''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' (also known as ''Mad Max 3'') is a 1985 Australian

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by George Miller and

George Ogilvie George Buchan Ogilvie (5 March 1931 – 5 April 2020) was a prolific Australian theatre director and actor, who also worked as a director and actor in film and television. He was known for being the founding artistic director of the State Theat ...

and written by Terry Hayes and Miller. It is the third installment in the ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...

'' franchise, as well as the only one in it to be rated PG-13 by the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...

. The film stars

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

, the former in his final performance as "Mad Max" Rockatansky, a lone roving warrior who is exiled into the desert. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' later listed Turner's performance in the film as the 68th best performance of a musician in a box-office film. ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' was released in Australia on 10 July 1985. The film received positive reviews from critics. A fourth film, '' Mad Max: Fury Road'', was released in 2015, starring Tom Hardy as Max.

Plot

The world is a

wasteland caused by

ecocide Ecocide (from Greek 'home' and Latin 'to kill') is the destruction of the natural environment, environment by humans. Ecocide threatens all human populations that are dependent on natural resources for maintaining Ecosystem, ecosystems and ensu ...

and a nuclear war over resources. In

Mainland Australia Mainland Australia is the main landmass of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, excluding the Aru Islands Regency, Aru Islands, New Guinea, Tasmania, and other list of islands of Australia, Australian offshore islands. The landmass ...

Max Rockatansky Max Rockatansky is the title character and antihero protagonist of the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series ''Mad Max'' created by director George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy. Max was played by actors ...

crosses the desert in a carriage pulled by a team of camels. The airborne bandit Jedediah and his young son attack him and steal his vehicle and animals. 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 subterranean

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

that turns pig feces into

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

. 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, a

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

ial arena. Max publicly accuses Master of stealing his vehicle, and a battle is scheduled against Blaster. Blaster dominates until Max blows a

whistle A whistle is a musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It is a type of Fipple, fipple flute, and may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a s ...

, 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 heals him. Her home, "Planet Erf," is an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

, 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 along 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 into the oncoming attackers 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 of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. 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

as "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 Spence Bruce Robert Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre. Career Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 197 ...

as Jedediah, the marauding pilot of a small plane, who trades stolen goods in Bartertown. Spence previously played "The Gyro Captain" in ''

Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Utopian and dystopian fiction, dystopian action film directed by George Miller (filmmaker), G ...

''. * Adam Cockburn as Jedediah Jr. ; The People of Bartertown *

as Aunty Entity, the ruthless, determined ruler of Bartertown. *

Frank Thring Francis William Thring IV (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred i ...

as The Collector, who runs Bartertown's trade and exchange network. * Angelo Rossitto as The Master, a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

former-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 an

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

. *

Angry Anderson Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist and the longest-tenured remaining member of the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 ...

as Ironbar Bassey, the head of Bartertown's security and Aunty's top henchman. * Robert Grubb as 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 Spartels George Bernard Spartels (born 25 April 1954) is an Australian actor, presenter, director, playwright and children's musician of Greek descent on his father's ancestry, and English and Irish on his mother's. He remains best known for his role ...

as Blackfinger, the head mechanic in Underworld. * Edwin Hodgeman as Dr. Dealgood, Bartertown's flamboyant auctioneer and judge. * Bob Hornery as 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 Buday as 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 its

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

through "Tells" (recitations of their mythical origin and salvation narrative). * Mark Spain as Mr. Skyfish, a child who flies a feathered kite. * Mark Kounnas as 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 the ''Planet Erf'' tribe. Scrooloose can replicate anyone else's skills, including driving a vehicle. * Justine Clarke as 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 the ''Planet Erf'' tribe.

Production

''Beyond Thunderdome'' was the first ''Mad Max'' film made without producer Byron Kennedy, who had been killed in a helicopter crash in 1983. Director George Miller was 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 with

, with whom he had worked on the 1983

television miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' The 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.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p85-87 Exterior location filming took place primarily in the mining town of Coober Pedy, though the set for Bartertown was built at an old brickworks (the Brickpit) at

Homebush Bay Homebush Bay is a bay on the south bank of the Parramatta River, in the west of Sydney, Australia. The name is also sometimes used to refer to an area to the west and south of the bay itself, which was formerly an official suburb of Sydney, a ...

in Sydney's western suburbs, and the children's camp was in the Blue Mountains. According to cinematographer Dean Semler, "''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' proved far more challenging than ''

''. 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." It was the most expensive Australian film at the time.

Music

The musical score for ''Beyond Thunderdome'' was composed by Maurice Jarre, replacing

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

, who composed the music for the first two films in the series. The film also contains two songs performed by

: " 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 the 28th Annual Grammy Awards, "One of the Living" won the award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. A

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 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 what ''

'' made and less than half of what ''

'' made. In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $36 million, generating

theatrical rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is frequ ...

s of $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 positive. Critics disagreed over whether they considered the film to be the highest or lowest point of the ''Mad Max'' trilogy. Most criticism focused on the children in the second half of the film, whom many found too similar to the Lost Boys from the story of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

. Robert C. Cumbow of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' identified "whole ideas, themes and characterizations" adopted from '' Riddley Walker'', a 1980 post-apocalyptic novel by Russell Hoban. On the other hand, there was much praise for the concept of the titular Thunderdome, which

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' called "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. '' Variety'' wrote 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

Legacy

As with the previous installments of the ''Mad Max'' series, ''Beyond Thunderdome'' has 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 filmmaker

Chris Weitz Christopher John Weitz (; born November 30, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films '' American Pie'' and '' About a Boy''; the latter earned ...

has cited the film as an influence.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985 films 1985 independent films 1980s road movies 1980s science fiction action films Australian independent films Australian science fiction action films Australian sequel films Mad Max films Films about automobiles Films about death games Films set in deserts Films set in New South Wales Films shot in South Australia Films shot in New South Wales Kennedy Miller Mitchell films Peak oil films Dystopian films Australian post-apocalyptic films Warner Bros. films Films scored by Maurice Jarre Films directed by George Miller (filmmaker) Films produced by George Miller (filmmaker) Films set in Australia Australian action adventure films Films with screenplays by George Miller (filmmaker) 1980s English-language films 1985 science fiction films English-language science fiction action films English-language independent films English-language action adventure films