appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json


Mad Max 
	Mel Gibson, Steve Bisley, Joanne Samuel
	Director: George Miller
 
The post-apocalyptic Australian action film  Mad Max - if nothing else - is the vehicle that introduced Mel Gibson to the world.
After being cast as a relative unknown at the age of just 21, Gibson went on to achieve dizzying stardom as an actor and director. Of course, he then fell to appalling lows in his personal life which threatened to overshadow his many cinematic achievements. That he began his movie career playing a dysfunctional loner set on vengeance could simply be a case of manifest destiny.
While the first instalment of the Mad Max trilogy is set in a world that has experienced some kind of armageddon, it is only really in the improved sequel Mad Max II: The Road Warrior and the weak follow-up Beyond Thunderdome that the tell-tale signs of a decaying world are fully realised - from disfigured landscapes and rundown cities to random and orgiastic violence.
The first instalment was held back by a relatively small budget for such an ambitious action film. In Mad Max, wide shots of empty outback roads and fields give some sense of desolation, but it often just feels like an unfortunate place to live, as opposed to representing the fag end of human civilisation.
Instead, taking centre stage throughout the film is the marauding biker gang called Berserk; its members live and die with bestial, childlike savagery, not unlike the notorious Hell's Angels in the US who were prevalent at the time. They traverse the country to rape, pillage and murder with detached pleasure and impunity.
In contrast, Gibson's policeman Max Rockatansky is all cool, calm and collected. In some of the film's most dramatic and tender scenes with his on-screen wife, Jesse (Joanne Samuel), it all seems too clean and relaxed to be described as anything nearing apocalyptical. There's even a visit to some family friends who live by the beach, trips to buy ice cream for the baby, and Max wearing a freshly laundered shirt tucked into khaki pants.
It's meant to contrast with his leather uniform, as he's taking a much-needed break from the frontline after a vicious arson attack on his partner, Goose - but it just doesn't add up. Mad Max is oddly inconsistent in mood: the film doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Moreover, the music is overbearing and unimaginative, and the violent scenes often resemble a parody of schlock-horror films.
However, it did lead to a great sequel and introduced the world to the potential of Australian cinema.
 
 


Rewind film: Mad Max, directed by George Miller

After being cast as a relative unknown at the age of just 21, Mel Gibson went on to achieve dizzying stardom as an actor and director.

Mad Max, directed by George Miller

Lifestyle

Arts

The post-apocalyptic Australian action film Mad Max - if nothing else - is the vehicle that introduced Mel Gibson to the world.


Rewind film: Mad Max, directed by George Miller

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The post-apocalyptic Australian action film Mad Max - if nothing else - is the vehicle that introduced Mel Gibson to the world.

The post-apocalyptic Australian action film Mad Max - if nothing else - is the vehicle that introduced Mel Gibson to the world.