6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
Bartertown is a city on the edge of a desert that has managed to retain some technology if no civilization. Max has his supplies stolen and must seek shelter there in a post-apocalypse world where all machines have begun to break down and barbarians hold what is left. He becomes involved in a power struggle, where he must first survive the town, survive the desert and then rescue the innocent children he has discovered.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn, Frank ThringAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 81% |
Thriller | 80% |
Adventure | 53% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
Czech: Dolby Digital Mono
Hungarian: Dolby Digital Mono
Polish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish 2.0 dubbed in Spain Mono in America
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The third entry in the Max Max series departed from the essential chase format established by its two predecessors. Although the film was a success, and the titular arena where "two men enter, one man leaves!" has become a catchphrase, opinion remains divided over whether Thunderdome is up to the level of the first two installments. Even its most ardent fans (and that includes me) have to admit that Thunderdome doesn't provide the adrenaline rush of The Road Warrior. It goes quiet for a long stretch during the middle when Max discovers a society of lost children living in the wilderness, and only picks up steam (literally) near the end, with a wild chase involving a train. Some viewers blamed the change on studio involvement, since Thunderdome was the first of the series to be co-financed by Warner Bros. But it seems more likely that writer-director George Miller and co-writer Terry Hayes (Vertical Limit) realized that they couldn't do the same thing a third time. Miller has repeatedly said that he considered Road Warrior a chance to redo Mad Max properly, with a better budget, more time and the benefit of experience. In the process, he added an overlay of mythology that elevated the story into legend. After losing his family and defeating the Humungus, Max couldn't just race down the road a third time as if nothing had happened. He had to be a changed man with a different adventure. The first step was to be more specific about the state of the world. In the first two films, society had collapsed, but the details were vague. In Thunderdome, there are explicit accounts of a nuclear war. The old world is gone forever. What role can Max play in the new one?
There has been some question as to whether Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is based on a new transfer or an older transfer done for the DVD released in 2003. I can't say (and I no longer have my DVD for comparison), but the Blu-ray is quite good. In scene after scene, fine detail is apparent that I haven't been able to make out since the film was in theaters. A particularly noteworthy example is Savannah Nix's recitation of history shortly after Max awakens among the children; she points to objects and paintings on walls that are barely illuminated but are now fully visible. Additional fine detail can also be seen in the livestock pens of Underworld and the night scenes of Bartertown. The image has deep blacks and very good shadow detail in scene after scene. There's a visible grain pattern that appears to be undisturbed by digital tampering, although light video noise is also evident in some scenes. The film's color palette appears to be about right, with a strong contrast between the yellow and reddish sands of the desert and the cool blues and greens of the children's oasis. Bartertown and especially Underworld are full of dirty browns and reds. If anyone who still has the DVD observes a shift in palette or color temperature such as occurred with Road Warrior, please send me a PM. At a healthy average bitrate of 29.63 Mbps, the Blu-ray easily handles the challenging action scenes and complex environments, without noticeable compression issues.
Thunderdome received a 70mm release with 6-track sound, which was presumably the basis for the 5.1 mix created for DVD and presented here in DTS-HD MA 5.1. It's an impressive and active mix, especially for a film from 1985. The rush of desert winds fills the room, as does the roar of the spectators surrounding Thunderdome and the chant of the children reacting to their leaders. Bartertown is alive with the bustle of activity, much of it probably illicit. One doesn't have to smell Underworld (fortunately), but the squeals of its main inhabitants are piercing. Special mention must be made of Maurice Jarre's score, which is one of my personal favorites. Unlike scores that are meant to dominate a film's soundtrack, Jarre's was written to blend into Thunderdome's, at times becoming almost indistinguishable from sound effects. For example, his theme for Bartertown is dominated by percussion that sounds like mallets on steel; it could easily be mistaken for construction in progress. If you listen to the soundtrack album, you may be surprised at just how much music the film contains. Once you know the themes, you can pick them out as a kind of sonic subtext. They are clearer in this presentation of the film than in any other I have heard. The dialogue benefits greatly from the lossless treatment. Max, as usual, says little, and many of Bartertown's inhabitants speak in exaggeratedly theatrical tones. But the children in the wasteland can be hard to understand, because they speak quickly, use words and expressions of their own invention, and often have a heavy accent. When I saw the film theatrically, I could barely understand a word, and subsequent presentations on laserdisc and DVD did little to improve the situation. With the Blu-ray's soundtrack, I was able to understand most of it.
Other than the theatrical trailer (480i; 1.78:1, enhanced; 1:29), the disc contains no extras. Neither did the 2003 DVD. It's unfortunate that neither of the music videos for "One of the Living" or "We Don't Need Another Hero" was included, presumably because of rights issues.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome may not offer the non-stop rush of Mad Max or The Road Warrior, but it's a thought-provoking film with a rich visual texture that has grown with age and reveals additional layers on subsequent viewings. Writer-director Miller could have taken the safe path by staging another chase film, but instead he tried to ask serious questions about what a man like Max might do next, and the results branch out in interesting directions while remaining true to the franchise. The film is dedicated to Miller's long-time partner, Byron Kennedy, who died in a tragic helicopter crash while scouting locations for the film. (Miller's grief over the loss is reportedly why he turned over some of the directing duties to colleague George Ogilvie.) It's an honorable legacy. Highly recommended.
Updated Disc
1985
1985
lossy tracks
1985
1985
1985
Corrected Disc / Mad Max 2
1981
1979
2015
+BD with the 3 versions
1991
Director's Cut
2009
2020
2015
3 Disc Edition
2012
2015
2003
1080p Corrected Version
2003
2024
Collector's Edition
2013
+ TV Cut in 1080p
1995
2005
2008
2003
2009
2009
1990