Ian Nathan’s book about the history of the Mad Max franchise is a lively read, even if some parts need to be taken with a grain of salt.
The Mad Max story is indeed the stuff of legend. It began as a film shot on-the-run during the late 1970s on the western outskirts of Melbourne for around $400,000 and has grown into a massive Hollywood franchise, part five of which cost $US168,000,000 .
Written in the same snappy, helter-skelter style that the films maintain, British critic Ian Nathan’s handsomely illustrated book enthusiastically takes us through each of the films, detailing their production histories, situating them in the context of the Australian film renaissance of the ’70s, and appraising the evolution of a “Maxian mythology” through them.
Phew! As you can see, he’s not short of hyperbole in his assessments and his book is cram-packed with an intriguing mix of excess and insight. Sometimes, it’s a bit glib: the first Mad Max arrived like “a thunderclap over the tidy lawns of the Australian New Wave”!? Well, perhaps.
in 1932) it’s more serious. And, perhaps I slept in that day, but I don’t recall petrol shortages in the 1970s leading gun-wielding motorists to lay siege to “gas stations”.
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