Welcome to a tribute to my favourite Australian movie: Mad Max. A great movie that spawned 2 sequels and a soon to be 4th installment. Its heroes, villains and road battles using classic Aussie muscle cars have ensured Mad Max has a cult like following not only in my homeland, but also in the US, Europe and Japan.
I first saw the original movie at the Hamilton drive-in (a country town in Victoria, Australia) in 1979/80. The funny thing about this first viewing was that the movie was R rated and you had to be 18+ to see it, I was only about 8 years old at the time! My Uncle Rob snuck me into the drive-in by hiding me beneath his legs under a blanket on the passenger side floor of the car (thanks Rob, I will never forget that)! The R Rating back then seems a bit over the top today, as the movie although violent was not really that extreme. A more sensitive time I guess?
Since 1979 I have watched the movies many times, visited many of the filming locations (in 3 states) and even met some of the actors from the first 2 movies. I love it! Please be warned if you have not seen these movies (shame on you!) the following contains a lot of spoilers. I have included a lot of video links which provide a good chance for you to get hooked on Max!
WHEN THE GANGS TAKE OVER THE HIGHWAY….
Mad Max released in 1979 is set in a near future where law and order is breaking down. The key elements of the movie were the characters, Aussie muscle cars and Kawasaki motorbikes melded together into a classic storyline of outlaws, love, death and revenge. The title character Max Rockatansky, a Main Force Patrol (MFP) interceptor officer (a highway patrol police force) was played by the then unknown actor Mel Gibson (he apparently turned up to the casting call battered and bruised after a fight the night before – perfect for the character!).
The film opens with a classic car chase scene where yellow MFP pursuit vehicle “Big Bopper” (driven by Roop and Charlie) and interceptors “March Hare” (driven by Sarse and Scuttle) and “Max” are chasing an escaped and crazed cop killer The Nightrider (the “fuel injected suicide machine”!) who is driving a stolen black MFP “pursuit special”.
“The Toecutter – he knows who I am. I am the Nightrider! I am the chosen one. The mighty hand of vengeance, sent down to strike the unroadworthy! I’m hotter than a rollin’ dice. Step right up, chum, and watch the kid lay down the rubber road, ride to freedom!” – The Nightrider
The MFP pursuit doesn’t end too well for The Nightrider though. He can’t handle the pressure and dies in a fiery crash!
The cars in the big chase were: “Big Bopper” was a 1974 ex-police Ford Falcon XB sedan (the actual car was a write off after this opening scene was filmed), “March Hare” was a 1972 ex-taxi Ford Falcon XA sedan and “Max” was another 1974 ex-police Ford Falcon XB sedan. The Nightrider was driving a 1972 Holden Monaro HQ. These were all classic Aussie muscle cars (thanks www.madmaxmovies.com for this info, this is an excellent site on all things relating to Mad Max)!
The Nightrider was part of a motor cycle gang led by Toecutter and his loyal second in command, Bubba Zanetti that are terrorizing the local area (much of the gang actors were actually bikers themselves). Toecutter is a violent, ruthless and probably insane leader who was played to his maniacle best by the great English actor Hugh Keays-Byrne who appeared in many Australian movies in the 1970/80’s and later he appeared in a number of TV programs including Farscape.
Max and officer Jim “Goose” Rains (played by well known Australian actor Steve Bisley) arrest gang member Johnny “The Boy” Boyle for raping a young couple, but due to no witnesses appearing in court he is set free. “Goose” is enraged and attacks “The Boy“, they are separated and both vow revenge. Alas for poor old “Goose” his bike is sabotaged by the gang, resulting in a crash and a later attack that leaves his body burnt to a crisp.
Max returns to the Halls of Justice (MFP HQ) but has had enough and quits the force. His boss Fifi McAffee unsuccessfuly tries to persuade Max to stay wjth the MFP.
“They say people don’t believe in heroes anymore. Well, damn them! You and me, Max, we’re gonna give them back their heroes.” – Fifi trying to convince Max to stay with the MFP
Max heads off on a holiday with his family to escape the chaos but while spending time by the beachside the Toecutter Gang strike again. They terrorise them, ultimately resulting in the death of both his wife Jessie and child when they are deliberately run over by the gang.
The horror the Toecutter Gang has unleashed and the cruel destruction of his family becomes the turning point where Max returns to the MFP. He has returned to the Halls of Justice but he is now a very different man and justice is not on his mind. Only revenge will do!
At the MFP headquarters Max is shown the “the last of the V8’s“. This is a black “pursuit special” interceptor (a 1973 Ford Falcon XB Coupe). After seeing the power of the car’s engine Max is suitably impressed. He gets into the interceptor and heads out onto the highway to unleash his anger on the Toecutter Gang. The time has come and Max has gone MAD!
“She sucks nitro… with Phase 4 heads! 600 horsepower through the wheels! She’s meanness set to music and the bitch is born to run!”
– Barry the MFP mechanic describing the “Pursuit Special” V8 Interceptor to Max and Goose.
The final result is his ultimate revenge killing of the gang members one by one in a number of memorable scenes, including the demise of the Toecutter! The film ends with one last act of revenge on “The Boy” and then Max driving off into the unknown.
- George Miller
Australian film maker George Miller made this movie on a relatively shoe string budget of about $400,000 (according to IMDB.com Gibson was only paid $15,000, a far cry from the $25,000,000 he would earn in later Hollywood movies!) but it grossed over $5,000,000 at the Australian box office alone (it went on to make $100,000,000 world-wide – not bad for a small investment)! The budget was so low that Gibson was the only actor actually wearing leather clothes, the rest were wearing vinyl! All the car chase scenes where a crash occurred were pretty much done in one take as there were no spare vehicles etc to replace them! The majority of the scenes were filmed in Melbourne, Little River and Clunes in Victoria, Australia.
The movie only had a limited release in the US in 1980 (making $8,000,000), but because it was “too hard” for the American audience to understand the Australian accents, the movie was redubbed with American voices. The following are the US trailers and they sound really weird to me: Mad Max (trailer 1), Mad Max (trailer 2). It just doesn’t seem right without Aussie accents! Apparently one of the more recent US DVD versions has both the original and dubbed dialogue, if you have that, please watch the original version.
BACK 2 THE MAX
In October 2008, myself and my mates Jerome and Scotty attended the 30th anniversary Back 2 The Max celebration of the movie in Little River. This was a great event where we got to meet some of the original stunt men including Murray Smith who built the original XB Interceptor and Steve Millichamp who played “Roop” (he sadly passed away on November 8th, 2013 following a long illness), plus see pursuit and interceptor vehicles and motorbikes as seen in the movie and visit key movie scene sites. Some of the guys who owned the replica vehicles recreated scenes on the actual roads from the movie which was really cool to watch.
Not long after this event, Scotty and I made a trip to Clunes to have a look at where a number of key movie scenes were also filmed. The town had changed a bit, but it was still easy to find the right places.
CLUNES
In 2009 my friend Scotty and I visited Clunes where a number of scenes with the Toecutters Gang were filmed. This was the little town they were terrorising. Not much has changed there since other than a fresh coat of paint and that the old train station where the Night Riders remains were returned is now unfortunately shut down.
“The Nightrider, that is his name. Remember him when you look at the night sky.” – The Toecutter
In 2010 Popcorn Taxi hosted a 31 year reunion Q&A with a number of cast members (excluding Mel Gibson) and stuntman Grant Page (who was prolific in Australian movies of the 1970’s/80’s). The event provided an interesting insight into the making of the movie and it provided a very humorous look back at the movie. To view the video (please note it contains explicit language) of this event please click here.
NOW THE HIGHWAY IS ONLY FOR WARRIORS….
Mad Max 2 released in 1981 was known as The Road Warrior in the US simply because the original was not so well-known there (mercifully it was not redubbed with US accents!). The movie was set a few years on from the original and is now in a post apocalyptic lawless world where fuel is a rare and precious commodity.
The opening scene is a car chase with Max and his dog in the black V8 interceptor (the car is now more beaten up than in Mad Max and has long-range fuel tanks added ). Max is low of fuel but fends of the gang chasing him and in the aftermath he recovers some fuel from crashed vehicles to hit the road again. Max is back!
The basic plot is based around a battle for fuel between a group of settlers (who have an operational oil refinery) and another wild gang who want the fuel for their vehicles and motorbikes. The gang is led by 2 great arch villians: the muscular but disfigured The Humungus and his chief henchmen Wez (played by Australian actor Vernon Wells who is probably also best known for his role as Bennett in Schwarzenegger’s Commando). Wez is like a crazed wild animal and can only be restrained by the strength of The Humungus.
“No! No more talk! We go in! We kill! Kill! We kill ’em! They kill us, we kill them! Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill! Kill!” – Wez.
“Be still my dog of war. I understand your pain. We’ve all lost someone we love. But we do it my way!” – The Humungus
The Humungus promises the settlers safety if they leave the refinery to him, but he soon goes against his word and kills some of them who try to leave. Max watches these events and helps save one of the settlers in return for fuel, the guy dies and the deal is reneged. Later Max agrees to recover an abandoned fuel truck (in return for fuel and his freedom) so the settlers can escape with their fuel. They agree but keep his beloved V8 interceptor until he returns.
“I’m just here for the gasoline.” – Max
Max outwits the gang and brings the truck back (with the assistance of a gyrocopter – flown by the The Gyro Captain played by famous Australian actor Bruce Spence). The settlers ask him to join them in their escape, but Max chooses to leave on his own with his fuel reward.
“They’ve got you wrong. You’re not a coward. STUPID, maybe. But not a coward.” – The Gyro Captain
Unfortunately for Max during his escape from the gang, his V8 interceptor is destroyed, the dog is killed and Max is badly injured. Max is rescued by The Gyro Captain. Upon his return to the settlement he starts to discover some of his humanity again by siding with the settlers and agrees to help them escape the wastelands and get to the coast where they can live in peace.
This leads to the big escape in the fuel truck where Max with the help of some settlers and the Feral Kid (who earlier attacks the gang with a metal boomerang!) fends off the gang (in typical brutal fashion) at a great cost of life and the loss of the truck. But Max has been deceived and the truck is full of sand!
The rest of the settlers who went a separate way escaped with the real fuel! The movie ends once again with an injured Max left to drift off into the unknown of the desert wastelands.
The Feral Kid was played by Australian child actor Emil Minty. I got to meet him at the Back 2 The Max event in 2008, he still owns that metal boomerang from the movie and had it there to show it (awesome)!
The budget for the film was approximately $2,000,000. It made more than double the first movie at the Australian box office and over $25,000,000 in the US. Apparently it was the most expensive movie made in Australia at that time. For a short video on the making of the movie please click here.
THE V8 INTERCEPTOR
More than 80 vehicles were used in Mad Max 2, including the original black V8 interceptor from Mad Max (it was repurchased for the movie by Kennedy Miller but in between the original blower and pipes had been removed to make it roadworthy for travel on Australian roads. New ones needed to be fitted). There were actually 2 cars put together for this film, the duplicate was destroyed in the movie, and the original from Mad Max was meant to be scrapped after the movie was finished. Luckily it was saved and eventually restored (at great expense) after sitting in a scrap yard for a few years in South Australia.
Eventually the restored interceptor was sold to the Cars of the Stars Museum in the UK of all places! Then in 2011 this museum had to sell their entire collection with the interceptor ending up in the Dezer Collection at the Miami Auto Museum in Florida.
There are plenty of replicas of the interceptor in Australia and around the world though (built from original Ford Falcon XB’s). When I paid a visit in 2006 to Silverton and the Mundi Mundi Plains (where the car chase scenes were filmed) a replica vehicle was displayed at the local pub along with lots of behind the scenes photos and memorabilia. There is also one on display at the ACMI Screen Worlds exhibition in Federation Square, Melbourne along with other production memorabilia.
I am pleased to say in 2014 I finally got to see the original “Pursuit Special” V8 Interceptor from the first two movies. By the time it was used in Mad Max 2, many changes had been made including the replacement of the blower and pipes (removed after the first movie) and the fitting of long range fuel tanks. It was great to see the car at the Dezer Collection in Miami, Florida but part of me really hopes that someday the interceptor can return to a museum in Australia, its rightful home (it is not an exact restoration, especially the paint job and from what I can gather parts went missing and so forth but is as close as it is going to get at this stage).
MAD MAX MUSEUM & ACTION FIGURES
Since my visit to Silverton a new Mad Max Museum opened in 2010. The museum is owned by Adrian Bennett from the UK who was so obsessed with Mad Max 2 he moved across the world to set it up! The Age newspaper wrote an interesting article on the museum in December 2010. They now have two interceptor replica vehicles and other original/replica vehicles from the movie on display. Well done Adrian the museum looks great! I hope some day to return there and check it out (shame it is so far away! To give those not from Australia some idea it would take about 10 hours non stop to drive the 861 km/535 miles from Melbourne to Silverton! ).
For some reason in 2000 a toy company released some action figures for Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Seemed a bit late (9 years after the movies release, they should have taken a lead from George Lucas and the almost immediate release of Star Wars figures), but they looked pretty cool and ultimately became a collector’s item. Series 1 included Max and Dog, Max and the Feral Kid, The Humungus, Wez, Warrior Woman and The Gyro Captain. I have all 6 figures from the Series 1 release of these action figures (unopened of course!).
Unfortunately the planned V8 Interceptor to go with this series of figures never got beyond prototype stage but there are numerous plastic and die-cast metal models that have been released of the various cars used in both Mad Max and The Road Warrior. The popularity of such items still remains today and they regularly appear for sale online.
HE’S JUST A RAGGEDY MAN!
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome released in 1985 was set about 15 years after Mad Max 2. The movie opens with Max now relegated to a camel drawn vehicle (no guzzoline) crossing the desert, when he is attacked from the air by pilot Jebediah and his son Jebediah Junior and has his “wagon” stolen. Strangely Jebediah is played by Bruce Spence who was The Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2, but he is a totally different character in this movie!
Max then crosses the wastelands on foot and comes across a settlement known as Bartertown. The world is still a lawless place and people have grouped together for safety in settlements under tyrannical rule such as Bartertown, which is run by its founder Aunty Entity (American singer Tina Turner) and her key henchmen Iron Bar head of security (Rose Tattoo lead singer Angry Anderson), The Collector who is in charge of trade and exchange (famous Australian actor Frank Thring) and Dr. Dealgood (Edwin Hodgeman) who runs the fighting arena known as The Thunderdome.
Bartertown is powered by methane gas fuelled by pigs. The methane refinery sits underground and is run by the tiny Master who is protected by the massive Blaster who carries Master on his back. Together they become Master Blaster and through their control of the power source they are the arch rival of Aunty Entity. Master uses this power to manipulate her and he inflicts power embargoes to get his way.
To change the balance of power Aunty Entity gets Max to challenge Master who is now in possession of his stolen vehicle. This results in one of the most epic scenes of the movie, the Thunderdome battle between Max and Blaster (so many great quotes occur during this scene: “dying times here“, “I know you wont break the rules, there aren’t any!”, “Death is listening and will take the first man that screams“). Max defeats Blaster, but discovers that he is mentally handicapped and he will not kill him. Despite his size Blaster has the mind of just a child.
Iron Bar kills Blaster instead, and as Max tries to leave he is blocked from exiting the Thunderdome, this causes the crowd to chant “two men enter, one man leaves” (the law of the Thunderdome). Aunty Entity says Max broke the law, resulting in “bust a deal, face the wheel“. The Wheel of Fate is spun by Dr. Dealgood and Max is sentenced to the Gulag and banished to the deserts of the wastelands strapped on the back of a horse which is chasing a bottle of water dangling in front of its face! He is now truly beyond The Thunderdome!
Near death Max is rescued by a group of kids living wild out in the wastelands in a hidden oasis. They are descendants of survivors of a nearby 747 passenger jet crash and believe Max to be the legendary “Captain Walker” who they have been told stories of who will lead them to “Tomorrow-morrow Land” a dreamt of civilisation. After being nursed back to health Max basically tells the kids to stay where they are and there is no place like what they seek.
Regardless of this advice, some of the kids leave to find “Tomorrow-morrow Land“. Max the man who went “mad” and became a solitary figure finds his humanity once again and goes after them, and they end up in Bartertown. Where they find Master is now a virtual prisoner of Aunty Entity. This leads to an escape on a train from Bartertown and the long-awaited big car chase and battle finale that Mad Max fans love!
They get away to where Jebediah and Jebediah Junior live (the train line runs out), but Aunty Entity and her gang are still in hot pursuit. Max coerced Jebediah to fly them to safety in his plane, but it’s too heavy to take off in such a short distance with so many people on board. So Max uses a captured vehicle to clear a path through the pursuers by crashing into the vehicle driven by Iron Bar. They take off and get away.
Max is confronted by Aunty Entity who finds the situation highly amusing, she laughs and drives away. The movie ends with Max once again left alone in the desert and the kids starting a new life in the city of Sydney in ruins.
The budget for this movie was once again significantly increased to $12,000,000 due to the popularity of Mad Max 2. This was obviously spent on the bigger and more elaborate sets, higher paid actors etc. The box office in Australia according to www.imdb.com was only $4,500,000 (which is strange as it is less than what the other two made), but it made significant takings overseas i.e. $36,000,000 in the US and £4,000,000 in the UK. Perhaps it wasn’t as popular in Australia due to the lack of the Aussie muscle cars?
It is interesting to note that the soundtrack for this movie included a massive hit for Tina Turner “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” (the video features her dressed as Aunty Entity and is interspersed with scenes from the movie). The track hit number 1 in the Australian music charts (along with other countries), number 2 in the US and number 3 in the UK. Apparently she still performs the song in live concerts today.
EXPLORING THE WASTELANDS
Back in 1985 as a young teenager I travelled for hours on a country train to see this movie in Melbourne, Australia, otherwise it would have taken months for it to be shown in my then home town of Horsham. It was great and I was happy to be the first person I knew to see it! Flash forward to early 2011 and I finally got to pay a visit to some of the areas where this movie was filmed near Coober Pedy (the opal capital of the world) in the South Australian outback. Crocodile Harry’s was used as the underground home of Jebediah the Pilot. The bedroom was shown in the movie and a tunnel with an old car at the top was were Jebediah Junior escaped. It is located less than 10 kilometres out of town. You can get a bit of a backstory of the making of the movie in this video.
Crocodile Harry passed away in 2006 but he lived a pretty interesting life and was one of the true outback characters of Australia. Originally from Latvia, as a younger man he spent many years in Northern Australia hunting crocodiles (Paul Hogan’s 1986 movie character Crocodile Dundee was partially based off his life), then he went to Coober Pedy to become an opal miner. Most people live underground there as it gets so hot in summer, the cave homes keep a comfortable temperature all year round.
The interior of Harry’s underground home is covered in his own artwork and with the connection to Mad Max became a major tourist attraction. Women who were willing to get into bed with Harry were permitted to write their name on the walls/ceiling of the cave – there are a lot of names and messages written there plus plenty of bra’s hanging from the ceiling! The Breakaways (33 kilometres north of town) was where Max was sentenced to the Gulag by “Aunty Entity“and the Moon Plain was used as a backdrop for the chase scenes in the wastelands. Unfortunately it was flooded out on the Moon Plain there at the time (yes it floods in the outback every now and then!), so I couldn’t explore that particular spot as much as I wanted to.
THE APOCALYPTIC FUTURE….
Now they are working on making Mad Max 4: Fury Road, which is scheduled for release in 2014 (also reported in an Australian TV news story from 2009). The new “Mad” Max Rockatansky will be British actor Tom Hardy who has starred in movies such as Star Trek Nemesis (2002), Inception (2010), Warrior (2011) and features as the villain Bane in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. Tom Hardy is a pretty physical and gritty guy, so he should fit the role pretty well (I wonder if Sam Worthington was considered for the role. He would have been a great choice too!). It will be interesting to see if he plays Max with an Australian accent or not (he better!)?
Mad Max 4: Fury Road will be a relaunch of the world in which the original Mad Max trilogy was set. The budget, special effects etc will be much bigger (probably $100,000,000+), but that doesn’t always make for a better film. Part of the appeal of the original Mad Max movie was its low-budget and one take car chase scenes, but it is going to be really interesting to see what they come up with!
Peter Jackson’s multi Oscar award-winning Weta Workshop in New Zealand will be involved in make up, costumes etc for Mad Max 4: Fury Road which is excellent news as they were responsible for the excellent Lord of the Rings Trilogy and many other great movies. I visited their small but very cool “Weta Cave” museum in Wellington, New Zealand in 2009 – they had numerous props, statues and merchandise from their movies which was great to see.
At the 2011 International Motor Show in Melbourne, Australia the Ford Motor Company in conjunction with TV program Top Gear Australia displayed 2 quarter scale model concept interceptor cars that people could vote for, to pick which one would be used in the new movie. They look pretty cool but I still like the old 1973 Ford Falcon XB Coupe interceptor better. Now that was a classic Aussie muscle car!
It is a shame that Mel Gibson will not be part of this new movie, it would have been great to have seen him reprise the role and continue on from where Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome left off (who knows, hopefully he will make a cameo appearance). But I guess they want to find a new audience and have a modern take on the movie. The good news is that George Miller who directed the 3 earlier films is still in charge. This is his baby and he will treat this classic franchise with the respect it deserves. After long delays the filming of Mad Max 4 was shifted from the Australian Outback near Broken Hill to Southern Africa. This was due to the long drought finally being broken and so much water being on the ground up there that the land was too green to represent the environment from Mad Max 2 and 3!
The filming for the road chases etc. was mostly completed in the desert in Namibia with additional scenes being filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. The numerous vehicles were shipped over there from Australia. Certain scenes and post production will be completed in Australia and an Australian film crew was used in Namibia which is good for the Aussie film industry.
George Miller released a press statement in August 2012 that detailed the basic plot and the key characters in Mad Max 4: “Mad Max is caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa. This movie is an account of the Road War which follows. It is based on the Word Burgers of the History Men and eyewitness accounts of those who survived.” A further synopsis update was released in May 2014: The post-apocalyptic action film is set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world of fire and blood exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order… There’s Max a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And…Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland.”
Imperator Furiosa is being played by Charlize Theron. Other key characters include: Nux (a War Boy) – Nicholas Hoult; Immortan Joe – Hugh Keays-Byrne (leader of the Citadel and yes it’s the Toecutter from Mad Max!) and Rictus Erectus (enforcer and son of Immortan Joe) – Nathan Jones. A collective known as the Five Wives will be played by Zoe Kravitz (Lenny’s daughter) as Toast the Knowing, Riley Keough (the granddaughter of Elvis Presley) as Capable, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as The Splendid Angharad, Abbey Lee Kershaw (model) as The Dag and Courtney Eaton (an Aussie model) as Cheedo the Fragile. Other characters include: Corpus Collossus (another son of Immortan Joe) – Quentin Kenihan, Slit – Josh Helman, Miss Giddy – Jennifer Hagan and Coma-Doof Warrior will be played by iOTA the singer/songwriter. Australians will also recognize a number of people who will also feature in Mad Max 4: John Howard (the actor not the ex-Prime Minister!) as The People Eater (leader of Gastown), Richard Carter as The Bullet Farmer (leader of the Bullet Farm),Angus Sampson as The Organic Mechanic (a doctor of sorts), Megan Gale (model – yeah!!!) as The Valkyrie and Melissa Jaffer the Keeper of the Seeds. The last two ladies are part of a desert dwelling collective known as The Vuvalini played by Melita Jurisic, Joy Smithers, Gillian Jones, Christina Koch and Antoinette Kellermann.
Despite the concept cars pictured above, there have been images coming out of a new version of the old Mad Max 2 era Ford Falcon XB interceptor (apparently 2 have been built) that was displayed at an event in Swakopmund, Namibia in October 2012. Can Max be taking to the road in the old Aussie classic once again? I hope so!
Photos and videos are surfacing from the movie production set in Namibia that give an insight into what is happening with Fury Road, including costumes, very white skinned mutant like characters known as The War Boys who are the henchmen of Immortan Joe and a lot of heavily armed vehicles. These include a silver XB with jacked up rear tyres, a big engine and weaponry. With the appearance of all these cars and the old XB Interceptor it seems the movie is set in a time somewhere between Mad Max and Mad Max 2 (rather than a more futuristic rebooted world indicated by the concept cars).
The long-awaited first glimpse of how Max will look in Fury Road was finally leaked in December 2012. Since then a few more photos have started to trickle out of Tom playing Max. He appears to have a suitable gritty post apocalyptic look about him (what is with the motorbike behind him though?).
In June 2014 we finally got to see a photo of Max and the “bad-ass commander named Imperator Furiosa” (played by Charlize Theron) together on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Director George Miller told the magazine that for Mad Max 4: Fury Road “I wanted to tell a linear story – a chase that starts as the movie begins and continues for 110 minutes”. One long epic old school car chase with very few digital effects that no doubt will be surrounded by mayhem sounds good to me!
Apparently flashback scenes have been filmed for Fury Road that feature Dog (an Australian Blue Heeler cattle dog) who originally was featured in Mad Max 2. Dog’s appearances in the earlier movie as the highly protective and loyal companion of Max were often a comical highlight, but in Fury Road Max is meant to be having horrible flashbacks with people blaming him for causing the loss of life of others. It should be interesting to see what happens.
In conjunction with the new movie there is also a Mad Max video game being released in September 2015. You will play as Max and must build a car after your Interceptor that has been stolen by “The War Boys”. Within the game you get to explore a full open world across the wastelands. Scavenging, fighting and forming alliances with the various denizens of the wasteland, you can have no conscious as your ultimate aim is to survive. The early screenshots and trailer video do not show much but look good none the less! The game play trailer reveals a bit more of the game which is being developed by Avalanche Studios and will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, X360 and PC. I look forward to playing this game for sure!
On April 23rd, 2015 a gameplay overview trailer for the PS4 version of the Mad Max game was released. You begin with nothing and must scavenge and fight to survive. It looks great!
There is also some speculation that while in Southern Africa, Mad Max 4 is being filmed back to back with an additional movie titled Mad Max 5: Furiosa (with plans for a possible sixth installment)! Although there is no official word, this is very interesting news indeed (Addendum April 2nd, 2015: These rumours were slightly off the mark but Tom Hardy has stated he is tentatively signed on for two more sequels but “Everything’s based on figures and how things are perceived.” he told Esquire. “Inevitably it’s a business.”). The original movie is still my favourite, but 25+ years is too long and I for one cannot wait to hit the fury road again!A
As of late 2013 final scenes are being filmed in Sydney, Australia and Mad Max: Fury Road will be released May 15th, 2015 (it will also be a 3D release). Yes! Give it the bejesus!
THE LONG AWAITED FURY ROAD TEASERS AND TRAILERS
On July 27th, 2014 we finally got a view of some live action from Fury Road with the release of the Comic-Con First Look video and what an amazing first look it was. In the opening narrative we hear about oil shortages, water wars and reports that people are killing each other for guzzoline. This then leads to the chaos before us in the wastelands. Oh so many cars (including the return of the Ford XB V8 MFP Interceptor) and oh so many explosions! We see the capture of Max by The War Boys and a huge pursuit across the desert to get Furiosa and the Five Wives.
Next up was the release of a teaser trailer on December 10th, 2014. This one gave us more of a glimpse of the different movie characters as well as descriptors of the mad world we are going to enter (only the mad survive).
Update March 31st, 2015
Following a week of 4 short TV Spots: Chaos (“Everybody has gone out of their mind“), Retaliate (“My name is Max. My world has been reduced to a single instinct. Survive!”), War and Explosion, Warner Brothers have released the most incredible Mad Max: Fury Road trailer yet. George Miller has taken the basic concepts that made the original movies so great and literally turned them up to eleven. All I can say is wow!
This new trailer reveals a lot of information, especially on the level of power that Immortan Joe holds in this dystopian world where whoever controls water and guzzoline, reigns supreme. In the first trailer sneak peeks we saw how Max was captured, now we discover The War Boys also have his smashed up Ford XB Interceptor (“The Last of the V8’s“). During an attempt at escape by Max, we see them working on the V8, then later we see what looks like the same car (after some heavy customisation) take part in the wastelands chase of Furiosa and the Five Wives (“we are not things“).
Does Max get his V8 back? Will we see him heading off alone into the wastelands once again at the end of the movie (hopefully behind the wheel of his Ford XB)? All will be revealed on May 15th, 2015.
Update April 16th, 2015
Warner Brothers released a great Mad Max: Fury Road – Legacy featurette. This video features scenes from all 4 Mad Max movies.
Update April 28th, 2015
The final Retaliate trailer release shows an extended clip where Imperator Furiosa delivers the fuel truck with 3,000 gallons of guzzoline and Max onboard, to a group of scavengers on trail bikes in a canyon whilst in hot pursuit by Immortan Joe and The War Boys. The sheer number of vehicles and characters from the wastelands looks great!
Update April 30th, 2015
A Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller Featurette has also been released. This gives a behind the scenes look at the movies on location production as well as short discussions with the actors and crew.
Update May 2015
Interviews with Tom Hardy, his stunt double Jacob Tomuri, Charlize Theron, George Miller and Nicholas Hoult. Hear some behind the scenes information on 2.5 hours of stunt after stunt. Bring on Fury Road!
Meet Nux in the Esquire exclusive Mad Max: Fury Road’s Bloodthirsty Contenders. Here we learn that The War Boys grow up as mechanics then, if chosen, they progress to be drivers/warriors and get a chance to die on the Fury Road and reach their Valhalla. Young boys destined to become a War Boy are known as War Pups.
Collider Videos also released 6 Mad Max: Fury Road clips showing the fight between Furiosa and Max when they first meet, then their trials and tribulations against the scavengers of the wastelands. Beware spoilers galore!
In a surprise at the Hollywood premiere of Mad Max: Fury Road on May 7th, 2015 Mel Gibson joined Tom Hardy on the red carpet. Mad Max 1 and 2!
Update May 16th, 2015 – My Verdict on Mad Max: Fury Road
Oh what a lovely day! Strap yourself in, give it the bejesus and ride through a dusty, fiery hell on the fury road to Valhalla!
There has been a lot of talk about the strong female leads championed by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) in this movie and they are indeed strong (as were many female characters in the original movies – you have to be tough to survive the wastelands!) but the world still needs heroes and Max is the man for the job. He works side by side with these warrior women in the fight for freedom.
The dystopian world of Mad Max: Fury Road is interesting with places seen and unseen across the wastelands, to provide a backdrop to the action packed story as it unfolds before you: The Citadel, Gastown (they produce guzzoline), The Bullet Farm (where bullets are made), the canyon, the “Green Place” (the promised land) and the never-ending salt flats. The Citadel run by Immortan Joe holds precious water (Aqua Cola), plant life and is home to his sons (Rictus Erectus and Corpus Colossus), the Five Wives (the breeders), the Milking Mothers (they provide breast milk for Immortan Joe’s offspring from what I could gather!), Imperators (commanders), various cronies like The Organic Mechanic and followers including The War Boys, War Pups and The Wretched.
In short this movie starts off with Max being captured by The War Boys for his car and most importantly for his clean blood that can be to given to The War Boys who suffer various illnesses from apparent radiation poisoning (he is physically branded by The War Boys as a universal donor and “Road Warrior“!). Then things take a turn as Imperator Furiosa deviates from Immortan Joe’s plan for her to drive the War Rig truck convoy to Gastown to get guzzoline for The Citadel. She heads off into the wastelands with the War Rig instead and as it turns out she has the Five Wives hidden onboard to escape to a better life in the “Green Place“. One is pregnant with Immortan Joe’s child and he is furious. This sets off a huge chase across the wastelands where Max escapes captivity, joins forces with Imperator Furiosa and lets the madness begin!
Once the big chase starts you get to meet a whole bunch of scavengers and denizens who make up the clans of the wastelands such as the Buzzards (in the spikey vehicles), Gastowners (led by The People Eater), Bullet Farmers (led by The Bullet Farmer), the Rock Riders (a biker gang in the canyon) and The Vuvalini (a tribe of tough matriarchs on motorbikes). The vehicles they drive and motorbikes they ride make up the crux of what people love about Mad Max movies and George Miller does not let us down with a dizzying array of inventive vehicles (Immortan Joe’s Gigahorse, The Bullet Farmers Valiant tracked vehicle, Rictus Erectus’s Bigfoot, the Doof Warrior’s Doof Wagon and so many more), weapons, plenty of driving action, men swinging on metronome poles, flames, explosions, gunfire and mind-blowing stunts!
I wont give much more away but all I can say is I enjoyed this movie from start to end. The characters throughout the movie are unique and interesting, the array of vehicles from cars to trucks is incredible, the stunts are predominately real and only enhanced by CGI to give that extra bang (which is great) and the visual effects are stunning (the budget was around $150,000,000 which is more than 10 times the budget for all 3 Mad Max movies together and it’s evident where all the money went as it looks fantastic!). Dialog is kept to a minimum to let the action speak for itself (Max doesn’t say much but he didn’t really in the originals either).
Although Max has flashbacks to the past they have little to do with the original movies (this is a reboot, not a sequel) but the ending scene follows the theme of all the earlier Mad Max movies and I enjoyed the little snippets (Easter eggs) dotted through the movie that do pay tribute to the original movies such as the branding of “Road Warrior” on Max’s back, a misfiring shot gun, a bulging eyes flashback and a little music box for example. They really bring a smile to your face. So all being said, it’s definitely two thumbs up from me and the long wait was well and truly worth it. Go see Mad Max: Fury Road!
How does it compare with the original movies? Well it doesn’t really. This is a total reboot of the same world where Max Rockatansky and his Ford XB iInterceptor are the only participants that really carry over from the earlier movies (there are some comic moments with Max muttering about them taking his car and his blood!). The budget and the sheer number of vehicles and people involved in Fury Road is massive in comparison to the older movies. Visually Fury Road is far more elaborate but it is essentially one long glorious road chase movie. For me the originals are sentimental favourites and superior stories. Fury Road is still a great movie though!
Update May 18th 2015 – Fury Road Sequels
In a May 15th, 2015 podcast interview on The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith, George Miller mentioned a new movie title, Mad Max: The Wasteland. Miller stated:
“We’ve got one screenplay and a novella. It happened because with the delays [on ‘Fury Road’], and writing all the backstories, they just expanded.”
The screenplay is for Mad Max: The Wasteland and the novella is intended as the basis for a potential third movie. Tom Hardy has previously mentioned he is contracted to 3 Mad Max movies if the first is successful.
On May 17th, 2015 George Miller tweeted:
“Hello Twitter! Thanks for all the kind words written and said about the film. We had a lot of fun making it..and there’s more Max to come.”
So now we just have to wait and see how the movie does at the box office before a decision is made to commence filming. The Associated Press reported that Mad Max: Fury Road returned $109.4 million USD worldwide at the box office on it’s first weekend ($44.4 million in the United States alone). Not too bad at all for an R rated movie and no doubt given the positive reviews, this will continue, so it is likely the sequel will indeed happen (once they make a profit on the $150 million USD budget!). By all accounts though, these potential new movies are likely to be prequels to Fury Road.
Update May 20th, 2015 – Mad Max: Fury Road prelude comic series released
The first comic Mad Max: Fury Road – Nux & Immortan Joe #1 has been released by DC Entertainment’s Vertigo. This series of comics is a prelude to the Fury Road movie and details how war hero Colonel Joe Moore discovers The Citadel in the wastelands and becomes the warlord Immortan Joe. The prelude will also cover the story of War Boy Nux who knows nothing but the chaos into which he was born. Sounds great! I am curious about the appearance of Max’s Ford XB Interceptor on the cover of #1 too!
The others comics in this 2015 Mad Max Fury Road prelude series are: Furiosa #1 (June 17th – this one looks at life in the Citadel and Immortan Joe’s wives who meet their eventual protector Imperator Furiosa), Mad Max #1 (June 8th – a world of violence and tragedy in which Max Rockatansky, the Road Warrior rebuilds his V8 Interceptor to get his ticket to the rubber road of freedom! He must go to Gastown to get a Boss 351 engine but ends up fighting in Thunderdome Plus!) and Mad Max #2 (August 5th – Max loses his V8 and must retrieve it by heading into the bowels of the sunken city with his trusty sawn off shotgun. He runs into the Buzzards along the way). The series will be collected in a single graphic novel on August 26th, 2015.
So for now that’s it. We sit and wait to see what the next installment for the world of Mad Max and the wastelands will be!
Deano In America 
Just gotta pray they dont go the way of many recent remakes or continuing trilogys, IE more CGI than grit, and hollywood names rather than good actors. Lucas struggled (& I still struggle with the newer films seemingly set b4 the 70s/80s flicks) So far Italian Job, Alfie and Get Carter all got destroyed as well. I suppose the Oceans movies stack up OK but thats hollywood doing hollywood. Brit, Aussie or Hong Kong, Chinese or Jamaican movies all have that grounded realism even when the subject is fantasy. The starsky and hutch movie was just way too close to 70s TV episode, same for Dukes of Hazzard. But at least they saw sense and used the iconic muscle car stars. Even the new all action, wheres the funny girls names, bond got a go in a DB5. A quick glance at the votes on here sees it split 80 – 20 between MM2 Road Warrior and Mad Max (1). Nobody has voted for the 3rd movie yet, could it be cos it got a bit “hollywood” ? . Oh well at least George Millers involved and Peter Jacksons movies are usually good to watch. BUT PLEASE GIVE HIM AN XB TO DRIVE!!!! OR explain to us your audience, how the car got further developed in POST APOCALYPTIC Mad Max world…. eh eh EH (Also if Lady **@~*ng GaGa gets in the movie I will start a riot!)
Totally agree with you. I love CGI, but put a real car and real people doing the stunts etc and you have a much grittier movie experience that people love! The new movie is meant to be a reboot of sorts, so they will probably discard events of previous movies (bit like the new Batman franchise). Charlize Theron is linked to Mad Max 4….who knows whats going to happen?!
Beyond Thunderdome was the most Hollywood for sure, but it still was a good story. Check out some Korean movies if you get a chance, they are good too (much like Chinese ones).
We can only hope that what ever car makes it into the movie it is at least representative of the trusty XB!
The remakes of Clash of the Titans and Conan were a mere shadow of the originals. Too much reliance on CGI and 3D
Reblogged this on Deano Around The World and commented:
My favourite Australian movie (I originally posted this on my other blog Deano In America)
when will we see a pic of Hardy in full max gear?
Good question! Hopefully soon, I will add a photo of him with a beard that is apparently for Mad Max 4
I have updated my Mad Max blog with a photo of Tom Hardy as Max
I give MM1 and MM2 5 out of 5 and MM3 about 2 out of 5 stars. Awesome action, character, story…
MM3 just became too cartoonish and a total ripoff of the final chase in MM2, right down to the car chasing a larger vehicle with people climbing all over it and the main badguy henchman getting caught on the cowcathcer. MM3 also confused me with using the same actor for two different (or were they the same?) main characters…. WTF?!?!?Blek. I do NOT want to see a cartoonish caracature of Max Max 4 or MM5. So many sequels of great films simply get cartoonish and stupid by default (Star Wars pre-quels, Indiana Jones, and so many more).
For MM4 and MM5 I want to see original story sequel/prequel with grit, empathy, character, and believable action. No running from explosions. No disarming bombs at the last second. No dodging bullets… and for GODS sake please little or no CGI. I want realism, not a video game!!!!
I would be most interested in seeing the development of Max between MM1 and MM2. There is a ton of room for adventure, and including the Black on Black car! Explore the changes to his car. Explore him getting his dog. Explore any other bad guys he has bested. Explore any other people he’s helped… MM4 could fill in those gaps. And keep the original car!!! (I saw a replica this summer and it was awesome!)
MM5 could pick up after Beyond Thunderdome. Where does he go from there, left again with nothing. Does he take one of those vehicles and go… where?
A depiction of what happened to the world between Mad Max & Mad Mad Max 2 would be fantastic!
The pilot characters played by Bruce Spence in Mad Max 2 (The Gyro Captain) and 3 (Jebediah) were different characters – strange I know! It is going to happen again as Hugh Keays-Byrne who played Toecutter in Mad Max will appear in Mad Max 4 as a character called Immortan Joe!
I was happy to see they dropped the futuristic concept car idea and stayed with the Ford XB Interceptor. Luckily the world between Mad Max 2 and Mad Max 3 still has plenty to offer. I look forward to 2014 to see what they come up with!
Check out Lord Fury’s site if you get a chance
http://www.furyroadnews.com/#
Early reports from advance preview screenings for Fury Road have been good 🙂
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/01/mad-max-fury-road-gets-strong-early-screening-reactions
Why Mel wasn’t in Fury Road
http://nypost.com/2015/05/09/mad-max-creator-on-why-mel-gibson-was-cut-from-fury-road/