Mad Max (1979) - MOVIE REACTION - First Time Watching 

Fun Fact: director George Miller was going to have the motorcycles for the gang shipped to their filming location. However, the actor for the gang leader Toe Cutter, Hugh Keays-Byrne, convinced George to let him and the rest of the actors for the gang ride the bikes to the filming location. They used the experience to get into the mindset of the gang.

My favourite thing about this movie is that for the first part, Goose could be considered the main, and the only true "Mad" character. Max is basically calm and level headed throughout. It's only towards the end when Max snaps that he finally becomes the main character, and finally becomes Mad Max.

1980s movies were hardcore. If you saw a guy flung through a windscreen or bounced off a car roof, you knew it was actually happening. No wires, CGI, or greenscreen!

The pacing and tone shifts in this movie are abrupt, but the action scenes are still top notch, even 43 years later. The Road Warrior definitely corrects the pacing and tone issues, while providing even better action scenes. One of the best movies of the 80s and a part of the legendary summer releases of 1982.

I absolutely love the tone of this film - we're right in the midst of the beginning of the "apocalypse" with society collapsing, roving gang of bandits hitting trucking and civilians, the sense that the economy has almost been wiped out (all summarized in the first minute or two of Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior). Very few films are set right in this transition period between "now" and a post-apocalyptic setting.

In a few shots during the chases and specifically when Goose is racing his bike you can read the speedometers and see the actually speeds that they were racing. Now imagine being the cameraman riding piggyback to film that.

Why does no one ever mention the fact that Max's Boss is a muscle bound old man with a shaved head and a epic mustache?!

Very nice to see someone watching the first of the Mad Max movies. Such a movie making lesson on what can be done with a small budget. Please carry on with Road Warrior, one of the best movies ever. Simple story, tons of action.

I never thought about it before, but Toecutter's gang going after that couple makes me think of how some people say that if you try to run from animal predators, you'll just trigger their "chase instinct," and being faster than humans, they will catch you.

It’s my youth! George Miller is an amazing bloke to meet in person, I’ve had the chance to do so a few times over the years. He’s still making movies to this day, they are working on the Fury Road prequel about now here in Oz. This was a highly controversial film when it came out, despite the 70s being a pretty risk period of film making here at home. MMII is probably the best of the whole series, but they’re all generally pretty good. Mad Max (1) was a student film basically, written by Miller who was at the time a emergency room doctor at Melbourne hospital. The fuel crisis, a huge spike in car crash fatalities and more helped inspire the script.

Glad you enjoyed the movie Lauren! Now your journey into the world of Mad Max can begin!

George Miller, who directed Mad Max, had basically no budget for this film which was his first. The blue van early on that gets smashed, belonged to Miller and since they had so little money for the film, many of the crew and cast allowed their personal vehicles to be used. You might not know it, but this director also did the film Babe: Pig in the City, and Happy Feet. The next film of the Mad Max movies, is the The Road Warrior, which has a far better budget and much larger cast. This film is during the collapse of society, while the next film is after the collapse and world war. The intro to that film is pretty depressing, especially when you look at current events. The stunts in the next film are insane, including one which was an accident and somehow the stuntman lived. You'll know the stunt I'm talking about when you see it, it's amazing.

This is still one of the most profitable films of all time (budget $400,000 - profit $100,000,000) and that was in 1979, as good as this film is if youre watching "The Road Warrior" next - that film is even MORE impressive and not just for how much money it made or for how entertaining it is, but for the cultural impact its left - it pretty much invented/ popularized the post apocalypse genre.

Laurenn, I'm SO very glad you decided to watch this one! The movie was made on a "shoestring budget", but the story really carries it throughout. Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) is arguably the most popular of the series. Mad Max (3) Beyond Thunderdome gets a lot of flack from many fans, but I think it's a really good movie. I love all 3 of the "Gibson" Mad Max movies. I will admit that I've not seen the most recent one, where Tom Hardy played as Max, but as I understand it, it takes place either right before or right after The Road Warrior. I just can't see anyone BUT Gibson playing the part of Max, which is why I haven't watched it. Your "Am I following this right?" question was pretty much correct. I won't post any spoilers (it goes against my nature), but I will say that in this movie, societies were on the verge of collapse. The MFP (Main Force Patrol) were the "cops" that went after "the bad guys" in the more populated areas. However, there were large areas (yes, this WAS set (and filmed) in Australia) where lawlessness/anarchy ruled. Also, many of the bikers in that gang, were legitimate bikers, who were hired because they were in a biker "gang". It was cheaper to hire them to ride their own bikes, than it would have to hire actors/stuntmen as well as rent motorcycles. Only a few of the main characters (Goose, Toecutter, Johnny The Boy, maybe a couple of others) had rented motorcycles. Also, this was Mel Gibson's first movie, and it made him a star. Fun fact: He was the ONLY cast member to wear real leather. Everyone else had on "pleather", aka plastic leather. I very much hope to see you do the other Mad Max movies. Edit: 32:27 - The couple that fled the town and were chased down, if you notice, as they peeled off, they nearly hit Toecutter (the new leader of the gang, since the Night Rider was dead), and spewed dirt and dust all over him. He saw it as massive disrespect, thus ordered his gang to chase them down and "punish" them. Also, on that note, if you'll remember when Max and Goose first saw the guy, he was running across a field with no pants on..... this was to indicate that he was r*ped as well as the girlfriend as part of their punishment.

There’s no speed limit in those back roads in Australia, also if you watch the next Two MadMax you’ll notice that Gibson is wearing a leg brace. Those two movies were really good too. 😃👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Law and Order was breaking down in Oz. The Police (Bronze) had reached their limit to enforce the law. The gangs were preying on the population, taking what they want, doing what they want to whomever they chose with no fear of consequence. Evil men thrive, the weak suffer and die. Civilisation on the verge of collapse. Not quite post-apocalyptic but close. Another cool reaction, the semi pulping Toe-cutter got me cheering too. Hope you continue your "Max Max" journey :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Can't wait for your reaction to 2!

The reason they chased that couple in the car is because they accidentally nearly hit Toe Cutter as they drove away. Unfortunately they kicked up so much dust at that moment that it's hard to see Toe Cutter there jumping out of the way. George Miller, co-creator of Mad Max, was an ER doctor. All the tragic car crashes victims he saw over the years inspired him to make the movie full of car crashes. Now you must watch Mad Max 2, also known as Road Warrior. Bigger budget, better story, and lots and lots of action.

One of the best Post Apocalyptic Action Adventure films ever made!

The actor who played the Nightrider in the opening chase scene died last month. RIP Vincent Gil - the Toecutter knows your name!

The actor who plays Toe Cutter also played Immortan Joe in Fury Rods

Yes , it is Australia , and yes , this is the movie that made Mel Gibson known on the international scene, and this movie a classic ! I should know , I grew up in Australia and was like 10 yrs old when this came out !

I'm glad you were able to understand Mel. Back in the day, when this was first released in the States, the studio dubbed it into English. They though people would not understand Mel with his Aussie accent and slang.😄

Weird Movie Fact: When Mad Max was first released in American cinemas, the distributors didn't think the audience would understand the Australian accents, so the dialogue was dubbed by an American cast.

This movie lays the foundation to the post-apocalyptic world where gasoline is a sacred commodity and the combustion engine becomes a religion. "Road Warrior" starts the path. And the stunts in that movie are crazy!

Great reactions to the original Mad Max film, Laurenn!!!🎬👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽This is a dystopian future where crime is running rampant due to a worldwide oil shortage. The film was made for only $400,000 Australian, and brought in $100 Million worldwide. Most profitable film up to that point in time. It spawned two more sequels, the next being "Road Warrior" (1981).

It's great that she's showing love to the classic movies that most of the other big RU-vid reaction channels overlook. If she liked this movie she's gonna love the Road Warrior, the best of the OG Mad Max trilogy.

This is the first film of the franchise Mad Max directed by George Miller and starring by Mel Gibson. Thank you Laurenn and don't forget reacts Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior, Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome and the reboot Mad Max Fury Road👍👍👍

"Mad Max Road Warrior" is the next movie and is probably my favorite out of all of them. And you guessed it, the first few mad Max movies were all about the cars. In the 60s and 70s in the Midwest and Southwest United States, you had police squad cars called interceptors. Big block muscle cars. There were two engines a 428 and a 429. The 428 was a better engine. stock, it pumped out 432 horsepower. I never seen anyone strap a blower to one, well, never an over the hood blower. I seen an under the hood blower to strapped one. I can't recall how many horse that thing was pushing. But I do know off the line you were driving on two wheels.

This movie reminds me of the original "Evil Dead" in that it is a testament to what you can do with passion and very little money. The police cars had to be repaired after each shoot in order to reused in later scenes. In some cases, the paint on them hadn't fully dried. They didn't want to damage the semi truck and the end that hits the biker so they built a grill guard and painted it to resemble the front of the truck. Also, some of the extras in the movie were paid with beer. Love your reaction as always. Keep em' coming. I can't remember if you have reacted to Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" or not but you should definitely check it out now that it is coming up on Halloween. You should the 3 sequels as well. The remake wasn't bad either.

If you listen to the dispatcher over the radio in the halls of justice, you can hear her say that referring to Main Force Patrol (MFP) officers as "bronze" is considered "disrespectful" and pursuit officers should refrain from using the term, while the biker gang does on about how the "bronze" are trying to take their "respect" away. There are so many lovely little juxtapositions in this movie between the "almost" feral MFP, and the already over the edge biker gang, that paint them as opposite sides of the same coin: Toe Cutter and Fifi using carrots and sticks to keep control of & teach their separate factions, Johnny "the boy" saying that Goose looks silly before he drops the match and then yelling at Max that he must think he looks silly before burning up himself, the Night Riders car is referred to as a stolen "pursuit special" in radio chatter and Max basically "steals" the V8 "pursuit special" interceptor to get his revenge at the end of the movie (he may not have stolen it literally, but we know he never returns it, so...),etc.etc.etc. The world building and script are way better in every sense then a low budget car chase movie could be expected too have and it's so well realized for so little money that it is no wonder we are still getting these movies to this day

Absolutely fantastic video Laurenn, and mad max is a true classic. Love that part at the end, with getting revenge on that guy. Keep being amazing

Great reaction to this awesome film. Look forward to part two. And lmao with the glee when Toecutter got decked by that semi.

This is good, but can't wait for the next movie. The Road Warrior is by far the best in the franchise.

@29:19 your unbridled murderous glee really warmed my black heart, loved the reaction as always btw, this 80's classic is like Terminator, Aliens, et al where the sequel is better overall than the first, you'll LOVE The Road Warrior... please watch THAT classic, it sets up a whole new world of sequels leading to Mad Max Fury Road. They're all good for a reactionary, lol.

In the 1980s as a kid we were watching this on Beta tape and we managed to pause it on the bulging eyes after several attempts. Your still of it brought it back!

Love your reactions Lauren. You are my fav reactor! such genuine and heartfelt natural reactions to the movies you watch!

This was great! Glad you appeared in my feed!👍😎

Your reaction to the gang leader getting wrecked was awesome lol

Great reaction to a crazy movie, love how enthusiastic you got for the revenge in the end. I hope at some point another Mad Max film will find its way onto your channel.

Hey Lauren! I think You made the right choice starting from the first entry of the series. You are so exceptional. 💜💜

I freaking love your reactions. Another unforgettable classic of cinema and definitely a worthwhile saga of movies into one of the 80's' most badass characters, Mad Max. I definitely recognized the Punisher's inspiration as well when I first saw the Tom Jane adaption.

Hey, just sub after watching this. As for the 14:00 mark. I laughed my head off in how it was edited. The way that LoveLaurenn summed up the movie up to that point of the movie was spot on.

Thanks for watching this LL. Glad you enjoyed it. Love the Tocutter chase scene too. The supercharger mixed in with the music, and those eyes right before he becomes road kill, awesome. Fun Facts: The first chase was done at the end of production. The van and the caravan both belonged to George Miller and were sacrificed for the cause. The caravan was also used as a mobile production office and makeup room. All of the police cars Including the black interceptor were '70s Australian Ford Falcons, but the interceptor was a coupe with a custom front end. Nightrider's car was a 1972 Holden Monaro, and maxes customized panel van was a 1975 Holden Sandman. All the bikes were 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000s, all customized to look different. The couples car was a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air.

One of the best Reactions ever for a movie. Big fan of your reactions 😂

Hey Lauren 👋 so glad to see you watching another of my faves. Play close attention to the large handicapped fella at the vacation place Max takes his family. He might be important later..... and again another great video I had a blast watching you watching mad max!

Basically, the world is going to hell in this movie, and the gang is running rampant doing whatever it wants. So mich of what they do follows no logic, which makes them scarier to me. And I'm glad you're starting the Mad Max franchise with this. I can't wait fir your Road Warrior reaction. 😁👍

Glad to see someone going back to the start of the soon to be five movie franchise of Mad Max . There's currently a movie in production now here in Australia. Context: George Miller is also a doctor and worked in an ER in the 1970's which also was having a fuel crisis in the Middle East. Prices skyrocketing, etc. And in Australia, highway deaths especially on stretches of road like you see in the movie was shockingly common. So out of those factors was born the story of Mad Max, with society right on the precipice of collapse, the Main Force Patrol dispensing violent 'law' on the roads and the gangs taking over more and more. I'm very fortunate to have met both Goose and Toecutter (sadly, Hugh Keyes-Bearne the actor passed away last year), and gotten my Blu-Ray copy signed by each. The worldbuilding of the series is fascinating and uniquely Australian, something I as an Australian gravitate to a lot. I hope you watch the rest of them! Mad Max 2 is a classic.

It's set in Australia 20 minutes in the future. Mel Gibson was born in the US; his family moved to Australia where he grew up; as he became famous he returned to US to make movies.

💙 the reaction one of my favs, you helped me during my PTSD🤗🤘

Where Mad Max ends , the Road Warrior begins ! Then Mad Max beyond Thunder dome ! You will Love them !

Lauren, It's funny that you mentioned September flew by so fast consider we just had a hurricane roll over Florida the other day and lots of stuff was flying by real fast. haha

I am glad to see you reacting to these movies.They are all worth a watch in my opinion.

The series gets better as it goes. The next one is great, and number 3 blew me away when I first saw it.

The actor who played the Toe Cutter also appears as "Immortan Joe" in the most recent movie.

Hello! Awesome that you picked this Movie! The original Mad Max! WOW! Thank you for that!❤️

Wow great reaction loved it you were awesome 🌹😎👍

I loved your homicidal glee when Max took ol boi out by the semi truck. I'm not gonna lie, everytime I hear "toe cutter" I can only think of that line from well if youve reacted to it you know. "You, know what would be a really kicka** name? TASERFACE!" Mad Max is an original when it comes to car cinematics. Chases, fights and storyline. I grew up with this movie dang. Mad Max is a wild film.

This is Gibson's first film. Shot on a shoestring budget in Southwestern Australia. It was meant to depict the beginnings of the collapse of civilization, where the biker group represents anarchy, and the Police represent the last shreds of civilization. The character of Max [Gibson] is caught between the thrill of his work and the pull of his family. When Max loses his family to the bikers revenge, he flips out and steals the supercharged police car, to exact his revenge. Once he's done, Max heads off into the desert, a broken man.

I watched this movie when I was a tiny kid. It actually held a world record for a while for the largest bike jump

What a fun voyage this series of movies will be, enjoyed your reaction and what a cutie your poochie is.

I’ve never seen anyone so happy to see someone get hit by a truck 🤣 great video.

I was too young when Mad Max and The Road Warrior came out. What I had seen were too scary for my little self. I was old enough when Beyond Thunderdome came out, and instantly became a Mad Max fan. I love them all.

This movie was the break out hit for both Mel Gibson and the film's director, George Miller. It was made for 400 thousand dollars, and edited on the director's kitchen table. They would follow this up with "The Road Warrior" (Mad Max II) which was a huge hit, worldwide, both critically and commercially. You have to see it!

a lot of the cast and crew in this movie got paid in beer, some consider it legal tender in Australia. also, glad you watched with the original audio, on later DVD releases the original audio was an extra feature as it was redubbed for release in the US out of concern that Americans wouldn't understand Australian accents

From what I’ve read, the novelization detailed the Night Rider was on cocaine, and after losing chicken to Max, his high crashed and he couldn’t handle the emotions.

Hell yeah! This movie is a master class in editing. Like others have said here, this movie also is rare in it's set at the start of the apocalypse. When things are starting to go downhill fast. Now you need to watch the other 3, at least the other 2 :The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome. By the Road Warrior, the apocalypse has happened and the world is already chaos.

Picture this, as an 8yo kid in Australia we had Star Wars in 78 and then Mad Max the next year.....was so good, wish I'd realised how good we had it

I grew up watching this and Road Warrior! These are the early 80's classics, love em!

One of my faves! Very young Mel Gibson. Also the road warrior. Great movie!

NICE REACTION LAUREN! Hope you Watch the Other Mad Max Movies!

"I still don't know what that couple did" They got their attention, that's what they did. It's that simple

I love this movie !!!! Thank you Lauren ❤️❤️

My 7th Grade English teacher had Mel Gibson Posters on her Room's wall as well. Braveheart was always starring at me. haha

Theres a rumor thats gone around for years that in an early draft of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, the antagonist Lord Humungus was intended to be Goose, hence the mask and burns.

The interceptor police cruiser! Love that car! I know somebody around where I live used to have one that looked exactly like the one Mel Gibson drove!

I remember seeing this on the sci fi channel as a kid back in the 90s. I love that car Max was driving it was badass.

I was painting my nails, listening to your reaction. You said, I don't know what MFP is. Jokingly, I literally said, out loud, in a 'Duh' tone... The Motherf*cking Police 🤣🤣🤣🥴

Also a bit of trivia, Hugh Keays-Byrne the guy who played Toecutter in this film returned to the franchise in Fury Road to play Immortan Joe. Sadly he passed away in 2020.

So glad you watched this movie first, before Road Warrior. Really hope you do check that out, too. The movies ARE filmed in Australia, but that's not necessarily where they take place. In case nobody mentioned it, these take place after a global resource war. No gas means few cars and fewer road cops (which is one reason why the Chief of MFP didn't want Max to quit). And since gas is so scarce, those who have it are usually those who steal it, and the bikers are more than thieves - they're drug-addled and psychotic. Things get much worse for the world and Max, as you'll hopefully react to! Finally, since I was a kid my favorite junk-meal was McDonald's chicken mcnuggets and a chocolate shake. Applauding your taste in taste. Thanks for the video!

Great reaction. Before watching your movie reaction I'd only ever seen Fury Road, so this was an especially fun watch. You should definitely check out Fury Road sometime. That movie has next level action, and is on the level of T2 for some people. 13:47 Made me laugh out loud P.S. Luna had some Roman Reigns energy LOL "ACKNOWLEDGE ME!" 😂😂

Fun facts Most of the actors were paid with beer. The production budget was so tiny they couldn't afford to break glass, so they built screen windows and doors to smash. And one stuntman was seriously injured during production. He broke his pelvis and shattered both his legs. And the rumor that a stuntman was killed was just a rumor, but the motorcycle really smashed into his head and he was hurt.

Welcome to the world of Mad Max. I hope you do reactions for all of the other films in the series.

I watched this myself a couple of weeks ago. No chickie nuggies, no chocky milk then, so I'm gonna hafta have a double helping for "The Road Warrior"

My first action pack movie when i was young. Love this movie. Just great reaction video. love it 😀😀☺☺

the action is that good because its all real stunts. A few guys got KILLED making the Max films .. and the survivors have no regrets they say they would have been proud to die in the name of art :)

Yeh Lauren welcome to my childhood and the real Mad Max . Driven down the road the night rider makes his speech making the speech

Its nice watching these old movies again, well 1st time for you, but still nice, thx.

Classic! Appreciate your reaction. If you ever watch Gibson in lethal weapon (1) you'll see a scene where he interacts with Johnny the boy.

If you go back and watch the 2004 Punisher again, you'll realise that it's a direct homage to Mad Max, right down to the little turn Tom Jane does being similar to Gibson's. The final shoot-out in that film also re-enacts the finale to Once Upon A Time In The West.

30:47 Max gave this guy a chance, a lot more than what the gang gave their victims. an amazing film, one of my favs! i have the steel book cover special collectors edition of this, has some awesome art on the cover! another great reaction! 👍

Yes! October means scary movies! Halloween is definitely my holiday!

This is one of those B movies where they ask, "Who needs plot when you have action?"

A lot of the film's fans, particularly in the U.S. are unaware or have forgotten about the unfortunate, almost abortive release Mad Max was first given in the U.S. by Roger Corman's New World pictures in 1979. Lacking confidence in the American audience's discernment of Down Under accents, Corman had absolutely all of the dialog replaced by other voice artists, in flat North American style to stunningly wooden effect. It quickly sank without a trace at the box office and landed on U.S. home video in the same compromised form. Only strong word of mouth on the Midnight Movie/revival screening circuit (playing undubbed prints) carried the reputation of Mad Max in the States, at least among cult film enthusiasts. Truth be told the point of introduction to the Mad Max saga for the vast majority of the U.S. audience was The Road Warrior, having never heard of the title Mad Max.

I'm so happy someone is watching them in order. I'm sick of reactors starting on Fury Road and moaning they are confused by everything.

LoveLaurenn great reaction,..now Mad Max 2 lol.

Yea it's in Australia. You definitely need to watch part 2, 'The Road Warrior'.

I never would have guessed you love Halloween. Lol

It's basically your 1970s "biker gang terrorizes the innocent" flick set in Australia.

This movie is a great representation of a Cyberpunk world. The bikes would be the Nomads gangs that roam the empty wastes and highways but also mix in a tabletop pen and paper RPG called Car Wars. This movie was filmed near Melbourne in Australia in part of the outback . So you can go for miles without seeing a living soul. At most you'll see roadtrains, they look like semis but with about 6 trailers at least and sometimes see about 4 roadtrains. In this world law and order has broken down so badly the cops are hard pressed to do their jobs and the civilians are more afraid of the roving road gangs.