Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 4.0
SYMBOLIC, GOUNDBREAKING, CONTROVERSIAL
When this movie came out, it became the biggest Australian movie ever. It won awards all over the world, and was given an "X" rating for violence in France. Its American releasing company, American International, was concerned that American audiences would not understand the Australian accents and slang, so they dubbed it with English voices. Then the company folded and in the fallout, the movie wound up being released only as the bottom half of a double bill on 42nd st. in New York City. This dubbed version is what most Americans are familiar with and what is contained on this video.The story involves a highway cop in a world "a few years from now..." where the roads have become dangerously violent. He worries that he is beginning to like the "rat circus" that the highways have become and goes on a vacation with his wife and baby. When his baby is killed and his wife turned into a vegetable by a biker attack, he puts his leathers back on and gets even, becomming...Mad Max.On a symbolic level, this movie can be seen as saying today's society is collapsing into a new dark age, much like the Roman Empire. The cops have become as violent as the outlaws: one shot of a cop shooting a road sign during a chase can be seen as symbolizing how the enforcers of the law are destroying the law; The chief lives at the top of a spiral stair, like a tower, much like ancient Emperors who were said to likve in tall towers, cut off from the chaos below. The collapse is accellerated (pun intentional) by man's relationship to machines, that man is becoming as unfeeling as machines. The cops shout to be heard over their engines; the bikers all wear helmets and gear that makes them look a part of their bikes; one cop, after an injury, speaks with a throat mike (the only voice not dubbed); even the slang: "is she salvageable?" "stick to me like a tire on a licorice road," refers to automobiles. Interestingly, the black leather outfits of the cops, on character's ripped t-shirt, and various short haircuts and bleached hair represent one of the first examples of punk style used in a movie.The techniques for showing the chase and scenes were nigh revolutionary. Cameras were bolted to the fenders of the cars giving a "wheel's eye view" of the action. Quick cuts and close-ups are used a lot giving a hightened feeling of agitation and simultaneity. When a chase scene stops, you feel like you've been in it. Mush of the rest of the movie effectively uses techniques form other genres, such as horror, biker, cop, and western. Most of the most horrible violence is not actually seen, but rather implied by quick cuts, close-ups, and music. In a few key scenes horror movie techniques are skillfully used to heighten the mood of certain sequences, especially during Max's vacation on Aunt May's farm. The entrance of the Nightriders into the small town echoes "The Wild Bunch," "The Wild Ones," and "These Are The Damned."I have seen this film in the theater, on video, on TV, and an Australian-language widescreen video. Of course the theater is the best place to see it. Commercial TV edits a piece or two here and there. The video that I saw had the box illustrated on Amazon. I got it second hand, but there were some quality problems with it that I can't be sure were not from the producer of the video (does anyone else have bad experiences with "Goodtimes" videos?). The Australian version said it had some footage not in the American version, but I couldn't find it. I did notice several things, however: There was a difference in some of the lines. The American version had cut some Australian slang out; The sound quality was better in the American version. The lines could be heard better; There were some additional sound effects in the American version that made the chase scenes more exciting; Though the bit parts in the American version were nortoriouly badly played, the main characters were (in my opinion) better played. The line readings were more interesting, having more character (or maybe I'm just used to them and was thrown when I tried to say the American lines along with the Australian actors).Footnote: In my high school Shakespeare class, I wrote a prequel to "Mad Max" using "Richard III" as the plot. The Nightrider was Richard.