The Road Warrior (1981), directed by George Miller.
We (my movie-going gang and I) must have seen this ten times the year it came out, finally at an almost out of business drive-in where we were the only customers. It was a good night. We set up lawn chairs and tables and had a good picnic spread, turning on all the speakers in the surrounding half acre.
Strangely enough, all the women we ever took loved it, which is odd given the brutal, unapologetic violence, including gang rape, murder and mayhem. Why? I can only guess that ladies love a tormented hero. Or maybe it was just Mel.
What else? Siege stories are timeless, and I think there is always a lurking yearning for the collapse of civilization, a chance for a new world, good-bye to the nagging problems of ordinary life. I've still never seen anything like the car crash scenes or the incredible final 20 minutes of breakout and highway chase.
We were particularly fond of Wez: that a mohawked, bare-assed leather gay-boy could thrive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland: that's an endearing concept. Loved the Feral Kid and the Warrior Woman.
The cheap, junky look was very appealing at the time. I don't think that gyro-copter can do vertical takeoff or landing. The overhead prop is unpowered. I know it can't carry two people.
Loud, up-front score, lots of Holst.
Available on Blu-ray. The black levels are not very good, and are awful in the night scenes. I don't remember if the film was better. The director and cinematographer provide a relaxed commentary track:
The film was shot more or less sequentially, and written as they went along.
The dog was from the pound where it was scheduled to be killed the next day. It was smart and gave a good audition. After the film it went to a farm and worked cattle.
Bitterly cold during filming, really hard on the leather bondage characters.
No rehearsals or read-throughs.
They did not shoot a rabbit with a little arrow. It was a stunt!
They say the Lord Humungus was played by a former Mr Sweden, but I don't see that in his bio. A pulsing prosthetic for the back of his head worked only briefly.
They got the most audience complaints about shooting the dog, which people are convinced happened on-screen.
From the start of writing to theater premier was exactly 1 year. (I find that astonishing).