17. Mad Max (1979)

This was my first time ever watching this movie. I can see why it's a classic.

One of the things I worry about with my project is whether I will remember any details of individual movies after I've watched so many of them. Here's what I will remember about this one:

1. Mel Gibson was once young and innocent looking

All my memories of Mel Gibson are post-Braveheart, so it was refreshing to go back to what first made him famous and see him in all his fresh-faced glory. It's kind of mind-boggling to think about how much has changed for him in the interim and what a catastrophic fall from public grace he had. Maybe he was always destined for a troubled personal life, since he showed up to the first audition for this movie with facial injuries sustained in a bar fight.

2. This movie may be an Australian sci/fi, but it feels like an American western

Is it a bleak prediction of the world's future, a story of revenge and the triumph of good over evil, or a meditation on the themes of lawlessness and control that prevail in stories about the Old West? All of the above. Mad Max was inspired by incidents of violence related to the 1970s oil crisis and the director's experience working on car crash victims as an ER doctor. George Miller noticed that Australians would go to great lengths to keep their cars running. I've never been to Australia, but it sounds like their car culture is comparable to America's. The attitude embedded in this film reminds me of all the 2nd Amendment debates that are all over the news in the wake of 2012's shootings. What do people really need those guns/all that gas for? Doesn't matter. What matters is what they believe is within their rights, because that will drive their actions. Ideology is the greatest motivator.

3. The villains are memorable

It takes great skill to make a villain really scary. You need an actor who can portray someone so angry and unhinged that you actually believe they would do crazy and evil things. Hugh Keays-Byrne is pitch perfect as the Toecutter. 

4. It's got a great ending

I don't need to describe the ending, because you've probably already seen it. It is perfect and this movie would not be nearly so satisfying without it.