Mad Max Blu-ray offers solid video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
In the ravaged near future, a vengeful Australian police officer sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
For more about Mad Max and the Mad Max Blu-ray release, see Mad Max Blu-ray Review published by Casey Broadwater on October 12, 2010 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.
Before Mad Melthat is, the middle-aged Mr. Gibson prone to uncomfortably homophobic, misogynistic, and racially charged outburststhere was, is,
and always shall be Mad Max. This is the film that set Gibson speeding off toward international action-hero superstardom, and it's not hard to
see why. He's baby-faced herethen again, he's always looked boyishbut, like a young Steve McQueen, he fills the screen with badass charisma. I
specifically mention McQueen because Mad Max's automotive fury seems like a direct successor to the vehicular fetishism of McQueen's
Bullitt, which set a new standard in the late 1960s for the art of the cinematic car chase. Just over a decade later, in 1979, Mad Max
would up the ante further, as Australian director George Millerworking on a miniscule budget, no lessstaged several peddle-to-the-metal sequences
that still have the power to whiten knuckles today. I've always said this: when the world's supply of gasoline is depleted and adoration of the Oil Age
replaces steam-powered Victorianism as the retro sci-fi genre de jour, two bits of 20th century cultural detritus will be held in high esteem
by geeky petrolpunksBullitt and Mad Max.
When most people think Mad Max, they probably imagine the increasingly sand-covered, post-apocalyptic, biker-punk fantasy-scape of the
film's more popular sequels, The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome. In this first outing, though, the world is still teetering on
the brink of catastropheenergy shortage, relevantlyand society has not yet tumbled into complete disarray. The Aussie landscape looks fairly
normal, but the backcountry has been given to lawlessness, with roving bands of biker gangs descending on small towns to terrorize, rape, and
pillage.
As the film opens, one of these thugs, Nightrider (Vince Gil), has just made off with a police interceptor, and he's speeding down the highway,
screaming about how he's a "fuel-injected suicide machine!" He's being trailed by some bumbling members of the Main Force Patrolthe leather-
suited cops in this gone-to-shit worldbut the maniac doesn't get the fear of God in his eyes until hotshot officer Max Rockatansky ( Mel Gibson)
edges up behind him in a souped-up Ford Falcon. Nightrider loses his coolwhat little he has leftand crashes into a jackknifed semi-truck,
triggering a massive explosion. This is all in a day's work for Max, who goes home to cuddle with his wife Jessie (Joanne Samuel). The next morning,
as Max gets ready to head back in for another day of crime fighting, we see his toddler son in the background, playing on the floor with a pistol.
There's visual symbolism herethe film is fully loaded and it's about to go off.
And boy does it ever. While most of the film's violence is merely suggested, rather than explicitly shown, director George Miller's choppy, rule
breaking editing style makes Mad Max an undeniably intense experience. There are scenes where eye lines are broken and continuity goes
right out the window, but it doesn't really matter. Miller has us hooked on a taut line of suspense. There's a strong sense that anything
could happen, and it often does, as Miller isn't afraid to break traditional filmmaking tabooslike putting small, defenseless children directly in the
line of dangerif it gets his audiences to grip their armrests with sweaty palms.
Revenge is ultimately the name of the game here, as the oddly-named Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne), the hirsute leader of the late Nightrider's
gang, wants to put the hurt on "The Bronze," as he calls the police, for causing his buddy's death-by-fireball. And so Toecutter, lieutenant Bubba
Zenetti (Geoff Parry), and young effeminate protégé Johnny the Boy (Tim Burns) lead a cadre of Kawasaki-straddling misfits on the asphalt warpath.
When the gang, in retribution, torch Max's overconfident partner, The Goose (Steve Bisley)leaving the poor guy barely recognizableMax decides
to take some time off, lest he resort to the same barbaric, tit-for-tat tactics. It's only after Toecutter threatens Max's family, in a sequence of
bravura tension, that our hero decidesscrew itto go whole-hog after these ruthless bandits. He steals his iconic V8 Pursuit Special from
the police fleet and goes rogue, barreling down the highway with vengeance on his mind. In the end, the viewer is left to decide whether or not Max
has gone too far.
Well, I say that, but of course he goes too fardeliciously too far. This is, after all, the premiere Ozploitation movie of the late 1970s. (I can't help
but wonder if the creators of Saw stole their I'm giving you the option to either cut through your ankle with a hacksaw or die
premise from Mad Max.) Like most exploitation films, Mad Max was made for next to nothing, but this is in no way a shoddy
production. It's clear from every frame that Miller used what little he had to work witha handful of police cruisers and 18 bikes donated by
Kawasakito maximum effect. There is a certain improvisatory quality to the cameraworkand the actingbut this only adds to the film's manic
energy. And Mad Max is all energy. There's no loafing around here, nothing extraneous, no dillydallying. The film bolts off the
starting line at 180mph and the pace relents only for the few character-building scenes necessary to establish our empathy. What's more, looking
back from an age of tame, CGI-assisted stuntwork, Mad Max's insane car crashes and road rash-inducing motorcycle falls seem legitimately
dangerous. For one scene, the stunt coordinators even rigged up a rocket from the Australian Navy to a car, sending it boosting and fishtailing into
oblivion. Now that's bang for your buck.
Considering the film's age and the fact that it wasn't exactly well fundedbefore The Blair Witch Project, it held the record for highest box office-
to-budget ratioMad Max looks quite strong in high definition, arriving on Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, framed closely to its
original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The latter is important, as Mad Max was actually the first Australian film to ever be shot with widescreen
anamorphic lenses, which no doubt contributes to the film's clarity here. Fine detail is much more pronounced than in earlier standard definition
releases, particularly when it comes to the texture of the actors' stubbly, sweaty, weather-beaten faces. The transfer also nicely reproduces the film's
color palette, which contrasts the vivid primaries of the police interceptors with the comparatively bleak landscape of the Australian outback. Skin tones
are natural, explosions ripple outward in bright orange plumes, and the scene in the forest is lush and green. Black levels are perhaps not as deep as
they could besome darker scenes have a slightly grayish qualitybut contrast never really suffers. The only real distraction is the occasional print
damage. In certain sequences, color fluctuates mildly and yellowish stains come and go (along with the expected white flecks). The damage isn't too
prevalent though, and the film's grain structure is wholly intact.
Mad Max's U.S. theatrical release was mangled with a quite comical dub, wherein all Aussie actors' voiceseven Mel Gibson'swere replaced
with American accents. You can still hear that version herevia a mono Dolby Digital mixbut thankfully, it's not the default. The main offering is a
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that's been remastered to give the film some extra immersive kick. And, for the most part, it works. With all of
the souped-up cars and bikes peeling out, zipping off, and roaring past, it's no surprise that the rear speakers are mostly used for loud, cross-channel
pans anytime a vehicle rumbles by and other related sounds, like sirens. It's all satisfying, but it's clear from the stockiness of the movements that
surround sound wasn't originally part of the film's audio design. (Although, I do particularly like the whip-like kraaaackow of the Mad
Max logo hitting the screen during the title sequence.) Brian May's score complements the on-screen action and sounds clean and dynamically rich.
My sole complaint is that, when forced to compete with engine noises, the dialogue can sometimes sound soft and slightly muffled.
Audio Commentary
While I'd love to hear Mel Gibson have an inebriated go at an audio commentary for Mad Max, alas, it's not to be. What we have here is the
same track that graced the film's special edition DVD release, featuring DP David Eggby, art director Jon Dowding, special effects supervisor Chris Murray,
and film historian Tim Ridge. Nonetheless, this is a worthwhile listen for fans, as the participants share a wealth of knowledge about the film's
production.
Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon (SD, 25:35)
A swell retrospective that features David Eggby, Jon Dowding, Chris Murray and others discussing director George Miller's post-apocalyptic vision, the
film's breakneck action sequences, and the effect that Mad Max made when it was released in 1979.
Theatrical Trailer #1 (1080p, 1:53)
Theatrical Trailer #2 (1080p, 2:09)
MGM Trailers
Also includes trailers for Rollerball, The Terminator, Species, and Windtalkers.
Note: The included DVD also includes a documentary about Mel Gibson, a trivia track, a photo gallery, and TV spots.
What's the Australian equivalent of a Sergio Leone-esque spaghetti western? A vegemite western, maybe? Well, whatever it is, cross that with an
anarchic bit of the old ultra-violencecourtesy of A Clockwork Orangeadd some pre-post-apocalyptic flavor, underscore it all with a throaty V8
rumble, and you've got Mad Max, the rubber-burning exploitation film that launched a franchise and up-shifted Mel Gibson's career from
obscurity to superstardom. Armchair road warriors will have no real qualms with this solid Blu-ray release from MGM, which packs a solid A/V
presentation, an informative commentary track, and decent making-of retrospective. Recommended!
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