Mad Max Minute presents: Mad Max (1979)

It’s time to watch the film that was lauded as the precursor to Mad Max, the familiar tale of a cop and a gang of bikies who work together and gradually come to mutually respect each other as a shadowy assassin seeks to kill members of the gang. Okay, so it may not be the same story, but the elements are there: Motorcycles, high-speed chases, awkward ear-piercing, and a cast so full of actors that will later appear in Mad Max that it’ll make your head spin. Before you listen, please be aware that the version of the movie we saw on YouTube had an abnormally long run time, so there are some ultimately inaccurate statements about how long this movie actually takes to watch.

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Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone

This week it’s the nearly 3-hour-epic that tells the story of Mel Gibson losing his wife and exacting his bloody revenge on the men who took her from him (this should sound familiar). As William Wallace, Gibson leads a colorful cast of Scotsman on a bloody campaign to oppose King Edward “Longshanks” of England, in the First War of Scottish Independence. A long movie warrants a long podcast, so buckle in with us as we praise Gibson’s improved acting ability, rage against prima nocta, and end up talking more about court intrigue than battle. Did we like Braveheart? Should you spend 3-hours on a Scottish war epic directed by an American raised in Australia? Listen and find out.

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Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone

Our Hiatus between Mad Max and The Road Warrior kicks off with 1971’s Vanishing Point, the story of a man, his car, and the authorities that want to stop him. Anyone worried about spoilers should watch the movie before listening to us talk about the movie because we go through everything that happens. There’s a blind radio DJ, inept police officers, a naked woman on a motorcycle, and even some faith healers on the long road from Colorado to California. We also talk about what we liked, what we didn’t, and whether we would recommend this film. (This episode may sound strange, we changed recording spaces and microphone settings)

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Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone

This is it, the final chunk of credits featuring the props and mechanical department, stunt team, post-production team, and special thanks. The discussion questions focus on our villains: 1) How was Toecutter as an antagonist for Max? Could he be considered a rival? 2) Does Johnny the Boy have a character arc? Could he also be considered a main character in this movie? Last of all, we outline how we’ll handle hiatus material and give our final thoughts on Mad Max.

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Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone

Back behind the wheel of the Black on black, Max is pulling out all of the stops to catch up to Toecutter. The two engage in a high-speed game of cat and mouse before an unexpected third party appears and catches Toecutter off guard, resulting in arguably the most iconic crash in the movie. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com

We have a listener's discussion page on Facebook. Find it at:
Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone