Mad Max (1979)

Directed by

George Miller

Genre

action film, dystopian film, thriller film, vigilante film

Country

Australia

Runtime

1h 28m

Rated

R

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 5,009 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In a crumbling near-future Australia, a highway patrol officer loses his family to a biker gang. He sets out for revenge, becoming a lone vigilante in a lawless wasteland.

grimvisceralrelentlessdesolateviolentbleakrawstripped-down

What happens

Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller in his directorial debut, who co-wrote the screenplay with James McCausland, based on a story by Miller and Byron Kennedy. Mel Gibson stars as "Mad" Max Rockatansky, a police officer turned vigilante in a dystopian near-future Australia in the midst of societal collapse. Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns and Roger Ward also appear in supporting roles. Principal photography for Mad Max took place in and around Melbourne and lasted for six weeks. The film initially received a polarised reception upon its release in April 1979, although it won four AACTA Awards. Filmed on a budget of A$400,000, it earned more than US$100 million worldwide in gross revenue and set a Guinness record for most profitable film. The success of Mad Max has been credited for further opening the global market to Australian New Wave films. Mad Max became the first in the series, giving rise to three sequels: Mad Max 2 (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). A spin-off film titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was released in 2024. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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