Source: Warner Bros: Blu-ray, 2021.
Year: 1979
Director: George Miller
Action Stars:
Genre: Science-Fiction
Country: Australia
Story Duration: 01:29:38
Act Duration:
1st Act: 00:18:19
2nd Act: 00:27:31
3rd Act: 00:27:43
4th Act: 00:16:05
Plot Turns:
1st: Nightrider’s gang is out to get Max
2nd: Goose killed
3rd: Jessie Killed
ASD Ratio: 59%
AAD Ratios:
1st Act: 53%
2nd Act: 65%
3rd Act: 39%
4th Act: 92%
Action Structure: 1342
Action Scenarios:
Capture
Chicken Speed Variant
Escape
Fall
Fight
Heist
Pursuit
Rescue
Speed
Total Action Moments: 18
Notable Action Sequence: Nightrider Pursuit
Duration: 00:09:45
Act: 1st
Action Scenarios:
Chicken Speed Variant
Fight
Pursuit
Speed
Description: The opening chase sequence in Mad Max (1979) augurs, on a smaller scale, the multi-vehicle pursuit that would become a trademark for the Mad Max franchise. Nightrider and his girlfriend flee in a stolen Pursuit Special that triggers two separate units of the Main Force Patrol (MFP) to give chase. MFP officers Roop and Charlie attempt to intercept Nightrider first by firing at him with a shotgun and ramming him off the road, thereby combining the pursuit and fight scenarios. Nightrider brakes suddenly and avoids the intercept attempt, gaining momentary ascendancy [Figure 1]. The vehicles then speed past a diner in which Goose, another MFP officer, hastily leaves his meal to join in the chase on his motorcycle, along with two towtrucks, augmenting the modes of locomotion of the pursuit [Figure 2].
The chase enters into a populated area, adding risk not just to its participants, but also to townsfolk. A van crosses the pursuit path, causing Roop and Charlie to collide into it, and a couple in a Ford Falcon with a caravan in tow stall on the highway, setting up a major obstacle for the chase participants. Adding to the risk, a toddler in the vicinity strolls onto the road. Scuttle and Sarse, MFP officers in another pursuit vehicle, spot the child, causing Sarse to swerve into a telephone booth and flip his car. Meanwhile, as Nightrider navigates past the obstructions, Roop and Charlie continue with their chase but smash through the caravan in a destructive spectacle [Figure 3]. The collision takes out Roop and Charlie, as well as Goose, leaving Max Rockatansky, the sole MFP officer to intercept Nightrider. Max speeds directly in front of Nightrider’s path, setting up the chicken speed variant, causing Nightrider to lose his nerve and swerve past Max. Demonstrating superior confidence and driving skills, Max spins his vehicle around, and when he catches up to Nightrider, commences to ram the Pursuit Special. Another obstacle appears on the highway in the form of a previous vehicular collision, but Nightrider is unable to navigate past and collides into the wreckage, bringing an end to the sequence, which underscored by aftermath shots [Figure 4].