Mad Max (1979, Australia)

In director George Miller's low-budget, post-nuclear, action-adventure and independent original film (and cult favorite) - it was the director's debut film. Miller also co-scripted the film with James McCausland, basing it on an original story created by Miller and Byron Kennedy. The original film Mad Max (1979), made on a budget of about $350,000, was released in Australia in April of 1979. It was extremely popular and successful, grossing $100 million (worldwide), and it once held the Guinness World Record for the highest box-office-to-budget ratio of any motion picture. The film's tagline summarized the main plot:

They murdered his family...... Now he's going to run them over!

The influential film suffered a problematic distribution and release in the US by American International Pictures (AIP) - due to AIP's transition to Filmways at the time, and AIP's fears that US audiences wouldn't understand Aussie accents. Therefore in the US version released in the spring of 1980, Mad Max (1979) was dubbed over using American voices and Aussie slang was removed - thereby causing it to fail to receive the audience it deserved.

The vigilante character of "Mad" Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) was introduced as a lone rogue cop or 'road warrior' - a member of the protective Australian highway patrol (the Main Force Patrol (MFP), an under-funded police unit. He was standing as a lone figure amidst visions of a post-apocalyptic violent and lawless world. The dystopian, barren outback country of Australia, facing a major energy crisis, was beset by gangs of marauding motorcycle gang punks. By the end of the film, there were a total of 12 confirmed deaths: 7 gang members, three civilians, and two cops.

The action-packed, thrilling sequel The Road Warrior (1981) (aka Mad Max 2), (also illustrated), a similar survival story, provided a more thorough backstory for the first film. It again starred Mel Gibson, who was propelled into stardom, as a vengeful vigilante ex-cop (Max) defending himself and a colony of pioneers beset by roving gangs of Mohawked outlaws. The sequel opened with narration to provide a bridge between the first and second film. Mostly black-and-white 20th century documentary footage from the original film replayed the brutal murder of his wife and child by a biker gang.

The Sequel's B/W Re-Cap of The Original 1979 Film -- Mad Max Witnessing the Murder of His Wife During an Opening Voice-Over Narration (see later below)

The environment was described and applicable to both films. There were oblique references to a Cold War between "two mighty warrior tribes" (the US and USSR ?) that led to a grim world of nuclear holocaust survivors:

"My life fades, the vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos, ruined dreams, this wasted land. But most of all, I remember the Road Warrior, the man we called Max. To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time when the world was powered by the black fuel and the deserts sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all. Without fuel they were nothing. They'd built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders talked and talked and talked, but nothing could stem the avalanche. Their world crumbled, the cities exploded. A whirlwind of looting, a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men. On the roads, it was a white-line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage, would survive. The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of juice. And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed. Men like Max, the warrior Max. In the roar of an engine, he lost everything, and became a shell of a man, a burnt out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of his past. A man who wandered out into the wasteland. And it was here in this blighted place that he learned to live again."

• after the title credits (white letters on a black background), the film opened in the outback wasteland of a dystopic, broken-down Australia with a subtitle: "A FEW YEARS FROM NOW..."; a roadside sign told about high fatalities on the highways, patrolled by one of the last law-enforcement agencies to exist in the anarchical society

Dystopic Australia, With Highways Patroled by MFP

• two yellow, red and blue Australian highway patrol cars (of the Main Force Patrol (MFP)) pursued a speeding vehicle - a black stolen MFP Pursuit Special driven by psychotic, maniacal Armalite motorcycle gang member Crawford "Nightrider" Montizano (Vince Gil) with his "floozy" girlfriend (Lulu Pinkus); a radio transmission reported that "Nightrider" (a "cop-killer" and "weirdo bike jockie") had broken custody in Sun City, killed an officer, and stolen one of the MFP's own super-powered V-8 vehicles
• the chase by one of the MFP cars ("The Big Bopper"), driven by Roop (Steve Millichamp) and his buddy Charlie (John Ley), skidded off the road, as a second MFP car ("March Hare") took over, driven by Sarse (Stephen Clark) and Scuttle (George Novak); after recovering, the damaged "Big Bopper" vehicle rejoined the pursuit; two MFP vehicles were now in hot-pursuit of the escaped criminal

First Views of Title Character Max (Mel Gibson)

• meanwhile, the film's heroic title character, first seen without being clearly identified to provide a bigger build-up, was the highly-skilled leather-pants and boots-wearing Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), one of the best of the MFP's officers who was listening to his radio as he suited up
• at Fat Nancy's roadside restaurant, MFP motorcycle cop Jim Goose (Steve Bisley) described a gruesome accident to pirate tow-truck operator-buddy (Clive Hearne); they saw the pursuit in progress along the road in front of the restaurant and joined in the chase; as "Nightrider's" roadster entered a more populated area, it elusively evaded other vehicles and a toddler (Mathew Constantine) in the road, but then, the first MFP vehicle ("Big Bopper") struck the back of a blue van (killing the civilian driver) and caused major damage to the police car; the "Big Bopper's" driver Roop was urged by his buddy Charlie to end their dangerous chase: ("People's lives are in peril!"), but Roop remained persistent: ("I'm gonna have him!")
• but then in moments, both MFP vehicles were put out of commission: the "March Hare" struck a phone booth and overturned, while the "Big Bopper" rammed into the upside-down MFP car (killing the two officers) and then plowed into the side of a towed camper; MFP motorcycle cop Goose skidded to a stop in front of the camper; the injured "Big Bopper" driver Roop called in, asking for a 'meat truck' for his injured buddy Charlie: "We're out of the game unable to continue pursuit"; downed and injured biker-cop Goose also radioed to Max with a Code 3 to provide backup support: ("We are 100 percent snafued")
• Max listened as "Nightrider" continued to taunt the cops (derogatorially using the term "Bronze") from his stolen MFP car's radio: "You should see the damage, Bronze! Metal damage, brain damage, huh? You listening, Bronze? I am the Nightrider! I'm a fuel-injected suicide machine. I am a rocker! I am a roller! I am an out-of-controller!..."; Max slowly pulled out in his high-powered MFP "Interceptor" (a 1974 Ford Falcon XB sedan) waited for "Nightrider's" vehicle to appear on the crest of a highway, and then followed closely behind him at high speed - ramming into the back of the car and causing it to lose control; he steered it into a roadblock where a fiery crash led to the deaths of Nightrider and his punk girlfriend; their deaths were witnessed by Max - who was now seen for the first time in the film

The MFP's "Top Pursuit" Officer - Max (Mel Gibson)

Max - With His Loving Wife Jessie (Joanne Samuel)

Max - With His Young Son Sprog (Brendan Heath)

• after three days on the road, Max was relaxing in his beachside home with his loving, saxophone-playing wife Jessie (Joanne Samuel) and their young son Sprog (Brendan Heath); the next day, he attended an early morning meeting at the Halls of Justice with his motorcycle buddy Goose, now walking with crutches due to an injured knee after his earlier accident; as they walked into a dark garage, a loudspeaker reported on various memoranda issued for the MFP: "...The Captains of the Hall have asked that pursuit officers refrain from using the slang 'Bronze' for the Main Force Patrol. The word is considered disrespectful..."
• with an Underground Mechanic named Barry (David Cameron), Goose showed Max his new, modified and specially-built Black Pursuit Special with a souped-up V-8 engine; shortly later, Max's superior Captain "Fifi" McCaffee (Roger Ward) and the Police Commissioner Labatouche (Jonathon Hardy) revealed that the police Special had been authorized at great expense in order to coerce their "top pursuit man" Max (who wished to quit the force) into remaining
• later at the site of a bloody crime scene ("a couple of crazies") that Max had just dealt with, Fifi conversed with his top officer and warned him there would be vengeful retribution against him by Nightrider's "scoot jockies" (or "nomad trash")
• in the next scene set in the rural Australian town of Wee Jerusalem, Nightrider's gang of crazed bikers lined up on the main street; they were led by sadistic, long-haired Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his second in command Bubba Zanetti (Geoff Parry); they were there to retrieve Nightrider's coffin from the Station Master (Reg Evans), that had been deposited on the train station's platform; the Station Master pointed out the coffin: ("That must be your friend over there. Didn't leave much of him"), and Bubba quipped dryly: "Must've cut his heart out, huh?"
• the thugs terrorized the town's innocent citizenry, first by dragging one of the residents behind a bike; then the bikers chased after a frightened young couple, Lair (Hunter Gibb) and his girlfriend (Kim Sullivan) that attempted to drive off in their red 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air (with flames painted on the side); the gang overtook the vehicle, forced it to spin-out, destructively smashed all of the windows of the car, and then brutally sexually-assaulted both individuals after dragging both of them out of the car
• while on a routine traffic stop with his fellow cop-friend Jim Goose, Max received a radio alert about "bulk trouble" caused by the bikers in the town; they hurriedly left two comparatively minor offenders in a Honda CB 750 Four bike with a side-car, and Goose told them that they had lucked out with a "get-out-of-jail-free card"; as the two officers approached closer to the damaged Chevrolet, they watched as a traumatized Lair ran off in fear (naked without his pants) through a field; Goose yelled at the "turkey" to stop but the male ignored him
• at the remains of the destroyed car, they found the frightened, repeatedly-raped girl in the wreckage, but not her male companion (the man running off); Toecutter's mentally unfit and "whacked out of his skull" stoned protege - Johnny the Boy (Tim Burns), was semi-conscious and had unwisely remained at the crime scene; shortly later while retreating from the scene, Toecutter learned that Johnny had been left behind; he ordered his reluctant assistant Bubba to go back and retrieve him (Bubba loudly muttered his objections against his boss' favoritism toward Johnny: "The Scag don't rate! He's nothing like the Nightrider!")

Johnny In Chains Inside the Halls of Justice

After His Release, Johnny Taunting Goose: "We know who you are, Bronze!"

Goose to Johnny: "We'll see you on the road, Scag!"

• Johnny was arrested and brought into the Halls of Justice in chains, but due to a lack of witnesses ("no contest...no one showed... The punks didn't show. The girl didn't show, the townspeople didn't show"), the Judge in the case ordered the suspect to be released to biker Bubba's custody, and the Captain was forced to follow orders; an enraged Goose protested vehemently: ("You're not gonna let him walk out the door, Fifi?"); Johnny mocked him: "See you later, Goose. It's been a pleasure," and Goose had to be physically restrained by Max from attacking Johnny in the parking lot; after Johnny taunted Goose: "We know who you are, Bronze!", Goose shouted threats back at Johnny: "We'll see you on the road, Scag! See you on the road like we saw the Nightrider!"; afterwards, frustrated by the whole situation, the Captain announced a new policy to allow his officers to pursue the biker gang members, without limits: "So long as the paperwork is clean, you boys can do what you like out there"
• at the beach during a party, some of the biker gang members (Mudguts (David Bracks) and Cundalini (Paul Johnstone)) were cavorting with and molesting a nude female mannequin, pretending to make love to it by kissing and caressing it; however, Toecutter mentioned how Bubba had suspected that the mannequin was "full of treachery" (a booby-trap or bugged trojan horse) that had been sent by their enemies - the Bronze; the maniacal Johnny impulsively grabbed Toecutter's shotgun, stepped in front of Bubba who was aiming his smaller pistol at the mannequin, and blasted the mannequin in the face; he then kneeled down, boasted and declared: "If you're gonna waste the Bronze, you gotta do it big!"
• Bubba was unimpressed and complained about Johnny's lack of style: "You just don't have the style, do ya, Chicken S--t? Goes to water [slang for pisses] on a dummy"; bike gang leader Toecutter was also upset at Johnny's lack of control, and wild and unpredictable behavior; he manhandled him by grabbing him by his necktie tightened around his neck, and then dragged him into the water, and shoved his shotgun barrel down Johnny's throat: "It's all right, you'll get your chance! Just remember, to keep your sweet, sweet mouth shut!", but then put his arms around Johnny as they walked into deeper water
• while Goose was inside the Sugartown Cabaret nightclub being entertained by a Singer ("Licorice Road," performed by Robina Chaffey, but sung by Creenagh St. Clair), apparently a personal sexual girlfriend of his, Johnny was tinkering with and sabotaging Goose's MFP motorcycle parked outside; after spending the night with the singer, Goose rode off on his bike, as he was watched by Johnny who had slept in his car overnight to observe him; at high speed, Goose's bike malfunctioned and locked up, and he was thrown off and launched into the air as the bike went sailing into a field; he revived but was dazed (and didn't even suffer "road rash"), and radioed for help from MFP; he loaded his disabled bike into a red pickup truck owned by Midge (Billy Tisdall) to haul it back to town; he sped off as Midge returned to his home on a bicycle

During an Ambush, Goose in Midge's Pickup Truck With a Smashed Windshield from a Tossed Brake Drum

Truck Rolling Over by Side of the Road

Goose Trapped in Upside-Down Truck

• along the highway, Johnny and Toecutter's biker gang members awaited Goose; during an ambush from a rocky elevated hillside, Johnny threw a heavy brake-drum through the pickup's windshield, causing the vehicle to run off the road; Goose was trapped but conscious in the upside-down crashed truck; nearby, Johnny was ordered by the belligerent Toecutter, possibly as part of an initiation rite, to do his bidding by setting on fire the leaking gas from the truck: "This is a threshold moment, Johnny. Step through...Light it! The Bronze, they keep you from being proud.... Do it for freedom and the Nightrider!...You scum-sucking trash! Throw it!!"; although Johnny fearfully refused, as they struggled, a lit match fell to the ground and ignited the dry grass and the truck's leaking fuel, and Goose was consumed by the flames
• Goose survived the ordeal, but was severely burned and taken for care to St. George's Hospital and placed in a burn unit; Max visited his partner's room (although "NO ENTRY" was allowed), where he was horrified to see Goose's raw and blackened arm pop out, and then his entire charred body; he told the Captain in the hallway: "That 'thing' in there, that's not the Goose. No way"

Max Sharing Concerns and Disillusionment About His Job with Wife Jessie

• Max suffered from nightmares, and shared his concerns with his wife Jessie about his dangerous police job, his disillusionment about it, and their safety: ("Here I am, trying to put sense to it when I know there isn't any. I'll be all right, once I get it clear in my head"); Max approached Captain Fifi and handed in a letter of resignation: ("I'm through") and didn't want to discuss his resignation any further; Fifi encouraged Max by stating how Goose had taken chances and it was just a matter of time before he was seriously hurt ("It was long overdue), but Max was different:
  • "You're a winner, Max. You're on the top shelf and I'm not gonna lose you because of some crazy notion about quittin'! They say people don't believe in heroes anymore. Well, damn them! You and me, Max, we're gonna give 'em back their heroes."
• Max expressed his fearful concerns that his job was transforming him - he was becoming one of the savage and brutal criminals ("in the rat circus out there") that he had been hired to apprehend, and was worried he was losing his sanity:
  • "I'm scared, Fif. Do you know why? It's that rat circus out there. I'm beginning to enjoy it....Look, any longer out on that road, and I'm one of them, you know? A terminal crazy. Only, I've got a Bronze badge to say I'm one of the good guys. You know what I'm tryin' to say?"
• although he was determined to never come back to the force, Max accepted Fifi's offer to take a vacation before making a final decision: "Take off a few weeks, huh? Grow yourself a beard. Draw flies. Just think about it for a while. If you still feel the same way when you come back, that's okay by me. Go on!"; as Max walked off, Fifi shouted at him down an echoing stairwell: "You'll be back, Rockatansky! You're hooked, Max and you know it!"
• during a relaxing, idyllic vacation (driving a red-paneled 1975 Holden Sandman van) into the peaceful coastal area to the north near a beach, Max and Jessie took time to be a couple again; Max was able to freely talk about memories of his pride for his father when he was a young boy, and to express his feelings toward her: "I don't wanna wait ten years to tell you how I'm feeling about you right now"
• at the "You Bend Em We Mend Em" scrap-metal and junkyard auto shop run by talkative Grease Rat (Nick Lathouris), Max delivered a blown-out spare tire for repair; Jessie drove off during the repairs to take their young son Sprog to a beach area to get an ice-cream at a shop; she was spotted by Toecutter's fellow gang members Starbuck (Nic Gazzana) and Mudguts: ("Look what's turned up for Sunday dinner. Main course and dessert. My favorite kind: Female"); Toecutter led his gang over to the ice-cream shop where they surrounded and harrassed Jessie; she momentarily played along and let Toecutter lick her ice-cream cone, as Mudguts warned her: "Watch the tongue, lovable, I've seen him lick his own eyebrow clean!"
• but then, Jessie kneed Toecutter in the crotch, and took off in the van; Cundalini tossed a chain at the back of the car, and was dragged for a few feet before he dropped off
• at the repair shop, Jessie hurriedly picked up Max before they sped off without waiting for their tire; Toecutter and Bubba pursued them on their bikes, and briefly stopped at the repair yard to question the Grease Rat; shortly later after parking, Jessie was shocked to see a chain on the rear of the car - dangling there with the severed hand of one of the gang members; the incident was reported to local MFP police officer Ziggy (aka "Dark One") (Jerry Day), who seemed unconcerned: ("I figure it's lost property. If no one makes a claim to it, I say we can forget it"); he arranged for them to rent a remote farmhouse in his district from elderly friend May Swaisey (Sheila Florence) where they wouldn't be hassled anymore

Jessie Sunbathing at the Beach, and Then Terrorized by Benno (Max Fairchild) During Her Return Flight Through a Forest

• during a short trek through a dense forest to a nearby beach, Jessie was followed by an unidentified individual; from a cliffside above the beach, Jessie was also observed by unidentified bike-riders; after a swim and some sunbathing, she began the scary walk back to the farmhouse, and realized she was being followed by a group of grungy, helmeted bikers; she began running, momentarily fell down, and unexpectedly ran into the arms of a toothless, feral young boy named Benno (Max Fairchild) - (May had previously warned Jessie about him: "If you meet Benno down there, don't let him bother you. He's only a baby"); Jessie's screams alerted nearby Max, who raced to her aid and urged May to call Ziggy (referred to as the "Dark One")
• with his shotgun, Max ran into the forest, as May phoned Ziggy inside the farmhouse; Jessie jumped up and realized that Sprog was missing from his play-area outside; she was confronted by the biker gang who had kidnapped Sprog, with their leader Toecutter menacingly asking her as he pointed at Cundalini: "That there is Cundalini, and Cundalini wants his hand back!"; Jessie demanded her baby, prompting Toecutter to taunt her with whispered threats:
  • - Toecutter: "Jessie, Jessie, Jessie. You've not got a sense of humor. You've got a pretty face, though. Awful pretty. Awful pretty. I suppose you don't need a sense of humor with a pretty face. The only trouble is though, Missy, if you should lose the face..."
    - Jessie: "Please, don't hurt my baby"
    - Toecutter: " ...you've got NOTHING."
    - Jessie: "What do you want from me?"
    - Toecutter: "Don't change the subject."
• May held a shotgun aimed at Toecutter, but her first blast errantly hit a water barrel; in the forest, Max heard the shot and turned back; Jessie grabbed her son and raced toward their car, as May locked some of the bikers in a farm building; May joined Jessie in her car to escape and they sped off, while the bikers kicked and broke through the locked door and pursued after them on their motorcycles; the bikers caught up to Jessie when her car's motor began overheating and brought the car to a halt in the middle of the road

The Frightening Scene of The Merciless Attack on Jessie and Sprog by Bikers

• in the film's most frightening sequence, Jessie fled from her stalled car with Sprog in her arms, as May faced the bikers from the rear of the car with her shotgun; however, the bikers ignored her and went in pursuit after Jessie on foot down the road; the first bikes in pursuit ran them down and then other bikers rode over and crushed their bodies into the pavement; one of Sprog's toy balls and Jessie' shoe went flying as she was struck at full speed before the bikers drove off; barefooted, Max ran up to the scene and found their dead bodies on the road; he sank to his knees and screamed
• Jessie was rushed to the hospital (the boy was DOA), comatose and diagnosed with numerous life-threatening injuries: "Multiple traumas, spleen, liver, lung, flail chest, left neck of femur, renal shutdown"; to reassure Max (who was overhearing their conversation), the doctor told a nurse to lie about how she might eventually recover ("salvageable"): "Listen, tell him she's going to be all right. Tell him not to worry"

Vengeful Max in a Stolen Pursuit Special Car, Confronting Grease Rat About the Bikers

• Max was severely traumatized by the murder of his wife (she eventually succumbed) and son, reacting as a zombified avenger; at his beach-house, he suited up with his leather pants, boots, and jacket, grabbed his sawed-off shotgun, and marched into the MFP underground garage without authorization to steal a supercharged black Pursuit Special; he drove to the "You Bend Em We Mend Em" repair shop to confront and torture mechanic Grease Rat, and learn about the gang's members and their whereabouts; Grease Rat was the gang's prime biker mechanic
• during a methodical search to eliminate Toecutter's gang, Max pursued them after they stole gas from a large tanker truck; he deliberately rammed into a group of the gang's bikers on a bridge, sending them flying into the water and killing a few of them
• later, Max tracked and located Toecutter, Bubba, and Johnny, but found himself caught in their trap; after exiting his vehicle at the site of a downed biker in a field (Johnny faking injury) next to a deserted country road, Max was shot in the left knee by Bubba during the threesome's ambush; as Max lay severely injured in the road, Bubba also drove over Max's extended arm as he reached out for his shotgun; Max was still able to grab his weapon, and exterminate Bubba at point-blank range as he tried to steer his bike directly into Max and ram him

The Death of Toecutter - In the Path of an Approaching Semi-Truck

• Johnny fled across a field, while Toecutter also sped away down the narrow two-lane highway, as Max painfully limped back into his vehicle; Max was relentless in his pursuit, and decided to first chase after Toecutter; after catching up to Toecutter at high-speed, he was close behind as the biker approached toward the crest of a hill - directly into the path of an oncoming semi-trailer truck; Toecutter was rammed by the front of the truck and his bike and body were smashed and crushed into pieces and run over
• although in pain and severely injured, Max continued his pursuit of the final gang member, Johnny; he entered into a 'prohibited area' as it turned dark and began raining; the next day (or days later), after an extended period of time, Max drove up to the scene of an overturned car after a devastating crash (with the car leaking gas); he saw Johnny frantically stealing the boots off the dead driver, and claiming that he had nothing to do with killing the man; Max ordered Johnny to attach one side of a pair of handcuffs to his ankle, and then dragged him over and attached the other side of the handcuffs onto the crashed vehicle
• the desperate Johnny began to pathetically beg and lay the blame on his mental craziness and wild gang behavior due to his drug-addiction:
  • "Hey, listen, I had nothing to do with anything that was goin' on back there, man. Hey, listen, man, will you? Listen, will you listen to me! They were a hell of a lot of crazy people back there, man. Some kind of bad people. I'm not responsible for anything. What are you doin', man? What did you say? What are you doing? Hey, listen. I'm not a bad man. I'm sick, see? Sick. What do you call it? Psychopathic, you know. Personality disorder. The court, man, he said so. You're not gonna hurt me, are ya? Jesus! You can't kill me! Not for stealing a man's boots! He was dead, for Christ's sake! He won't need 'em anymore."

Max Discovering Johnny Stealing Boots Off a Dead Man at a Crash Scene

Johnny Begging For His Life

Explosion Behind Max

• Johnny became very apprehensive: "What are you doin'? I wanna know what you're doing"; after lighting a time-delayed fuse to set the leaking gasoline on fire with Johnny's lighter, he offered Johnny a hacksaw and a choice - cut through the hand-cuffs on his ankle (10 minutes), or saw through his ankle (5 minutes) to save his life: ("The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It's gonna take ya ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes")
• as Max limped away, Johnny began sobbing: "You're mad, man! You think I look silly, don't ya? Ha, ha! Don't bring this on me, man! Don't do this to me, please! Aw, Sweet Jesus! I was sick! Don't bring this on me, please!"; Max resolutely drove off and didn't look back as a large explosion erupted behind him

• the stone-faced, emotionless Max drove off into the outback on a two-lane highway during an approaching rainstorm