Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 4.0
Hi octane dubbed(! ) action a few years from now....
Mad Max is set in a world sometime in the future, where society as we know it has crumbled close to barbaric proportions. Ruthless Biker gangs wreak havoc and mayhem, with only a small scattering of pursuit special police to stand up against them. Mel Gibson (in his second feature film) plays Max Rockachansky, a cop who wants to quit the road, but is drawn back in when his family is slaughtered. Having grown up in the country of this movies origin, I was always going to approach this particular title with some doubt. Mostly due to fact that the dialogue for Mad Max in Australia remains untouched, unlike the US where it has been dubbed. But surprisingly enough, I found myself drawn in, mostly because the dubbed dialogue is the same as the original script, with maybe some Australian terminology removed in a few spots, plus changes and additions of new dialogue when the face or mouth of characters are not in the camera shot. So mouth flap is well accounted for, but the dub occasionally stands out like a sore thumb. An example is when Jim Goose(Steve Bisley) is in the cafe at the start, speaking with his mouth full. About 98% of the dialogue is still there, which leads me to ask, "Why did they dub it?". And more importantly, "Why have they not released a DVD version with the original actors voices, given the success of one particular actor?". In any event, the movie, dubbed or otherwise, is still a top actioner. I give a full five stars to the original version.