Mad Max (1979)
82%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: Won 6 Oscars
247 wins & 233 nominations total
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
Mad Max is like the punk rock of movies, with its futuristic setting and tough-gutted intelligence. It’s no wonder it’s become a cult classic that still holds up today. The action sequences are expertly edited and framed, and George Miller’s attention to detail keeps the cliches at bay. Plus, who doesn’t love a good revenge-thriller archetype? If you haven’t seen Mad Max in a while, it’s time to revisit this work of art that commands cultural currency even thirty years later.
Production Company(ies)
Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios,
Distributor
American International Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Namib Desert, Namibia
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English, Russian
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Country of origin:Australia
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 1980 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2002
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Roger Ward, Vincent Gil, directed by George Miller, written by James McCausland, George Miller, Action/Adventure, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Bruce McCabe, Richard Corliss, James Berardinelli, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, produced by Byron Kennedy, R rating, post-apocalyptic, car stunts, violent, dystopian future, Australian setting, Main Force Patrol, biker gang, personal vendetta, survival, retribution, oil depletion, war, famine, financial chaos, law enforcement, Toecutter, Fifi Macaffee, Crawfod Montizano, American International Pictures
Worldwide gross: $375,709,470
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $468,986,242
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 307
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 51,143,538
US/Canada gross: $154,109,060
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $192,369,463
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 371
US/Canada opening weekend: $45,428,128
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $56,706,495
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 195
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $150,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $187,240,253
Production budget ranking: 136
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $100,828,876
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $180,917,112
ROI to date (est.): 63%
ROI ranking: 1,085
Joanne Samuel – Jessie Rockatansky
Hugh Keays-Byrne – Toecutter
Steve Bisley – Jim Goose
Roger Ward – Fifi Macaffee
Vincent Gil – Crawford “Nightrider” Montizano
Director(s)
George Miller
Writer(s)
James McCausland, George Miller
Producer(s)
Byron Kennedy
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 6 Oscars
247 wins & 233 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (64) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (6)
If punk is a sensibility as well as an adjective, Mad Max is a punk movie. Its Australian setting enhances it, authenticating its futuristic aura.
April 27, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
[The] film has been consigned to the grind houses, where audiences are responding as Miller wants them to. From there Mad Max will find its way to the film schools and revival houses, where its tough-gutted intelligence may be appreciated.
May 11, 2015
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Overnight, Mad Max went from being a U.S. cult hero to a mainstream figure, and Mel Gibson’s place in the firmament was secured.
May 30, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
Stunts themselves would be nothing without a filmmaker behind the camera and George Miller, a doctor and film buff making his first feature, shows he knows what cinema is all about.
May 30, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Some of the most determinedly formalist filmmaking this side of Michael Snow.
May 30, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The tone sometimes wavers into self-parody, and there are occasional crude patches, but overall this edge-of-seat revenge movie marks the most exciting debut from an Australian director since Peter Weir.
June 24, 2006
David Pirie
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Although unoriginal and hindered by the lower trappings of its basic subject matter, Mad Max elevated itself by having something to say, and doing it in a way that was fulfilling both technically and dramatically.
June 21, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
As a filmmaker, George Miller keeps cliche at bay through his attention to detail even as he hews to revenge-thriller archetype…
February 27, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Kathy Fennessy
Seattle Film Blog
If you haven’t seen writer-director George Miller’s Mad Max in quite some time, then it’s very likely you’re not even remembering it right.
November 27, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The scene transitions and attention to continuity aren’t the most scrutinized, but the editing and framing of action sequences never betray the age of the film.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
There’s something about Mad Max…that’s allowed it to stand the test of time, not only as a work of art in and of itself, but also as a name and brand that commands cultural currency thirty years since the character’s last appearance.
November 9, 2018
Zaki Hasan
Sequart
It may not be my personal favourite genre, but what a showcase of creativity and grit.
September 15, 2017
Keeva Stratton
Rescu (Australia)…
Plot
An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and almost everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world 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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Mad Max.
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