Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome [WS/P&S]

Director: George Miller, George Ogilvie George Miller

Overview

The third entry in Australia's Mad Max series, like its predecessors, is set in a post-apocalyptic future where everyone drives endlessly through the desert and where gasoline is a commodity literally to die for. This time, the nomadic motorist Max (Mel Gibson) rides into Bartertown, a city built on the ruins of a strip mine. Bartertown is run by the formidable Tina Turner, who in turn answers to Master (Angelo Rossito) and Blaster (Paul Larsson). Turner craves total control of Bartertown, and to achieve this goal she forces Max into deadly, no-rules gladiatorial combat in the wooden Thunderdome. Max is to fight the awesome Blaster to the death...and that's only half the story. Thus far, there have been no sequels to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, possibly because Mel Gibson prefers the more sedate goings-on in his Lethal Weapon films.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/30/2009
UPC:	0883929076383
Original Release:	1985
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:47:00

Special Features

Closed Caption; Production Notes; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mel Gibson	Mad Max
Tina Turner	Aunty Entity
Angelo Rossitto	The Master
Adam Cockburn	Jedediah Jr.
Bruce Spence	Jedediah
Helen Buday	Savannah Nix
Frank Thring	The Collector
Paul Larsson	The Blaster
Angry Anderson	Ironbar
Robert Grubb	Pigkiller
George Spartels	Blackfinger
Edwin Hodgeman	Dr. Dealgood
Bob Hornery	Waterseller
Andrew Oh	Actor
Ollie Hall	Aunty's Guard
Susan Leonard	Aunty's Guard
Ray Turnbull	Aunty's Guard
Lee Rice	Aunty's Guard
Robert Simper	Aunty's Guard
Brian Ellison	Actor
Gerard Armstrong	Aunty's Guard
Max Worrall	Aunty's Guard
Virginia Wark	Aunty's Guard
Geeling	Aunty's Guard
Mark Spain	Mr. Skyfish
Mark Kounnas	Gekko
Rod Zuanic	Scrooloose
Justine Clarke	Anna Goanna
Shane Tickner	Eddie
James Wingrove	Tubba Tintye
Adam Scougall	Finn McCoo
Tom Jennings	Slake
Gerry D'Angelo	Hunter
Travis Latter	Hunter
Miguel Lopez	Hunter
Paul Daniel	Hunter
Tushka Hose	Actor
Emily Stocker	Guardian
Sandie Lillingston	Guardian
Adam Willits	Mr. Scratch,Gatherer
Ben Chesterman	Gatherer,Actor
Liam Nikkinen	Gatherer
Christopher Norton	Gatherer
Katharine Cullen	Gatherer
Heilan Robertson	Gatherer
Gabriel Dilworth	Gatherer
Hugh Sands	Gatherer,Gatherer
Rebekah Elmaloglou	Gatherer
Shari Flood	Gatherer
Kate Tartar	Gatherer
Rachael Graham	Gatherer
Pega Williams	Actor,Gatherer
Emma Howard	Gatherer
Joanna McCarroll	Gatherer
Toby Messiter	Gatherer
Tonya Wright	Gatherer
Alison Barrett	Actor
James Robertson	Little One
Toni Allaylis	Cusha, the Pregnant Girl
Amanda Nikkinen	Little One
Flynn Kenney	Little One
Luke Panic	Little One
William Manning	Little One
Adam McCreadie	Little One
Sally Morton	Little One
Maurice Jarre	Composer

Technical Credits

George Miller

Terry Hayes

Brian Hannant

Byron Kennedy

George Miller	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
George Ogilvie	Director
Terry Hayes	Screenwriter,Producer
Doug Mitchell	Producer
Grant Page	Stunts
Mike Wood	Special Effects
Sue Blainey	Sound Effects
Lloyd Carrick	Sound Effects
Tim Chau	Sound Effects
Brian Hannant	Screenwriter
Byron Kennedy	Producer,Screenwriter
Steve Courtley	Special Effects
RUSSELL ALLAN	Stunts
Marcus D'Arcy	Producer
Alison Barrett	Casting
Phil Judd	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Although it's slicker and more hopeful than the low-budget original (and its equally nihilistic follow-up), the third Mad Max offering is still an entertaining sci-fi-action flick with breathtaking production design and a script and cast that back it up. George Miller, writer/director of the first two films, teams with co-director George Ogilvie for the most visually elaborate entry in the series, delineating his film's competing post-apocalyptic societies with a deftness and density that other science fiction storytellers should study. Despite his newfound scruples -- sparing the life of a gladiator with Down's syndrome and aiding a band of feral children -- Mel Gibson's titular protagonist is still an engagingly gritty hero. In addition to his now well-honed leather-n-guns schtick, here Gibson also gets to show off the game sense of humor that would characterize his later blockbusters, including the Lethal Weapon films. Tina Turner makes a sublimely campy villain, clad in low-cut chain mail and some serious horns. Barking orders in that distinctively gruff voice, the soul survivor takes care to strike bad-girl poses that show off her famous legs to good advantage. Despite the strong leads, though, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome would fall apart if not for the supporting characters, costumes, and settings that bring the post-nuclear outback vividly to life. From an underground pig dung factory to an idyllic valley to a desiccated frontier town, the sets look great. As for the performers, veterans as varied as horror-flick bit-part champ Angelo Rossitto and venerable Aussie thespian Frank Thring get to blend quirky character acting and far-out costumes into a truly memorable rogues' gallery. The film's chase sequences can't match those from the previous films, while the good-guy Max and the film's hopeful finale alienated some fans of the franchise. But as a stand-alone action extravaganza with a Hollywood touch, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome delivers.