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137-805: Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by George Miller . Miller collaborated with Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris on the screenplay. The fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, it was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures , RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Kennedy Miller Mitchell , and distributed by Roadshow Entertainment in Australia and by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally. The film stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron , with Nicholas Hoult , Hugh Keays-Byrne , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley , Riley Keough , Zoë Kravitz , Abbey Lee , and Courtney Eaton in supporting roles. Set in

274-685: A star map on her left arm. Dementus keeps Furiosa as a captive. Having lost his family (including his own child) during the apocalypse , he hopes to raise Furiosa as his new daughter, nicknaming her "Little D" and taking her (in a cage) with him wherever he goes. However, Furiosa refuses to forgive Dementus and vows revenge. During a peace conference with Immortan Joe , a neighboring warlord, Dementus proudly introduces Furiosa to Joe as his daughter. Furiosa reprimands Dementus in front of Joe, explaining that Dementus kidnapped her and killed her mother. Humiliated, Dementus trades Furiosa to Joe for economic concessions. Immortan Joe brings Furiosa to his fortress,

411-515: A weighted average , assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film a full five out of five and praised its acting, screenplay, choreography, stunts, humour, and direction, describing it as a " Krakatoan eruption of craziness". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded it four out of five and wrote that it

548-515: A canyon controlled by a biker gang , having pre-arranged to trade petrol for safe passage. The bikers turn on her when they spot Joe's army approaching, forcing her to flee. The bikers detonate the canyon walls to block Joe and then pursue the Rig as Max and Furiosa fend them off. Joe drives over the blockade in a monster truck and catches up with the Rig. He sends Nux to carjack the Rig, but Nux fails, to Joe's disgust. While helping Max, Angharad falls off

685-437: A comic book prequel limited series consisting of four issues, with each issue focusing on the backstory of one or two of the film's characters. The first issue, titled Mad Max: Fury Road – Nux and Immortan Joe #1 , was released on 20 May; the second, Mad Max: Fury Road – Furiosa #1 , was released on 17 June; the third, Mad Max: Fury Road – Mad Max #1 , was released on 8 July; and the fourth, Mad Max: Fury Road – Mad Max #2 ,

822-551: A devastated Furiosa that the Green Place was the now-uninhabitable swamp from the previous night, and that there are only seven Vuvalini left. The group decides to ride across an immense salt flat , hoping to find a new home on the other side. Max goes his own way. After seeing a vision of a child he failed to save, Max catches up with the group and convinces them to return to the Citadel, since they do not know what lies beyond

959-599: A future theatrical release. In January 2016, Miller announced that the black-and-white version would appear on a later DVD release, and it debuted as part of the Mad Max: High Octane anthology released in October 2016, with the black-and-white version of Fury Road called the Black & Chrome Edition . The Black & Chrome Edition was made without the involvement of cinematographer John Seale, but Seale said

1096-452: A future threat. In the video game Chrono Trigger (1995), the giant alien creature Lavos collides with the earth in prehistoric times, subsequently hibernating beneath the earth. As millions of years pass, the monster feeds on the energy of the earth, eventually surfacing in 1999 to wreak complete destruction of the human race, atmosphere, and general life on the planet in the form of a rain of destruction fired from its outer shell, known as

1233-463: A group of friends who discover an alien invasion during a pub crawl in their hometown. In the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place , the 2021 sequel A Quiet Place Part II , and a 2024 movie A Quiet Place: Day One society has collapsed in the wake of lethal attacks by extraterrestrial creatures who, having no eyesight, hunt humans and other creatures with their highly sensitive hearing; the scattered survivors live most of their lives in near-silence as

1370-449: A healthy heir. However, it does not discuss the infertility plotline, instead suggesting that Furiosa fled on her own.) Brent Walter Cline argues that an aspect of Furiosa's personality or characterization that is overlooked but just as important as her feminism is her disability: "That Furiosa should be the one to kill Immortan Joe is appropriate, given Miller's desire for a 'feminist action movie.' It's also appropriate, however, given what

1507-521: A horned fish and Shesha appeared as a rope, with which Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to the horn of the fish. Variants of this story also appear in Buddhist and Jain scriptures. The 1st centuries CE saw the recording of the Book of Revelation (from which the word apocalypse originated, meaning ' {{{1}}} ' ), which is filled with prophecies of destruction, as well as luminous visions. In

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1644-579: A mechanical left arm mounted on the stump of her forearm. In Fury Road , Furiosa uses an SKS carbine as her primary weapon, but stores additional weapons, including a secret knife and several pistols, in the War Rig. She also uses Max's sniper rifle to blind the Bullet Farmer, after Max missed several shots. Furiosa is a strong-willed and moral leader. In Furiosa , she repeatedly risks her own life to save others. When she sees Dementus's raiders in

1781-596: A member of a matriarchal survivor civilization called the Vuvalini of Many Mothers. 45 years after "the collapse," Furiosa is kidnapped by the forces of Warlord Dementus, who leads the Biker Horde. Although Mary pursues the kidnappers to Dementus's camp and rescues Furiosa, the Horde catches them and executes Mary in front of Furiosa. Before dying, Mary makes Furiosa promise to find her way home. To do so, Furiosa tattoos

1918-706: A multinational effort is put in place to construct an ark for the preservation of Humanity, built around the International Space Station . Brian Aldiss ' novel Hothouse (1961) occurs in a distant future where the Sun is much hotter and stronger, and the human population has been reduced to a fifth of what it had been. J. G. Ballard 's novel The Drowned World (1962) occurs after a rise in solar radiation that causes worldwide flooding and accelerated mutation of plants and animals. Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven 's novel, Lucifer's Hammer (1977),

2055-466: A new Heaven and a new Earth, and its intended Christian audience is often enchanted and inspired, rather than terrified by visions of Judgment Day. These Christians believed themselves chosen for God's salvation, and so such apocalyptic sensibilities inspired optimism and nostalgia for the end times. The Norse poem Völuspá from the Poetic Edda details the creation, coming doom, and rebirth of

2192-471: A new identity as a mechanic, and later, soldier. At the end of the film, she avenges her mother by defeating and capturing Dementus, and is promoted to Imperator. Furiosa was born in the "Green Place of Many Mothers", located in the Australian bush and one of the few locations in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Mad Max franchise where plants still grow. She was raised by her mother Mary Jabassa,

2329-514: A non-technological future world or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain. Numerous ancient societies, including the Babylonian and Judaic, produced apocalyptic literature and mythology which dealt with the end of the world and human society, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh , written c. 2000–1500 BCE. Recognizable modern apocalyptic novels had existed since at least

2466-461: A number of Canon EOS 5Ds and Olympus PEN E-P5s that were used as crash cams for the action sequences; as the Canon cameras were simple consumer-grade ones, when one would break, the crew would simply source new ones locally from an airport store. Because of the fast-paced editing style Miller intended for the film, he asked Seale to keep the point of interest of each shot in the centre of the frame so

2603-404: A one-way trip to Mars . When the Sun begins to go nova, everything is on schedule, but most of the spaceships turn out to be defective, and fail en route to Mars. In Neal Stephenson 's novel Seveneves , The Moon is destroyed by an unknown agent, forming a massive debris cloud. This cloud threatens to produce a White Sky , which then causes a massive bombardment of Moon fragments. Due to this,

2740-466: A plague or virus, whether natural or man-made; religious, such as the Rapture or Great Tribulation ; or imaginative, such as zombie apocalypse or alien invasion . The story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or may be post-apocalyptic and set after the event. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on

2877-440: A post-apocalyptic desert wasteland where petrol and water are scarce commodities, Fury Road follows Max Rockatansky (Hardy), who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Theron) against warlord Immortan Joe (Keays-Byrne) and his army, leading to a lengthy road battle. Miller came up with the idea for Fury Road in 1987, but the film spent many years in development hell before pre-production began in 1998. Attempts to shoot

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3014-576: A result. In Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's novel When Worlds Collide (1933), Earth is destroyed by the rogue planet Bronson Alpha. A selected few escape on a spaceship. In the sequel, After Worlds Collide (1934), the survivors start a new life on the planet's companion Bronson Beta, which has taken over the orbit formerly occupied by Earth. In J. T. McIntosh 's novel One in Three Hundred (1954), scientists have discovered how to pinpoint

3151-414: A safe haven. In an interview, Charlize Theron revealed that Furiosa was originally supposed to be another one of Immortan Joe's wives, but was infertile: "[George Miller and I] talked about backstory, about how she ended up with no arm and that she was discarded. She couldn't breed, and that was all that she was good for. She was stolen from this place, this green place that she's trying to go back to. But she

3288-991: A school visit to a cave. In the obscure 2013 Australian film These Final Hours , a massive asteroid hits the Atlantic Ocean dooming all life. The film follows James, who decides to head to the 'party-to-end-all-parties' and there spend the last 12 hours before the global firestorm reaches Western Australia. Imperator Furiosa Imperator Furiosa is a fictional character in the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max . Introduced in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and portrayed by Charlize Theron , she serves as an officer in Immortan Joe 's army but turns against him in order to free "The Five Wives", Joe's "breeders". During her journey, she meets Max Rockatansky . Despite initial hostility,

3425-410: A sea-level rise that kills most of the population (though this may be redemptive, like Noah's Flood , rather than a disaster). In Greg Bear 's The Forge of God (1987), Earth is destroyed in an alien attack. Just prior to this, a different group of aliens is able to save samples of the biosphere and a small number of people, resettling them on Mars. Some of these form the crew of a ship to hunt down

3562-401: A spacecraft that will go to an unknown destination away from the destroyed Earth. The later books deal with the few survivors waking up from a 500-year hibernation and succumbing to both strange mutations and the will of a strange alien computer/spaceship that they land on. Eventually they return to Earth to find a couple colonies of survivors struggling on a harsh planet completely different from

3699-445: A story in which "violent marauders were fighting, not for oil or for material goods, but for human beings" coalesced. Miller said he worked with five storyboard artists to design the film in storyboard form before writing the screenplay, producing about 3,500 panels, which is almost the same as the number of shots as in the finished film, as he wanted the film to be almost a continuous chase, with relatively little dialogue, and to have

3836-414: A strong female action heroine and bringing feminist themes to the franchise. A. O. Scott and Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said that " Mad Max , which has garnered almost $ 150 million domestically so far, and near unanimous critical rapture, belongs less to its titular hero than to Imperator Furiosa, the steely avenger played by Charlize Theron. Her mission is to liberate the enslaved 'wives' of

3973-552: A technological past "protruding into a more primitive... landscape", a theme known as the "ruined Earth", have been described as "among the most potent of [science fiction]'s icons". Ancient Mesopotamian texts containing the oldest surviving apocalyptic literature , including the Eridu Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh , both of which date to around 2000-1500 BCE. Both describe angry gods sending floods to punish humanity, and

4110-559: A teenager. In the prequel, Furiosa primarily uses pistols, although Praetorian Jack later gives her a sawn-off shotgun, which she uses to save Jack's life when Dementus ambushes the War Rig near the end of the film. She also uses a sniper rifle to shoot Dementus's lieutenants at long range during the final chase. In addition, due to her familiarity with the War Rig, she is able to use many of the War Rig's weapons, including its harpoon and mechanical flail . In addition, after losing her forearm following Dementus's ambush, Furiosa builds herself

4247-654: A worldwide total of $ 380.4 million against a production budget of $ 154.6–185.2 million. It was the 21st-highest-grossing film of 2015. Although the film made a gross profit, The Hollywood Reporter calculated that the net loss incurred by the film was around $ 20–40 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released in 3,702 theatres the same weekend as Pitch Perfect 2 . It earned $ 16.77 million its opening day, which included $ 3.7 million from Thursday night screenings at 3,000 theatres. The film grossed $ 45.4 million its opening weekend, finishing in second at

Mad Max: Fury Road - Misplaced Pages Continue

4384-467: Is "extravagantly deranged, ear-splittingly cacophonous, and entirely over the top", a "bizarre convoy chase action-thriller in the post-apocalyptic desert". Lindsay Bahr of the Associated Press described the film as "radically visionary". Robert W. Butler of The Kansas City Star gave the film a scoring of three out of four, saying, "A mind-boggling exercise in pure action Mad Max: Fury Road

4521-481: Is a humorous take on alien invasion stories. Multiple Earths are repeatedly "demolished" by the bureaucratic Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass, to the chagrin of the protagonist Arthur Dent . In Gene Wolfe 's The Urth of the New Sun (1987), aliens (or highly evolved humans) introduce a white hole into the sun to counteract the dimming effect of a black hole , and the resulting global warming causes

4658-522: Is about a cataclysmic comet hitting Earth and various groups of people struggling to survive the aftermath in southern California. Hollywood—which previously had explored the idea of the Earth and its population being potentially endangered by a collision with another heavenly body with the When Worlds Collide (1951), a film treatment of the aforementioned 1933 novel – revisited the theme in

4795-493: Is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism ". Lord Byron 's 1816 poem "Darkness" , included in The Prisoner of Chillon collection, on the apocalyptic end of the world and one man's survival, was one of the earliest English-language works in this genre. The sun was blotted out, leading to darkness and cold which kills off mankind through famine and ice-age conditions. The poem

4932-431: Is essentially a retelling of the Book of Revelation , combined with themes of the story of Adam and Eve . Unlike most apocalyptic tales, de Grainville's novel approaches the end of the world not as a cautionary tale, or a tale of survival, but as both an inevitable, as well as necessary, step for the spiritual resurrection of mankind. Edgar Allan Poe 's short story " The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion " (1839) follows

5069-474: Is heavily damaged, and humanity nearly wiped out, by the direct collision of the real asteroid 99942 Apophis with the Earth in the year 2029. Marly Youmans ' epic poem Thaliad (2012) tells the story of a group of children after an unspecified apocalypse from the sky, perhaps connected with solar flares or meteor impact, resulting in people and animals having been burned and the skies having filled with ash. The children survive only because they were together on

5206-410: Is inevitably left as the last man alive. Shelley's novel is predated by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville 's French epic prose poem Le Dernier Homme (English: The Last Man [1805]), and this work is sometimes considered the first modern work to depict the end of the world. Published after his death in 1805, de Grainville's work follows the character of Omegarus, the titular "last man," in what

5343-416: Is overwhelming, achieving the sort of visual poetry typically ascribed to Ben-Hur ' s chariot race or one of Sam Peckinpah 's blood ballets". IGN reviewer Scott Collura gave the film 9.2 out of 10, writing, "The over-the-top stunts and eccentric characters and designs are all hugely important to Fury Road , as are the troubled figures like Max himself and Furiosa, but it's the overriding sense of

5480-539: Is reminiscent of H. G. Wells ' War of the Worlds (1897). Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski 's novel The Killing Star (1995) describes a devastating attack on a late-21st-century Earth by an alien civilization. Using missiles traveling at relativistic speed , they are determined to destroy the human race in a preemptive strike, as they are considered, after watching several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation which shows human domination in space,

5617-593: The San Francisco Chronicle wrote a mixed review, praising the cinematography and Theron's performance, but describing the film as a "long, dull chase". The film has been praised by scholars on several fronts. Women's studies scholars have praised the dominant role taken by Furiosa and the range of atypical female roles, including the wives and the gun-toting Vuvalini, and disability studies scholars have commended its positive, non-stigmatising portrayals of physical and psychological disabilities. At

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5754-404: The 88th Academy Awards , Mad Max: Fury Road received nominations for Best Picture , Best Director , Best Cinematography , and Best Visual Effects ; and won Best Film Editing , Best Production Design , Best Costume Design , Best Makeup and Hairstyling , Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing . Its six awards were more than any other film at that year's ceremony and set a new record for

5891-800: The Genesis flood narrative is found in the 71st Chapter of the Quran ; however, unlike the Biblical story, the Quranic account explicitly claims that the deluge was only sent to the tribe of the Prophet Nūḥ ( نُوح ) ( ' Noah ' in Arabic ), and therefore, the deluge did not engulf the entire world. In the Hindu Dharmasastra , an apocalyptic deluge plays a prominent part. According to

6028-645: The Matsya Purana , the Matsya avatar of Lord Vishnu , informed the King Manu of an all-destructive deluge which would be coming very soon. The King was advised to build a huge boat (ark) which housed his family, nine types of seeds, pairs of all animals and the Saptarishis to repopulate Earth, after the deluge would end and the oceans and seas would recede. At the time of the deluge , Vishnu appeared as

6165-511: The "Arkfalls", which terraforms Earth to an almost unrecognizable state. Unlike most apocalyptic works, in this one Earth is not inhospitable, and humanity is not on the verge of extinction. The World's End is a 2013 British-American comic science fiction film directed by Edgar Wright , written by Wright and Simon Pegg , and starring Pegg, Nick Frost , Paddy Considine , Martin Freeman , Eddie Marsan and Rosamund Pike . The film follows

6302-467: The "Day of Lavos". In the video game Half-Life (1998), hostile alien creatures arrive on Earth through a portal after a scientific experiment goes wrong. In its sequel, Half-Life 2 (2004), it is revealed to the player the creatures encountered in the first game are merely the slaves of a much more powerful alien race, the Combine, who have taken over the Earth to drain its resources after subduing

6439-411: The 150 vehicles constructed, only 88 survived to the end of filming, with the others built to facilitate their intended method of destruction. The War Rig, the film's most prominent vehicle, was made by combining a Tatra 815 and Chevrolet Fleetmaster and fusing a Volkswagen Beetle to the hull, among other modifications. The cars were designed with an emphasis on detail and characterisation, and effort

6576-507: The Air , the novel has become one of the best known early apocalyptic works. It has subsequently been reproduced or adapted several times in comic books, film, music, radio programming , television programming, and video games. Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke , in which aliens come to Earth, human children develop fantastic powers and

6713-515: The Citadel, her potential impresses the War Rig's commander, Praetorian Jack, who convinces her that she will need substantially more training and supplies to escape the Citadel properly. Jack agrees to mentor Furiosa and trains her to become a capable driver and soldier. She becomes Jack's right-hand woman and is promoted to Praetorian herself. At the end of Furiosa's training, Furiosa and Jack resolve to run away together. However, before they can escape, Dementus declares war on Immortan Joe. He ambushes

6850-530: The Citadel, she builds a mechanical prosthetic arm, shaves her head, and pursues Dementus through the desert until she catches up with him, drains his last bit of water and taunts him. She captures Dementus and imprisons him in the Citadel, 15 years after she was first kidnapped. At least four years pass between the fall of Dementus and the events of Mad Max: Fury Road . (The Mad Max films have "no strict chronology", but in Fury Road , Furiosa mentions that she

6987-405: The Citadel, where he imprisons her in a luxurious residence for his "wives," a group of sex slaves who have mostly avoided the genetic effects of post-apocalyptic radiation. He aims to use the "wives" to breed a healthy heir, as all of his sons were born with birth defects. When Joe's son Rictus unlocks Furiosa's prison to sexually assault her, she escapes the residence and begins a new life, spending

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7124-489: The Citadel. He persuades Furiosa that building a new civilization with the Citadel's resources is her best chance at finding redemption. Capitalizing on this opportunity, Furiosa reassumes command of the War Rig and leads the rag-tag group of rebels back to the Citadel, in the process engaging in a running battle with several groups of vehicles driven by the War Boys. Ultimately, Furiosa is able to board Joe's vehicle and slay

7261-496: The Citadel. Max, a universal donor , is forced to transfuse his blood to Nux, a sick War Boy. Meanwhile, Joe sends his lieutenant Imperator Furiosa in the armoured "War Rig" to trade produce and water for petrol and ammunition with two of his allies, the Bullet Farmer and the People Eater. When Joe realises his five wives are fleeing in the Rig, he leads his entire army in pursuit, calling on his allies to help. Nux joins

7398-466: The Dag, Cheedo, and Angharad, the last of whom is heavily pregnant with Joe's child. Max fights and subdues Furiosa, but her engine kill switch prevents him from stealing the Rig. He begrudgingly agrees to help Furiosa's group escape Joe's wrath. Nux sneaks onto the Rig and attempts to kill Furiosa, but the wives overpower him and throw him out. He rejoins Joe's army when it catches up. Furiosa drives through

7535-499: The Earth the Remnants knew. Melancholia (2011), the middle entry of filmmaker Lars von Trier 's "depression trilogy", ends with humanity completely wiped out by a collision with a rogue planet . The depressed protagonist reverses roles with her relatives as the crisis unfolds, as she turns out to be the only family member capable of calmly accepting the imminent impact event. In id Software 's video game Rage (2011), Earth

7672-462: The Five Wives escape as a way of seeking redemption. After leaving the Citadel, Furiosa abruptly changes course and heads off the main road in search of the Green Place, precipitating a battle in which she shows her combat and tactical skills. Having lost her star map during the events of Furiosa , Furiosa no longer knows the exact way home, and proceeds based on memory. She successfully defends

7809-477: The Five Wives from Immortan Joe with little regard for her own well-being and without any desire for reward, save for personal redemption for offscreen misdeeds. She aims to take the Wives to the Green Place, but is devastated to learn that it is now an uninhabitable swamp. Her relationship with Max inspires her to return to the Citadel and take it over after killing Immortan Joe, giving the Five Wives and all citizens

7946-489: The Gilgamesh version includes the ancient hero Utnapishtim and his family being saved through the intervention of the god Ea . The Biblical myth of Noah and his ark describes the destruction of the corrupt original civilization and its replacement with a remade world. Noah is assigned the task to build the ark and save two of each animal species in order to reestablish a new post-flood world. The Biblical story of

8083-474: The Green Place, instead of running back home, she sneaks towards the raiders to try to disable their bikes. Twice, she refuses to heed her allies' pleas to leave them and save herself: first, when her mother makes a last stand against Dementus's horde in a narrow canyon, and second, when Jack attempts to distract Dementus's horde by driving into the Bullet Farm. In Fury Road , she takes the initiative to save

8220-410: The Rig and Joe fatally runs her over. Capable finds Nux hiding in the Rig and consoles him as he laments his failure. At night, Furiosa and Max drive through a swamp and get stuck in the mud. They slow Joe's forces with landmines, but the Bullet Farmer continues the pursuit in his ATV . Furiosa and Max work together to blind the Bullet Farmer and disable his ATV. Moved by Capable's compassion, Nux joins

8357-461: The Rig from bandits and later from a party of War Boys sent out to stop her. She encounters Max Rockatansky in the desert and the two end up working together, drawing on their respective experiences surviving in hostile environments to overcome the challenge of fighting against Joe's forces. Eventually, Furiosa comes across a Vuvalini watchtower. She identifies herself to the watchwoman, who is revealed to be her childhood friend Valkyrie. Valkyrie calls

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8494-573: The UK on 5 October 2015. In the US, it was released digitally on 11 August 2015, and physically on 1 September. In addition to the stand-alone release, a box set containing all four Mad Max films and a documentary about the series titled The Madness of Max was released the same day. Producer Doug Mitchell confirmed in December 2015 that the black-and-white version of the film existed and could potentially see

8631-531: The United States) all having been considered at various stages of the film's extended development. Hardy announced he had been cast on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in June 2010. In July 2010, Miller announced plans to shoot two Mad Max films back-to-back, entitled Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max: Furiosa . Weta Digital was involved with the film when it was scheduled for a 2012 release. The company

8768-504: The War Rig as an allegory for Moby-Dick , with Immortan Joe playing the role of Captain Ahab . As such, the mechanical truck sounds of the Rig were layered with whale calls to provide a more animal-like quality, and when the tank is pierced with harpoons and milk sprays out, sounds of whales breathing from their blow-holes were incorporated. For the final destruction of the War Rig, the only sounds used were slowed down bear growls to symbolise

8905-537: The War Rig during a supply run and captures Furiosa and Jack. While trying to escape the ambush, Furiosa nearly loses her left arm when it is smashed against the wheel of Dementus's monster truck. An enraged Dementus forces Furiosa to watch Jack's execution, fifteen years after forcing her to watch her mother's execution. He adds insult to injury by hanging her from his truck by her injured left arm. However, his sadism backfires when Furiosa breaks her left arm to escape, losing her star map but saving her life. Upon returning to

9042-579: The arch-villain, and she receives crucial assistance from a band of gray-haired motorcycle matriarchs." Richard Roeper wrote for Chicago Sun Times that "Max often takes a passenger seat to Theron's Imperator Furiosa, this is one female-empowered action vehicle." Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle wrote that "Furiosa, who more than lives up to her name, is Fury Road ' s heart and soul – well, after all those nightmarishly souped-up deathmobiles – and this future über-feminist/humanist gets all of

9179-477: The atmosphere which lowered the temperature and altered weather patterns throughout the world. This was the source for Byron's poem. Mary Shelley 's novel The Last Man (1826) is a continuation of the apocalyptic theme in fiction and is generally recognized as the first major fictional post-apocalyptic story. The plot follows a group of people as they struggle to survive in a plague-infected world. The story's male protagonist struggles to keep his family safe but

9316-734: The audience did not have to search for it. Principal photography began in July 2012 in Namibia, with most of the filming based in the Dorob National Park . Some scenes were also shot at the Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town , South Africa. In October 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Warner Bros. sent an executive to Namibia to keep the production on track. Filming wrapped on 8 December 2012, although

9453-476: The barbarian, warlike tribes that came before". These elements contrast this film with the male-centred stories of the previous Mad Max films. Miller described the film as "a very simple allegory, almost a western on wheels". Further themes pointed out by critics include vengeance, solidarity, home, and redemption. Home dominates the motivations of Max, Furiosa, and the Five Wives: his home was destroyed, she

9590-429: The box office behind Pitch Perfect 2 ($ 69.2 million). On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 97% of 439 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The website's "critics consensus" reads: "With exhilarating action and a surprising amount of narrative heft, Mad Max: Fury Road brings George Miller's post-apocalyptic franchise roaring vigorously back to life." Metacritic , which uses

9727-571: The changing frame rate gives the film an "almost cartoonishly jerky" look. The film contains 2,000 visual effects shots. The lead effects company was Iloura, which produced more than 1,500 effects shots for the film. Additional visual effects studios that worked on the film include Method Studios , Brave New World vfx, Stereo D, 4DMax, BlackGinger, The Third Floor , and Dr D Studios. The effects work included altering lighting and time of day, weather effects, terrain replacement, and plate composition. Sound designer Mark Mangini stated that he viewed

9864-563: The concept of destruction that causes public interest in apocalyptic themes. Such fiction is studied by social sciences , and may provide insights into a culture's fears, as well as things like the role imagined for public administration . Since the late 20th century, a surge of popular post-apocalyptic films can be observed. Christopher Schmidt notes that, while the world "goes to waste" for future generations, we distract ourselves from disaster by passively watching it as entertainment. Some have commented on this trend, saying that "it

10001-440: The conversation between two souls in the afterlife as they discuss the destruction of the world. The destruction was brought about by a comet that removed nitrogen from Earth's atmosphere; this left only oxygen and resulted in a worldwide inferno. Similarly, Giacomo Leopardi 's short dialogue " Dialogue between a Goblin and a Gnome " (1824) features a world without the presence of the human beings, most likely because they "violate[d]

10138-409: The death of the truck as a living creature. Although Miller was contractually obligated to deliver a PG-13 film, Warner Bros. decided to hold test screenings for two different versions: a studio cut and a Miller cut. The Miller cut tested better than the studio cut, so Warner Bros. decided to release the film with an R-rating. Miller had originally planned to shoot the film in native 3D, but this idea

10275-494: The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah also has post-apocalyptic elements. The daughters of Lot , who mistakenly believe that the destruction had engulfed the whole world and that they and their father were the only surviving human beings, conclude that in such a situation it would be justified - and indeed vitally needed - to have sex with their father in order to ensure the survival of humanity. Such situations and dilemmas occur in modern post-apocalyptic fiction. A similar story to

10412-520: The dictator. Upon returning to the Citadel in Joe's vehicle, she displays Joe's corpse to the crowd, earning the crowd's admiration. She is last seen ascending into the cliffside Citadel on a lift used to move vehicles up and down the fortress. Furiosa is a highly skilled marksman, hand-to-hand fighter, driver, and mechanic. In both Furiosa and Fury Road , Furiosa drives the War Rig, a fast and heavily armed tractor-trailer which she helped design and build as

10549-513: The elfin Eloi and the brutal Morlocks. Later in the story, the time traveler moves forward to a dying Earth beneath a swollen red sun. The War of the Worlds (1898) depicts an invasion of Earth by inhabitants of the planet Mars . The aliens systematically destroy Victorian England with advanced weaponry mounted on nearly indestructible vehicles. Due to the infamous radio adaptation of the novel by Orson Welles on his show, The Mercury Theatre on

10686-544: The entirety of Earth's governments and military forces in only seven hours. In the 2000 Don Bluth animated film Titan A.E. , Earth has been destroyed by the Drej, due to a human experimental discovery called Project Titan, which made them fear “what humanity will become”. The 2011 TV series Falling Skies , by Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg , follows a human resistance force fighting to survive after extraterrestrial aliens attempt to take over Earth by disabling most of

10823-421: The exact minute, hour, and day the Sun will go " nova " – and when it does, it will boil away Earth's seas, beginning with the hemisphere that faces the sun, and as Earth continues to rotate, it will take only 24 hours before all life is eradicated. Super-hurricanes and tornadoes are predicted. Buildings will be blown away. A race is on to build thousands of spaceships for the sole purpose of transferring evacuees on

10960-613: The female co-lead which would later become Imperator Furiosa , suggested by Gibson himself after they had worked together in Peter Weir 's The Year of Living Dangerously , and Miller agreed on the idea. However, production was indefinitely postponed after the September 11 attacks in 2001 caused "the American dollar [to collapse] against the Australian dollar, and our budget ballooned", as Miller has said in several interviews since

11097-399: The film as a survivor haunted by visions of deceased people, and recovers his humanity by partnering with Furiosa. Feminism is another theme that has received academic attention. Charlize Theron as Furiosa is the dramatic centre of the film. Throughout, her character demonstrates the physicality of a hero committed to a rescue mission that "sets up the start of a matriarchy as an antidote to

11234-549: The film in the 2000s were delayed numerous times due to the September 11 attacks , the Iraq War , and controversies surrounding star Mel Gibson , leading Miller to recast Gibson's role of Max Rockatansky. Miller decided to pursue the film again in 2007, after the release of his animated comedy film Happy Feet . In 2009, Miller announced that filming would begin in early 2011. Hardy was cast as Max in June 2010, with production planned to begin that November. Principal photography

11371-415: The film is not running at 24 frames a second, which is the traditional frame rate . It'll be running below 24 frames because George, if he couldn't understand what was happening in the shot, he slowed it down until you could ... Or if it was too well understood, he'd shorten it or he'd speed it up back towards 24. His manipulation of every shot in that movie is intense." The Washington Post noted that

11508-522: The film tells us about disability. The very manner of Immortan Joe's death is telling. Furiosa hooks her metal arm to his breathing mask, and then rids herself voluntarily of her prosthesis, tearing away not only Immortan Joe's mask but his face as well. For him, these things cannot be separated. Furiosa will reveal her impairment, but Immortan Joe can never, and its removal is both the metaphorical and literal end of his reign." Furiosa's character received critical acclaim. Furiosa has received praise for being

11645-564: The film was released in 2015, or due to security concerns and tightened travel and shipping restrictions during the lead up to the Iraq War caused issues with the proposed Namibian shoot, as had been reported previously. In either event, Miller said he then "had to commit to Happy Feet because we had the digital facility booked to do it", and by the time he got back to work on the Mad Max project four years later, Gibson "had all that turbulence in his life". Both Miller and Gibson himself said

11782-547: The film's uniqueness, its striving to be something more than just another action movie, that is most impressive." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four and wrote that Theron and Hardy are "one of the best action duos ever, in one of the best action movies". Similarly, Rolling Stone ' s Peter Travers called the film "a new action classic", and gave particular praise to its editing, costumes, and soundtrack. Mick LaSalle of

11919-552: The film. A soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music on 12 May 2015. Miller described the film's key theme as survival, which he said it has in common with the American Westerns that were "such a staple for the better part of a century in American cinema ", while several critics wrote that the primary theme of Mad Max: Fury Road is the attempt to retain humanity in the face of apocalyptic events. Max begins

12056-564: The first chapter of Revelation, the writer St. John the Divine explains his divine errand: "Write the things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19). He takes it as his mission to convey—to reveal—to God's kingdom His promise that justice will prevail and that the suffering will be vindicated (Leigh). The apocalyptist provides a beatific vision of Judgement Day, revealing God's promise for redemption from suffering and strife. Revelation describes

12193-447: The first third of the 19th century, when Mary Shelley 's The Last Man (1826) was published; however, this form of literature gained widespread popularity after World War II , when the possibility of global annihilation by nuclear weapons entered the public consciousness. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change ; natural, such as an impact event ; man made, such as nuclear holocaust ; medical, such as

12330-432: The good lines." Ty Burr of The Boston Globe proclaimed, "About a half hour into Mad Max: Fury Road , you may realize with a start that Max is sharing hero duties with a fiery woman warrior named Furiosa, played with tensile strength by Charlize Theron, and that Furiosa may actually be the central figure in this breakneck and emotionally resonant film. Utterly capable while yearning for 'the green place' from which she

12467-408: The group and helps get the Rig moving again. In the morning, Furiosa tells Max that her group is escaping to a "Green Place", the bountiful land where she grew up before she was kidnapped and brought to the Citadel. She spots a Green Place watchtower and identifies herself to the watchwoman, who summons their matriarchal clan, the Vuvalini. The Vuvalini recognise Furiosa as one of their own, but inform

12604-415: The group drive Joe's truck back to the Citadel, while Nux sacrifices himself by wrecking the Rig to block the canyon behind them, killing Rictus. Max transfuses his blood to Furiosa, saving her life. Back at the Citadel, the people rejoice upon learning of Joe's death. As Max's companions are lifted to Joe's cliffside fortress, Max exchanges a glance with Furiosa before disappearing into the crowd. The film

12741-468: The homeworld of the killers, as described in the sequel, Anvil of Stars (1992). Al Sarrantonio 's Moonbane (1989) concerns the origin of werewolves (he attributes it to the Moon, which is why they are so attracted to it), and an invasion after an explosion on Luna sends meteoric fragments containing latent lycanthropes to Earth, who thrive in our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. Moonbane ' s tone

12878-437: The idea was "beautifully dramatic" and he thought "the new version will emphasise" the actors' performances. Home media editions of Mad Max: Fury Road were among the top-selling video titles in the US in 2015 and 2016. As of 2023, over three million copies have been sold, for a total revenue of $ 56.4 million. Mad Max: Fury Road grossed $ 154.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 226.1 million in other countries, for

13015-405: The impact and consequences of the event itself, or it may be post-apocalyptic, set after the event. The time may be directly after the catastrophe, focusing on the psychology of survivors, the way to keep the human race alive and together as one, or considerably later, often including that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been mythologized. Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in

13152-513: The late 1990s with a trio of similarly themed projects. Asteroid (1997) is an NBC-TV miniseries about the U.S. government trying to prevent an asteroid from colliding with the Earth. The following year saw dueling big-budget summer blockbuster movies Deep Impact (1998) and Armageddon (1998), both of which involved efforts to save the Earth from, respectively, a rogue comet and an asteroid, by landing crews upon them to detonate nuclear weapons there in hopes of destroying them. Characters in

13289-584: The laws of nature, and [went] contrary to their welfare". Richard Jefferies ' novel After London (1885) can best be described as genuine post-apocalyptic fiction. After a sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature and the few survivors return to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first chapters consist solely of a description of nature reclaiming England: fields becoming overrun by forest, domesticated animals running wild, roads and towns becoming overgrown, London reverting to lake and poisonous swampland. The rest of

13426-701: The media, calling the accusations "unjust rhetoric". Filming went over budget and producers forced the film to wrap before any of the Citadel scenes had been shot. A change of leadership at Warner Bros. later allowed production to continue and the missing scenes be filmed. In September 2013, it was announced that the film would add pick-ups of the opening and closing scenes at the Citadel. Filming continued on 22 November 2013 at Potts Hill and Penrith Lakes in Western Sydney , and concluded in December 2013 at Fox Studios Australia . Miller invited playwright Eve Ensler to act as an on-set adviser. Impressed with

13563-626: The most wins by an Australian film. The film's other nominations include seven British Academy Film Awards (winning four), thirteen Critics' Choice Movie Awards (winning nine), and two Golden Globe Awards . It won Best Film at the National Board of Review Awards 2015 , and was named one of the ten best films of 2015 by the American Film Institute . Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction The story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event, deal with

13700-552: The next day. Miller said the Blu-ray Disc release of the film would include black-and-white and silent versions of the film, with the latter accompanied by the musical score, and described the black-and-white cut as the best version. However, when details for the initial UK and US releases of the Blu-ray were announced, the alternate cuts were missing. The film was released on both 3D and standard Blu-ray as well as DVD in

13837-403: The next ten years under a new identity as a nonverbal, male-passing mechanic for Joe's private army, the War Boys. As a mechanic, Furiosa helps build the "War Rig", a heavily armed and armoured tractor-trailer that transports water, human milk, and agricultural products from the Citadel to trade for petrol and ammunition produced by Joe's military allies. During one of Furiosa's attempts to escape

13974-607: The opening and closing scenes at the Citadel had still not been shot. A draft from the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management Project that accused the producers of damaging parts of the Namib desert, endangering a number of plant and animal species, was leaked in February 2013. The Namibia Film Commission said it had "no reservations" after visiting the set during production and disputed claims reported in

14111-422: The outside world. Furthermore, they often explore a world without modern technology whose rapid progress may overwhelm people as human brains are not adapted to contemporary society, but evolved to deal with issues that have become largely irrelevant, such as immediate physical threats. Such works depict worlds of less complexity, direct contact, and primitive needs. It is often the concept of change as much as

14248-491: The passage of time had made Gibson's age a factor, since the film "wasn't about an old road warrior". In 2006, Miller said he was thinking about making Fury Road without Gibson. He confirmed his intention to make another Mad Max film in 2007 and stated that he thought Gibson was focused on his own films and was also "too old" to play the part. On 5 March 2009, it was announced that an R-rated animated feature film inspired by Japanese anime , but adapted for Western audiences,

14385-562: The planet is destroyed. Argentine comic writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld 's comic series El Eternauta (1957 to 1959), an alien race only mentioned by the protagonists as Ellos ("Them") invades the Earth starting with a deadly snowfall and then using other alien races to defeat the remaining humans. In Alice Sheldon 's Nebula -winning novelette " The Screwfly Solution " (1977), aliens are wiping out humanity with an airborne agent that changes men's sexual impulses to violent ones. Douglas Adams 's Hitchhiker's Guide series (1979–2009)

14522-521: The production design of the previous films in the series. Instead, he wanted the design to harken back to the earlier films and reflect the changes of the past 30 years. Colin Gibson , the production designer , said the filmmakers developed an internally consistent history to explain the film's look and justify its use of hot rods . He designed the vehicles in the film, some of which were constructed as early as 2003, and all of which were fully functional. Of

14659-600: The project had moved from Fox to Warner Bros. In October, Miller announced that principal photography on Fury Road would commence at Broken Hill, New South Wales in August 2010. That same month, British actor Tom Hardy was in negotiations to take the lead role of Max, and it was also announced that Charlize Theron would play a major role. The finalists for the part of Max were Hardy, Armie Hammer , and Jeremy Renner , with Michael Fassbender , Joel Kinnaman , Heath Ledger , Eric Bana , and Eminem (who did not wish to leave

14796-436: The pursuit with Max strapped to his car, and a chasing battle ensues. After entering enemy territory and fending off a rival gang, Furiosa drives into a sandstorm and loses all of her pursuers except Nux, who attempts to sacrifice himself to blow up the Rig. Max frees himself and restrains Nux, and Furiosa destroys Nux's car. After the sandstorm, Max catches Furiosa repairing the Rig, accompanied by Joe's wives: Toast, Capable,

14933-450: The remaining Vuvalini to meet Furiosa; they welcome Furiosa as one of their own. However, they also explain that the Green Place is no longer habitable; in the twenty-odd years since Furiosa was kidnapped, its supply of fresh water disappeared and the soil decayed into a poisonous swamp. Furiosa is devastated to learn that she actually passed through the Green Place the night before, but did not recognize it. The Vuvalini decide to trek across

15070-419: The salt flat but do know that the now-undefended Citadel has ample water and crops. Joe intercepts them, and in the ensuing battle, five Vuvalini are killed, Toast is captured, and Furiosa is severely wounded. Joe overtakes the Rig as they approach the canyon. While Max fights Joe's son and enforcer, Rictus, Furiosa boards Joe's truck to rescue Toast, who distracts Joe, allowing Furiosa to kill him. The remnants of

15207-431: The salt flats to find a new home, and Furiosa initially opts to join them. However, Max persuades her and the Vuvalini to return to the Citadel, the only confirmed source of fresh water in the wasteland. Max reasons that because Joe has committed the bulk of his army (and his allies' armies) to pursue Furiosa in the desert, the Citadel must be undefended; as such, if Furiosa can get past Joe's army, she will be able to conquer

15344-584: The script's depth and what she saw as feminist themes, she spent a week in Namibia, where she spoke to the actors about issues of violence against women . According to Miller, 90% of the effects in the film were achieved practically . Both the Doof Wagon and the Doof Warrior's guitar are fully functional, and none of his scenes were rendered using CGI —even when the guitar shoots fire. Second unit director and supervising stunt coordinator Guy Norris

15481-445: The shooting schedule. Miller recruited his wife, Margaret Sixel , to edit the film, as he felt she could make it stand out from other action films. Sixel had 480 hours of footage to edit, which took three months to watch. The film contains about 2,700 cuts in 120 minutes, or 22.5 cuts per minute, compared to Mad Max 2 ' s 1,200 cuts in 90 minutes, or 13.33 cuts per minute. According to Seale, "something like 50 or 60 percent of

15618-431: The six-part ITV television drama serial The Last Train (1999) awaken from a cryogenic sleep after an asteroid the size of Birmingham strikes Africa, causing a worldwide apocalypse. K. A. Applegate 's 2001–2003 book series, Remnants , details the end of the world by asteroid collision. The first book, The Mayflower Project (2001), describes Earth in a sort of hysteria as 80 people are chosen by NASA to board

15755-557: The start of the film, Joe dispatches Furiosa and the War Rig on a supply run to Gastown (an oil refinery) and the Bullet Farm (a mining facility that manufactures guns and ammunition). Unbeknownst to him, the night before, Furiosa helped Joe's five remaining "wives" stow away in the War Rig, as shown in Furiosa 's epilogue. In a subsequent conversation with Max Rockatansky , Furiosa implies that she has committed many crimes during her years working for Joe, and tells Max that she agreed to help

15892-428: The story is a straightforward adventure/quest set many years later in the wild landscape and society, but the opening chapters set an example for many later science fiction stories. H.G. Wells wrote several novels that have a post-apocalyptic theme. The Time Machine (1895) has the unnamed protagonist traveling to the year 802,701 A.D. after civilization has collapsed and humanity has split into two distinct species,

16029-629: The travails or psychology of survivors, the way to maintain the human race alive and together as one, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in a non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain. Other themes may be cybernetic revolt , divine judgment , dysgenics , ecological collapse , pandemic , resource depletion , supernatural phenomena , technological singularity , or some other general disaster. The relics of

16166-441: The two become allies and team up to drive The Five Wives to a safe environment called the "Green Place". The character returned in the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), with Anya Taylor-Joy portraying her as an adult and Alyla Browne portraying her as a child. In the film, the warlord Dementus kidnaps Furiosa and executes her mother before selling her to Immortan Joe as a future breeder. Furiosa escapes and adopts

16303-408: The visuals come first. The screenplay was written with Nico Lathouris and cult British comic creator Brendan McCarthy , who also designed many of the new characters and vehicles. The film entered pre-production at 20th Century Fox in the early 2000s and was set to star Mel Gibson , who had portrayed Max Rockatansky in the first three films in the series, with Sigourney Weaver contemplated for

16440-400: The world's technology and destroying its armed forces in a surprise attack. It is implied that the attacking aliens are in reality former victims of an attack on their own planet and are now the slaves of an unseen controller race. The television series Defiance (2013–2015) is set in an Earth devastated by the "Pale Wars", a war with seven alien races referred to as the "Votan", followed by

16577-487: The world. The world's destruction includes fire and flood consuming the earth while mythic beasts do battle with the Aesir gods, during which they all perish in an event called Ragnarök . After the destruction, a pair of humans, a man and woman, find the world renewed and the god Baldr resurrected. Such works often feature the loss of a global perspective as protagonists are on their own, often with little or no knowledge of

16714-560: Was delayed several more times before it actually began in July 2012. The film wrapped in December 2012, although additional footage was shot in November 2013. Fury Road premiered in Los Angeles on 7 May 2015, and was released in Australia on 14 May. It grossed $ 380.4 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing Mad Max film but incurring a net loss of $ 6.1–82.6 million with all expenses factored. The film

16851-483: Was eventually scrapped, due to both budgetary concerns and doubts that the 3D cameras could withstand the tough desert filming conditions and extensive stunt work, and it was converted to 3D in post-production instead. The musical score for Mad Max: Fury Road was written by the Dutch composer Junkie XL . Prior to his involvement, Hans Zimmer , John Powell , and Marco Beltrami were attached at separate times to score

16988-434: Was going to be produced by Dr D Studios , a digital art studio founded in 2008 by Miller and Doug Mitchell . On 18 May 2009, it was reported that location scouting was underway for Fury Road , which "could go into production later this year". Miller had decided to shoot a live-action film after all, and "already had the various vehicles built for years now – as they were built for the doomed Fury Road shoot". By this time,

17125-452: Was in charge of over 150 stunt performers, some of whom were from Cirque du Soleil . Hardy later said he had a hard time seeing Miller's vision during production, which frustrated him. He understood after seeing the finished film, however, and started his Cannes press briefing with a lengthy apology to Miller, calling the director "brilliant". Theron and Hardy clashed on set during filming. Hardy would show up late to set frequently, disrupting

17262-402: Was in pre-production that would be taking much of the plot from Fury Road and would not feature Gibson's voice. Miller was also developing an action-adventure tie-in video game based on the fourth film with God of War II designer Cory Barlog . Both projects were expected to take two to two-and-a-half years and, according to Miller, would be released in 2011 or 2012. The animated Fury Road

17399-528: Was influential in the emergence of "the last man" theme which appeared in the works of several poets, such as "The Last Man" by Thomas Campbell (1824) and "The Last Man" (1826) by Thomas Hood , as well as "The Last Man" by Thomas Lovell Beddoes . The year 1816 was known as the Year Without a Summer because Mount Tambora had erupted in the Dutch East Indies in 1815 that emitted sulphur into

17536-586: Was kidnapped as a child, outfitted with a spidery mechanical arm that is one of Miller's many nods to that classic movie dystopia Metropolis , Furiosa is the movie's soul and spine." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "Hardy and Theron make a dynamite team, but this is Theron's show. She's a knockout in a sensational performance that blends grit and gravity and becomes the film's bruised heart and soul." Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer agreed, saying that "Theron stands out" in her role. Claudia Puig of USA Today declared that Theron as Furiosa

17673-402: Was kidnapped roughly 7,000 days, or 19 years, before the events of the film, plus the days she "doesn't remember") After Furiosa captures Dementus, Immortan Joe promotes her to Imperator and gives her command of a new War Rig. The canon comic book prequel story, co-written by George Miller, examines Furiosa's deteriorating relationship with Joe in the years between Furiosa and Fury Road . At

17810-485: Was kind of embedded in [the Citadel] for one thing, and when she couldn't deliver on that one thing, she was discarded – and she didn't die. And instead... she hid out with those war pups in the world of mechanics, and they almost forgot she was a woman because she grew up like them." ( Furiosa confirms that Joe purchased Furiosa for his breeding program and that he discards his wives after three failed attempts at breeding

17947-483: Was made to show the various characters' attempts to recycle the remains of civilisation and their feelings of guilt and loss. Cinematographer John Seale came out of retirement to shoot Fury Road , replacing Dean Semler , the cinematographer of the previous two Mad Max films, who left the film near the end of its preparation period. It was the first project Seale filmed with digital cameras. He outfitted his crew with six Arri Alexa Pluses and four Alexa Ms, as well as

18084-423: Was nominated for ten awards at the 88th Academy Awards , winning six, and received numerous other accolades , including Best Film from the National Board of Review , and was also named one of the top ten films of 2015 by the American Film Institute . Retrospectively, it has been called one of the greatest action films of all time and one of the best films of the 2010s. A self-titled prequel comic book series

18221-433: Was produced by Doug Mitchell , George Miller, and P. J. Voeten (who was also first assistant director). Mad Max: Fury Road had a lengthy gestation period . In 1987, George Miller had the idea of making a Mad Max instalment that was "almost a continuous chase". He got an idea for the plot in 1998 when he was walking across a street in Los Angeles, and about a year later, while travelling from Los Angeles to Australia,

18358-468: Was published by Vertigo from 20 May to 5 August 2015, while following a pay dispute between Warner Bros. and Miller that delayed early efforts to produce follow-up projects. A prequel film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , was released on 24 May 2024, with Miller returning as writer and director. Max Rockatansky , a survivor haunted by memories of all the people he failed to protect, is captured by cult leader Immortan Joe 's War Boys and taken to his fortress,

18495-483: Was released on 5 August. A deluxe-edition hardcover collection of art inspired by the film, titled Mad Max: Fury Road – Inspired Artists Deluxe Edition , was released by Vertigo on 6 May. The film had its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on 7 May 2015. It screened out-of-competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May, and it was theatrically released in the United States

18632-521: Was taken from her home, and the wives are in search of a new home in which to raise their children. The unity of these characters also harnesses a concern for family, which is a common theme within Miller's films (see Happy Feet , Happy Feet 2 , and Babe: Pig in the City ). Themes of ecological collapse and moral decadence are also present in the film. In May 2015, Vertigo Comics began publishing

18769-660: Was to handle visual effects, conceptual designs, speciality make-up effects, and costume designs until production was postponed from its November 2010 start date. After unexpected heavy rains caused wildflowers to grow in the desert around Broken Hill, filming was moved from Broken Hill back to Namibia in November 2011. Other potential locations scouted included the Atacama Desert in Chile, Chott el Djerid in Tunisia, and Azerbaijan . Miller said he did not feel he had to top

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