Mad Max

Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller, produced by Byron Kennedy, and starring Mel Gibson. James McCausland and Miller wrote the screenplay from a story by Miller and Kennedy.

The film earned $100 million worldwide in gross revenue. It held the Guinness record for most profitable film from 1980-1999 and has been credited for further opening up the global market to Australian New Wave films. The film became the first in a series, spawning the sequels The Road Warrior (1981), Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and Fury Road (2015).

Plot

A berserk motorcycle gang member named Crawford "Nightrider" Montazano (Vincent Gil), having killed a rookie officer of an Australian highway patrol called the Main Force Patrol (MFP) while escaping from police custody, is attempting to outrun the other MFP officers in a stolen Pursuit Special. Though he manages to elude his initial pursuers, the MFP's top pursuit-man, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), then engages the less-skilled Nightrider in a high-speed chase. During a sudden game of "chicken", the Nightrider breaks off first, his nerve gone in the confrontation with Max; Nightrider is unable to recover his wits, which leads to his death in a fiery crash.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (also known as Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome or simply Mad Max 3) is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic action adventure film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, distributed by Warner Bros., and written by Miller and Terry Hayes. In this sequel to Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Max (Mel Gibson) is exiled into the desert by the corrupt ruler of Bartertown, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner), and there encounters an isolated cargo cult centered around a crashed Boeing 747 and its deceased captain. The third installment in the Mad Max film series, it was followed in 2015 by Mad Max: Fury Road.

Plot

Fifteen years after defeating Lord Humungus, Max Rockatansky crosses the Australian desert in a camel-drawn wagon when he is attacked by a pilot named Jedediah and his son in a Transavia PL-12 Airtruk, stealing his wagon and belongings. Continuing on foot, Max follows their trail to the seedy community of Bartertown. While refused entry at first, Max is brought before the founder and ruler of Bartertown, the ruthless Aunty Entity. She offers to resupply his vehicle and equipment if he completes a task for her.

Mad Max (soundtrack)

Mad Max (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a soundtrack album for the 1979 film, Mad Max, composed by Brian May. It was released on vinyl in the United States in 1980 by Varèse Sarabande, followed by a CD release on 26 October 1993.

Overview

Composer Brian May first got in contact with director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy after director Richard Franklin played the two May's score for his then-upcoming film Patrick (1978). Because the score resembled the work of Bernard Herrmann, May ultimately won the assignment of composing music for Mad Max. "The sort of score they wanted was the sort that Bernard Herrmann and Co. did in Hitchcock films," recalled May, "because they had a big action movie and they needed a score to propel it along and give it a lot of bite and energy. So it just happened that they were rather friendly with Richard Franklin, and they were at his house for dinner one evening when he played them the music for Patrick."

Combining classical orchestration with mechanical sounds, May's work on Mad Max is notable for its distinctive soundscape that interacts with the film's diegetic sounds. "Mad Max was a strongly energized score in the violence/action department, and for that they wanted a totally non-melodic score," explained May. "It was very jagged and shearing, and George particularly wanted me to antagonize the audience by making them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we had jagged notes going against dialog so that the audience would feel frustrated." Such effects were developed through the application of stingers by way of brass and percussion instruments.