DVD Reviews

Mad Max – Blu-ray Review

By Frankie Dees Oct 18, 2010, 16:18 GMT

Setting Mel Gibson on a sure path to superstardom, this highly acclaimed "crazy collide-o-scope"(Newsweek) of highway mayhem "cinematically defined the postapocalyptic landscape" (TV Guide).   Featuring eye-popping stunts that are "electrifying and very convincing" (Variety) and "an authentically nihilistic spirit" (The Village Voice), Mad Max is "pure cinematic poetry" (Time).   In the ravaged near future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ...more

It might be easy to scoff at the title in light of mad Mel’s infamous rant from earlier in the year, but ‘Mad Max’ remains rousing, star-making pedal to the metal entertainment.

A revenge actioner fueled by low-budget ingenuity, it’s an exploitation B-picture at heart but elevated to modern classic status due to one of the all-time great star/director debuts.

The story is little more than ‘Death Wish’ with a crazed, post-apocalyptic veneer, but damn if it doesn’t work. Max Rockatansky is a mild-mannered but nerves of steel cop in a near future where a (at this point in the franchise) undisclosed event has left civilization trying to get back on its feet amidst a chaotic landscape riddled with terrorizing gangs.

It seems fuel has become something of a rare commodity (even more than now I suppose) and high-powered cars and motorcycles rule the streets.

When Max, just doing his job, gets one of these gang members killed, he and the police force come under the fire of Toecutter and his gang - a bunch of motorcycle-riding maniacs who look like they stepped out of some nightmare version of ‘The Wild Ones’.

When Max’s family becomes targets, he has little choice but to become the only thing worth surviving for – ‘Mad’.

Mel Gibson, just 23 at the time of making ‘Mad Max’, had a steely-eyed manic charisma as Max that just completely sold the character. And it could be argued that if there wasn’t that little bit of legitimate madness in Mel Gibson, then Max as character wouldn’t have truly been born. This is a fact that is hopefully not lost on director George Miller as he gears up for another Max film with Tom Hardy in the lead role.

See, Mel’s bit of madness may have contributed to creating some of our most beloved characters that in addition to Max includes Martin Riggs and William Wallace. So as you can tell, I’m a firm believer in separating the personal life from the creative. After all, if we took into account the personal lives of everybody producing art, how much film, music and literature do you think we would be left with? Not much I imagine.

Frankly, Mel Gibson’s personal demons are none our business. What is our business? ‘Mad Max’, ‘The Road Warrior’, ‘Lethal Weapon’, ‘Braveheart’, etc.  And business is booming as they say.

In addition to great casting, director and co-writer George Miller also knows how to really cut together a visceral action sequence. Although it will always be tough to compare to the almost perfect sequel ‘The Road Warrior’ with the single most exciting car chase sequence ever filmed, this first film still carries a hell of a charge. That it’s all happening in frame and probably for around the budget it took an animator to CGI in one of Optimus Prime’s sprockets is a good first reason.

But the slightly demented tone comes a close second - i.e. that you get the feeling that the manic characters in the film are not too far off from the filmmakers making it. That gives it an anything can happen energy that it has yet to lose in 30+ years.

The Blu-ray is presented with an AVC 2.35 encode that does a great job presenting a 30-year old $200,000 film. It’s a pretty soft film originally so detail isn’t spectacular and there’s some film damage here and there. There’s no doubt this is the best the film has looked since, well, ever.

Cool for purists is the inclusion of the ridiculous dubbed track that accompanied the American theatrical release as well as the original Australian mono track. Most will prefer the rocking English 5.1 DTS-HD track however.

Nothing new as far as special features but a few extras get carried over from the special edition DVD as well as that DVD in full as a 2nd disc. The commentary by Jon Dowding, David Eggby, Chris Murray and Tim Ridge is presented on both the Blu and DVD as well as the ‘Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon’ featurette.

Found on the DVD only is the ‘Mel Gibson: Birth of a Superstar’ doc, a trivia track, photo gallery and Trailers and TV Spots. It’s slightly disappointing that most catalog releases these days get nothing new but I suppose it’s just nice to have the film in high-def.

The film that set Mel Gibson on the road to superstardom and George Miller on the road to making one of the best action films of all time, “Mad Max’’ remains a great film in and of itself.

With crazed performances and a reckless, f-it energy that can only come from the passion of youth, the movie still delivers the action. The Blu-ray delivers solid video and audio so this is any easy recommend for fans.

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