the set each day in-costume; often with their prop weapons displayed. Since the production company expected them to be pulled over by the local police, each was given a letter explaining the film's peculiar requirements, and asking for law-enforcement's understanding and cooperation. George Miller raised the money for Mad Max (1979) by working as an emergency room doctor. Shot in twelve weeks, on a meager $350,000 budget, in and around Melbourne. Because of the tight budget, actual decommissioned police cars were used in the film. Only Steve Bisley (Goose) was wearing real leathers. All the other police officers were wearing vinyl costumes. The motorcycles, all late model demonstration units, were donated by Kawasaki. Many of the bikers kept them after the shooting was completed.
Going off the top of my head here from something I read a long time ago (correct me if I'm wrong) but the 'dystopian' element was from a mideast war that destroyed and cut off all access to the oilfields which in turn caused a global economic and, partial, societal collapse. I believe the character of Max was originally supposed to be a journalist in Melbourne but the script , ummm, 'evolved' due to the low budget (lot cheaper to film in abandoned buildings and the like in rural areas rather than in city). Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think all the funding for the movie was raised from friends and friends of friends of George Miller. No studio involvement of any kind. One of the vehicles destroyed in the beginning chase, not sure if the RV or the van, was actually one of Miller's personal vehicles he donated for the cause to help keep costs down. As far as the franchise storyline goes an actual nuclear war happens sometime between the end of this movie and the beginning of the next (I think?). Causes mohawk haircuts and shoulder pads. Many, myself included, consider Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) to be THE definitive Mad Max movie. Which I know you'll be getting to soon :p . Another early Mel Gibson movie you might want to check out is Gallipoli. Yet to see anybody react to it which is a shame. Absolute classic.
I’m very old because I saw this in the summer of 1980, on a double bill with the original Friday the 13th. That sure was a fun afternoon at the movies!
It's set in Australia, where, as we all know, everything is trying to kill you. The wildlife, the climate, the biker gangs, the cops etc... Mad Max 2 is the best of the franchise. Oh, and Jen, Cundalini wants his hand back!
This is before the nuclear holocaust that comes after this film but before the next 2 in the original series. This sets the scene in terms of the demise of society, or at least it heading in that way. Being a film of the 80s there are later subtle references to the outcomes of the Cold War and other underlying themes like how it looked like the world was going to run out of oil very soon, so you're really going to have to see the next 2 films. You will begin to recognise how much these films have impacted film making and popular culture. Around this time the car companies kept competing to build the most monsterous muscle cars, particularly in Australia and the US, but the oil crisis and skyrocketing oil prices forced a rethink of cars being smaller and more fuel efficient heading into the 90s. It is like this with lots of films from the 80s like Robocop, where there are loads of underlying themes and references to the world as people saw it at the time and the trajectory it was taking society towards.
Hey Jen, I love this movie and really enjoyed your reaction. This is not science fiction it's more about the collapse of society and as it continues, post apocalypse. This first movie is really Max's back story about how he became Mad Max. Max becomes this legendary figure that people tell tales about. I really hope you will do Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, it's really good and an all time favorite movie. Thank you.
This movie has three sequels so far Mad Max 2 The road Warrior, Mad Max 3. Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max Fury road. The scene at the end with the handcuffs and the hand saw inspired the movie SAW which is a long running franchise all on its own.
i live 5 minutes from the town with all the bikies , i was born in the same hospital , and ,,, Mad Max 2 i was seated in the mechanics chair ,,,. not fkn lying.
I’ll have to verify this but I thought I heard somewhere Mel Gibson was originally from Cleveland but the family travelled to Australia when he was young….
The only real backstory you have is that society is just starting to come apart, hence how bad the halls of justice looks. Max is just a cop trying to do his job and remain human in an increasingly animistic world.
Mad Max series is great. The first movie introducing the world, Mad Max 2 expanding how the world "fell", Beyond Thunderdome got a bit "Hollywoody" but is still good. Fury Road is really a kind of sequel/reboot that people forget thought it was gonna fail way before it was released. Got Oscar nominated! Can't wait for the prequel Furiosa spin-off movie they just officially started filming. 🙂
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The actor who played Toecutter - the leader of the gang - returned to the franchise to play Immortan Joe in Fury Road.
That’s awesome! Thanks for watching!
R.I.P. High Keays-Byrne. Was also very good in the Patrick Stewart version of Moby Dick.
That's a cool bit of trivia! Thanks!
He was also in a biker a film called Stone in 74 which is generally seen as a prequel movie to Mad Max. They even started putting it in the posters in the US after Mad Max's popularity. "Before Max there was Stone".
I heard Lord Humongous in road warrior was actually Goose, his friend that got burnt up.
You’re gonna love Mad Max The Road Warrior. It has the dystopian feel, you asked for. Awesome plot, great characters, a much bigger budget than in the first one and the best car chase in the movie history at that time. I really recommend that you watch The Road Warrior!
Best car chase in movie history is Gone In 60 Seconds (1974). The big chase in Mad Max 2 is based on "Race With The Devil" (1975)
@@johnellizz I haven’t watched those two movies which you mention. The car chase in the original Gone in 60 seconds does look good (just watched a few clips from it) but when I notice that six persons involved in the movie have the last name, Halicki, I’m not so sure about the quality. Well, there’s nothing wrong in making a B-action movie (the lack of great actors in Gone in 60 s), the first Mad Max, if you look at the budget, was a B-movie, The Road Warrior was an A-movie. I can see similarities with Race with The Devil. I’d like to watch that one some day. I was never hooked on Nicolas Cage’s Gone in 60 seconds, don’t know why. I’ve watched several movies from the 70’es but in 74 and 75 I was very young, and I don’t recall that any of those movies was shown in the country where I live. Btw, thanks for the info, it’s interesting to know where George Miller got the inspiration for the final chase scene.
@@prebenpoejensen8256 Halicki plays the driver in Gone In 60 Seconds and I think he wrote and produced it as well. He was killed on a movie years later when a telephone pole crushed his car. But if you watch the 40 minute long chase in Gone In 60 Seconds you''ll be wondering how he and many others weren't killed making that film.
It shares the feeling of being insanely dangerous with Mad Max 2's chase.
@@johnellizz 40 m. long!!!!! I only watched a few short clips. Would love to watch it just once. Poor guy, meeting his death in a car accident irl. Yeah, it shares the feeling of being insanely dangerous with Mad Mad 2’s chase. I must search for more info about how they made tgat chase in Gone in 60 s.
@@prebenpoejensen8256 You can watch the movie (Gone In 60 Seconds) with the original music or there's an updated techno soundtrack. As for me, I prefer the techno as it really enhances the excitement of the chase scene.
Yes, do see this chase scene it's beyond insane and nothing else like it exists.
Fun Fact: When Mad Max was originally released in the USA and Canada, the dialogue was all dubbed over by voice actors using American accents because the US distributors believed that the Australian accents and slang might be too difficult for some American audiences to understand. You know, kind of like Canadian accents. 😂 LOL Just kidding. The voices used in the dubbing were the same voice actors that had been used in Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and Japanese animated features like Speed Racer.
On a $400,000 dollar budget, the film made $100 million dollars at the box office!
Mel Gibson was 23 when he was cast.
The movie takes place in the year 1999-2000.
The movie was filmed in location in Broken Hill, Australia.
Most of the driving stunts were done in one take.
Critics gave this movie mixed reviews, calling it exploitative and violent, but have warmed up to the film later on, calling the best action movie ever made.
This is truly a cult classic, but... "best action movie ever made" ?? Who called it that?
@@Mr.Ekshin Millions of people. Film historians. Critics.
a fourth of the budget went to aftershave for the bald guy
not this film, it was filmed around Melbourne. The underground carpark is at Melbourne university
actually its more set around 1983-4, there's graffiti on one of the road signs stating as such.
Okay, here are the facts. They had only one of each car available as they did of each motorbike. Most of the cars (except for the Black Pursuit Special) were old run down or ex-police vehicles bought at auction and held together by tape and wire. Mel Gibson was born in the US, moved with his family to Australia in his teens. The burnt hand you see of Goose in the hospital was actually that of the actress that played the old lady at the end who tries to save Jessie who was also in the long running popular Aussie TV show that made it big the USA 'Prisoner'. Most of the stunts were done by a small handful of stuntmen and race car drivers. No one was injured during production. However the original actress who was to play Jessie on day one of production was hitching a ride with the Stunt Man Grant Page and on their way to the set on a motorbike, a truck pulled out in front of them and they slid and crashed casing both Grant and the actress to break their legs among other damage. Grant continued to work with a broken leg and did most of the car crashes in the movie. The budget was under $400,000 AUD, which was back then about $250,000 USD. It grossed over 100 million dollars US world wide making it the highest cost to profit movie in history until the Blair Witch Project. This movie is set in a world similar to our lockdown situation a few years back where there are curfews and restrictions along with a major oil shortage as two major nations are in war with one another. There are way more facts, but lets leave it at that for now. Cheers.
As for the dystopia, that really increases as the saga goes on. In this part, it's relatively normal (reeelatively), but 2 and 3 up the ante of the dystopia big time. Mel Gibson had appeared in a film called "Summer City" and a few episodes of legendary Aussie soap, "The Sullivans" before this, but this was by far his breakthrough role.
I would say this film is more Pre-apocalyptic.
@@tremorsfan Yup, I'd go with that. A trip down the road to Apocalypse. And the car has no reverse gear.
He was in a war movie called "Gallipoli" the same year he did "The Road Warrior" (1981) and that was actually the first thing I saw Mel in.
@@AubreySciFi yeah, it was gallipoli and mad max 2 that really made gibson a star. Mad max 1 was r rated and bsck then an r rating was the kiss of death for movies. Mad max 1 only took off when vhs came out, around 1982.
Fun Fact: Max Rockatansky's V-8 Interceptor Pursuit Special is actually a modified Ford Falcon, which was produced by Ford Motor Company from 1959 to 1970, and was a sister vehicle to the Ford Mustang and built on the same platform. The Falcon sold poorly in the USA, however, and was discontinued in 1970, but it continued to be a popular seller in Australia. Max's car is a 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT351, a limited edition hardtop (sold in Australia from December 1973 to August 1976), which was primarily modified by Murray Smith, Peter Arcadipane, and Ray Beckerley. The main modifications are the Concorde front end and the supercharger protruding through the hood (for looks only; it was not functional).
Part 2 is mayhem, absolute mayhem. Despite the technical wonders of Fury Road, I actually kinda prefer Part 2.
Fury Road is a good blockbuster, but The Road Warrior was ground breaking.
Fury Road is pristine excellently executed big movie magic, 2 is pure balls and guts and true mayhem caught on film. Balls and guts beats pristine every time in an action movie.
@@maceomaceo11 For sure!!
Mad Max is set at a time when civilization is at the brink of collapse. It show's Max's origin. He was a Cop, a father, and a husband before the collapse. In the next movie, "The Road Warrior". Society has fallen, and it's the beginning of the dystopian future you witnessed in "Fury Road". "The Road Warrior" is my favorite of the "Mad Max" films. It's more Sci-fi. I think you'll enjoy it. Fun Fact: The Guy who played the boss bad guy in "Mad Max" "Toe-Cutter". Also played the boss bad guy in "Fury Road" "Immortan Joe". His real name is Hugh Keays-Byrne. He just passed in 2020. Mel Gibson was born in New York and his family moved to Australia when he was just a boy. That's why his accent comes and goes.
Some actual motorcycle gang members and a lot of people paid in beer. George Miller was an ER doctor. His personal experience seeing actual crash victims was critical in the inspiration of this film. One story I heard is that Mel Gibson was an aspiring actor but he just came to the audition with his friend, the guy who played Goose. Mel had just previously been in a bar fight and got hired on as a goon because of the look of his face. But when he showed up again all healed up. He got recast because he looked the hell of a lot better.
first couple of drafts had Max originally as an ambulance driver, the director George Miller was an emergency room doctor and used his salary from that to help fund the film.
The 2nd movie - The Road Warrior - starts all the real legacy of the franchise. THAT is a good movie. The 3rd movie is also very good.
Not much backstory for Max. He's more like the man w/ no name (Clint Eastwood) character.
"I don't want anything to happen to the dog"
Me: "Well she hasn't seen too many Australian movies"
Fun Fact: The reason that Mel Gibson's Australian accent seems to be wavering, Jen, is because Mel Gibson is actually American, not Australian. LOL He was born in Peeksill, New York in 1956 of Irish descent, his paternal grandmother being born in Australia to Irish parents. After his father was awarded $145,000 in a work-related-injury lawsuit against the New York Central Railroad in 1968, his family relocated to West Pymble, Sydney, Australia when Mel Gibson was just 12 years old, and he acquired a light Australian accent during his teenage years. They moved for both economic reasons and to avoid having Mel's eldest brother being drafted into the Vietnam war. Mel Gibson has dual Irish and American citizenship and is also an Australian permanent resident even though he lives in the USA.
Mad Max is a pure revenge movie, which is what makes it great.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is one of the greatest action films ever. if you're intrigued by the original, you'll see a more fully realized version of the same themes in Road Warrior. epic movie
Fury Road to me is the 4th best Max movie; this one's third
All hail the Pursuit Special : The last of the V8 Interceptors, one of the most bad ass rides ever on film.
A piece of history!
Several of the action sequences had to be filmed in a single take, as this was a low budget film, and it was indeed filmed in Australia. There was little no margin for error. Safety during the stunts was indeed a huge consideration, even in the scene where the stuntman got hit by the motorcycle. Not everything goes as planned, and sometimes, the miscalculations work in the film's favor. Fortunately, the movie was a huge hit, so they had plenty to spend on the sequels: Road Warrior and Beyond Thunder Dome. The early 80's TV series Knight Rider is not related.
Grant Page was the lead stuntman and turned up for the shoot on crutches after being injured in a previous movie. He just cracked on with crashing the cars despite his legs being in plaster. Page was the busiest stuntman in Australia during the 1970's and was absolutely fearless. There were 2 doccos made at the time chronicling his career Danger Freaks and The Stuntmen.
Yes, Jen, all of the Mad Max films were filmed in Australia by Australian filmmaker George Miller, who would also go on to direct films like The Witches of Eastwick, Lorenzo's Oil, Babe, Happy Feet, and the Nightmare At 20,000 Feet segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Love the Falcon, one of my fav Fords. Either the 4 door “intercepter” or the 2 door “pursuit”
Gibson got the job by accident he went to support his best friend Steve Bisley- Jim Goose. The crew took photos of him because he'd been in a bar fight, when they called him to return weeks later they met "pretty" Mel and gave him the part. The fan theory is that Toe Cutter barely survived the crash and became Imortan Joe.
The Night Rider.... remember him when you look at the night sky.
The opening scene: Difficult to pick up, but the "Toecutter" driving the black car is a gang leader that just escaped from police custody with his girlfriend, and that black car is a police pursuit vehicle.
"I'm scared, Fif. You know why? It's that rat circus out there. I'm beginning to enjoy it."
"What is this, funny week?"
"Look. Any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, you know? A terminal crazy... only I got a bronze badge to say I'm one of the good guys."
Fun Fact: Hugh Keays-Byrne, Tim Burns, and Reg Evans (Toecutter, Johnny the Boy, and the stationmaster) were all classically-trained Shakespearean stage actors. Hugh Keays-Byrne modeled his performance of Toecutter after historical records written about Mongolian warlord Temujin, also known as Genghis Khan. Tim Burns (Johnny the Boy) was so into character that he annoyed everyone on-set, and was abandoned one day during lunch while handcuffed to the wreck.
I Am The Law Fact: The "get-out-of-jail-free card" that Goose gives the triker was an on-set joke. Because of the limited budget, the biker gang was an actual biker gang (the Vigilantes), and they had to ride to the set each day in-costume; often with their prop weapons displayed. Since the production company expected them to be pulled over by the local police, each was given a letter explaining the film's peculiar requirements, and asking for law-enforcement's understanding and cooperation.
I urge you to watch the next two. All four movies have the same director - George Miller.
Nice! I’ll add them to the list!
The dystopia gets worse and worse as the story goes on. Basically this is the first movie in the timeline and is when the world and society is just starting to fall apart. Between this movie and the second one there is a nuclear war and society completely ends.
it continues with the "Road warrior, beyond thunderdome and then fury road. Mel gibsons accent was so thick that american audiences couldnt understand the dialog so his voice was dubbed.
There is rumors that the character in fury road is the child from the second movie. wonder if that is true.
Nobody could imagine what would come later--70's highway thrillers were just coin of the realm for action Ozploitation. As Quentin Tarantino joked "You know you're in Australia when you're terrorized by a sadistic biker gang..."
(There's a great documentary, "Not Quite Hollywood", on how Australia started writing its own goofy all-out rules for B-movies by the end of the 70's...Remember when all we got was "Picnic at Hanging Rock", and we thought "Australian" meant "Highbrow art film?" 😂 )
I remember this quote from "Not Quite Hollywood."
"I never thought that Australia was a place that needed culture of any description. But we did feel we had to have it, as we had to have the opera house, something to put on stamps. Slowly of course it began to grow, because it only really grows when decaying things because culture is after all, cheese or yogurt."
Fun Fact: Mad Max was filmed on a budget of $350,000-400,000 Australian dollars and grossed about $100 million in the USA.
Gibson was born in New York. The family moved to Australia when he was 12
Gibson was born 50 miles outside NYC,and the family moved to Australia when he was 12,so he did have an Australian accent by the time he made this movie.
Gibson is actually born American. He just spent a lot of time in Australia when he was young and picked up the Australian accent from there.
I know the sequel the road warrior is the better movie,but I always prefer the original
Fun fact: Toecutter is the same actor as Immortan Joe from Fury Road.
It puts everything into better perspective if you realize that the character of Mad Max is, in essence, a legendary drifter in the wastelands after the fall of civilization. All the future tales are told from the perspective of those who tell of meeting him for a brief moment as he passes in & out of their lives. (Which is why he never sticks around at the end of any of the tales about him (i.e., Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior... Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome, or Mad Max: Fury Road)) He's like those heroes in the old western stories... a mysterious tragic figure who doesn't really want to get involved with the happenings, but his heart and/or circumstances drag him in... and he sticks around to "right the wrong" and then moves on because those "happy endings" aren't there for him
mad max 2: The road warrior was voted the greatest action movie of all time in a 2015 poll. It is a definite must watch
Fantastic film. And loved your reaction. Its a simple movie, simple story, perfectly executed
Thank you so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed the video!
The Road Warrior had a much higher budget. It was originally called Mad Max 2 in the US...but I think the first movie established that Max might be angry.
A lot of people dont know, but mel gibson is not Australian, he's American Irish, born in new york, moved to australia at 12 years old.
Director George Miller was often short on money and couldn't pay the cast and crew. He made up for it by handing out lots of beer and cooked hot dogs/hamburgers. Nobody complained cuz everybody was having a great time.
The guy who got bonked with the motorcycle:
The shot called for the bikers to ride towards the bridge, lay their bikes down, and slide to a stop. The bikers kept daring and egging each other on to go faster, so the stunt was more violent than planned. The biker in the red helmet was doubling for someone else and the helmet was much too big for him, that's why it gets knocked so far forward and looks like the guy's head was almost knocked off.
He actually left the guy just enough time to saw MOST of the way through his own ankle before the boom.
Thanks for another great reaction video, Jen! You're quite right, the first Mad Max movie doesn't have a lot of sci-fi or action-adventure elements to it. As I stated in my first comment, the first Mad Max was more grounded in the reality of what was going in in the world during the energy crisis and gasoline shortage of the 1970s where crime, inflation, and urban decay were on the rise and society seemed to be collapsing, and projecting this into a dystopian near-future scenario. It was also more of a revenge movie, similar to the 1974 film Death Wish with Charles Bronson. The sequel, The Road Warrior(Mad Max 2 in Australia) is much more of a post-apocalyptic action adventure/sci-fi movie set in a world following a nuclear holocaust. I hope you check that one out.
@@briancarr4607 Sadly, yes, only with no 1980s on the horizon to save us.
Thanks for watching this movie, Jen! To answer your question, the first Mad Max has very little to do with the sequels. The first movie was influenced by the energy crisis and gasoline shortage of the 1970s due to the wars and crises in the Middle East and OPEC shutting down oil distribution, which sent gasoline prices soaring and was partially responsible for the recession and inflation of the 1970s. The urban decay, rising crime rate, and collapsing infrastructure of many western countries during the 1970s inspired the dystopian future of Mad Max, which was trying to predict where this urban decline would eventually lead. By contrast, the sequel, Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior, depicted a post-apocalyptic future following a nuclear holocaust, which resulted in the two films bearing little similarity to each other aside from the main character.
I see it as two points on the timeline. In mad max the world is just starting to come apart due to the fuel shortage. However the fuel shortage leads to a nuclear war over resources which happens between the first and second movie.
@@markcarpenter6020 I hardly see how a fuel shortage would lead to a nuclear war. George Miller wrote both films from entirely different points of view. The only reason Max Rockatansky is even in The Road Warrior is because Miller wanted to continue Max's story rather than create an entirely new character. But originally it wasn't even supposed to be Max.
@@44excalibur you don't see how nations fighting over resources can lead to a nuclear war? Specially when it is the one resource society would collapse without. The world runs on petroleum. It is used as fuel fuel for transportation, shipping, agriculture, and construction. And it is used in the production of plastics, lubricants, paints, etc etc etc. Might I suggest you play or at least read the in game history of the fallout games? The entire game series takes place after a nuclear war between America and China over oil reserves.
@@markcarpenter6020 If we're talking about the oil rich Soviet Union and the USA? No. Cuba, West Germany, etc. These were reasons that might push the USA and the USSR to nuclear war, not the Middle East and OPEC.
@@44excalibur I believe the nuclear war in mad max was caused by the US and USSR fighting over the middle east. And considering the time period it is very easy to see it as an escalation of force in such a conflict. Brinkmanship gone wrong. And that is assuming it wasn't started by India, Pakistan, Israel or one of the other nuclear armed nations.
The budget on this was so tight that some of the people (tow truck drivers, ambulance drivers, etc.) were paid with "slabs" (cases) of beer.
The Gibson family are American, they moved to Australia when Mel was 16 (his brother 18) so he would have had a natural American accent so would not have completely lost his American accent in his early 20's when this was filmed.
Leigh Wannell said the dilemma that Max leaves Johnny the Boy in at the end of the movie with the hacksaw inspired the premise of the first Saw movie.
There are so many of your questions that I want to answer. First off, Mel was born in the US. He came to Australia as a child. The budget of the film was very low. It held the record in Australia for a long time, as far as box office returns for budget. Australia can be a very hot place, and cold. This was shot in the state of Victoria. The scene in the underground car park was at Melbourne University. I live in Victoria and we have been experiencing temperatures around 0 degrees celsius, as it is winter.
The bad guy with the skunk hair is the old main bad guy in fury road
Cool! Thanks for watching!
From what I know this movie was made by a doctor with a budget of 300,000 dollars and he made more than 100 million, they should do a remake
George Miller was a doctor and during his residency came across many, many car accidents which game him the idea for Mad Max.
Forget Too Gun. There's only 1 Goose for me. 🤣
I haven’t seen Top Gun 😬
There are 2 sequels with Mel Gibson second movie is probably the best of all of them. Third one has one of more memorable 80s songs in soundtrack-"We don't need another hero"
The first three Mad Max movies are definitely the same character. Fury Road may or may not be the same Max (obviously played by a different actor). It may be someone who met Max and took on his name after his death, like carrying on the tradition of a legendary figure named Max who roams the wasteland. Even if it IS the same character, it doesn't necessarily take place AFTER the Mel Gibson movies, it's just one story out of Max's life.
When this was released in America, not only did they dub it with American actors, they didn't have much confidence in the story, so the advertising focused more on his car than anything else.
If you haven't seen them, I HIGHLY recommend Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry films. Not only are they good movies, but Dirty Harry is an iconic character that other films and characters reference. Everyone should see them at least once.
There is a sequel called Mad Max: The Road Warrior where it takes place sometime over this and Yes,Fury Road is indeed a sequel to The original trilogy of movies(Mad Max,Mad Max 2: Road Warrior,Mad Max: Beyond The Thunderdome).
There is a novelization of the movie, with much more background and a lot more depth to many scenes. You find out how Max got the nickname and the skills he has from fighting the Armalite Gangs. There is a fan reading of the book, you can find it on the channel Audiobooks for the damned
The leathers may seem strange given the hot setting, but in context they makes perfect sense. Leather is fairly lightweight, protective, long lasting and replaceable. If you're in a service that requires high speed pursuit, such as an interceptor role, leathers would be almost ideal, especially if we assume that the department was on a tight budget.
As a side note, when it comes to pursuits the interceptor is generally driving a much more high speed vehicle and has had training in that particular set of tactics. In vehicular pursuits, there may come a time when regular squad cars can't keep up. For some police departments that have little to no air support, a faster car is the only viable option other than just letting them go and hoping someone else can get them down the line. There are of course other situations in which they might be used, and some departments have none at all. It very much depends upon their needs.
This came out the year after I was born, and I was probably about eight or so when I first saw it. Likely too young, but turned out mostly alright. I've always liked Mel. I know that some folks are still mad at him, but who among us hasn't gotten liquored up and said something stupid at least once?
I hope you have a lovely day, Miss Jen and all.
Looking up the exact details
Production Budget 200k USD
Marketing Budget 150k USD
Gross: 99.75m USD
Net: 99.75 / 2 - 0.2 - 0.15 = 49.525 million USD
The budget is listed all the way from 200k to 400k. From the more reliable sources it appears the total budget was $350k USD for filming and marketing. Another reliable source shows the filming at $200k USD, which is where I get the 150k USD Marketing budget.
From various sources, including Beyond the Trailer, we know that studios get about half the worldwide box office gross. Take away production and marketing costs and you get their net profit.
Now there are sometimes other deals, like actors getting a percentage of the gross after it makes x amount, or directors similar things to get them to work for less, but back in the day, this was less common.
This wasn't low budget, it was no budget. 1970s Australia was good at producing films that were incredibly cheap but still massively entertaining. I think it works really well because so much Australian lore is about the outback - almost everyone lives in half a dozen coastal cities, and then there's this vast landmass full of snakes and poisonous spiders, where life was hard and things could get bad very easily. The country used to have a real Wild West side to it that it's mostly trying to forget about today.
"And he doesn't seem to have an Australian accent? It seems to be wavering... yeah, it definitely seems to come in and ooouuut." Yeah, it's a bit distracting when people's accents waver like that, isn't it, Jen? LOL
Finally the original " Mad Max ". Then you have part 2&3. " The Road Warrior " & " Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome ".
One of the greatest car stunt scene in an older movie....the subway chase in the French Connection. The chase was done on a street that was open, the director did not have permits or closed the street to civilians.
A couple movies: John Carter of Mars and Erik the Viking. Thanks for the review.
To me Mad max 1 is a story of how a man loses his soul . He gets revenge but is left with nothing but to drive into the wasteland . Mad max 2 is how he starts to get it back. I havent been able to make it more than halfway through fury road However mad max 1 ,2 and to a lesser extent 3 were a core of my childhood.
Mel Gibson as Hamlet is a must-see. He IS Hamlet. And the playwright is real good.
Immortan Joe is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. He is portrayed by Hugh Keays-Byrne. who Also play The role vilain in this First movie!!
Thank you watching the version with the original audio. They did a version with overdubbed English voices and it's unwatchable. They thought Americans wouldn't understand the Australian accents.
The 'Knight Rider' television series debuted on the NBC Network in 1982, Jen, three years after Mad Max was released in 1979. Its title may or may not have been inspired by the 'Night Rider' character from Mad Max. lol
To answer your other question, he did a couple of other films in Australia apart from Mad max. 'Tim' with Piper Laurie (look her up) and one of the great Australian films of all time, Gallipoli.
They had a budget of $350,000 bucks. Mel had bit roles in a lot of things in Australia and l think his first movie was 'Tim'. But this is the movie that started his rocketship too stardom.
There was Mad Max, MM2: Road Warrior, MM: Beyond Thunderdome. All three starred Mel Gibson (born American, moved to Australia, for which MM was his first film while still in film school).
Being this was the first film, the evolution of the background elements, etc., continues with the other films in the trilogy.
This film, an original screenplay, was done in a budget, lacked licenses for some stuff, extras paid sometimes with beer, extras brought their own bikes, etc. Totally guerilla filming in which the director, who was a doctor, paid for stuff out of his pocket, etc.
Some items from IMDB (and there was a lot of trivia):
Most of the extras used in the film were paid in beer.
The "get-out-of-jail-free card" that Goose gives the triker was an on-set joke. Because of the limited budget, the biker gang was an actual biker gang (the Vigilantes), and they had to ride to the set each day in-costume; often with their prop weapons displayed. Since the production company expected them to be pulled over by the local police, each was given a letter explaining the film's peculiar requirements, and asking for law-enforcement's understanding and cooperation.
George Miller raised the money for Mad Max (1979) by working as an emergency room doctor.
Shot in twelve weeks, on a meager $350,000 budget, in and around Melbourne.
Because of the tight budget, actual decommissioned police cars were used in the film. Only Steve Bisley (Goose) was wearing real leathers. All the other police officers were wearing vinyl costumes. The motorcycles, all late model demonstration units, were donated by Kawasaki. Many of the bikers kept them after the shooting was completed.
"I AM THE NIGHT RIDER"
The next one has a lot of the same actors.
Going off the top of my head here from something I read a long time ago (correct me if I'm wrong) but the 'dystopian' element was from a mideast war that destroyed and cut off all access to the oilfields which in turn caused a global economic and, partial, societal collapse. I believe the character of Max was originally supposed to be a journalist in Melbourne but the script , ummm, 'evolved' due to the low budget (lot cheaper to film in abandoned buildings and the like in rural areas rather than in city). Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think all the funding for the movie was raised from friends and friends of friends of George Miller. No studio involvement of any kind. One of the vehicles destroyed in the beginning chase, not sure if the RV or the van, was actually one of Miller's personal vehicles he donated for the cause to help keep costs down. As far as the franchise storyline goes an actual nuclear war happens sometime between the end of this movie and the beginning of the next (I think?). Causes mohawk haircuts and shoulder pads. Many, myself included, consider Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) to be THE definitive Mad Max movie. Which I know you'll be getting to soon :p . Another early Mel Gibson movie you might want to check out is Gallipoli. Yet to see anybody react to it which is a shame. Absolute classic.
Love Gallipoli!
I’m very old because I saw this in the summer of 1980, on a double bill with the original Friday the 13th. That sure was a fun afternoon at the movies!
It's set in Australia, where, as we all know, everything is trying to kill you. The wildlife, the climate, the biker gangs, the cops etc...
Mad Max 2 is the best of the franchise.
Oh, and Jen, Cundalini wants his hand back!
Fun Fact: This movie is Mel Gibson second movie the first was called Summer City.
night rider killed a cop and stole the dead cop's v8 vehicle, hence the MFPs guys after him in the beginning
Last of the V8s, Jen!
This is before the nuclear holocaust that comes after this film but before the next 2 in the original series. This sets the scene in terms of the demise of society, or at least it heading in that way. Being a film of the 80s there are later subtle references to the outcomes of the Cold War and other underlying themes like how it looked like the world was going to run out of oil very soon, so you're really going to have to see the next 2 films. You will begin to recognise how much these films have impacted film making and popular culture. Around this time the car companies kept competing to build the most monsterous muscle cars, particularly in Australia and the US, but the oil crisis and skyrocketing oil prices forced a rethink of cars being smaller and more fuel efficient heading into the 90s. It is like this with lots of films from the 80s like Robocop, where there are loads of underlying themes and references to the world as people saw it at the time and the trajectory it was taking society towards.
Hey Jen, I love this movie and really enjoyed your reaction. This is not science fiction it's more about the collapse of society and as it continues, post apocalypse. This first movie is really Max's back story about how he became Mad Max. Max becomes this legendary figure that people tell tales about. I really hope you will do Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, it's really good and an all time favorite movie. Thank you.
15:44 A rod flies into Bubba Zanetti's neck and out through his shoulder.
This movie has three sequels so far Mad Max 2 The road Warrior, Mad Max 3. Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max Fury road. The scene at the end with the handcuffs and the hand saw inspired the movie SAW which is a long running franchise all on its own.
This movie gets better and better every time you watch it.
The knight rider just passed a couple of days ago. RIP
The main villain played in thunder road, mad max, as the main villain.
i live 5 minutes from the town with all the bikies , i was born in the same hospital , and ,,, Mad Max 2 i was seated in the mechanics chair ,,,. not fkn lying.
Mel originally from us & immigrated to Australia with family when he was young so has a mixed accent by then.
Finally, a reactor reacts to the real Mad Max and not just the woke Fury Road version. Subscribed and liked.
I’ll have to verify this but I thought I heard somewhere Mel Gibson was originally from Cleveland but the family travelled to Australia when he was young….
Mad Max 2 is wot u need to satisfy the more advanced dystopian world
"They just ran her over ... and the baby!?" I bet Max is going to be Mad.
The only real backstory you have is that society is just starting to come apart, hence how bad the halls of justice looks. Max is just a cop trying to do his job and remain human in an increasingly animistic world.
By far the best film in the series. Barre none.
one of the actors in this film was my grandads freind and my grandad passed away
Mad Max series is great. The first movie introducing the world, Mad Max 2 expanding how the world "fell", Beyond Thunderdome got a bit "Hollywoody" but is still good. Fury Road is really a kind of sequel/reboot that people forget thought it was gonna fail way before it was released. Got Oscar nominated!
Can't wait for the prequel Furiosa spin-off movie they just officially started filming. 🙂
I love the Mad max trilogy W/ Mel Gibson , Fury Road was directed by the same director as the original trilogy George Miller
New subscriber here and I love Mad Max. Just wait until you get to Road Warrior...😉👍
Thanks for subscribing!
Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Stay safe.😊
Thanks for watching! You too!
I agree with all who say the second movie is even better. I liked Fury Road a lot, too, which seems more in the vein of Road Warrior.