Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 3.0
Not dubbed, not bad, not great
So let me set the record straight about this version of the movie from Amazon's Instant Video. It is the original Aussie soundtrack, not an English dubbed version. Between all the different DVDs and downloads, if you are interested in downloading this one, be assured that it is not dubbed. It is however, pan and scan. What that means for those of you who have never watched movies on VHS tape is that the screen is formatted for a squarish cathode ray television with a 4:3 aspect ratio, instead of the standard 16:9 ratio for widescreen HDTVs. So when you watch this, you're going to get the black bars on both sides of the screen. Yes, at first it is "widescreen" for a few seconds, but then it changes for the rest of the movie. In my opinion, this doesn't hurt the presentation.The movie itself is a victim of the storytelling of the late 70s and obvious budgetary constraints. That's not to say that this is a bad film, but it doesn't really hold up today, even against your typical B-movie actioner. Some of the acting is way over the top to the point of being ridiculous. I'm thinking of the barechested police chief in the black leather pants and black silk scarf smoking a cigar and watering his plants and yelling at Max down the stairs while still holding his orange watering can. But I guess in Australia in the late 70s, this was pretty normal. I will say that the climax of the movie shows admirable restraint and I thought it was well-executed. The real draws here are Mel Gibson and the fact that this is the movie that sets the stage for The Road Warrior. That the Road Warrior came out of this movie is amazing. The quality of filmmaking rose proportional to the budget and what comes out of it is nothing less than a masterpiece. This movie, at the very least, has really awesome box art.