Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Theatrical release poster byRichard Amsel
Directed by	George Miller George Ogilvie
Written by	Terry Hayes George Miller
Based on	Characters by George Miller Byron Kennedy
Produced by	George Miller
Starring	Mel Gibson Tina Turner
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Edited by	Richard Francis-Bruce
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Production company	Kennedy Miller Productions
Distributed by	Roadshow Film Distributors(Australia and New Zealand) Warner Bros.(international)
Release date	10 July 1985(1985-07-10)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$36 million (rentals)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,commonly known asMad Max 3,is a 1985 Australianpost-apocalypticdystopianaction filmdirected byGeorge MillerandGeorge Ogilvieand written byTerry Hayesand Miller.It is the third installment in theMad Maxfranchise. The film starsMel GibsonandTina Turner,and follows a lone roving warrior who is exiled into the desert. It was Gibson's last performance as"Mad Max" Rockatanskyas of 2024.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdomewas released in Australia on 10 July 1985. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. A fourth film,Mad Max: Fury Road,was released in 2015, starringTom Hardyas Max.

Plot

The world is apost-apocalypticwasteland caused byecocideand a nuclear war over resources.InMainland Australia,Max Rockatanskycrosses the desert in a motor vehicle. The airborne bandit Jedediah and his young son attack him and steal his vehicle. Max follows Jedediah's trail to a trading post called "Bartertown". Initially refused entry because he has nothing to trade, he impresses the local officials with his toughness, and the founder and ruler of the town, Aunty Entity, offers to resupply him if he completes a task.

Bartertown's energy comes from "Underworld," a subterraneanrefinerythat turns pig feces intomethane.The refinery is run by Master, a dwarf who rides around on Blaster, his giant bodyguard. "Master Blaster" has begun to challenge Aunty for control of Bartertown; Aunty wants Max to kill Blaster so she can subvert Master to her will.

Max infiltrates Underworld to size up Master Blaster and befriends Pig Killer, a convict sentenced to work there for slaughtering a pig to feed his children. When Master Blaster learns his newly-acquired vehicle belonged to Max, he forces Max to disarm its booby-trap. In doing so, Max sets off his alarm and discovers that Blaster is hypersensitive to high-pitched noises.

By law, conflicts in Bartertown are resolved by a fight to the death in Thunderdome, agladiatorialarena. Max publicly accuses Master of stealing his vehicle, and a battle is scheduled against Blaster. Blaster dominates until Max blows awhistle,which makes Blaster grab his head in pain. Max knocks Blaster's helmet off and prepares to kill him, but relents upon seeing that Blaster has an intellectual disability. Max reveals Aunty's plot and Master threatens to shut down the refinery, so Aunty has Blaster killed. She is then able to terrorize Master into keeping the refinery running.

For breaking a deal, Max is bound, placed on a horse, and sent into the Wasteland, his punishment determined by the spin of a wheel. When the horse collapses from exhaustion, Max frees himself and continues on foot until he also collapses.

Warrior girl Savannah Nix finds Max near death and hauls him. Her home, "Planet Erf," is anoasispopulated by a primitive tribe of teenagers and children. The children are descended from survivors of a crashedQantasBoeing 747,some of whom left to seek help and never returned. They believe Max is the pilot, "Captain Walker", come to fix the aeroplane and fly them to the fabled "Tomorrow-morrow Land". Max denies he is Walker and insists there is no longer any civilisation like that in their stories. Disillusioned, some teenagers and children led by Savannah want to attempt the journey to Bartertown, but Max stops them and has them tied up, saying everyone should go on living in the oasis.

During the night, the separatists escape. Max agrees to bring them back, taking some members of the tribe along. However, both parties are in bad shape by the time he catches up. Out of supplies, Max is forced to lead the contingent back to Bartertown.

The combined group sneaks into Underworld and, with Pig Killer's help, frees Master and escapes in a modified truck down train tracks, destroying the refinery and most of Bartertown in the process. Aunty orders her forces to pursue and retrieve Master. Max and his group do their best to fight off the attackers. They come across Jedediah and his son, whom Max coerces into providing a ride in their aeroplane. With the approach of Aunty's army shortening the runway, Max gets in his vehicle, which a child stole from their pursuers, and crashes it to create an opening so the plane can take off. Injured and alone, Max is spared by an impressed Aunty, who leaves to rebuild Bartertown.

Jedediah flies Master, Pig Killer, and the separatists to the ruins ofSydney.Years later, they have established a community with other wanderers. While they attempt to rediscover the knowledge of the pre-apocalyptic world, each night Savannah recites the story of their journey, and they light up the city as a beacon for Max or any other travellers to follow. Meanwhile, Max wanders in the Wasteland, alone.

Cast

• Mel Gibsonas"Mad Max" Rockatansky,a lone warrior who was an MFP (Main Force Patrol) officer before the collapse of society. Aided by his small pet monkey, he roves the desert Wasteland aimlessly.

The Flying Jalopy

• Bruce Spenceas Jedediah, the marauding pilot of asmall plane,who trades stolen goods in Bartertown. Spence previously played "The Gyro Captain" inMad Max 2.
• Adam Cockburnas Jedediah Jr.

The People of Bartertown

• Tina Turneras Aunty Entity, the ruthless, determined ruler of Bartertown.
• Frank Thringas The Collector, who runs Bartertown's trade and exchange network.
• Angelo Rossittoas The Master, adiminutiveformer-engineer who used his technical expertise to build the methane extractor responsible for Bartertown's electricity.
• Paul Larsson as The Blaster, Master's enormous, silent bodyguard, who is revealed to have anintellectual disability.
• Angry Andersonas Ironbar Bassey, the head of Bartertown's security and Aunty's top henchman.
• Robert Grubbas Pig Killer, a convict in Bartertown sentenced to shovel pig feces in the methane refinery for the crime of killing a pig to feed his children.
• George Spartelsas Blackfinger, the head mechanic in Underworld.
• Edwin Hodgemanas Dr. Dealgood, Bartertown's flamboyant auctioneer and judge.
• Bob Horneryas Waterseller, a man who tries to sell Max radioactive water.
• Andrew Oh as Ton Ton Tattoo, Aunty's saxophone player.

The Tribe Who Left

• Helen Budayas Savannah Nix, one of the oldest members of an isolated primitive tribe of teenager/child survivors of a plane crash (or the children of those survivors). She and Slake ensure the tribe remembers itsoral traditionthrough "Tells" (recitations of their mythical origin and salvation narrative).
• Mark Spainas Mr. Skyfish, a child who flies a feathered kite.
• Mark Kounnasas Gekko, a child.
• Rod Zuanic as Scrooloose, a mute and alienated teenager who paints his face white with black around the eyes. He's the outcast of thePlanet Erftribe. Scrooloose can replicate anyone else's skills, including driving a vehicle.
• Justine Clarkeas Anna Goanna, the child who first tells Max that Savannah and the others have escaped into the Wasteland to try to make it to Bartertown.
• Shane Tickner as Eddie, the smallest child who later catches up and joins the rescue party.
• Toni Allaylis as "Cusha... the pregnant girl".
• James Wingrove as Tubba Tintye, the hunter sent with Max and Anna Goanna.
• Adam Scougall as Finn McCoo, the child who is the first to hear Savannah when she initially returns with Max.

The Tribe Who Stayed

• Tom Jennings as Slake M'Thirst, the leader of thePlanet Erftribe.

Production

Beyond Thunderdomewas the firstMad Maxfilm made without producerByron Kennedy,who had been killed in a helicopter crash in 1983.DirectorGeorge Millerwas hesitant to continue without his producing partner, saying later: "I was reluctant to go ahead. And then there was a sort of need to – let's do something just to get over the shock and grief of all of that."There is a title card at the end of film before the credits roll that reads: "...for Byron".

Miller co-directed the film withGeorge Ogilvie,with whom he had worked on the 1983television miniseriesThe Dismissal.About this decision, he said: "I had a lot on my plate. I asked my friend George Ogilvie, who was working on the mini-series, 'Could you come and help me?' But I don't remember the experience because I was doing it to just... You know, I was grieving."For the film, Miller and Ogilvie employed a group workshopping rehearsal technique that they had developed.

Exterior location filming took place primarily in the mining town ofCoober Pedy,though the set for Bartertown was built at an old brickworks (theBrickpit) atHomebush Bayin Sydney's western suburbs, and the children's camp was in theBlue Mountains.According to cinematographerDean Semler,"Mad Max Beyond Thunderdomeproved far more challenging thanMad Max 2.We were dealing with more varied environments than before and it was essential that each of the worlds created for the film have a distinctly different look. "

Music

Main article:Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (soundtrack)

Themusical scoreforBeyond Thunderdomewas composed byMaurice Jarre,replacingBrian May,who composed the music for the first two films in the series.The film also contains two songs performed byTina Turner:"One of the Living",which plays over the opening titles, and"We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)",which plays over the end credits.

"We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" reached #1 in Canada, #2 in the US, and #3 on the British single charts. "One of the Living" was rerecorded for single release, and it reached #15 in both Canada and the US, but only #55 in Britain. At the28th Annual Grammy Awards,"One of the Living" won the award forBest Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Asoundtrack albumwas released byCapitol Recordsin 1985. It included Turner's songs alongside an instrumental version of "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" on Side 1, and some of Jarre's music on Side 2. A double CD containing only Jarre's original music was issued in 2010 on Tadlow Music/Silva Screen Records.

Reception

Box office

Although the film's budget was larger than that of its predecessors, its box office yield was only moderate in comparison.It grossed A$4,272,802 at the Australian box office,less than whatMad Maxmade and less than half of whatMad Max 2made.

In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $36 million,generatingtheatrical rentalsof $18 million. Outside of the U.S. (including Australia), it earned a similar amount, giving it worldwide rentals of $36 million.

Critical response

Reaction to the film was generally positive. On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,79% of 58 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Beyond Thunderdomedeepens the Mad Max character without sacrificing the amazing vehicle choreography and stunts that made the originals memorable. "Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Critics disagreed over whether they considered the film to be the highest or lowest point of theMad Maxtrilogy. Most of the negative criticism focused on the children in the second half of the film, whom many found too similar to theLost Boysfrom the story ofPeter Pan.Robert C. Cumbow ofSlant Magazineidentified "whole ideas, themes and characterizations" adopted fromRiddley Walker,a 1980 post-apocalyptic novel byRussell Hoban.

On the other hand, there was much praise for the scene in the Thunderdome, whichRoger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timescalled "the first really original movie idea about how to stage a fight since we got the first karate movies" and "one of the great creative action scenes in the movies".Ebert awarded the film four out of four stars and later placed it on his list of the ten best films of 1985.Varietywrote that the film "opens strong" and has good acting from Gibson, Turner, and the children.

Some fans of the series have criticised the film for being "Hollywood-ized" and having a lighter tone than its predecessors.

Accolades

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1985	Golden Globe Award	Best Original Song	"We Don't Need Another Hero"	Nominated
1986	Grammy Award	Best Female Rock Vocal Performance	"One of the Living"	Won
1986	Saturn Award	Best Science Fiction Film		Nominated
		Best Director	George Miller	Nominated
		Best Writing	George Miller andTerry Hayes	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Norma Moriceau	Nominated
1986	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Tina Turner	Won

Legacy

Main article:Legacy and influence of Mad Max in popular culture

As with the previous installments of theMad Maxseries,Beyond Thunderdomehas influenced popular culture in numerous ways. Of particular note is the widespread use of the term "thunderdome"to describe a contest in which the loser suffers a great hardship.

American filmmakerChris Weitzhas cited the film as an influence.

External links

• Mad Max Beyond ThunderdomeatIMDb
• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdomeat theTCM Movie Database
• Mad Max Beyond ThunderdomeatRotten Tomatoes