Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 5.0
Classic film...shame about the disc
A cult classic this, personally it's an all time favourite but I know a lot of people who hate it. A plot that is the stuff of westerns, Mad Max is set in the desolate near-future where the police are fighting a losing battle against psychopathic bikers who wreak havoc on anyone they feel like. Even when arrested the law is virtually powerless to contain the thugs and they are generally released without charge. Super-cop Max keeps his cool, even when his best friend is murdered, but when they see off his wife and child Max decides enough is enough, heads out in his super-charged V8 Interceptor (one of the coolest cars in cinema history), and embarks on a zero-tolerance one man campaign to wipe out the mad criminals. It's this finale that is the films main asset - Max is mesmerising as he relentlessly mows down all the bikers without giving them any chance of redemption. But the entire film is a real treat, with a weird atmosphere and some truly bizarre scenes, most of which involve the crazy bad guys, especially hilarious main baddie Toecutter. Unfortunately though this terrible American print which I recently had the misfortune of seeing - or more appropriately, hearing - ruins the film. The dubbing is truly awful, turning the whole cast into ham actors, altering parts of the script and even in occasional instances, bizarrely, omitting some of the sound effects. Oddly, this print is also the one featured in the most recent UK video release. I must stress that the only way to fully appreciate Mad Max is to hunt down a copy featuring the original Australian soundtrack and, preferably, in Widescreen.