The Road Warrior [Blu-ray]
World War III has just ended and the world's remaining inhabitants are on a desperate, devastating, struggle to survive. Gasoline is in short supply and those remaining, turn on one another for the crude oil.
A strong candidate for the designation of most thrilling action movie ever made (the turbo-charged exhilaration of its full-throttle highway chases has never been equaled), the second part of George Miller's post-apocalyptic trilogy is also a magnificently imagined movie myth. Like the Star Wars trilogy (by that other George) the Mad Max films draw their inspiration from the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell. In the 1979 original, Max (Mel Gibson) is a policeman, the last guardian of civilization and order in a devastated world reduced to chaos. But when a leather-clad gang of sadomasochistic speed demons mows down Max's family, his remaining connections to humanity are also permanently severed. After brutally exacting his revenge, Max wanders off into the wasteland alone, "a burned out shell of a man" who (to paraphrase The Searchers) is destined to wander forever between the winds. In The Road Warrior, Max rediscovers a sliver of his shattered humanity, and a spark of redemption, when he helps an embattled colony of pioneers fight off the savages who are after that most precious of all commodities: "guzzline." Max is transformed into a legendary hero, just as Mel Gibson was catapulted to international movie stardom. With its final stirring images, The Road Warrior transcends its genre (whatever that may be--science fiction? Western? action adventure?) and becomes something timeless. It's a great movie. --Jim Emerson
A strong candidate for the designation of most thrilling action movie ever made (the turbo-charged exhilaration of its full-throttle highway chases has never been equaled), the second part of George Miller's post-apocalyptic trilogy is also a magnificently imagined movie myth. Like the Star Wars trilogy (by that other George) the Mad Max films draw their inspiration from the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell. In the 1979 original, Max (Mel Gibson) is a policeman, the last guardian of civilization and order in a devastated world reduced to chaos. But when a leather-clad gang of sadomasochistic speed demons mows down Max's family, his remaining connections to humanity are also permanently severed. After brutally exacting his revenge, Max wanders off into the wasteland alone, "a burned out shell of a man" who (to paraphrase The Searchers) is destined to wander forever between the winds. In The Road Warrior, Max rediscovers a sliver of his shattered humanity, and a spark of redemption, when he helps an embattled colony of pioneers fight off the savages who are after that most precious of all commodities: "guzzline." Max is transformed into a legendary hero, just as Mel Gibson was catapulted to international movie stardom. With its final stirring images, The Road Warrior transcends its genre (whatever that may be--science fiction? Western? action adventure?) and becomes something timeless. It's a great movie. --Jim Emerson
The Road Warrior [Blu-ray] Accessories
 Mad Max (Special Edition)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Blade Runner (Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]
The Shining [Blu-ray]
2001 - A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray]
The Terminator [Blu-ray]
The Fifth Element (Remastered) [Blu-ray]
Unforgiven [Blu-ray]
Enter the Dragon [Blu-ray]
Terminator 2: Judgment Day [Blu-ray]
The Road Warrior [Blu-ray] Reviews
BTW, if you haven't seen Mad Max, I'd recommend it as it schools you as to why he's mad (angry, not crazy). The picture is very grainy when viewed in hi-def. Not a lot in the way of extras here. If you don't have it on DVD, you can certainly pick it up in that format cheaper than this was ($13).
The title says it all here folks. I've been a long time fan of this series (and by series, I mean 'Mad Max' and 'The Road Warrior', not that abortion of a movie 'Max Max beyond Thunderdome'). Anyway, this is the Australian release titled 'Mad Max 2', not 'The Road Warrior', so it has a slightly different intro, and they do refer to Mel's character as Max, not as the 'man with no name' like they did in the U.S. version.
Still, the film looks good despite it's age and the sound is good. Not anything you can do about it; it was a limitation of the time since it wasn't filmed in hi-def.
Extras are a bit skimpy but that's fine because it's in anamorphic widescreen and is a visual treat, with truly awesome stunts,no CGI effects here,just raw stuntwork at it's best. A+ Great soundtrack too. This is the best that Mad Max 2 has ever looked. This is a great Blu Ray title. A true classic.
There are many things that make this movie great. The tension of not knowing what will happen next. And thankfully it transfers on to blu-ray exceptionally well. A sequel that surpasses the original. And a great set of bad guys. It's a post apocalyptic western. I spotted all kinds of things I'd never noticed before and I've seen this film plenty. The dialogue.
The excellent chase scene in the last half hour. The brilliant stunts. The Road Warrior is one of those rare beasts. The hero barely speaks throughout the film. The list goes on and on. Really worth buying on blu-ray.
I actually own the HD-DVD version, but this Blu-Ray version is basically identical. The movie itself really doesn't need much said about it, but I forgot high this title set the bar. There were details in the video that I had completely overlooked. A great movie with a powerful and relevant political message to share with today's generation - if for no better reason to admire what was achieved in this movie without CGI effects. Far better production quality versus the DVD releases. Considering the age of the movie, the transfer looks great. Don't expect the big Lucasarts style soundtrack, but the audio quality is good enough to get the job done.
Also, a warning rises to the surface of this film; a warning about gang rule and human corruption and where that may lead us. Through Max we identify with the fight against tyranny in defense of a future for humanity, and as we do, a new hero mystique is born: that of the brooding and cunning last remnant of humankind's ideals. The most valued commodities: oil, gasoline, cars and guns. Max can't escape his past as a policeman, as a arbiter of justice, but can he escape the gang's brutality and live to scavenge another day. Despite the gruesome action and sometimes campy dialogue, the theme of the film is complex: the right to one's own life. The question is: Can these people escape the wasteland and journey toward the rumored last haven of civilized humankind. This is portrayed in the conflict between the producer tribe and the thieving gang; the creators vs. the destroyers; and Max walks the the middle line as an individual standing against tyranny, the defender of that right to life (his own), and of that dream of a better place.
Or will they be hunted down, raped and murdered like animals by the whim of gang rule. As each action scene is skillfully 'wiped' to the next the tension builds and the dramatic quality of the theme is rooted. Road gangs rule the wastelands in the post-apocalyptic aftermath of civilization's finale. Mel Gibson stars as the now iconic Mad Maxthe quiet wandering scavenger, humankind's mysterious last hero. The plot is simple: The Road Warrior must decide between escape or to stay and defend the peaceful gasoline making tribe from the tyranny of a wasteland gang.
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