The Australian dystopian/post-apocalyptic action/adventure classics that introduced the world to that furious force of nature Mel Gibson will be coming to Blu Ray June 4th from Warner Home Video in a special single release. If you’re a film geek you should surely already know who Mad Max is, if not, please get on that!
This trilogy of mad as hell movies have become benchmarks of pop culture for a number of reasons, most notably they feature some of the most adrenaline charged, dangerous stunts ever put on the silver screen. They are simply must owns for any fan of cinema that push things to the edge in terms of action and thrills.
The special features for this new set are rather light unfortunately, it is basically a bare bones release except for The Road Warrior. So if you still own your old DVDs with tons of extras, keep those as well, but don’t miss out on the HD remastered fury.
In the original high-octane cult classic MAD MAX (1979) the story takes place in a dystopian future following a world oil shortage. Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is a good hearted police officer in the Main Force Patrol of Australia. After chasing The Nightrider, a criminal who dies in a car crash, Max and his fellow cops are targeted by his brethren, a group of nomadic bikers led by the maniacal Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne). The stunt sequences which feature motorcycles and cars are some of the greatest ever filmed. Director George Miller had been a medical doctor in Victoria, Australia and witnessed many victims of car and motorcycle accidents. Much of the film is inspired by that time he spent in hospitals. Mad Max was essentially a spaghetti western with cars instead of horses it also had aspects of a comic book with its colorful characters and stylized direction/editing. There were two editions released: the original Australian cut and an American dubbed version which was made because distributors felt people wouldn’t be able to understand the Aussie accents.
THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981) In this second installment of the series, Max has become a scavenger-like drifter following a World War and total collapse of civilization due to a global gas shortage. A new threat has emerged on the roads in the form of a roving band of outlaws led by “The Humungus” (Kjell Nilsson), a masked, musclebound brute who has set his sights on attacking one of the last oil refinerys in the Outback wasteland. It is being guarded by a group of self styled warriors who are promised safe passage out of the territory if they give it up to him. Max finds himself thrown into the middle of a mini war after he makes a deal with the oil refinery’s leader Papagallo (Michael Preston), to retreive a large freighter than can haul their fuel in return for some gas. This leads Max on an epic road chase that has become one of the most celebrated for action film fans.
MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (1985) Without a vehicle, Max has resorted to riding a camel drawn wagon through the Outback. After his old acquaintance Jedidiah the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) and his young son steal the wagon away from him, Max is forced to walk through the desert trailing behind them. He finally arrives at Bartertown, an anarchic outpost run by the ruthless Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). This leads Max on a new adventure that has him battling in the arena known as “Thunderdome” and being cast out into the wasteland, where he is later saved by a band of children who live in a Never-Neverland style civilization. Beyond Thunderdome was the more mainstream entry of the trilogy and while it is a bit lighter in tone compared to the previous two movies it remains an entertaining classic.
Mad Max: Fury Road is hitting theaters May 15, 2015. Actor Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) has taken over the lead role. The trailers promise all kinds of mayhem….
Buy now: Mad Max BluRay Trilogy on Amazon.com (2013) / on Amazon.de (new 2015)
