[.ca] Mad Max (Widescreen/Full Screen)

From Amazon.com:
The Road Warrior is already a classic, sans condescending genre distinctions like "sci-fi" or "action." But the story of Mel Gibson's stately antihero begins in Mad Max, George Miller's low-budget debut in which Max is a "Bronze" (cop) in an unspecified postapocalyptic future with a buddy-partner and family. But unlike most films set in the devastated future, Mad Max is especially notable because it is poised between our industrialized world and total regression to medieval conditions. The scale tips towards disintegration when the Glory Riders burn into town on their bikes like an overamped cadre of Brando's Wild Ones. Representing the active chaos that will eventually overwhelm the dying vestiges of civil society, they take everything dear to Max, who will exact due revenge. His flight into the same wilds that created the villains artfully sets up the morally ambiguous character of the subsequent films. --Alan E. Rapp

Additional Features:
MGM's special edition restores the original Australian soundtrack (including Mel Gibson's voice!) to the film for the first time on home video. That in itself would be enough to make this a DVD essential, but cinematographer David Eggby, special effects supervisor Chris Murray, and art director Jon Dowding look under the hood of this revved-up revenge classic in a commentary track and the featurette "Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon." Their nuts-and-bolts comments and nostalgic stories of seat-of-the-pants stunts provide a terrific survey of low-budget action moviemaking by ambitious young filmmakers. Less essential is the rather wan Mel Gibson star portrait (apparently Gibson and director George Miller were too busy to participate in the supplements, so we make do with his acting teacher and costars) and the entertaining, if truly trivial, "Road Rants" subtitle track. --Sean Axmaker

Give the master some respect for early work too...:
Come on people... If you liked the Lethal Weapon Series, you will enjoy the Mad Max Series. Remember that this film had almost no budget or high profile actors(at the time), so the point is what a great film to launch a career with. Gibson rode the tail of these movies to being one of the most sought- after action stars of the era and used it to become a force in hollywood by making films he wanted and his way with few compromises. Watch and enjoy a great actor come into his own.

That Car, That Beautiful Car!:
MAD MAX is one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies. He's just a kid, but he comes across as genuine and ultimately vengeful. Max is a member of a black leather-clad police force in an unspecified future. He's an "interceptor", and a good one. When his partner is burned alive by a gang of insane bikers (led by the notorious "Toecutter"), Max quits the force. When his wife and child are murdered by the same gang, Max leaves his own sanity behind and becomes a killing machine, bent only on revenge. He hunts down the "Glory Riders", slaughtering them in a suped-up, black monster car, complete with a towering V8 and nitrous injection! MAD MAX deserves it's place in movie history. George Miller re-invented the high-speed chase scene. I recommend that you get a copy right this bloody minute...

Mel Gibson + tight leather trousers = HELLO!!!:
Who wouldn't watch a movie that had Mel Gibson wearing obscenely tight leather trousers, and looking scarily young? Before The Passion was brought to the attention of film buffs, and the press, there was Lethal Weapon. And before that, Mel Gibson made his name in the Mad Max movies. There's nothing on the DVD I got for my birthday, not even a trailer. And I hate watching DVDs with no trailers. I'm fussy me. So I wasn't sure what to expect, or what the film was exactly about. All I knew was that my mum couldn't wait to watch it, and was drooling (along with me) when Mel Gibson appeared shirtless. Before the amount of money that was spent in the car chase along a freeway in Matrix Reloaded, there was this. A simple, but still effective car chase, which introduces you very briefly to Max. I don't see the point in spending loads of money, when all you need is a bunch of cars that can be trashed, and a camera. Then you get to see that Max has a pretty young wife and a young child. You can almost see how the rest of the movie pans out after that. It's pretty obvious, he's not mad until something really traumatic happens. I was expecting the whole growling, throwing stuff, but instead, he seemed relatively calm - except for the sweat on his face. It's NOT obvious that this movie could get another two sequels out of it. Maybe one sequel, but two? And the latter featuring Tina Turner of all people. And there's rumoured to be a fourth, along with a fourth Die Hard, and god knows what else. Something tells me Mel Gibson won't fit into those trousers! If you think this is going to be a movie based on revenge, you're wrong. The revenge part doesn't start until about half an hour before the end. It will be interesting to see the sequels. To be honest, this film did nothing for me - unless you count the tight trousers! Very easy on the eyes, if you know what I mean.

Buy It!:
The first movie in the series is good, but, Road Warrior is better. but does that mean it`s bad? Heck no! This is actually one of the best of the sci-fi genre. It`s about this guy named Max, (duh!) who gets pissed at this motorcycle gang for killing his friend and family and seeks his hellish revenge.

All time classic:
A rookie director, a dirt poor budget, and a no name cast didn't stop Mad Max from becoming one of the most revered action films of all time. A pre fame Mel Gibson stars as cop Max Rockatansky in a post-apocalyptic future where he, his buddy partner, and his wife and child, try to maintain a sense of civilization while ruthless biker gangs rule the road. When his family is slaughtered, Max goes over the edge, and the movie manages to get better and better. MGM has thankfully released Mad Max the way it was meant to be seen on DVD, with the original Australian language track restored in place of the dubbed American accents that were infamously incorporated into the film for years on home video and television. The stunt work of the film is a definite highlight, as is the young Gibson's performance as the hell bent for vengeance Max. Two sequels would follow, the first of which entitled The Road Warrior, managed to surpass this film and remains what many consider the greatest action movie ever made.