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{{short description|1979 Australian dystopian action film}}
{{about|the original film|the eponymous character, the franchise and other uses|Mad Max (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Mad Max
| image = MadMazAus.jpg
| caption = Australian theatrical release poster
| director = [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]]
| producer = Byron Kennedy
| writer =
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
* James McCausland
* George Miller
}}
| story = {{Plainlist|
* George Miller
* [[Byron Kennedy]]
}}
| based_on =
| starring = {{Plainlist|<!--Per poster billing-->
* [[Mel Gibson]]
* [[Joanne Samuel]]
* [[Hugh Keays-Byrne]]
* [[Steve Bisley]]
* Tim Burns
* [[Roger Ward]]
}}
| narrator =
| music = [[Brian May (Australian composer)|Brian May]]
| cinematography = [[David Eggby]]
| editing = {{Plainlist|
* Tony Paterson
* [[Clifford Hayes|Cliff Hayes]]
}}
| studio = [[Kennedy Miller Mitchell|Kennedy Miller Productions]]
| distributor = [[Roadshow Entertainment|Roadshow Film Distributors]]
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1979|04|12}}
| runtime = 93 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 93:03--><ref>{{cite web | url= https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/mad-max-film | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160202201807/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/mad-max-film | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2 February 2016 | title= ''MAD MAX'' (15) | work= [[British Board of Film Classification]] | date= 21 April 2015 | access-date= 28 January 2016}}</ref>
| country = Australia
| language = English
| budget = A$350,000–400,000<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/mad-max-history|title= 8 Reasons Why Mad Max Is the Most Improbable Franchise of All Time|publisher= [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|last= Robinson|first= Joanna|date= 15 May 2015|access-date= 15 March 2018}}</ref>
| gross = <!-- This is the global gross. Do not replace it with the figure at Box Office Mojo which just records the American gross-->US$100 million<ref name=gross/>
}}
'''''Mad Max''''' is a 1979 Australian [[utopian and dystopian fiction|dystopian]] [[action film]] directed by [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]] in his [[List of directorial debuts|directorial debut]], who co-wrote the screenplay with James McCausland, based on a story by Miller and [[Byron Kennedy]]. [[Mel Gibson]] stars as [[Max Rockatansky|"Mad" Max Rockatansky]], a police officer turned vigilante in a dystopian [[Near future in fiction|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 polarized 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 Book|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 [[Mad Max|series]], giving rise to three sequels: ''[[Mad Max 2]]'' (1981), ''[[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome]]'' (1985) and ''[[Mad Max: Fury Road]]'' (2015). A [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] film titled ''[[Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga]]'' was released in 2024.
==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries are 400 to 700 words. Words such as "realise", "recognise", or anything that relates to Australian English should NOT be changed to their American or British English versions without viewing the WP:ENGVAR guidelines. -->
A [[dystopia]]n near-future [[Australia]] is facing a breakdown of civil order primarily owing to widespread oil shortages and [[ecocide]].<ref name="Valls">{{Cite book |title=Avenging nature: the role of nature in modern and contemporary art and literature |date=2020 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-7936-2144-3 |editor-last=Valls Oyarzun |editor-first=Eduardo |series=Ecocritical theory and practice |___location=Lanham Boulder NewYork London |chapter=17 |editor-last2=Gualberto Valverde |editor-first2=Rebeca |editor-last3=Malla García |editor-first3=Noelia |editor-last4=Colom Jiménez |editor-first4=María |editor-last5=Cordero Sánchez |editor-first5=Rebeca}}</ref> The [[Berserker|berserk]] [[motorbike gang]] member Crawford "Nightrider" Montazano kills a rookie officer of the poorly funded Main Force Patrol (MFP)—one of the last remaining law enforcement agencies—and escapes with his girlfriend in a [[Pursuit Special]].<ref name="Valls"/> Nightrider is able to elude the MFP until the organisation's top pursuit man [[Max Rockatansky]] manages to steer him into a roadblock, resulting in a fiery crash that kills both Nightrider and his girlfriend.
At the MFP garage, Max is shown his new police car: a specially built [[V8 engine|V8]]-powered and [[Supercharger|supercharged]] black Pursuit Special. A conversation between Max's superior Captain Fred "Fifi" Macaffee and [[Police commissioner]] Labatouche reveals the Pursuit Special was authorised to bribe Max, who is becoming weary of police work, into staying on the force. Nightrider's motorbike gang, which is led by Toecutter and Bubba Zanetti, run riot in a town, vandalising property, stealing fuel and terrorising the populace. A young couple attempts to escape, but the gang destroys their car and assaults them. Max and fellow officer Jim "Goose" Rains arrest Toecutter's young protégé Johnny the Boy at the scene. No witnesses appear in court and Johnny is deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. Against Goose's furious objections, Johnny is released into Bubba's custody.
While Goose visits a nightclub in the city that night, Johnny sabotages his police motorbike, causing it to lock up at high speed the next day and launch Goose off the road. Dazed but uninjured, Goose borrows a [[Ute (vehicle)|ute]] to haul his bike back to MFP headquarters. On the way, Johnny throws a [[drum brake|brake drum]] through his windscreen and Goose crashes again. Toecutter urges and forces a reluctant Johnny to throw a match into the wreck of the ute, burning Goose alive. After seeing Goose's charred body in the hospital [[Intensive care unit|ICU]], Max informs Fifi that he is resigning from the MFP to save what is left of his sanity. Fifi convinces him to take some time off before committing to his decision, so Max goes on a trip in his [[Panel van#Australia|panel van]] with his wife Jessie and infant son "Sprog" (Australian slang for a child). When they stop to fix the spare tyre, Jessie takes Sprog to get ice cream and is accosted by Toecutter and his gang. She escapes and the family hides on a remote farm owned by an elderly friend, May Swaisey.
The gang continues pursuing Jessie through the woods, capturing Sprog while Max is out looking for them. May helps Jessie free the boy and the trio escapes in the station wagon, which then breaks down. Jessie grabs Sprog and runs down the road until the gang simply runs them over. Sprog is killed instantly, while a [[coma]]tose Jessie is held in the ICU, in critical condition. Driven into a rage by the attack on his family, Max dons his police uniform and takes the black Pursuit Special, without authorisation, to pursue and eliminate the gang members. He kills several of them before being caught in a trap set by Toecutter, Bubba and Johnny; Bubba shoots Max in the leg and drives over his arm. Max is then able to shoot Bubba, in return, with a [[sawn-off shotgun]]. Toecutter and Johnny ride-off; Max staggers to his car and chases Toecutter, whom he forces into the path of an approaching [[semi-trailer]], killing him.
Finally, Max finds Johnny at the scene of a car wreck, stealing the boots of the deceased driver. He argues he is not to blame in the deaths of Max's family, but Max handcuffs Johnny's foot to the overturned vehicle and creates a crude time-delay [[Fuse (explosives)|fuse]] using leaking petroleum and Johnny's own cigarette lighter. He gives Johnny a hacksaw, saying Johnny can either try to saw through the handcuffs (which will take ten minutes) or his ankle (which will take five minutes), if he wants to survive. The vehicle explodes as Max drives away.
==Cast==
<!-- in the same order as the film's end credits (which are alphabetical after the first 6) -->
{{div col}}
* [[Mel Gibson]] as [[Max Rockatansky]], a police officer in the Main Force Patrol (MFP)
* [[Joanne Samuel]] as Jessie Rockatansky, Max's wife
* [[Hugh Keays-Byrne]] as Toecutter, the leader of a motorcycle gang
* [[Steve Bisley]] as Jim "Goose" Rains, a member of the MFP's motorcycle unit
* Tim Burns as Johnny the Boy, a young member of Toecutter's gang
* [[Roger Ward]] as Fred "Fifi" Macaffee, Max's MFP captain
* David Bracks as Mudguts, a member of Toecutter's gang
* David Cameron as Underground Mechanic, who builds the V-8 Pursuit Special
* Robina Chaffey as Singer, who performs at the Sugartown Cabaret
* Stephen Clark as Sarse, an MFP officer (Scuttle's partner)
* [[Reg Evans]] as Station Master
* Max Fairchild as Benno, May's large adult son, who has an [[intellectual disability]]
* [[Sheila Florance]] as May Swaisey, an old friend of Max
* Hunter Gibb as Lair, a man with a Chevvy who is attacked by Toecutter's gang
* [[Vincent Gil]] as Crawford "The Nightrider" Montazano, a member of Toecutter's gang
* [[Jonathan Hardy]] as Labatouche, an English-born police commissioner who oversees the MFP
* Brendan Heath as "Sprog" Rockatansky, Max and Jessie's infant son
* Paul Johnstone as Cundalini, a member of Toecutter's gang who loses a hand
* [[Nico Lathouris|Nick Lathouris]] as Grease Rat, a mechanic near a beach
* John Ley as Charlie, a religious MFP officer (Roop's partner)
* Steve Millichamp as Roop, an MFP officer (Charlie's partner)
* George Novak as Scuttle, an MFP officer (Sarse's partner)
* [[Geoff Parry]] as Bubba Zanetti, Toecutter's second in command
* [[Lulu Pinkus]] as Nightrider's Girl
* Kim Sullivan as Girl in Chevvy, who, along with Lair, is attacked by Toecutter's gang
* [[Amanda Muggleton]] as Biker's Moll
* [[Lisa Aldenhoven]] as Nurse
* Karen Moregold as Radio Dispatcher (uncredited)
{{div col end}}
==Production==
===Development===
[[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]] was a [[Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery|medical doctor]] in [[Sydney]], working in a hospital [[Emergency department|emergency room]] where he saw many injuries and deaths of the types depicted in the film. He also witnessed many car accidents growing up in rural [[Queensland]] and lost at least three friends to accidents as a teenager.<ref name="miller">Scott Murray & Peter Beilby, "George Miller: Director", ''Cinema Papers'', May–June 1979 p369-371</ref>
While in residency at a Sydney hospital, Miller met amateur filmmaker [[Byron Kennedy]] at a summer film school in 1971. The two men produced a [[short film]], ''Violence in the Cinema, Part 1'', which was screened at a number of [[film festival]]s and won several awards. Eight years later, they produced ''Mad Max'', working with first-time [[screenwriter]] James McCausland (who appears early in the film as the bearded man in an apron in front of the diner).
According to Miller, his interest while writing ''Mad Max'' was "a [[Silent film|silent movie]] with sound", employing highly kinetic images reminiscent of [[Buster Keaton]] and [[Harold Lloyd]] while the narrative itself was basic and simple. Miller believed that audiences would find his violent story more believable if set in a bleak dystopian future.<ref name=aso/> He knew little about writing a script, but he had read [[Pauline Kael]]'s essay "[[Raising Kane]]" and concluded that most major American scriptwriters, like [[Herman J. Mankiewicz|Herman Mankiewicz]] and [[Ben Hecht]], were former journalists, so he hired McCausland, the Melbourne finance editor of ''[[The Australian]]'', with whom he had previously bonded at a party as a fellow film buff. McCausland was paid roughly $3,500 for about a year's worth of writing.
The basic concept for the film was already established when McCausland was brought on to the project. He worked from a one-page outline prepared by Miller, writing each evening from about 7 pm to midnight. Miller would then arrive at 6 am to confer. McCausland had never written a script before and did no formal or informal study in preparation, other than going repeatedly to the cinema with Miller and discussing the dramatic structure of westerns, road movies, and action films. McCausland described taking the lead in writing the dialogue, while Miller was concerned with giving his thoughts on the narrative context of each part and thinking through the visual beats of how things would unfold on screen. The ornate and hyper-verbal speech of Mad Max's villains, like the manic Nightrider in the opening sequence, which would recur through the subsequent films in the franchise, in this sense stems from McCausland's work, albeit under Miller's instruction.<ref>[https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162968/Douglas.pdf The Kennedy Miller Method: A Half-Century of Australian Screen Production] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608070302/https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162968/Douglas.pdf |date=8 June 2020 }} pages 105-107</ref> McCausland drew heavily from his observations of the effects of the [[1973 oil crisis]] on Australian motorists:
{{blockquote|Yet there were further signs of the desperate measures individuals would take to ensure mobility. A couple of oil strikes that hit many pumps revealed the ferocity with which Australians would defend their right to fill a tank. Long queues formed at the stations with petrol—and anyone who tried to sneak ahead in the queue met raw violence. ... George and I wrote the [''Mad Max''] script based on the thesis that people would do almost anything to keep vehicles moving and the assumption that nations would not consider the huge costs of providing infrastructure for alternative energy until it was too late.|sign=James McCausland|source=writing on [[peak oil]] in ''The Courier-Mail'', 2006<ref>{{cite news|author=James McCausland |url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20870561-3122,00.html |title=Scientists' warnings unheeded | work=The Courier-Mail |publisher=News.com.au |date=4 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205205426/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20870561-3122,00.html |access-date=2010-04-26|archive-date=5 December 2006 }}</ref>}}
Kennedy and Miller first took the film to Graham Burke of Roadshow, who was enthusiastic. The producers felt they would be unable to raise money from the government bodies "because Australian producers were making art films, and the corporations and commissions seemed to endorse them whole-heartedly", according to Kennedy.<ref name="kennedy">Peter Beilby & Scott Murray, "Byron Kennedy", ''Cinema Papers'', May–June 1979 p366</ref> They designed a 40-page presentation, circulated it widely, and eventually raised the money. Kennedy and Miller also contributed funds themselves by doing three months of emergency medical calls, with Kennedy driving the car while Miller did the doctoring.<ref name="kennedy"/> Miller claimed the final budget was between $350,000 and $400,000.<ref name="stratton"/> His brother [[Bill Miller (film producer)|Bill Miller]] was an associate producer on the film.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mad Max Tail Credits|url=https://www.ozmovies.com.au/uploads/media/credit/0001/61/a797d7132d139cdd5013f10690c98235b89e3074.pdf|website=Ozmovies|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515040740/http://www.ozmovies.com.au/uploads/media/credit/0001/61/a797d7132d139cdd5013f10690c98235b89e3074.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2015}}</ref>
===Casting===
George Miller considered casting an American actor to "get the film seen as widely as possible" and even travelled to Los Angeles, but eventually opted to not do so as "the whole budget would be taken up by a so-called American name."<ref name=aso/> Instead, the cast deliberately featured lesser-known actors, so they did not carry past associations with them.<ref name="miller"/> Miller's first choice for the role of Max was the Irish-born [[James Healey (actor)|James Healey]], who at the time worked at a Melbourne [[Slaughterhouse|abattoir]] and was seeking a new acting job. Upon reading the script, Healey declined, finding the meager, terse dialogue unappealing.<ref name=mel/>
Casting director Mitch Mathews invited a class of recent [[National Institute of Dramatic Art]] graduates to audition for ''Mad Max'', specifically asking a NIDA teacher for "spunky young guys". Among these actors was American-born [[Mel Gibson]], whose audition impressed Miller and Matthews and earned him the role of Max. An apocryphal tale stated that Gibson went to auditions with a beat-up face following a fight, but this has been denied by both Matthews and Miller. Gibson's friend and classmate [[Steve Bisley]], who had worked with him in his only previous screen role, 1976's ''[[Summer City]]'', was cast as Max's partner Jim Goose. A classmate of both, [[Judy Davis]], has been said to have auditioned and been passed over,<ref name=mel>{{cite book|title=Mel Gibson - Man on a Mission|first=Wensley|last=Clarkson|chapter=6|publisher=John Blake Publishing|year=2005|isbn=1784184756}}</ref> but Miller has declared she was only in Matthews' studio to accompany Gibson and Bisley.<ref name=aso/>
Most of the biker gang extras were members of actual Australian motorcycle clubs and rode their own motorcycles in the film.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leatham |first1=Tom |title=When George Miller hired a real biker gang for ''Mad Max'' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/george-miller-hired-biker-gang-for-mad-max/ |website=[[Far Out Magazine]] |date=9 February 2023}}</ref> They were even forced to ride the motorcycles from their residence in Sydney to the shooting locations in Melbourne because the budget did not allow for aerial transport.<ref name=aso>{{cite web|url=https://aso.gov.au/people/George_Miller_1/interview/|title=Filmmaker interviews - George Miller on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online|website=aso.gov.au}}</ref> Three of the main cast members ([[Hugh Keays-Byrne]], [[Roger Ward]] and [[Vincent Gil]]) had previously appeared in ''[[Stone (1974 film)|Stone]]'', a 1974 film about biker gangs that is said to have inspired Miller.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/12/stone-rewatched-the-australian-bikie-movie-that-inspired-mad-max|title=Stone rewatched: the Australian bikie movie that inspired Mad Max|first=Luke|last=Buckmaster|date=11 July 2015|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
===Vehicles===
{{Unreliable sources|section|date=February 2016}}
Max's yellow ''Interceptor'' was a 1974 [[Ford Falcon (Australia)#XB|Ford Falcon XB]] sedan (previously a [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] police car) with a 351 [[Cubic inch#Engine displacement|c.i.d.]] [[Ford 335 engine|Cleveland V8]] engine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max/mad-max-cars/max-yellow-xb-interceptor-sedan/index.html |title=Mad Max Cars – Max's Yellow Interceptor (4 Door XB Sedan) |publisher=Madmaxmovies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>
[[File:OriginalMadMaxInterceptor.JPG|thumb|left|Mad Max Interceptor replica outside the Boston, Massachusetts, area]]
The ''Big Bopper'', driven by Roop and Charlie, was also a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan and a former Victoria police car, but was powered by a 302 c.i.d. V8.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max/mad-max-cars/big-boppa-xb-pursuit-sedan/index.html |title=''Mad Max'' Cars – Big Boppa/Big Bopper |publisher=Madmaxmovies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> The ''March Hare'', driven by Sarse and Scuttle, was an in-line-six-powered 1972 [[Ford Falcon (Australia)|Ford Falcon]] XA sedan (this car was formerly a Melbourne taxi cab).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max/mad-max-cars/march-hare-xa-sedan/index.html |title=''Mad Max'' Cars – March Hare |publisher=Madmaxmovies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>
Max's black ''[[Pursuit Special]]'' was a [[Ford Falcon (Australia)#XB|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 were the Concorde front end, and the supercharger protruding through the bonnet (a nonfunctional cosmetic feature). The Concorde front was a fairly new accessory at the time, designed by Peter Arcadipane at Ford Australia as a showpiece, and later became available to the general public because of its popularity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max-interceptor/index.html?path=cars/interceptor/history1.html |title=''Mad Max'' Movies – The History of the ''Interceptor'', Part 1 |publisher=Madmaxmovies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> After filming for ''Mad Max'' was completed, the car went up for sale, but no buyer was found, so it was given to Smith. He kept it until Miller wanted to use it for ''[[Mad Max 2]]'', after which it again found no buyers and was left at a wrecking yard in [[Adelaide]]. It was bought and restored by Bob Forsenko, who later sold it to the [[Cars of the Stars Motor Museum]] in [[Cumbria]], England. When that museum closed, the car then went to a collection in the Dezer Museum in [[Miami]], Florida.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carsofthestars.com/ |title=Cars of the Stars Motor Museum |publisher=Carsofthestars.com |access-date=7 March 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Pursuit Special Replica.jpg|thumb|Replica Mad Max [[Pursuit Special]] vehicle outside the [[Silverton, New South Wales|''Silverton Hotel'']]]]
The Nightrider's vehicle, another Pursuit Special, was a [[Holden Monaro|1972 Holden HQ Monaro coupe]]. It was also tuned, but was deliberately damaged to make it look like it had been involved in crashes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max/mad-max-cars/nightrider-hq-monaro/index.html |title=''Mad Max'' Cars – The Nightrider's Monaro |publisher=Madmaxmovies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>
The car driven by the young couple that is vandalised and then finally destroyed by the bikers is a [[Chevrolet Bel Air|1959 Chevrolet Bel Air Sedan]] modified to look like a [[hot rod]], with fake fuel injection stacks, fat tires, and a flame-red paint job.
Of the motorcycles that appear in the film, 14 were [[Kawasaki Kz1000]] donated by a local Kawasaki dealer. All were modified in appearance by Melbourne business La Parisienne: one as the MFP bike ridden by Goose, and the balance for members of Toecutter's gang, many of which were portrayed by members of a local Victorian motorcycle club, the Vigilantes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max/cast-and-crew/mad-max-bikers/index.html?path=cast/MadMax/Bikers/index.html |title=''Mad Max'' Cars – Toecutter's Gang (Bikers) |publisher=Madmaxmovies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>
The small blue van destroyed after being hit by The Big Bopper is a 1966 [[Mazda Bongo]]. It was the director's personal vehicle but contrary to popular belief his van was not destroyed. For the stunt it is replaced by another Bongo, in poor condition and engineless, salvaged from a scrapyard and hastily repainted. Moreover, the paint cans on its roof are actually filled with milk, which would be easier to clean after filming.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mazda Bongo in "Mad Max" |url=http://www.imcdb.org/v003110.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=IMCDb.org}}</ref>
By the end of filming, fourteen vehicles had been destroyed in the chase and crash scenes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lyttelton|first1=Oliver|title=5 Things You Might Not Know About 'Mad Max'|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-mad-max-33-years-to-the-day-after-it-hit-theaters-20120412|website=[[Indiewire]]|publisher=[[Snagfilms]]|access-date=14 May 2015|date=12 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714235451/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-mad-max-33-years-to-the-day-after-it-hit-theaters-20120412|archive-date=14 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Filming===
[[File:Spotswood Pumping Station,Spotswood, Victoria Australia - 4547276536.jpg|thumb|Spotswood Pumping Station in [[Melbourne]] served as the headquarters of the Main Force Patrol.]]
Originally, filming was scheduled to take ten weeks: six weeks of first unit, and four weeks on stunt and chase sequences. However, four days into shooting, Rosie Bailey, who was originally cast as Max's wife, was injured in a bike accident. Production was halted, and Bailey was replaced by Joanne Samuel, causing a two-week delay. In the end, the shoot lasted six weeks in November and December 1977, with a further six weeks of second-unit work. The unit reconvened in May 1978 and spent another two weeks doing second-unit shots and re-staging some stunts.<ref name="kennedy"/>
Miller described the whole experience as "[[guerrilla filmmaking]]", with the crew closing roads without [[filming permit]]s and not using walkie-talkies because their frequency coincided with the [[police radio]], and he and Kennedy would even sweep down the roads after filming was done. As filming progressed, however, the [[Victoria Police]] became interested in the production, and they began to help the crew by closing down roads and escorting vehicles.<ref name=aso/> Because of the film's limited budget, all but one of the police uniforms in the film were made of vinyl leather, with only one genuine leather uniform made for stunt sequences involving Bisley and Gibson.
Filming took place in and around [[Melbourne]]. Many of the car chase scenes were filmed near the town of [[Little River, Victoria|Little River]], northeast of [[Geelong]]. The early town scenes with Toecutter's gang were filmed in the main street of [[Clunes, Victoria|Clunes]], north of [[Ballarat]]; much of the streetscape remains unchanged. The bunker on which Roop was sitting, the site where Goose takes his ride, and the gate Big Bopper slides through are in [[Point Wilson, Victoria|Point Wilson]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Chris |title=Oh what a day…what a lovely day! (Mad Max Shooting Locations) |website=Via Corsa |language=en-US |date=29 January 2020 |url=https://www.viacorsa.com/2020/01/29/oh-what-a-day-what-a-lovely-day-mad-max-shooting-locations/ |access-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610174624/https://www.viacorsa.com/2020/01/29/oh-what-a-day-what-a-lovely-day-mad-max-shooting-locations/ |archive-date=10 June 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
At the beginning of production, the team faced a number of problems, and Miller was not sure that he would be able to finish the film. At one point, Miller quit and producing partner Byron Kennedy rang up [[Brian Trenchard-Smith]] and inquired if he would take over. Trenchard-Smith's advice was to hire instead a quality [[Assistant director|first assistant director]] to support George. After a couple of days, Miller rallied and completed the film, but the crew had little respect for him during the shoot.<ref>[https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/throwback-mad-max/ David Eggby interview]</ref>
Safety control was supervised by Ian Goddard, an internationally known motorcycle racer. Goddard and his four assistants, aided by an extensive radio communications network, were so diligent in their work that not a single accident occurred during filming.<ref>Mad Max Press Book. © 1979 American International Pictures, Inc. p. 2.</ref>
''Mad Max'' was one of the first Australian films to be shot with a [[Anamorphic widescreen|widescreen anamorphic]] lens,<ref name="stratton">David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p241-243</ref> although [[Peter Weir]]'s ''[[The Cars That Ate Paris]]'' (1974) was shot in anamorphic four years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harland Smith |first1=Richard |title=The Cars That Ate Paris |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/708979 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] |access-date=14 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514223733/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=982841%7C708979&name=The-Cars-That-Ate-Paris |archive-date=14 May 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Miller's desire to shoot in anamorphic made him seek out a set of [[Todd-AO]] [[wide-angle lens]]es that [[Sam Peckinpah]] had discarded in Australia after they became damaged while filming ''[[The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway]]'' (1972). The only lens that worked properly was a 35mm lens, which Miller employed to shoot the whole of ''Mad Max''.<ref name=aso/>
===Post-production===
The film's post-production was done at a friend's apartment in North Melbourne, with Miller and Kennedy editing the film in the small lounge room on a home-built editing machine that Kennedy's father, an engineer, had designed for them. Miller and Kennedy also performed [[Sound editor (filmmaking)|sound editing]] there. Tony Patterson spent four months editing the film, then had to leave because he was contracted to work on ''[[Dimboola (1979 film)|Dimboola]]'' (1979). George Miller took over editing with [[Clifford Hayes|Cliff Hayes]], and they worked for an additional three months. Kennedy and Miller did the final cut,<ref name="kennedy"/> in a process Miller described as "he would cut sound in the lounge room and I'd cut picture in the kitchen."
Professional sound engineer [[Roger Savage]] performed the sound mixing in a studio after finishing his work for [[Little River Band]]. He employed [[SMPTE timecode|timecoding]] techniques that were previously unseen in Australian cinema.<ref name=aso/>
===Music===
{{Main|Mad Max (soundtrack)}}
The [[Film score|musical score]] for ''Mad Max'' was composed and conducted by Australian composer [[Brian May (Australian composer)|Brian May]] (not to be confused with [[Brian May|the guitarist]] of the English rock band [[Queen (band)|Queen]]). Miller wanted a Gothic, [[Bernard Herrmann]]–type score and hired May after hearing his work for ''[[Patrick (1978 film)|Patrick]]'' (1978).<ref name="miller"/> May said: "With the little budget that we had we went ahead and did it, and spent a lot of time on it. George was marvelous to work with; he had a lot of ideas about what he wanted although he wasn't a musician."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Flanagan|first1=Graeme|title=A Conversation with Brian May|journal=CinemaScore|date=14 May 2015|publication-date=1983|issue=11/12|url=http://runmovies.eu/?p=5512|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023151412/http://www.runmovies.eu/?p=5512|archive-date=23 October 2013|access-date=15 May 2015}}</ref>
A soundtrack album was released in 1980 by [[Varèse Sarabande]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Osborne|first1=Jerry|title=Movie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference Guide|date=2010|publisher=Osborne Enterprises Publishing|___location=[[Port Townsend, Washington]]|isbn=978-0932117373|page=353}}</ref>
==Release==
''Mad Max'' was first released in Australia through [[Village Roadshow|Roadshow Film Distributors]] (now [[Village Roadshow Pictures]]) in 1979.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KU9wKR0DbRoC&q=%22Mad+Max%22+-+Roadshow&pg=PA174|last1=Moran|first1=Albert|last2=Vieth|first2=Errol|title=Historical Dictionary of Australian and New Zealand Cinema|chapter=Kennedy Miller Productions|page=174|isbn=0-8108-5459-7|year=2005|access-date=3 August 2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press ([[Rowman & Littlefield]])}}</ref> It was sold overseas for $1.8 million—[[American International Pictures]] (AIP) acquired the distribution rights for the United States (it would be one of the last films released by AIP before the company was folded into [[Filmways]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qpUCVjhvrFgC&q=%22Mad+Max%22+-+American+International&pg=PA30|last=McFarlane|first=Brian|title=Australian Cinema|page=30|isbn=0-231-06728-3|year=1988|access-date=3 August 2011|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]}}</ref>), while [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] handled the rest of the world.<ref name="stratton" /> The film was banned in [[New Zealand]] and [[Sweden]], in the former because the scene in which Goose is burned alive inside his vehicle unintentionally mirrored an incident with a real gang shortly before the film's release.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 1980 |title=Film banned because of its excellence |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19800705.2.45 |work=The Press |pages=5}}</ref> In 1983, after the success of the sequel, ''Mad Max'' was shown in New Zealand with an R18 certificate.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carroll |first=Larry |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1604110/greatest-movie-badasses-of-all-time-mad-max/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817201221/http://www.mtv.com/news/1604110/greatest-movie-badasses-of-all-time-mad-max/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 August 2014 |title=Greatest Movie Badasses Of All Time: Mad Max – Movie News Story | MTV Movie News |publisher=Mtv.com |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=4 July 2010}}</ref> The ban in Sweden was removed in 2005, and the film has since been shown on television and sold on home media there.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-mad-max-252553/|title=5 Things You Might Not Know About 'Mad Max'|first=Oliver|last=Lyttelton|work=IndieWire |date=12 April 2012}}</ref>
When ''Mad Max'' was released in the United States in 1980, the original Australian dialogue was redubbed by American voice actors,<ref>{{cite book|last=Herx|first=Henry|title=The Family Guide to Movies on Video|chapter=Mad Max|page=163 (pre-release version)|isbn=0-8245-0816-5|year=1988|publisher=The Crossroad Publishing Company}}</ref> and much of the [[Australian English vocabulary|Australian slang]] and terminology was replaced (examples: "Oi!" became "Hey!", "See looks!" became "See what I see?", "windscreen" became "windshield", "very toey" became "super hot", and "proby"—probationary officer—became "rookie"). AIP also altered the operator's duty call on Jim Goose's bike in the beginning of the film (it ended with "Come on, Goose, where are you?"). The only exceptions to the dubbing were the singer in the Sugartown Cabaret (played by Robina Chaffey), Charlie (played by John Ley) when he speaks through the mechanical voice box, and Goose ([[Steve Bisley]]) when he sings while driving the truck before being ambushed. Since Mel Gibson was not well known to American audiences at the time, trailers and television spots in the United States emphasised the film's action content. The original Australian dialogue track was finally released in [[North America]] in 2000 in a [[Limited release|limited theatrical reissue]] by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM (now an Amazon subsidiary)]] (the film's current rights holders in North America), and the film has since been released in the U.S. on DVD with the American and Australian soundtracks included on separate audio tracks.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zad|first1=Martie|title=Gibson's Voice Returns on New 'Mad Max' DVD|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-29-et-zad29-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=14 May 2015|date=29 December 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/30657/Mad-Max/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102085410/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/30657/Mad-Max/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2007|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Robert Firsching|date=2007|title=Mad Max (1979)|access-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>
===Home media===
The film was released on DVD on 1 January 2002 and re-released on DVD on 15 September 2015.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Mad Max DVD Release Date|url=https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/3830/Mad-Max-(1979).html|access-date=27 October 2020|website=DVDs Release Dates|language=en}}</ref> It was released on [[Blu-ray]] on 5 October 2010 and re-released on Blu-ray on 15 September 2015 by [[20th Century Fox]].<ref name=":0" /> [[Kino Lorber]] (on behalf of [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]], under license to [[MGM Home Entertainment]]) released the film on [[Ultra HD Blu-ray|4K Blu-ray Disc]] on 24 November 2020.<ref>{{Citation|title=Mad Max 4K Blu-ray Release Date November 24, 2020|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mad-Max-4K-Blu-ray/274995/|access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref> On 16 November 2021, it was reissued in 4K along with the three other films in the series as part of the ''Mad Max Anthology'' 4K set from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (via Studio Distribution Services).
==Reception==
===Box office===
''Mad Max'' grossed A$5,355,490 at the box office in Australia and over US$100 million worldwide.<ref name=mpdaa>{{cite web|url=https://www.film.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/967/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |title=Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office |access-date=1 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209075310/http://film.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/967/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref><ref name=gross>{{cite book |chapter=Mad Max (1979) |title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of Films |editor1-first=Sabine |editor1-last=Haenni |editor2-first=Sarah |editor2-last=Barrow |editor3-first=John |editor3-last=White |year=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781317682615 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ekCDBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA324 323]–326}}</ref> Given its small production budget, it was the most profitable film ever made at the time and held the [[Guinness World Record]] for the highest box-office-to-budget ratio of any motion picture<ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Robertson |title=Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats |year=1991 |publisher=[[Abbeville Press]] |isbn=9781558592360 |page=34}}</ref> until the release of ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'' (1999).
===Critical response===
Upon its release, the film polarized critics. In a 1979 review, the Australian [[Social commentary|social commentator]] and film producer [[Phillip Adams (writer)|Phillip Adams]] condemned ''Mad Max'', suggesting it would promote violence, saying that it had "all the emotional uplift of ''[[Mein Kampf]]''{{-"}} and would be "a special favourite of rapists, sadists, child murderers and incipient [[Charles Manson|Mansons]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Adams|first=Phillip|magazine= [[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]|title=The dangerous pornography of death|date=1979-05-01|pages=38–41|url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1758885758}}</ref>{{refn|Adams has since remained a prominent opponent of screen violence. He has also been consistent in his criticism of Mel Gibson's political and social opinions.}} After its United States release, Tom Buckley of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film "ugly and incoherent",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173BBB2CA7494CC6B6799C836896 |title=Mad Max |work=The New York Times |first=Tom |last=Buckley |date=14 June 1980 |access-date=26 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521024820/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173BBB2CA7494CC6B6799C836896 |archive-date=21 May 2011 }}</ref> and [[Stephen King]], writing in ''[[Danse Macabre (King book)|Danse Macabre]]'', called it a "turkey". However, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine praised the directorial debut by Miller.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792854.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 |title=Mad Max Review – Read Variety's Analysis Of The Movie Mad Max |publisher=Variety.com |date= 1 January 1979|access-date=7 March 2009}}</ref>
The film was awarded three [[Australian Film Institute]] Awards in [[1979 Australian Film Institute Awards|1979]] (for editing, musical score, and sound), and was given a special award for stunt work; it was also nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor ([[Hugh Keays-Byrne]]). At the [[Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival|Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival]], the film won the Special Jury Award.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an 89% approval rating based on 70 reviews, with an average score of 7.7/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Staging the improbable car stunts and crashes to perfection, director George Miller succeeds completely in bringing the violent, post-apocalyptic world of ''Mad Max'' to visceral life."<ref>{{cite web|title=Mad Max (1979)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mad_max/|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=23 April 2025}}</ref> The film has been included in "best 1,000 films of all time" lists from ''The New York Times''<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made | date=29 April 2003 | access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> and ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/series/1000-films-to-see-before-you-die|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=1000 films to see before you die|date=4 July 2007}}</ref>
===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+List of awards and nominations
! Award !! Category !! Recipients !! Result
|-
| rowspan=8|[[AACTA Awards|AACTA Award]]<br /><small>([[1979 Australian Film Institute Awards|1979 AFI Awards]])</small>
| [[AACTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| [[Byron Kennedy]]
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]]
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| James McCausland and George Miller
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Hugh Keays-Byrne]]
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| [[Clifford Hayes|Cliff Hayes]] and Tony Paterson
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score|Best Original Music Score]]
| [[Brian May (Australian composer)|Brian May]]
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]
| Ned Dawson, Byron Kennedy, [[Roger Savage]], and Gary Wilkins
| {{Won}}
|-
| Special Award for Stunt Work
| [[Grant Page]]
| {{Won}}
|-
|-
| [[Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival|Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival]]
| Special Jury Award
| George Miller
| {{Won}}
|}
==Legacy==
{{main|Mad Max in popular culture}}
==See also==
*[[List of cult films]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20120114050429/https://www.madmaxonline.com/}}—home to the original ''Mad Max'' film, maintained by members of the cast and crew.
* {{IMDb title|0079501}}
* {{TCMDb title|82279}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|mad_max}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* {{Mojo title|madmax}}
* [https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/mad-max ''Mad Max''] at Oz Movies
{{Mad Max}}
{{George Miller}}
{{AACTAAward BestMusicScore 1975-1979}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Mad Max films]]
[[Category:1979 films]]
[[Category:
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[[Category:1979 science fiction films]]
[[Category:1970s science fiction action films]]
[[Category:1970s dystopian films]]
[[Category:1979 action films]]
[[Category:1970s road movies]]
[[Category:1970s vigilante films]]
[[Category:1970s exploitation films]]
[[Category:Australian independent films]]
[[Category:Australian science fiction action films]]
[[Category:Films about automobiles]]
[[Category:Australian films about revenge]]
[[Category:Films directed by George Miller (filmmaker)]]
[[Category:Films set in Australia]]
[[Category:Films set in the future]]
[[Category:Films shot in Melbourne]]
[[Category:Kennedy Miller Mitchell films]]
[[Category:Peak oil films]]
[[Category:Australian road movies]]
[[Category:Australian vigilante films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Brian May (composer)]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by George Miller (filmmaker)]]
[[Category:American International Pictures films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:Australian exploitation films]]
[[Category:World record holders]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction action films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:Outlaw biker films]]
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