The Mad Max series of films, which debuted in 1979, has had a significant impact on modern popular culture. Mad Max references are deeply embedded in popular culture; references to its dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic themes and bizarre landscape and desolate wasteland imagery have inspired some artists to emulate the look and feel of some aspect of the series in their work. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
George Miller is an Australian filmmaker. Over the course of four decades he has received critical and popular success creating the Mad Max franchise starting in 1979 with two of the films having been hailed as two of the greatest action films of all time. He has also earned numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Mad Max 2 is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller, who co-wrote it with Terry Hayes and Brian Hannant. It is the second installment in the Mad Max franchise. The film stars Mel Gibson reprising his role as "Mad Max" Rockatansky and follows a hardened man who helps a community of settlers to defend themselves against a roving band of marauders. Filming took place in locations around Broken Hill, in the Outback of New South Wales.
Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 tankōbon volumes under the Jump Comics imprint. Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth after a nuclear war, the story centers on a warrior named Kenshiro, the successor of a deadly martial art known as Hokuto Shinken, which gives him the ability to kill his opponents by striking their secret vital points, which often results in an exceptionally violent and gory death. Kenshiro dedicates his life to fighting against the various gangs, bandits, and warlords who threaten the lives of the defenseless and innocent, as well as rival martial artists.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, commonly known as Mad Max 3, is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and written by Terry Hayes and Miller. It is the third installment in the Mad Max franchise. The film stars Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, and follows a lone roving warrior who is exiled into the desert. It was Gibson's last performance as "Mad Max" Rockatansky as of 2024.
Wasteland or waste land may refer to:
Mad Max is an Australian media franchise.
Hell Comes to Frogtown is a 1988 American science fiction action film directed by Donald G. Jackson and R. J. Kizer, and written by Jackson and Randall Frakes. The film stars professional wrestler Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, one of the last remaining fertile men in a post-apocalyptic world populated by both humans and mutant amphibians. The film's cast also includes Sandahl Bergman, Cec Verrell, William Smith and Rory Calhoun.
Kenshiro is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fist of the North Star manga series created by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson. In the story, Kenshiro is the rightful successor of an ancient art of assassination called Hokuto Shinken, which allows him to defeat his adversaries through the hidden meridian points.
The Pursuit Special, also referred to as the Last of the V8 Interceptors, is the iconic black GT Falcon muscle car featuring a distinctive supercharger driven by the title character Mad Max during much of the Mad Max franchise, where it appears in Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the canon comic book prequel, as well as both video games.
Max Rockatansky is the title character and antihero protagonist of the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max created by director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy. Max was played by actors Mel Gibson in the first three films from 1979 to 1985, Tom Hardy in the fourth film in 2015, and in a cameo appearance by Jacob Tomuri in the prequel spin-off film Furiosa in 2024.
Mad Max is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centers on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with Mad Max, and was followed by three sequels: Mad Max 2, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Miller directed or co-directed all four films. A spin-off, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, was released in 2024 and was also directed by Miller. Mel Gibson originally portrayed the series' title character, Max Rockatansky, in the first three films, while Tom Hardy and Jacob Tomuri portrayed the character in the later two films.
Kennedy Miller Mitchell is an Australian film, television and video game production house in Potts Point, Sydney, that has been producing television and film since 1978. It is responsible for some of Australia's best-known and most successful films, including the five Mad Max films, the two Babe films, and the two Happy Feet films.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by George Miller. Miller collaborated with Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris on the screenplay. The fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, it was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Kennedy Miller Mitchell, and distributed by Roadshow Entertainment in Australia and by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally. The film stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, with Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton in supporting roles. Set in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland where petrol and water are scarce commodities, Fury Road follows Max Rockatansky (Hardy), who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Theron) against warlord Immortan Joe (Keays-Byrne) and his army, leading to a lengthy road battle.
Mad Max is a 2015 action-adventure video game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on the Mad Max franchise, the game follows Max Rockatansky as he progresses through the wasteland building a vehicle, the Magnum Opus, to battle against a gang of hostile raiders led by Scabrous Scrotus and reach the storied "Plains of Silence", where he hopes to find peace. Mad Max emphasizes vehicular combat, in which players can use weapon and armor upgrades on their car to fight enemies. It is set in an open post-apocalyptic wasteland consisting of deserts, canyons, and caves.
Imperator Furiosa is a fictional character in the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max. Introduced in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and portrayed by Charlize Theron, she serves as an officer in Immortan Joe's army but turns against him in order to free "The Five Wives", Joe's "breeders". During her journey, she meets Max Rockatansky. Despite initial hostility, the two become allies and team up to drive The Five Wives to a safe environment called the "Green Place".
Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 comic book limited series created by George Miller, Nico Lathouris and Mark Sexton. Serving as a prequel to the 2015 film of the same name, in addition to bridging the events of the film with the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the series focuses on several characters from the film at various points in their lives before it.
Lesley Vanderwalt is a New Zealand cinematic hair designer and makeup artist. Vanderwalt was raised and began her career in New Zealand before moving to Australia. She has frequently collaborated with directors such as George Miller and Baz Luhrmann.
Immortan Joe, birth name Joe Moore, is a fictional character in the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max. The main antagonist of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road; he is also a major character in Fury Road's companion comic book series of the same name and its 2024 prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. In the radioactive, post-apocalyptic wasteland of the series, Immortan Joe is a powerful warlord; his cult and army of fanatical "War Boys" revere him as a god of Norse mythology, who will lead them to Valhalla. He dominates the regional economy through his control over the Citadel, one of the only remaining sources of fresh water in the wasteland. However, Joe is also incredibly sick due to radiation. His desire to breed a genetically healthy heir to his kingdom leads him to acquire and mistreat a harem of sex slaves, a candidate for whom, Imperator Furiosa, becomes his trusted military lieutenant on taking down the Warlord Dementus in Furiosa, before turning against him to free Joe's remaining slaves from the Citadel, thus triggering the events of Fury Road.
Wasteland Weekend is an annual festival held in Edwards, California. The event is listed as a full immersion event, with all participants required to adhere to the set theme. It has been held annually in September since 2010, except for 2020, when the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the 10th-anniversary edition of Wasteland Weekend was held from September 25 to September 29.
"Rickmancing the Stone" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Rick and Morty. Released on July 30, 2017, it follows main characters Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith as they enter a post-apocalyptic world to find the gemstone by the name of Isotope 322, also bringing Morty's sister Summer with them. The episode was written by Jane Becker and directed by Dominic Polcino. The title is a reference to the 1984 film Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas.
the legacy of Mad Max stretches all the way back to the original 1979 film, which kicked off an improbable franchise with an even bigger mark on pop culture than you might think. ... famed filmmakers from David Fincher to Guillermo del Toro to James Cameron all cite the enormous influence of Max Rockatansky and his creator-director George Miller.
The influence of Mad Max would be hard to overstate. Some would say it is the most influential movie ever made in Australia. The film had a profound effect on filmmakers and audiences around the world.
It's kind of a joint influence with Mad Max, Fallout, and the Soviet science fiction books by the Strugatsky brothers, who wrote Roadside Picnic.