The complete collection of “Mad Max” films, which follows the titular hero as he battles outlaw gangs in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Few filmmakers can challenge George Miller’s versatility. He’s tackled feminist fantasy horror (“The Witches of Eastwick”), tender biographical drama (“Lorenzo’s Oil”), talking animals (“Babe: Pig in the City”), and dancing animals (“Happy Feet” and its sequel). Yet it’s the dystopian “Mad Max” saga, now available in glorious 4K, for which he is best known.
You may ask, what do all of these seemingly disparate titles have in common? What makes Miller such an auteur? It’s the uncompromising nature of his stories; be it a tale of penguins facing perils like jagged-toothed seals and global warming, or a study of women taking revenge on their devilish oppressor, Miller never holds back, tackling his subject passionately, with razor-sharp wit, unafraid to press the pedal to the metal. The four “Mad Max” films, which ironically feature tons of pedals and metals, best exemplify the director’s relentlessness.
Set in a barren, irradiated Australia, the 1979 “Mad Max” follows Max (Mel Gibson, in his second feature film), as he incites all sorts of carnage on a violent biker gang. Unabashedly cheesy, its low budget ($300,000, to be exact) evident, the film overcomes its shortcomings with pure style and filmmaking verve — so much so, in fact, that it paved the path for its much more expensive ($3,000,000, to be exact) sequel.
Subtitled “The Road Warrior”, “Mad Max 2” sees Max’s cold heart thawing a little, as he helps out a small community escape from demented bandits. With the budget limitations gone, Miller got the opportunity to truly display his filmmaking verve here. From the minimalist setting to the central performance and the sweat-inducing action, “The Road Warrior” proved a warrior at the box office once again, making over seven times its budget.
So Miller turned the dial all the way up to 11 in 1985’s “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” now with the (relatively) pricey tag of $10,000,000. Every cent is palpable on screen. This time, Max goes up against Aunty Entity (Tina Turner, a wildly unconventional and surprisingly successful choice), queen of Bartertown. The action takes place in — you guessed it — a dome, where gladiator-like matches ensue. Luckily, Max enlists the help of a tribe of lost children. Another box office success… and no more “Mad Max” for 30 years.
While perfectly embodying Max’s cynicism and somewhat reluctant heroism, Mel Gibson wasn’t exactly the most popular choice for 2015’s “sort-of reboot” “Mad Max: Fury Road.” It’s not just the lingering sour odor that has followed Gibson since that racist encounter with the cops — the “Mad Max” saga needed a less grizzled, younger (anti) hero. Though Tom Hardy does a splendid job in a near-wordless titular role, the film belongs to Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa, a fierce, determined warrior who, along with a group of fellow female prisoners, rebels against her fascist overlord and flees to seek her home. An initially-captured Max is along for the ride.
Essentially consisting of one extended chase — which also ends right back where it begins — the film strips back the action genre down to its bare elements and then emphasizes these elements beautifully. It’s the vibrant colors and the jaw-dropping stunts and the fire and the sandstorms and the relentless energy that stand out among the frequently violent imagery. The film certainly lives up to its title: it brims with thunderous sound and fury.
Only this time, they actually signify something. Underneath all the breathless action, the “Mad Max” quartet forms an astute commentary on dictatorship and anarchy, a glimpse at a barren post-apocalyptic landscape that feels terrifyingly prescient, an examination of humanity, and lack thereof, that lingers in the ashes of civilization. The latest entry also functions brilliantly as a feminist parable, wherein the female heroines escape a corroded, patriarchal pseudo-society.
Like his peers Scorsese, Spielberg, Friedkin, and Scott, Miller has proved that he can tackle most genres with the deftness and grace of a true stalwart, a pro who’s lived and breathed cinema his entire life. At 76, he shows no signs of stopping, with two “Mad Max” chapters in development: “Furiosa” and “Mad Max: The Wasteland.” Long live the master. All hail the king.
Now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital HD
