MAD MAX: The Futuristic Western

 

MAD MAX! One of the best science fiction movies out there. Critics and regular movie goers love this movie. Its obviously a cult classic appearing on all TV stations as reruns and it came out almost 30 years ago. Mad Max is almost like the futuristic version of old westerns. The hero (Mel Gibson) is a Australian cop stuck to deal with the lawlessness in a post-apocalyptic world. The world is filled with famine, disease, and violence because their lacking humanity's most treasured resource oil. Its full of some of the best car chases, crashes, and violence. Here is a clip to see how similar it is to the beloved old westerns but at the same time how unique it is. 

 

Not bad for 1979 right! It looks like a film that has a little Dirty Harry in it, some Death Wish, mixed in with like some samurai legend elements. In the course of the film Max Rockatansky is viewed as some unwilling hero who is thrown in this whole mess to save whats left of the torn up world he lives in. Mad Max is similar to a old western ranger in a sense that while he is a product of his environment he still overcomes and becomes redeemed and a redeemer for the world that's around him. 

 

George Miller the creator and director of the film franchise Mad Max is a special character as well. One question when watching this movie is why is it so Gorey and violent. George Miller based the violence and gore on his accident that he experienced in his life. The budget for the film was only 350,000. For a movie with so much car crashes, chases, and violence its a huge surprise on how they pulled it off. What is also interesting is that George Miller was a practicing medical doctor while he was filming this movie. The money that he received for the production were mostly donations from his other medical associates. So the fact that he as a director put his own money into this movie and made it himself makes it that much more special. You can see the creativity in the movie that could not have come from another Director other than George Miller. If he wanted, George Miller probably could have sold the rights of the film to a bigger corporation and let them deal with it but he most likely than would not be the director and a lot of bogus changes would have been made to the movie and it wouldn't be the movie we love today.

George Miller with actors Tom Hardy and Mel Gibson

It is a film that garnered the attention of a lot of viewers because it brought back that nostalgia of old western and strong gritty heroes. American Film always had that, but with the Mad Max franchise it brought a new twist to it, because instead of being a film that has senseless violence; which it has don't get me wrong, it also had a very important message or theme to it we can learn from. In one way you can take the message that the film represents our destruction as a society because of our importance in technology has taken over our lives, and because of that it is leading to our destruction. Or you can take the humorous satire message out of it that it represents a doomed world that keeps going back to its old patterns which will eventually destroy it.

Mad Max: R: 88 min: 1979: Action, Sci-Fi
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh2MX0EftaU
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079501/