Mad max main character actor. The Return of Mad Max A Guide to the Max Universe: From Interceptor to Dog

Max
“I need peace, and I can only find it on the Silent Plain. For this, I need a car as good as Black on Black... or even better.” Max is a loner, running from himself and his past. Somewhere at the end of human civilization, his family died, and since then he has been on the road all the time. He lives one day at a time - or rather, simply survives, trying to cope with the cacophony of distorted memories, images and sounds. Max would have stopped long ago, stopped resisting, stopped breathing. But his body does not allow him to do this - the skills acquired during the survival course are already in his blood. So his troubled mind created an imaginary land, the Silent Plain, where he would find peace, quench his longing and silence the voices from the past. All he has left is an old car, an Interceptor (or Black on Black), a chance to survive in the Wasteland. When Black on Black is destroyed, everything changes. But one thing remains unchanged: moving forward and fighting for survival.
Slam
"All the riches of this country are mine! All of Gastown... is mine!" Clem Ostrus is a military leader and the self-proclaimed Defender of Gastown. His father is Immortan Joe, his brother is Rictus Erectus. Even in his youth, Chlem showed himself to be a talented warrior, and as he grew up, he turned into a real car death - swift, strong and merciless. He killed his first enemy at the age of seven, during training. Then followed a series of murdered rivals and teachers. As a teenager, he honed his skills in Death Races between Gastown and Lead Farm. He adored the Wasteland constant war, the ability to destroy everyone who was too weak and take their resources. In the camp, far from the conventions of the courtly world of the Citadel, he forged the iron fist of his army. During the Void Wars, Slam defeated Dr. Dementia. Returning the city to Immortan Joe's hand, he received the title of Defender of Gastown and moved there. Chlem is famous for his cruelty and loves to shock others with such objects as a belt with suspended human heads and a razor-sharp codpiece. His army is blindly loyal to its commander and is ready to carry out any order, even the most insane one. Symbols of the Slam’s power in Gastown are scarecrow marks and numerous military camps in which the future fighters of his legion are trained.
Skull with a fragment
"This fragment has proven that I am immortal. But I will not know peace until I kill the demon who planted it in my head. I know that he is still alive!". Slam suffered his first serious defeat at the hands of Max, who nearly killed Ostrus with his own weapon, a pole-mounted chainsaw. The saw was stuck in the skull - it was impossible to remove the blade - and was a constant reminder of the indelible shame. The pain did not subside even for a second, it drove him crazy and provoked violent outbursts of rage. Clem is obsessed with violence. Only one thing can calm him down: the sight of a dead enemy. Chlem wears a fragment of a saw sticking out of his head with pride, which is why his henchmen consider him immortal - just like his father, Immortan Joe. Chlem doesn't know whether Max is alive or dead, so he adds to his collection the skulls of everyone who even looks a little like Max. Previously, Slam treated the inhabitants of the Wasteland, observing certain rules. But that's long gone. Now everyone who lives in the vicinity of Gastown fears for their lives. The executor of cruel orders is Shlem's most psychotic henchman - Garbage.
Tinsmith
"Oh my angel, I can embody you in steel... I can create your body and ignite the sacred fuel, but only a holy warrior can control you... That's why you sent him to me...". The Tinsmith is an odd mechanic who lives in the Great White region. The paths of the Tin Man and Max crossed when the former was looking for engine parts. The Tin Man saw through his far-sighted vision how Max was fighting with the Warriors and the Blade of Ostrus, and decided that Max had been sent to him by fate itself. Little is known about the Tin Man's past. He is from Gastown, but he was expelled from there - despite the fact that he is a talented mechanic. He lived alone in the Wasteland for a long time, trading with such individuals as Jit and Gluttongue. He settled on an old ship, set up a garage and began assembling a car there. The tinsmith considers himself a prophet of his own strange religion, main role in which cars and equipment play. He says he worships a deity called the Angel of Combustion, as well as other similar, lesser gods. He believes that the heavens have instructed him to create the perfect "Masterpiece" machine with the help of Max, whom the Tin Man calls "the holy warrior." He believes that Max was sent to him by the Angel of Combustion. Tin Man's religious beliefs aligned with Max's goals, and the two decided to create "The Masterpiece."
Hope
"Everything to survive. Everything to protect my Glory." Nadezhda is the daughter of a “learned woman,” Miss Giddy. She was conceived in the early days of the Fall. Mr. Giddy was killed by bikers, and their leader took her, already pregnant, as a trophy. Hope lived with them until adolescence and became more and more beautiful every day. Then this gang was defeated by another, Immortan Joe's gang. Immortan Joe kept Giddy and Nadezhda as breeders. When the Citadel was built, Giddy was put in charge of training the girls, while Nadezhda was left in the breeding project. She failed to give birth to Joe's son, and he gave her to his henchmen. Nadezhda and her mother managed to get to the court of the Defender of Gastown. During the Void Wars, Doctor Dementia's group infiltrated the city. The Doctor killed the then-Defender and took the title for himself. At the same time he became the owner of Nadezhda and Miss Giddy (who was later called the “learned woman”). Nadezhda gave birth to Dementia's daughter, Slava. Many years later, Dementius attempted to lay siege to the Citadel and was killed by one of the Immortal's sons, Chlem Ostrus. Nadezhda and Slava were sent to the Citadel, but on the way their transport was attacked. They wandered the Wasteland for several weeks, eating whatever they could find, until they were captured by slave catchers. Later, Nadezhda and Slava ended up in Brukhorez prison.
Glory
"You're not like everyone else. You're not evil." Nadezhda, Slava's mother, was first the concubine of Dr. Dementia, and then at the court of Immortan Joe. Slava grew up in the company of crazy and bloodthirsty fighters and learned to survive. Thanks to his mother's care, Slava looks like an ordinary child, and not a wild animal. After the death of Doctor Dementius, Nadezhda and Slava were sent back to the Citadel, but on the way their caravan was attacked by bandits. In the end, mother and child ended up in Bruhorez prison. Slava has been forced to rely only on herself since childhood, so she knows more about human psychology and survival than any other child her age. She inherited her mother's instincts and is quite good at recognizing people who wish her harm, are lying, or can help her in some way. In addition, she is a true prodigy when it comes to finding ancient treasures.
Screamer
“Slam may be the leader and protector of Gastown, but I’m in charge of the track. Give me the psychos and those who have nothing to lose, and I’ll put on a great show!”. The Gastown Screamer is a born showman. He is an important cog in the Gastown machinery, as well as the owner of the Gastown Races, of which Garbage is the champion. Screamer is a local celebrity and, by Wasteland standards, quite wealthy. Being the herald of popular sport, he still obeys Slam Ostrus and his henchmen. Against the background of the smoky figures of Gastown, it stands out sharply with blinking lights, noisy speakers and loudspeakers. All this color music is supplied with energy by a portable gasoline generator carried by Screamer's assistant and lover, nicknamed Lyctric Boy.
Garbage
“I tear the weaklings to shreds, I flay them. I wear their faces like masks. I take scalps. Yes, I follow the orders of the Slam, but the pleasure of knackering goes only to me.” Trash is one of Slam's close associates. He is famous for his cruelty and sadism. When Slam lost the fight to Max, he sent Dumpster to the Dead Wasteland to wreak havoc and seize everything that had any value. Trash carried out the order exactly: his guys staged a real massacre that forever changed the face of the Wasteland. Trash's body is covered with numerous scars - some of them he received in battles, and the rest he inflicted on himself in masochistic attacks. He often wears masks made from skin flayed from his enemies. All that was left of his teeth were rotten, sharp fragments protruding from his blackened gums. The trash collects human body parts and decorates itself with scalps and ears. He also cuts hair and skin from the faces of his enemies and makes them into masks and wigs. On his belt he carries a set of syringes and surgical instruments - he uses them for sexual games and torture. In addition, he always has two sharp knives with curved blades at hand. Dumpster is an eternal minion who hides in the shadow of his master, but at the same time manages to be even more disgusting. He himself will never become a commander. Why? Because gentlemen always die sooner or later - and when Chlem dies, Trash will offer his services to the new owner.
Crow
“You don’t need to pray if you want to unite with the car right away; this is my ritual, so don’t whine, but press the gas to the limit!”. Raven organizes races outside of Gastown. Little is known about this lover of rhymes, racing and gambling - only that he has almost supernatural ability not to attract the attention of Gastown and the Citadel and survive without paying tribute to people like Chlem. The ability to drive a car is the basis for survival in the Wasteland. Over time, driving skills and the cars themselves developed special treatment. One of its manifestations is the Death Race. Nobody remembers when they started, but the fact remains that in these races drivers are tested both physically and mentally. spiritual level. The race is conducted by Raven, who claims that during the test he helps connect the driver's soul with the car.

"Crazy Max"

In the not-too-distant future, Australia's energy resources are running out and its petrol-dependent population is spiraling out of control. With social order in ruins, the leader of a gang of anarchist bikers, nicknamed the Night Rider, escapes from custody, but, having become separated from three patrols, he meets Officer Max Rockatansky on his way. The Night Rider will drive into the truck and die, and the rest of the gang will break into Max’s well-established life, kill his family and try to get to him. But that was not the case: Max, who has lost everything, kicks up dust with his heavy boots and sets off to take revenge.

The first part, with a budget of 350 thousand Australian dollars, shot by self-taught cinematographers George Miller and Byron Kennedy over 12 weeks in their native Melbourne, ended in a renaissance of local cinema for Australia, and a triumphant international for the authors, who had to edit the film at home. a tour, a line in the Guinness Book of Records and a million Hollywood offers, including filming “Rambo: First Blood.” Miller nevertheless refused all this, saying that he still needed to study, and began producing the second part.

"Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior"

Several years after the events of the first part, uprisings are brewing in the dystopian Australian society. In a military situation, the authorities are forced to create special political brigades in order to pacify criminal gangs driving around Australia in their cars. The government is in ruins, Max Rockatansky has become a nomad. In the desert, Max meets an inventor who shows him a small community near a lonely oil rig. The well is besieged by a group of bandits trying to get their hands on the gasoline. Max himself has an interest in gasoline, but having lost his car and dog, he will have to study again commonplace- to take revenge.

The second part cost about ten times more than the first and became the most expensive Australian film in the history of local cinema - moreover, the most expensive set was built for it. Then came the biggest explosion in Australian cinema when the site was liquidated. Mel Gibson, who became a superstar after The Road Warrior, has only 16 lines in this film, two of which are “I just stopped by for some gas.” “Road Warrior,” by the way, the film had to be called because the first part was released in limited release in the United States and the American audience was not able to understand that it was a sequel. That’s why, by the way, there is almost no Gibson in the international trailer, but there are shootouts and chases - so as not to confuse anyone with the little-known actor.

"Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome"

Nuclear war has destroyed civilization, and Max wanders idle along deserted roads. Fate brings him to Bartertown, stinking of pig manure, ruled by the cruel Aunt Entity and the dwarf Master, who is carried on the shoulders of the giant Blaster. Max barely gets out of the city and stumbles upon a secret oasis where a sect lives, consisting of children and teenagers who survived a plane crash. They mistake Max for a prophet, and now he will have to save them.

In fact, George Miller did not intend to make the third part, deciding that he had put a rather serious end to the end of the second. But he had a plan to make a post-apocalyptic version of Lord of the Flies, William Golding's novel about wild children rescued by sailors. When it was suggested to Miller, either jokingly or seriously, that the person who found the children could be Max, he was seriously inspired by this idea and wrote “Beyond Thunderdome.” The third part turned out to be the most unsuccessful - not least because of Miller's personal circumstances (see the item "Byron Kennedy") - did not go very well at the box office, and to this day many - both critics and fans - prefer to pretend that she simply wasn’t there.

What is the Mad Max universe made of?

Car accidents

Photo: Warner Bros.

George Miller was captivated by the subculture built around violence and cars from an early age - he grew up in a small town in Queensland, Australia, where there were a lot of car accidents - three of his school friends were killed in them. Later, when he worked as a doctor on duty in Melbourne, he met victims of car accidents on a daily basis - his fears, thoughts and vivid images of car accidents became the main inspiration for Mad Max. As he would later say in an interview, “in the USA there is a weapons culture, but we have our own culture - the automobile culture.”

Cars

Max's yellow Interceptor is a fashionably repainted 1974 Ford Falcon XB. Roop and Charlie's Big Bopper are also Ford Falcons, and both are retired Victorian police cars. The famous black "Chaser" is a 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT351, modified by mechanic Murray Smith, Ford Australia's Peter Arcadipane and others. After filming, the car was sent around the country as part of a promotional campaign, and then they were going to sell it - but no one was interested in it, the car returned to Murray Smith's department, and then to the second film. The truck that gets wrecked in the opening scene is George Miller's own truck, provided by him due to lack of funds. Because of this, by the way, about 20 percent of the planned car chases had to be canceled.

England

Photo: TUC Library Collections

Another major element of the franchise's overall frantic atmosphere and sense of a world out of control is the English "winter of discontent" of 1978–1979, when inflation rates in Britain reached record levels and mass workers' strikes broke out across the country, including the famous a garbage strike that left the streets of London littered with rubbish.

Westerns and samurai

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Despite the fact that Miller actively dismisses all parallels and calls Joseph Campbell’s book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” as inspiration, Mad Max had among his ancestors the Man with No Name from the “Dollars Trilogy” by Sergio Leone, the samurai Sanjuro Kuwabatake from “The Bodyguard” Akira Kurosawa and Batman - unknown heroes who stood up to defend their own territory in the midst of complete chaos. Miller admits this only after the film is released and receives huge box office receipts. In the second part, however, he will insert a line that turns out to be a reference to the classic 1953 western "Shane" - Max's friendship with a feral child.

Doctors

After the duty department, already when “Mad Max” was invented, Miller again had to work as a doctor - at the production stage, he and Kennedy (see the item “Byron Kennedy”) had to raise money by driving around in an ambulance. Miller treated, Kennedy drove - and so on for three whole months. Medical experience also came in handy during the filming of the film: many episodes were adaptations of what Miller had seen with his own eyes.

Mel Gibson

Photo: Roadshow Entertainment

An unknown actor at that time, Mel Gibson, who managed to star in only one surfer thriller, for which he was paid $20 in cash and sent home, according to him, was not going to audition for Mad Max, but simply came to support a friend. He had gotten into a bar fight the day before and his face was evenly covered in bruises - “like a black and blue pumpkin,” he recalls. At the audition, however, he was told: “We need freaks” - and asked to come back in a couple of weeks. When he returned, they could barely recognize him - the bruises had disappeared, and the team unanimously decided that they should let him try out for the main role. He made a good joke, was able to prove that he really could drive, and got the role. There is, however, an assumption that this is all a story invented by Gibson himself, and he was given the role simply for his good looks. Nevertheless, she made him a star: after the international success of “Mad Max,” Gibson was first directed by Peter Weir, then Hollywood offers began pouring in, and then the “Lethal Weapon” franchise finally established him as a new action hero. When Gibson was asked why he returned for the second part, because he is a Catholic and he probably shouldn’t star in something like that, he replied: “My character is Jesus, covered in black leather.”

"A Clockwork Orange"

Another major source of inspiration for Miller is Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange", from which he learned how members of the Fingercutter gang should talk. Miller wanted to avoid overly modern-sounding dialogue and came up with the help of journalist James McCausland, whom he met at a party. As a result, the bandits speak in surprisingly flowery linguistic structures - thanks to Burgess and McCausland.

Byron Kennedy

Melbourne native Byron Kennedy founded own company Warlock Films and began producing original short films, at 21 he received the Australian Kodak Trophy for his short film “Hobson’s Bay” - a documentary study of the Williamstown area of ​​Melbourne. This award allowed him to travel extensively and experience the film and television industry around the world. Kennedy then returned to Australia, where he attended the University of New South Wales and met George Miller. They quickly became friends and together made a short film, Violence in Film: Part 1, which received international recognition. On the wave of joint success, it was decided to create a new production company, Kennedy Miller, the first - and most important - film of which was Mad Max, invented by Kennedy and Miller during sleepless nights at the university. Together they mounted it - due to lack of budget, this had to be done in Kennedy’s bedroom on a homemade device that his father, an engineer, assembled especially for them. Kennedy crashed in a helicopter at age 33 while filming the third installment of Mad Max while casting locations. After the death of his friend, Miller lost interest in the project, completed it carelessly, doing only action scenes and leaving everything else to co-author George Ogilvy, and later established the Byron Kennedy Award for outstanding achievements in the field of cinema and television.

Suits

Photo: Warner Bros.

Due to the small budget, the suit is made from real leather Only Gibson and his friend Steve Beasley, who played Goose, got on the set; everyone else had to wear vinyl. There is also a long-winded explanation of the main character's costume from the second part, detailing what happened to the sleeve, for example, and what each hole is for. Also an interesting fact: Tina Turner's iron suit from Thunderdome weighed more than fifty kilograms.

Accidents

Goose and his motorcycle

Despite the modest budget, Miller and company took serious risks: many action scenes were filmed on real speeds- for example, when Goose's speedometer shows 180 kilometers per hour - this is the pure truth, filmed by a cameraman on a bicycle tied to a car. It's strange that the main accidents didn't even happen on set: chief stuntman Grant Page and Rosie Bailey, the actress who was supposed to play Max's wife, were riding a motorcycle trying to make it to filming, but they were cut off on the road and crashed. Both broke their legs: Bayley had to be replaced by Joanna Samuel, and Page had to rest a little. Despite this, he still performed a few stunts - such as when the Interceptor jumps over a caravan in the film's opening chase. The Night Rider's death scene took three days to film and involved a military rocket that would explode in front of the vehicle. While this scene was being filmed, fourteen cars were destroyed - and each disaster was filmed in one take. It was such a dangerous stunt that the stuntman was asked not to eat anything 12 hours before filming, just in case he had to go to the hospital and have surgery.

Oil crisis

Photo: Wikipedia

One of Miller's main sources of inspiration is the famous oil embargo of 1973, when OPEC member countries, as well as Egypt and Syria, declared that they would not supply oil to countries that supported Israel in the conflict with Syria and Egypt. It was mainly about the United States and its allies in Western Europe, and the price of oil over the year increased from 3 to 12 dollars per barrel. Miller at the time was beginning to marvel at the lengths people would go to in order to get their cars to run, and his co-writer, journalist James McCausland, was inspired by his memories of protests at petrol pumps, huge queues and the violence to which Australians went in desperation to get a cheap petrol.

"New Wave" of Australian cinema

Mad Max was made possible, in part, because Australian cinema was undergoing something of a renaissance in those years: in the early 1970s, Prime Minister John Gorton introduced several reforms to support cinema and the arts, and his follower Gough Whitlam supported them . Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock and Sunday Too Far Away did well overseas, but the golden age of Australian cinema began just after the successful tour of Mad Max took the industry to new levels of international recognition. In the second and third parts of the franchise, there are even quotes from Gough Whitlam: “We’re going to either crash, or crash through” and “One day, cock of the walk. Next, a feather duster."

New Zealand

Mad Max was not released in New Zealand because of a scene in which Goose was burned to death in his car. It repeated an incident with a real gang that occurred shortly before the film's release, so the first part was shown there only in 1983 - after the sequel received its biggest international success - and then adding an "18+" rating to it.

"A Guy and His Dog"

Photo: First Run Features

Another major inspiration for George Miller, which he himself likes to mention, is the 1975 post-apocalyptic action film by L. C. Jones about how in 2024, after a nuclear war, society is split in two: loners live on the radioactive surface, engaged in the struggle for survival, and underground there are survivors, among whom is a guy and his super-smart dog, who has telepathy. It was in “A Guy and His Dog” that Miller found that post-apocalyptic mood, because of which he decided to move the action of his story to the near future.

Dubbing

At the time Mad Max was released, American audiences had little experience watching films with Australian accents. Therefore, the film had to be re-voiced in order not to scare away the audience and avoid commercial failure - the original voice remained only with Robina Chaffee, a singer from the Sugartown nightclub. The Australian soundtrack was first heard in America only in 2002, when a special DVD re-release of Mad Max was released.

Profit

Official trailer for the first "Max"

In total, Miller and Kennedy managed to raise 300 thousand Australian dollars for the production of the film, and 15 of them were paid as a fee to Mel Gibson. After a local Australian release that blew up the public, Mad Max was sold to America and then worldwide, where it ended up grossing more than $100 million, thus becoming the record-breaking film for the highest profit-to-budget ratio. “Max” held this title in the Guinness Book of Records until 2000, when it was replaced by “The Blair Witch Project.”

Dog

Photo: Warner Bros.

Max's dog from the second part was simply called Dog; filming the film saved him from being euthanized. Members film crew We arrived at the shelter the day before the Dog was supposed to be euthanized, and chose him because they saw him playing with a stone like a toy. Moreover, the Dog brought this stone and placed it under Miller’s feet, from which he concluded that the dog is smart, it can be taught tricks and filmed. The Dog didn’t really like filming, and the roar of the engines completely frightened him, which led to unpleasant incidents on the set, so they found special earplugs for the Dog. After filming, one of the cameramen took him in, and “The Road Warrior” turned out to be the only film in his film career.

Character or Max Rockatansky was invented by Australian director George Miller. The hero, including a series of films, gained cult status, very successfully popularizing the dieselpunk genre of cinematic fiction and generating a lot of fans of the presented fictional post-apocalyptic world, whose recognition is clearly expressed, for example, in the Wasteland Weekend festival.

The character first appeared on screen in 1979 in the film “Mad Max,” which became the feature-length debut of the permanent director of the future franchise. The beginnings of the idea began when the author was working on a short documentary with a sonorous, non-accidental title “Violence in the Cinema, Part 1”, which can be translated into Russian as “Violence in the Cinema, Part 1”. Also for inspiration, Miller spent a lot of time in the hospital, as an ambulance doctor, observing the terrible consequences of road accidents. The resulting impressions needed to be expressed in an ultra-violent high-speed action movie, but for greater authenticity of events, it was decided to move the action to the near dystopian future, describing a grotesque world of decline on the edge of an economic crisis. The film immersed the viewer in the Australian wasteland, patrolled by officers of the Main Force Patrol, which is a kind of police force, gradually becoming a thing of the past due to the growing anarchy with the abolition civil law. One of them was Max Rockatansky, whose family was brutally murdered by a motorcycle gang, who did many other terrible things. Guided by revenge, our hero began to deal with the villains...

After its release, the film brought in phenomenal profits due to the difference in modest funds spent and enormous box office success. If you try to analyze this fact, you can come to the conclusion that ideologically the film in some way inherited the exploitative motives of the gradually dying out grindhouse direction of productions about bikers, personifying a kind of hell's angels traveling along the roads, reveling in complete freedom, raping and killing ordinary civilians. However, the seed of simple and frankly primitive exploitation in the hands of a talented director grew into a strong auto-action movie, again since then hot topic a tough avenger against presumptuous offenders. Exciting chases, by the way, commendably executed without any computer special effects naturally, they amazed with their drive, and the level of cruelty of the futuristic world filled the frame with a special persistent brutal atmosphere.

The writing of the central character for future sequels was also interesting, harmoniously merging into the general concept of the universe: in the first part, society still lives within the framework of laws bursting at the seams and Max had a family with a house, but having lost this root, becoming a persecuting madman, who, after fulfilling his revenge, All that was left was a spiritual emptiness and the same road to nowhere, which is where the rest of the world metaphorically began to slide. This is how he appeared in the sequel “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior” (“Mad Max 2”). The director completely abolished all moral standards, continuing to aggravate his dystopia, inciting terror and chaos in it, talking about wild lands where a drop of fuel is more expensive human life, the road is replete with gangs in grotesque vehicles designed to hunt for new victims. The viewer witnessed a siege by brutal savages small group a civilized community guarding an oil rig. Max turned into an unsociable loner, driving a former patrol car, who volunteered to lead people to safe place for the promised fuel, thereby making enemies for himself...

Going entirely into a post-apocalyptic framework allowed the author to strengthen the makings of the original on all fronts. Having plunged humanity into ethical freedom after the thunderous war of two unnamed, but easily read between the lines of “great tribes” under the nuclear flashes of the supposed apogee Cold War, he brought to light the complete moral decay of society, which gave rise to the specific atmosphere of the film. That very high-speed Australian road was filled with incredibly colorful gangs of auto-punks of the future and equally deadly cars, whose general appearance has firmly entered into popular culture with imitation in other films, video games or the presence of an outright quotation anywhere. An impeccable stunt show of stuntmen at high speed was filled with bright flashes of explosions, tons of twisted metal and blood, reinforcing the idea of ​​the film about a ruthless utopia of total chaos, reveling in terrible madness under the roar of the engine.

The third part of Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome has acquired a second director, George Ogilvie, the stunt coordinator for the sequel. History continued the modification of the fictional crazy world into the stage of degeneration of society into new civilization with rough, but already rules and laws based on natural exchange. Before us opened the densely populated city of Bartertown in the desert with an established infrastructure, where Max ended up, becoming a sort of silent, concentrated civilian samurai of the future, looking for a master, or mistress, in the colorful performance of Tina Turner, who later performed two songs as the soundtrack to the film . Finding himself at the center of the intrigues of the community managers, our hero, after being exiled, found a tribe of children, becoming their protector on the way to a new safe home...

Having a familiar flavor, the film still moved far away from the previous pair of colorful, noisy punk disgrace. There is no longer any emphasis on road horrors or stunt car chases. The level of cruelty has also noticeably slowed down. The trend towards an almost children's fantasy tale with a futuristic touch in the spirit of Spielbergian proportions, involving a large budget and, of course, the vigilant supervision of prudent producers, became noticeable, and Max quickly tried on the image of a savior-nanny of feral children who grew up far from the roughness of a sand-covered road or spoiled city, in order to metaphorically close the trilogy on a hopeful good (oh, how alien this is to the rough brutal action movie that it was before!) ending, setting up the ideological germ of a new civilized beginning. Actually, as is clear, those same producers tried to get more profit from the film, the high adult rating suddenly changed to a children's rating (!), the stingy black humor turned into fabulous liberties, the author began to comprehend the invented universe to the detriment of the spectacle, and the trilogy ended commercially successfully, but having been reborn from a cool auto-thriller doublet into adventure science fiction or fantasy, constantly changing the invented world and its main character, permanently played by Mel Gibson, who managed to reach the heights of Hollywood, starting with this role.

A new sequel called “Mad Max: Fury Road” is expected to be released very soon. To the delight of the audience, although there was a change in the central actor, the director still did not entrust his post to anyone else, and most importantly, an adult rating was announced, because according to the plot, we are waiting for an intermediate story between the original and the sequel, which means we are expecting auto-madness populated by wild gangs on unprecedented cars driven by the silent, cold-blooded warrior of the futuristic road - Mad Max.

Filmography of the character:

• Mad Max (1979) Mad Max

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) Mad Max 2

• Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

• Mad Max Renegade (2011) Mad Max Renegade (short amateur film)

• Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Mad Max: Fury Road

The Mad Max universe was born almost forty years ago. It all started with the fact that in the patrol squad small town Ordinary policeman Max Rockatansky flew like a meteor in his interceptor. The character was brought to life by the then modest, unknown Mel Gibson.

A good police officer in a crazy world

Max had everything like ordinary people - work, his beloved wife, child. Only this happened in unusual times. The world was plunging into anarchy and chaos, gangs of thugs did whatever they wanted on the streets. Order and stability were maintained by the efforts of already tired and exhausted single heroes like Max Rockatansky and his partner Gus...

From this, he began to create an odyssey about Mad Max, who has already become cult director George Miller. To create the first part of the franchise, he had nothing but enthusiasm, Australian landscapes and a tiny budget. Wild success“Mad Max” allowed him to turn around and create an entire post-apocalyptic universe in the second part.

For most people, it was the second part of the film that became classical history Mad Max. However, if you start watching the saga from the second part, many questions remain. Why is the hero such a violent sociopath, why did he become Mad Max, who is Max Rockatansky anyway? Biography of our hero, his transformation into eternal wanderer- all this is told in the first part of the franchise.

Path to Madness

The world of the first film is still similar to the one we are used to, some kind of law enforcement agencies are still operating, unscrupulous lawyers are dragging hardened murderers out of prisons for money. But the decay has already begun, and the world is sliding into the abyss. Max Rockatansky is a patrol cop who does his job. He doesn’t care about the rest of the world because his beloved wife and child are nearby. Everything that happens outside does not affect him. Everything changes when his friend Gus is brutally murdered. The bandits he once caught, wanting to take revenge on him, burn him alive in their own patrol car.

This marks the beginning of Max Rockatansky's transformation into Mad Max. Killed and devastated by the sight of his crippled and burned friend, he loses faith that being a police officer can make a difference. Max believes that from real world you can run away and create your own cozy little world with your beloved family. He is also a kind and cheerful person, capable of love and ready to respond to love. Traveling with his wife and child, he seemed to regain lost peace and the ability to enjoy life. But fate is merciless, the killers of his friend reach his family. Having lost everything, Max Rockatansky becomes Mad Max. He doesn't believe in anything, he doesn't want anything. The only driving force is revenge. Having taken revenge on his enemies, devastated and unlike his former self, Max leaves to reappear in a post-apocalyptic world destroyed after a global catastrophe.

Max Rockatansky. Photo of a post-apocalyptic world

In the sequel, Max is already an eternally lonely wanderer. He doesn’t care about other people’s problems, he only wants to survive and rush forward, without stopping anywhere. An interceptor car, a faithful dog with whom he shares canned dog food - this is the world in which Max Rockatansky lives. Mad Max wants one thing - to get fuel, which in this crazy world is almost more expensive than water.

This is how he gets involved in the story of saving a small settlement of people. They had wealth on their own in the form of a source of fuel. A whole horde of bandits is besieging the fortress, and by chance, Max finds himself drawn into this war. Only by directly confronting the suffering of people, getting to know them again, does Rockatansky wake up, and he is again ready to fight for justice. Helping unfortunate people get out of the besieged fortress, Max feels like a human again.

Knight of the Sad Image

Films about Max Rockatansky fascinate not only with the plot and the story itself. Various kinds of cars, vans, trucks are active participants in films. Car stunts performed live keep you in suspense throughout your screen time. Max's fate is always connected with snarling monsters. He and the machine are inseparable from each other. He is like a centaur and without wheels he loses all his strength. And it doesn’t matter whether Max is driving a car or driving an armored truck. Max - a real warrior roads, and a car for him is like a horse for a medieval knight.

In fact, he is just a knight without faith, without hope, without purpose. The sun-scorched radioactive desert of Australia is his world. A serious shake-up is needed for the guardian of order to wake up in him and begin to help the weak and defenseless.

Loud Crack "Under the Thunderdome"

The third part of the franchise turned out to be downright weak and pointless. "Crazy Max. Under the Thunderdome" was apparently conceived as an attempt to please everyone without exception. The city of Barterville, where Max Rockatansky ends up as a result of his wanderings, is more like one of the cities from the films about Conan the Barbarian. This impression is further reinforced by the image of the mistress of the city, Entity. Tina Turner, by the way, is the only thing that can arouse interest in this film.

The most important thing is that Mad Max is left without wheels here. Without cars, he does not look like himself and resembles a fish on land. In addition to Conan the Barbarian, the film also makes a surprise reference to Lord of the Flies. A community of children cut off from civilization - all this brings Max Rockatansky into the world of children's dystopia. Taking on the role of a teacher of a large kindergarten, he starts babysitting the kids.

The plot of the film loses its coherence; it is not perceived as one whole. Most importantly, the spirit of the Mad Max universe has been lost. Everything is brought to the point of absurdity and exaggerated, and is not taken seriously. George Miller went too far with the spices, and the result was an incoherent set of cliches and references to various science fiction films.

Replace Mel Gibson

Having had a lot to do in the third part of the franchise, George Miller decides to return to the roots and again places the legendary character in the post-apocalyptic environment of the second film. "Crazy Max. Fury Road" and was positioned as an interquel, as a link between the first and second parts of the film. Mel Gibson, who became a director and aged, could no longer play such a thermonuclear character as Max Rockatansky. Tom Hardy accepted the banner from the hands of the legend, and, with the approval of the great Australian, took the helm in his own hands.

Mad Max looks more like a living thing now weak person. He is in pain, he is suffering. It is used as a source of blood for the new masters of the world.

Tied to a pole on the hood of the car, he limply rushes forward, not being the master of his fate.

Furious Furiosa and Mad Max

A woman with a strange destiny changes everything in his life. The mysterious Furiosa is one of the generals of the mad dictator Immortan Joe. Having taken possession of the water sources of an entire region, he became the absolute master of a vast territory. Not limited to this, he created an entire religion, declaring himself a god. The fanatical fighters of his army are happy to die for him in exchange for eternal bliss in the afterlife of Valhala. Only one man rebels against the living god - Furios.

Challenging the system, she helps the wives of a half-mad maniac escape. So she wants to start life with clean slate, in a new land, far from tyranny. At some point, the paths of Max and Furiosa converge, and they begin a mad race for happiness.

Without further ado, the main thing is action

The fourth film in the Max saga is not burdened unnecessary words. The viewer receives pleasure from bright, dynamic pictures that replace each other. At the same time, the director tried as best he could to avoid the unjustified use of special effects. Many of the stunts are performed live, and it all adds life to the film. He becomes a real world in himself. As if laughing at conventions, the director practically nullifies the plot of the film, which boils down to a crazy race from one point in space to another and back. It's not about dialogues and monologues, but about action and dynamics. Just look at the surreal-looking guitarist suspended from the lounges and playing rock on a fire-breathing guitar.

Max Rockatansky and Furiosa are a crazy tandem. Being an excellent actress, Charlize Theron outplays her partner. Mad Max here is more of a humble assistant to Furious Furiosa. His job is to replace the warrior behind the wheel and help shoot back from the villains. As in the second part of the saga, Max initially just wants to stay away and continue his journey alone. Only the sight of defenseless women torn from Immortan Joe's golden cage awakens police officer Max Rockatansky to life again. Now his fate is connected with them and with Furiosa.

Victory of rage and madness

Immortan Joe's army of crazy fanatics, savages on spiked combat vehicles - all these are enemies from which Max and Furiosa rush away. Having lost hope at the end of the journey, the team makes a crazy and brilliant decision - to rush back at full speed and stage a revolution in the kingdom of Immortan Joe. Mad Max and Furious Furiosa crush all obstacles in their path and achieve the impossible.

Another intrigue is that Immortan Joe and Max are sworn enemies, Rockatansky has his own personal scores, but this is not emphasized in the film. In the foreground is the story of Furiosa. Having completed his mission, Max leaves to the side.

With his latest film, George Miller has brought back interest in legendary history. The sun-scorched radioactive deserts of the future world, the roar of cars, madmen and heroes - everything that made Mad Max loved has returned. Max Rockatansky is heading off into the sunset again, but he will definitely return.

In this article you will learn:

Max Rockatansky ( Mad Max) - character from the Mad Max films. In the first three films, he was played by Mel Gibson. The subsequent role of the character went to Tom Hardy.

Max is one of the most recognizable characters in post-apocalyptic fiction of the last century. The famous trilogy of the eighties takes us to the scorched wasteland of Australia, where power from last bit of strength trying to maintain control over gangs of thugs. Max appears before us in the role of one of the officers of the “Main Power Patrol”.

Nothing is known for certain about the world of Mad Max and about the past of the hero himself. In the first film in the series, the time of action is described as “several years ahead of our days” (remember, the film was shot in 1979). It can be assumed that Max was born before the nuclear war, since his approximately age can be estimated at 23-25 ​​years.

Be that as it may, a detailed description of Rockatansky's history begins with his service in the ranks of the “post-nuclear traffic police”. The hero can be called a typical servant of the law; he helps maintain order on the roads of the wasteland and keep motley gangs under control.

Max lives with his wife Jessie and son Sprog.

As a result of a skirmish with the Finger Cutter gang, Max kills one of the robbers. This leads to bitter hostility between the Patrol and the bandits.

Obsessed with revenge, "Fingercutter" brutally kills Rockatansky's friend, thereby forcing the hero to take a break from his work. Max and his family go to the still preserved village. However, the gang tracks them down there too, no less brutally killing Max’s wife and son.

Three deaths of the closest people “break” Max and make him truly “Mad”. He, like “Fingercutter” himself earlier, now wants only one thing - revenge. Having destroyed the entire gang of robbers and their leader, Max leaves his service and goes on a journey through the wasteland.

Mad Max 4: Fury Road

The next round of Max's story was depicted in the 2015 film. Some time later (about a year) after he began wandering independently around Australia, Max appears truly insane. He is haunted by visions of people whom he was unable to protect from death, and he is tormented by thoughts about the fate of the world.

In this state, Max is caught by warriors from the Citadel, a powerful fort whose owner controls the supply of water from underground. Max becomes “living fuel”, a source of blood for the Citadel army. Unwittingly, he finds himself in the company of the wife of Joe, the owner of the Citadel, who decided to betray her faction and save the other wives of the tyrant.

As a result, after a long chase and return, the renegades kill Joe and capture the Citadel. Max leaves the happy tramps bathing in the streams of water and continues his journey into the wasteland.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Five years after the death of the family, Mad Max appears at the gates of the oil rig settlement. Residents are terrorized by robbers who are trying to get priceless gasoline. And Max himself is not against getting hold of fuel.

Guided only by his aspirations, the hero offers help to the inhabitants of the settlement, gets behind the wheel of a fuel tanker and leads the bandits with him.

The outcome of this episode is sad: Max selflessly rams the gang leader, but realizes that he was deceived by finding sand in the tanks, not gasoline. The inhabitants of the settlement, having got rid of their enemies, leave with fuel for another part of the desert. The wounded Max, having enlisted the help of a crazy inventor, also leaves the scene of the fight.

Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome

The final meeting with Rockatansky takes place 13 years after the events of the second film.. Max has aged (he is already over 40) and has become more mature. Now his madness lies, rather, in a kind of manic detachment.

The road leads the hero to Bartertown, where he is forced to fight in the arena as a gladiator. Having defeated his opponent, Max, however, refuses to kill him, as a result of which he is exiled to the desert without water or food.

A chain of accidents and luck leads Max to an oasis in the wasteland, where teenagers live who survived a plane crash. They accept Max as a god and beg him to take them to a kind of “paradise”, hometown(in the time since the disaster, all of Australia has already turned into a desert, even big cities now only ruins). After some of the children leave the oasis, Max hurries to save them (there is now a place for nobility in the soul of “Madman”). After another conflict with the residents of Bartertown, the hero saves the children, and they are sent on a plane to Sydney.

Further history Max is unknown. However, he leaves us calmer and more balanced than at the beginning of the story. Many years of wandering in the wastelands of Australia have changed the hero and smoothed out his memories. Max met many people on his way, helped many (some casually, some on purpose). "Crazy Max" - unusual hero. He strives for his goals, wants, first of all, peace of mind for himself. But he is not alien to kindness, joy, or love. Perhaps Rockatansky reflects as closely as possible “ a simple hero”, who does not strive to save the world, but also cannot stay away from the troubles of others.

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