Mad Max 2 (1981)

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

Terry Hayes (written by) &
George Miller (written by) ...

Release Date:

28 April 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Ruthless... Savage... Spectacular

Plot:

In the post-apocolyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits.

Plot Keywords:

Gasoline | Australia | Warrior | Gang | Post Apocalyptic

Awards:

8 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 22	5:30 PM	AMC
Mon. Nov. 23	4:00 AM	AMC

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Max
Bruce Spence	...	The Gyro Captain
Michael Preston	...	Pappagallo (as Mike Preston)
Max Phipps	...	The Toadie
Vernon Wells	...	Wez
Kjell Nilsson	...	The Humungus
Emil Minty	...	The Feral Kid
Virginia Hey	...	Warrior Woman
William Zappa	...	Zetta
Arkie Whiteley	...	The Captain's Girl
Steve J. Spears	...	Mechanic
Syd Heylen	...	Curmudgeon
Moira Claux	...	Big Rebecca
David Downer	...	Nathan
David Slingsby	...	Quiet Man

Also Known As:

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (USA)
The Road Warrior (USA)

Runtime:

95 min | UK:96 min | USA:94 min | Argentina:96 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1982) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | UK:X (original rating) | France:Unrated (with warning) | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM18 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 (cable rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Canada:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Trivia:

George Miller also met with John Seale as a potential cinematographer before giving the job to Dean Semler.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The gyrocopter is not like a normal helicopter and cannot land in such a confined space inside the fuel compound. It shows a closeup of the wheels when landing and it stops on a dime once the wheels touched the ground. The gyro lands like a plane and not like a helicopter.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: 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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Two Tickets to Paradise (2006)

the best movie Gibson has ever been in

The first time I saw this at a friends recommendation was in 1985 on our brand new VHS vcr. I was absolutely blown away by it at the age of 16 and I still watch every few months on DVD now.I would give anything to see this on a big screen. This movie started a real trend for a lot of real crappy B movies to follow unfortunately and Mel Gibson has called this movie with an apologetic shrug 'classy B-grade trash' which is sad because it would prove to be his best movie by far. What I truly liked about this film was its lack of dialogue and how it was smart enough to let its settings, action and costumes do the talking. Perhaps this is why Gibson didn't have much praise for it because he is merely a representation of the Western gunslinger in the film. I liked how there was a sketchy explanation of how the world got into such an apocalyptic mess and lets the viewer make their own conclusion to that end. It's not important anyways. The lack of ammunition is indicated quickly through the Wez's use of a wrist-strapped crossbow, the very preciousness of gasoline is established quickly as well by Max's anxious mopping up of it and capturing it in a few make-shift items including a dusty soldier's helmet.

The original Mad Max had too much dialogue and proved problematic for the 18 year old Gibson to convey the emotion of losing his family and best friend. It had it's moments but in the end it lost it's impact due to it's own clumsy attempt at trying to establish the family-man Max. The Road Warrior didn't try to attempt any deep characterizations, the pain and suffering was quick and obvious, the need to just survive in this stark world conveyed through a few spoken words and violent actions. George Miller got it right with this one, unfortunately he had to make Mad Max first to get to Mad MaxII and horribly had to make Mad MaxIII.