Wow, who's the WB marketing genius who came up with this idea?



I just watched the HD DVD yesterday. Sound is no great shakes (virtually identical to the DVD). But the picture is fantastic (including the original "Mad Max 2" title screen). I planned to just sample a couple of scenes and, of course, ended up watching the whole thing.

I'll probably get to the commentary track this weekend.

I went to Best Buy yesterday and grabbed it without checking mistakingly assuming it was widescreen because I am so desparate to weed those horrid Warner cardboard cases from my collection and didn't notice the full screen aspect until I got home. Needless to say, I just switched the artwork over to a double disc slim case and put my separate widescreen discs in the case.

Good Idea. Unfortunately I sold off my older releases in hope of getting this one, but since it's FS, I'll have to hunt the older ones down Used somewhere.

That's pretty pathetic. What the hell is Warner thinking? Did we just enter some time warp that put us back ten years?

I've got the Blu-Ray version and watched it. Phenomenally better than the standard DVD! I can even see areas where there's green vegetation! And even though I'm in the US and will always call this movie The Road Warrior, I'm glad they restored the Mad Max 2 title card. This movie's always fun to watch, and now even more so with hi-def releases!

Yeah, I was shocked at how good this "older" low-budget movie came out on Blu-Ray. the details on the cars just jump out at you.

So still no word on the SD SE aside from what was said in the Warner's chat?

Now I am temped to get a blue-ray player just beucase of Mad Max 2...

It looks great and is available on HD DVD as well ;)

I'm curious about the original title being intact on the dvd. Did Warner use an international version of the film which may have contained a couple brief moments trimmed to avoid an X rating in the U.S.? Or is it the same as the R version only with the original title


from imdb.com.....

"The UK cinema and Warner Bros PAL video releases were fully uncut & longer than the US R rated cinema version. The extra footage (a few seconds) contained a scene where Wez pulls an arrow from his arm and a close-up of the metal boomerang embedded in a dead character's head. The current UK DVD release appears to be the R-rated US version and is missing these brief scenes"

Not sure if all this was also altered for the R rated US version, but I have heard of somethings being cut or altered like the fast motion footage of the couple in the tent.


"There are two versions avaiable in Australia (M15+ and R18+). -The R-rated (and very rare) version contains more footage of Wez pulling the arrow from his arm including a close-up shot where the arrow can be seen poking through his arm and out the other side, and remains in close-up as he begins pulling the arrow through and out. The M15+ version cuts to a long shot after a very quick shot of the arrow in Wez's arm.
The rape and execution of the female driver as seen through the jiro captain's telescope is longer and more explicit
The shot of the two lovers in the tent that is torn away by Max in the truck is in normal speed, rather than fast motion as it is in the M15+ version"

I no longer have my standard DVD, so I can't compare.

But I can confirm that both of those things (the arrow pulling from arm and the boomerang in the blonde dude's head) are present on the HD DVD.

However, the packaging also says that it's rated R, and there's no info on MPAA.org about the film being resubmitted for rating. (This certainly wouldn't be the first case of an unrated international cut being accidentally released and listed as a rated U.S. version -- Swamp Thing leaps to mind.)

In January 2006, IFC ran what seems like a composite of both versions. It had the MM2 title card and the tent shot was in normal speed. It's been a long time since I've seen the 'regular' US cut, so I don't know if the boomerang shot to Wez's boyfriend was more graphic, but the shots of the female driver seemed longer than I remember. However, there was no long close-up of Wez removing the arrow from his arm. It zooms in slowly on his face as he grabs it, ready to pull, cuts to Max getting more fuel, then quickly cuts back to Wez's face with a very short (maybe 0.25 sec) close shot of the arrow in the arm (but you can't see it coming out the other side), then back to Wez's face as he finally takes it out. Is that the same as on the new disc?

i86time...

Nope - the new one seems to have the longer arrow and boomerang sequences. The tent blowing over was at regular speed.

Let me try to explain the HD DVD scene as best I can:

6:56 Wez screams at Max
7:00-7:11 Shot of arrow in arm, he reaches over, grabs, and begins to twist (as camera zooms in and arrow goes offscreen)
7:11-7:12 1-second close up insert shot of arrow starting to be removed from bicep
7:12-7:15 Wez looking pained (with arrow again offscreen)
7:15-7:19 Max soaking up gas
7:20 1 second shot with Wez looking tense (arrow offscreen)
7:21 fraction of a second shot of arrow being removed

And you absolutely see the blonde dude fall with the boomerang embedded in his head. Happens quickly at 32:18 and then there's a more extended (1-2 second) shot (with Wez wiggling it!) at 32:25.

From what I'm hearing, this is definitely uncut.

I just checked out my dvd of the film using bbosiverts time listing. And the arrow in arm scene ends at about 7 minutes,15 seconds. It seems only the fraction of a second shot of arrow being removed is what is left in the film,and that happen a few seconds before the 11 second mark.

The blonde guy with boomerang scene also does not have Wez wiggling the boomerang. It cuts to it already out of the head and Wez raising it into the air in anger. But I think when the guy gets struck with the boomerang,it is probably the same as on the HD release. Since it happens very fast, with him being struck,then cutting to an up close shot of him falling to the ground.

Also the couple in the tent is obviously sped up. You can see background objects and even the motion of the couple start at slightly normal speed,then grow rapidly quicker. It's kind of amusing looking, and I enjoyed this effect as a kid.

Re: Road Warrior & Mad Max Thunderdome- SE's ever ?
 

Why oh why are we still waiting for SE's of MM 2 AND 3?

I just watched my SE of Mad Max again today, even watched both the docs on the disc and it has really gotten me to wanting SE's of the other 2.

I want docs, commentaries, all the deleted stuff. Everything!

Here's what is known to be deleted from Thunderdome [from Wikipedia];

Further scenes that would have fleshed out the character of Max much more than shown in the final movie were cut before international release for the sake of reducing the running time.

1. Max sleeps soundly for the first time in many years in Crack in Earth (the oasis) and wakes up after dreaming of his wife and son, murdered by bikers in the first movie and starts to cry, realizing that he is no better than the "human animals" that he used to hunt as a police officer.

2. Max takes Ghekko (the child from the tribe with the vinyl record tied to a stick) to the top of a sand dune at night, facing the lights of Bartertown and as the boy lies dying, tells him that they have reached Tomorrow-Morrow land and are home.

The first scene is to be found in the novelization, while the second can be glimpsed in the video for the Tina Turner song "We Don't Need Another Hero".

Re: Road Warrior & Mad Max Thunderdome- SE's ever ?
 

I agree completely.

I can't think of two movies more worthy of a SE treatment.

I'll never understand why companies sit on potential goldmines like this.

It's a joke.

Re: Road Warrior & Mad Max Thunderdome- SE's ever ?
 

The Blu-Ray of The Road Warrior, as noted elsewhere in this thread, has a commentary not on the SD-DVD.