Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 5.0
Mad Max Beyond the Dubbing Zone
For fans of George Miller's first "Mad Max" movie, this is the version for which we've been waiting more than 20 years for . . . the original Australian dialogue version. While the American voice actors tried to do their best to capture the characters and the synchronization was generally good, the dubbing, on the whole, lacks the subtleties that the original actors, speaking in their natural dialect, brought to the screen. Further, in the U.S. dubbed version, there was no appreciable attempt to change the Australian slang used thoughout the film, making the dubbing even more pointless than it already was.Beyond the new audio track, there is much more on this DVD to merit inclusion in your collection. The DVD presents the film in both anamorphic widescreen and full-frame formats. Now why anyone would want to watch "Mad Max" in full-frame is beyond me, but you can effectively recreate the VHS viewing experience of the last 15 plus years by selecting the full-frame video and U.S. dub audio options. There are also two newly produced, informative documentaries included, one on the making of the film and the other on the early Australian (pre-1980) film career of Mel Gibson. There's also a terrific audio commentary with several of the behind-the-scenes film crew members, including the Director of Photography, David Eggby. In one telling sequence, Eggby mentions that he had no idea how fast and dangerous the filming actually was while seated on the back seat of a motorcycle for a POV shot. It was only after he saw the daily rushes one day, that he noticed that the speedometer of the bike appeared in the shot and that it registered 180 kilometers per hour (approximately 110 mph)!The DVD also includes the usual trailer and TV spots, a photo gallery of international posters and lobby cards, and even a hidden, but not too difficult to find "Easter Egg." All in all, MGM has done a superlative job on this "Special Edition" DVD, easily exceeding, by a far margin, the two sequel DVDs released by Warner's ("The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome").