Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior [Blu-ray]

Books could be (and likely have been) written about what makes "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" such a great movie: George Miller's unique vision of a dystopian wasteland filmed to perfection in the Australian outback, a litany of well thought-out characters even among bit players, the oft-copied but rarely duplicated way that Miller manages to set the mood repeatedly with little if any dialogue, and of course the cars and epic chase sequences. What you end up with is perhaps the perfect post-apocalyptic story: a lone man who lives by scavenging in the wastelands, hardened by the events of the first "Mad Max" film, and still driving the last of the V8 police interceptors. A series of events quickly leads him to an ethical crossroads: does he stay with the band of "civilized" people fruitlessly guarding the last working oil pump and refinery for who knows how far, against the band of marauders camped at their gates? Does he make a temporary bargain and run off with his small reward from them to once more disappear into the wastelands? Or can he find another option? The answer is well worth the time spent reaching it. Spoilers follow, so if you haven't watched this yet, do please stop reading. :) There is so much more to this movie than even the most detailed reviews here will reveal. The symbolism throughout: the distant raven's cry heard as Max enters each scene, foretelling the death which hollowed him in the past, and follows him thereafter. The beautiful, nuanced characters found on all sides of the conflict: the idealistic Pappagallo who leads the motley refinery crew, preaching hope and humanity all while being surrounded by death and futility; the opportunistic Gyro Captain who survives the wasteland through cunning and killing while exuding insanity from every pore, but who ultimately shines through as perhaps the most sane individual there; and perhaps the most brilliantly complex villain in non-"Batman" film history, The Humungus, a muscle-bound behemoth who lords over a band of ruthless killers yet quotes 18th century German poetry (in German), repeatedly shows patience and practical thinking in achieving his goal, and carries around an immaculate revolver in a case filled with military medals from numerous nations. Plus of course the scene-stealing dog (named "Dog"), who was rescued from a local animal shelter, trained for this film, and then retired to a life of luxury with one of the cameramen. This is barely even scraping the surface. I've seen very convincing arguments that the entire story was a modern interpretation of ancient Greek tragedy (Miller's parents were Greek immigrants), lengthy commentaries on how avant garde the film was in casting women, homosexuals, and physically handicapped persons in strong roles (without dwelling on doing it), and of course numerous discussions on the political and environmental criticisms neatly wrapped into the back story of the picture (again, without being in-your-face about it). In short, which truthfully would have been two paragraphs ago, this is so much more than just the quintessential post-apocalyptic action thriller, as evidenced by the numerous "best of" lists it continues to find itself on. This is a testament to exactly what a talented visionary with a (very) limited budget is capable of producing, and a film which rewrote its genre and redefined exactly what a "hero" can be in movies.

Ahhh, the classic post-apocolyptic thriller that sets the standard for post-apocolyptic thrillers. One tagline reads 'In the future, cities will become deserts, roads will become battlefields and the hope of mankind will appear as a stranger'. I remember skipping school in the early 80's to stay home and watch this one on cable, Such a great movie that has lost none of it's appeal even after 20 plus years. This is the story of a man, once an officer of the law, who now roams the highways of post-apocolyptic Australia searching for gasoline and maybe a reason to exist. In this time, gasoline is the most valuable commodity, so much so men kill for it. Mel Gibson plays Max, in the role that made him known worldwide. During his travels, he comes across a small settlement that is actually producing petroleum. This settlement is besieged by a group of motorized, murdering, mauraders who want all the fuel. Knowing that the fuel is life, the people in the settlement defend the fuel, but their strength and ability to hold out against this powerful force is becoming less and less each day. Max strikes a deal with them for all the fuel he can carry provided he can get a truck for them so they can haul their tanker of gas out of the wasteland and find a better life in a fabled coastal land. Max fufills his end of the bargin, and leaves the settlement with his fuel, but is attacked and left for dead. Having lost his car, he decides to drive the tanker. This sets up one of the most amazing highway battles ever filmed, as the settlers have turned the tanker into a moving fortess, and the marauders will stop at nothing to stop the tanker and get the gas. This movie is what I would call a nearly pefect example of excellent casting, story, dialogue, plot, script, wardrobe, etc. to make up a near perfect movie. Everything in the movie works so well that your entire attention is focused on the screen, even after multiple viewings. This is actually the second in a trilogy, Mad Max being the first and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome being the third, but, in my opinion, this one is the best. It's raw, gritty, sometimes humourous and competely enthralling. On a side note, what's up with Warner Brothers and their crummy cardboard packaging? It just seems so flimsy and cheap. And don't look for a lot of extras with this release, just the full and widescreen versions and some production notes. This just in...I heard George Miller and Mel Gibson are bringing Max back one more time in 2004 in Mad Max: Fury Road......

Much as I hate the later Mel Gibson, I love this paradigmic film. Made in 1981, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior represents the apotheosis of a certain genre of Australian films devoted to cars and more specifically to wrecking them. Director George Miller saw the elements of a great story in the tradition of old American westerns and the mono myth in this bleak tale of a beleaguered oil refining community that seeks to break out of their enclave and move to more hospitable surroundings. See John Ford's immaculate Wagon Train for a similar film about pilgrims led by a flawed hero. The adversaries in this film are a biker gang on steroids, anarchy made flesh, if you will, with war paint, mohawks, lots of leather and custom cars and bikes. They rape, murder, and steal. Enter Max and his wacky sidekick, the gyro captain, a pair more deranged than almost any save for Blondie and Tuco in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Max seeks only more gas, a philosophical position of total nihilism. unwilling to engage in any sort of communitarianism with the white-clad denizens of Texaco Prime (or whatever you want to call it), Max engages only with a Feral child who is equally empty. A nearly wordless film, Miller, like the greatest of directors, manages to work with visuals to tell his story (an art seemingly lost in the current cinema with the possible exception of Nicholas Winding Refn), combining epic sweeps of desolate landscapes with tightly edited chase sequences, including the bravura climax of the film. I can't help think that CGI has hurt storytelling somewhat. I have yet to see a CGI film with the primal energy of the Road Warrior. Now, remastered, the film looks as good as it did on the big screen back in 1981. I still pine after Virginia Hey, the warrior woman who dies on the tanker truck. Certainly as good or even better than most Sci-Fi post apocalyptic dystopian films. Too bad Miller didn't work in this vein more often. Alas Beyond Thunderdome hasn't the focus or energy of this film. A world masterpiece from that brief time when Australia produced some excellent films.

The Road Warrior is pure action filmmaking. Pure action, like pure horror, should be purely visual. The action film should not rely on dialogue but on images. The Road Warrior remains the ultimate model for the action film. It is representative of everything that is great about the genre. It uses the medium the way it was intended, the way it best serves a story, through images. There is something wholly pure about it on a very basic filmmaking level. It is easily a great action film ever made because of the audacity of its images, but it is the best action film because its audacious images are presented lyrically, for they are rhythmically sound and poetically able, and powerfully revealing and otherworldly in both communication and conveyance. Action filmmaking should be regarded as a supremely visualist venture. The Road Warrior tells everything visually. The Road Warrior mythologizes Max. This adds a whole 'nother level of wonderment to the piece. The Road Warrior makes Max the stuff inherent of mythology, like a long gone hero of the ancient world. As if told by Homer, by the storied bard himself, of Max's myth. From the very beginning, Max is presented as folklore and legend. This is how the story first unfolds. It first shows itself in the guise of epic myth. What follows is a manic fable of truly heroic deeds, misfortunes, and triumphs. The central themes of heroism, self identity, absurdism, survival, hope and soul are all carefully constructed, idealized, and expressed. Several of these themes are inherent of the post-apocalyptic nightmare but others are wholly unique to the film's whims. Self identity and absurdism are entirely distinctive qualities of The Road Warrior. Self identity is expressed by Max, and how he doesn't long for one yet wars with his undying sense of self. Is a greater understanding of self beneficial to one's survival? The problem of self identity is also expressed by the world itself. The dark and twisted wasteland. Unsure of its place in this misbegotten new age, the environment itself seems uncertain of it's boundaries and desired characteristics. The theme of absurdism is rampant in The Road Warrior. As Camus once said, "Existence is illusory and it is eternal". The film meditates on absurdism and adopts it in a manner philosophically transitory. Shifting beliefs and allegiances, self discoveries, abound and alter the path to enlightenment. Forever carving out the highway on which The Road Warrior treads.

In the barren wastelands of the post-apocalyptic future, one man stands above the rest: his name is Max, the Road Warrior. Introduced originally in the Australian trash and tumble actioner MAD MAX, creator George Miller transports his lead character into an entirely different environment for this second adventure. The world has been ravished by war, and all that remains are roving bands of marauders that scour the roads in search of fuel. Max, a lone warrior, battles his way through the packs of motor gangs with nothing to live for but revenge. His journey leads him to a remote oil refinery, whose leader acquires Max's help in leading his people through the treacherous desert in exchange for fuel. Miller's high-octane action sequences and explosive car chases across the Australian outback have served as a standard model for future filmmakers, with unforgettable scenes that have been copied and stolen repeatedly in the decades following its release. It is THE ROAD WARRIOR's wild costume designs and outrageous characters that set it apart from so many other imitations, especially seen in the frightening, larger-than-life villains Toadie and The Humungus that lead the feral hordes. Relics from the Old World are twisted and reformed to create the misshapen fortresses and gnarled body armor of the future. Although the plot and dialog are noticeably thin, Miller has drawn from the basic story structures used in cultures around the world to create an epic tale of good versus evil set in a futuristic landscape that offers a universal appeal to all viewers. Along with its predecessor, THE ROAD WARRIOR is a must-see film for all action and sci-fi fans, and a staple 1980's classic! -Carl Manes I Like Horror Movies

Classic. Mel Gibson in his youth. Loved it.

Great sequel to the original

A male lead. I’ve gotten so used to female lead action characters that I was initially surprised. The post apocalyptic movie takes place in a dystopian setting in which an oil refinery is surrounded by “vermin on machines” (I quote). Mel Gibson (aka ‘Max’) is the anti-hero who plays the traditional male role: kills the bad guys, saves the good people and then vanishes sort of like “Shane” in the iconic Western. I like the movie & plan on watching it several more times. I don’t think they could make a movie like this again in this day and age.

Mind boggling. The first time I saw the movie decades ago, that's what I felt. After seeing the latest version of the movie - Road Fury - I was expecting to be a little underwhelmed, but was wrong. This movie stands on its own. Simply a pleasure to watch. Note for Indian viewers: There are two brief sexual scenes, one being a brutal rape scene, all uncut, so think before letting children watch this movie. George Miller is one of my favorite directors, with many of his movies in the top 100 movies I have watched. Babe- Pig in the City is another one of my favorites, Another Babe movie and Happy Feet 1 and 2 are fun movies especially for children, Twilight Zone is another one of his good movie.

Mit "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" schuf Regisseur George Miller 1981 einen knallharten, formvollendeten Endzeit-Klassiker. Die Reihe begann zwei Jahre zuvor mit den Worten: "A few years from now…". Während die Gesellschaft beim ersten Teil noch an der Schwelle des Zusammenbruchs stand, so ist sie nun vollkommen kollabiert. Benzin ist der einzige wichtige Rohstoff. Und das Recht steht auf der Seite des Stärkeren. Als Plünderer mit ihrem Kriegsherren Humungus aus dem Staub des Outbacks kommen, sind Morde und Überfälle auf offener Straße an der Tagesordnung. Der traumatisierte Mann hinter dem Steuer des schwarzen Ford Falcon V8 Interceptors, der über die Straßen des Ödlandes rast, hat mit Max Rockatansky nur noch das Äußere gemein. Sein Verhalten hat sich auf den Überlebensinstinkt reduziert. Während die Trostlosigkeit der australischen Wüste das Innenleben der Protagonisten widerspiegelt. Mel Gibson ist einfach die Idealbesetzung. Er ist Mad Max. Schafft es der Figur eine subtile Tiefe zu verleihen. Jedoch ist er nicht die einzige gequälte Seele der Geschichte. Inspiriert wurde Miller durch Ausschreitungen an Australiens Tankstellen, die im Zuge der Ölknappheit während der OPEC-Krise geschahen. Kombiniert mit der permanenten Bedrohung des Kalten Krieges und der tiefen Irritation, welche die damals noch neue Punkbewegung bei Teilen der Gesellschaft auslösten, erhält man die dystopische Atmosphäre, die dieser Film erzeugt. Wie der erste Teil fängt er den Zeitgeist der frühen 80er perfekt ein. Nicht zuletzt deshalb ist der Film für mich der interessanteste Actionfilm der 80er Jahre und eine der besten Fortsetzungen überhaup. Besser als der erste Teil. Ich liebe die hohe Geschwindigkeit der Story. Die visuelle Charakterisierung der Figuren. Die Funktion der Autos als Metaphern für Macht. Die Filmmusik, die mich an Holsts "Mars - Bringer of War" erinnert. Die tiefstehende Kamera, direkt über dem Asphalt (oft kopiert, unter anderem in der ersten Walking Dead-Folge). Wer "Mad Max 2 - The Road Warrior" noch nicht kennt sollte dies nachholen. Der Film schlägt Carpenters "Escape from New York" um Längen. Mit dem deutschen Titel, der Vollstrecker (?), konnte ich allerdings noch nie etwas anfangen. Interessantes Detail: Seitlich am Tanklaster sind die Worte "Seven Sisters Petroleum" aufgemalt. Als Seven Sisters wurden die sieben Ölkonzerne bezeichnet, die zwischen den 50er und 70er Jahren den globalen Ölmarkt beherrschten.

TRÈS BONNE RESTAURATION DU FILM EN REMPLACEMENT D' UN BLU RAY DÉFECTUEUX ;IL Y A LA VF SUR LE BLU RAY ALLEMAND .JE LE RECOMMANDE

Mad max 2 is one of the most recognised and respected action movies of all time. It has all the goods and delivers them well and with perfect timing. Speaking of the blu ray- excellent video quality and 5.1 dts MA makes it an all round perfect cinema experience. Only thing that bothers me is that not a lot of special features are included in this blu ray.

Great movie and excellent transfer, always great to own physical media these days