The Road Warrior(1982)

R
1h 36m

Release Date: May 21, 1982 | Moderate

In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.

Releases

Original Release | May 21, 1982

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$2,527,864
Total US & Canada:
$23,667,907
Total International
$954
Total Worldwide:
$23,670,853

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

George Miller
Director

Mel Gibson
Max

Bruce Spence
The Gyro Captain

Michael Preston
Pappagallo

Max Phipps
The Toadie

Vernon Wells
Wez

Kjell Nilsson

The Humungus

Emil Minty

The Feral Kid

Virginia Hey

Warrior Woman

William Zappa

Zetta

Arkie Whiteley

The Captain's Girl

Steve J. Spears

Mechanic

Syd Heylen

Curmudgeon

Moira Claux

Big Rebecca

David Downer

Nathan

David Slingsby

Quiet Man

Kristoffer Greaves

Mechanic's Assistant

Max Fairchild

Broken Victim

Technical Specifications

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: Australia

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

In the near future the time of chaos after the collapse of the oil-based economy, and the apocalyptic world war that followed. The narrator relates how gangs of scavengers took over the roads, pillaging for fuel, and how ordinary men were broken in the decay: men like Max (Mel Gibson), the Road Warrior, who lost his family to the gangs. The motorbike-riders pull up as Max is collecting fuel from one of the wrecked cars, and the bike's driver, Wez (Vernon Wells), pulls an arrow from his own arm, screaming defiance at Max.Max spots a gyro-copter by the side of the road. A man camouflaged with sand bursts from the ground, aiming a crossbow at him. The Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) has been using the 'copter to attract the curious and get their fuel. Max warns him the Interceptor's full tanks are booby-trapped, and when Max's dog attacks the Gyro Captain, tables are turned. To save his own skin, the Gyro Captain offers to show Max an oil-refinery not far away. Max takes the man prisoner and drives to the refinery.They arrive on a hill next to the refinery to find it under siege from a gang using all sorts of odd-looking vehicles, from motorbikes to hot-rods. The gang is under the leadership of a huge, masked man calling himself Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson). On one of the motorbikes, Max spots Wez. In the morning four cars make a sortie from the refinery compound, heading in separate directions, with Humungus' people in pursuit. One car is intercepted close to their hide- out, and its driver and co-driver captured and tortured. Watching through binoculars, Max and the Gyro Captain see one is a woman, who is sexually assaulted and then killed. Max arrives and releases the badly wounded male victim, Nathan (David Downer), who offers Max as much gas as he likes if he takes him back to the compound.Pulling up outside the compound, Max gets out and enters the compound at gunpoint, carrying Nathan over his shoulder. Max's car (with the dog) is brought inside by the compound's Mechanic (Steve J. Spears), as the leader of the refinery-people, Pappagallo (Michael Preston), interrogates Max about the fate of the other cars. Max can tell him nothing, and points out he just wants his gas, as Nathan promised. Just then, Humungus' gang approaches, and the gate to the compound is closed, forcing the refinery people to let Max stay inside.Humungus tells the refinery-people he intercepted all their escapees and has learned from the captives that they were sent out to find a rig big enough to haul the fuel-filled tanker from the compound. He offers the refinery-people the chance to walk away free, if they leave the refinery, the tanker and all the fuel to him and his gang. He gives them one day to decide. While Humungus is making his speech, the Feral Kid (Emil Minty) who gets in and out of the compound through tunnels, throws a razor-sharp boomerang at Humungus' gang, killing Wez's companion. Wez goes berserk, and wants to storm the compound immediately, but Humungus wrestles him down.The people of the compound are divided; some want to accept Humungus' offer while Pappagallo and others, among them the Warrior Woman (Virginia Hey). A sticking point being that they have no vehicle that can pull the tanker, and that they're no match for Humungus' brutal gang anyway. Max offers to deliver a truck to haul the tanker, in return for his car and all the fuel he can carry. The deal is accepted. In the dead of night, Max and the dog set off on foot, Max carrying fuel in Jerry cans. Near Humungus' camp, he stumbles, and the noise alerts the guards. But the Feral Kid, who's followed Max, draws them off by imitating the call of a wild animal.In the morning, Max arrives at the hill where he left the Gyro Captain, only to find he escaped. Max follows his trail and catches up with him. Max, dog and Gyro Captain fly to a truck that Max had found abandoned on the road earlier in the movie. Max gets the truck started and throws the Gyro Captain the keys to the shackles, then drives off with his dog.The gyro-copter follows in Max's wake as he heads off to break through the siege. Max takes Humungus' gang by surprise, and - aided by the Gyro Captain who drops snakes on the pursuers - makes it into the compound, although the truck suffers substantial damage. Humungus' crowd are in hot pursuit, and Wez gets inside the compound by climbing aboard the truck. The gang now attacks the gate to get inside. In the confusion, no one except Max notices that Pappagallo is wounded while defending the gate. Max runs to take his place, using a flame thrower to prevent the enemy from breaching the gate. The compound people now greet Max as a friend and hero, wanting him to drive the truck for the escape run.Max just wants to get his fuel and go. Wez brutally kills one of the compound crew and escapes to the outside. The Gyro Captain lands in the compound, attracting excited attention. He immediately befriends a pretty young girl (Arkie Whiteley), persuading her to run away with him. Meanwhile, Max is fueling up and getting ready to leave. Pappagallo tries to persuade him to drive the truck. Max refuses, and Pappagallo in his disappointment confronts him, calling him a coward. As Max pulls out of the compound at daybreak, The Gyro Captain tells Max he's making a big mistake.Humungus' gang sees Max driving away, and Wez - disobedient to his leader's will - sets off in pursuit with some companions. Max uses his booster tanks to escape, however, Wez does the same and overtakes Max. Wez hammers Max's windscreen with length of pipe and the Interceptor rolls off the road. Severely injured, Max barely has time to crawl out of the wreck with his dog and hide behind a rock, before Wez's companions scramble down to the wreck. Wez wants Max alive, but as the dog is killed trying to protect Max. Max is spared from capture when the booby-trapped tank of the Interceptor explodes, killing Wez's men when they try to take his fuel. Wez pulls away, leaving Max for dead. At the compound, the Gyro Captain sees the smoke from the explosion, and fetches a semi-conscious Max back to the compound on the 'copter.Max comes to in the sick bay to find the Feral Kid bringing him his stuff. Outside, Pappagallo is going over the escape plan with his people. The tanker, driven by Pappagallo, is to leave first, to draw off the attackers, allowing the rest of the people to escape in another direction in the school bus and other vehicles, to rendezvous with the tanker at nightfall. Max convinces them to let him drive the truck.They set off, Max driving the now-fortified truck, pulling the tanker which is guarded by the Warrior-Woman, the Mechanic and another warrior. At the last minute, the Feral Kid (Supposed to go in the school-bus) jumps on the truck. The tanker smashes through Humungus' lines and heads off with Pappagallo in an escort vehicle, and the Gyro Captain providing aerial support.The school-bus and the other vehicles quietly leave the compound without attracting interest, just as Pappagallo had predicted. Some of Humungus' people then enter the abandoned compound to take possession, but the compound has been rigged with explosives, and blows up only moments afterward.Humungus has been keeping Wez chained after his disobedience, but now sets him free. They all chase after the tanker, and one by one pick off the warriors defending it, Wez killing the Warrior Woman, and Humungus killing Pappagallo. Things are looking bad for Max, as the gang starts shooting out the tires. The Gyro Captain creates a diversion, dropping Molotov-cocktails from above. The 'copter is damaged and goes down, but Humungus has to stop to put out the fire in his vehicle before he can join the pursuit again.Now there's only Max and the Feral Kid left to battle Wez and another gang-member, who have climbed aboard the truck and are attacking the cab. Max gets rid of Wez by slamming the brakes, throwing him over the front of the truck. The Kid helps Max fight the other guy, and then Max makes a U-turn, heading back the way he came. The Kid goes out on the bonnet to retrieve Max's shotgun shells, when Wez, who's been clinging to the front of the truck, suddenly pops up to grab the Kid. Max hauls the Kid back to safety, just as Humungus, speeding to catch up and realizing too late the truck has turned back, slams into the truck in a horrific head-on collision. Humungus and Wez are destroyed, and the truck goes off the road on its side in a spectacular wreck.When Humungus' people arrive at the wreckage, they can see even from a distance that what's spilling from the broken tanker isn't gas - it's red dirt. The tank was only a decoy.They pull away. A little later, Max climbs out of the truck, carrying the Kid. He stops by a tap, letting the red dirt run through his fingers. The Gyro Captain comes along, driving his copter on the road. Max and the Captain exchange wry smiles, Max shaking his head tiredly.At sunset, the school-bus and the other vehicles head off, with the Feral Kid waving out the back of the bus at someone. The narrator's voice comes on, telling of their journey north, to safety, with the Gyro Captain as their new leader and that the gas was hidden in canisters in the vehicles all along.The narrator is revealed as the Feral Kid grown to manhood, and the Road Warrior is seen standing alone by the side of the road - "the last we ever saw of him."

Storyline

After eradicating Night Rider's followers in Mad Max (1979) , former patrolman Max Rockatansky now scavenges for food and precious petrol on the deserted highways of an energy-starved Australia. Then, Max stumbles upon a small oil refinery in the scorched wilderness; however, there's a catch: the community of survivors is under siege by brutal biker warlord Lord Humungus and his barbarian marauders. Now, to get his hands on as much gas as he can carry, Mad Max will have to provide the defenceless residents with a powerful truck. Using this method, they can transport gasoline to safety. Of course, this is easier said than done. Is the Road Warrior up to the task? — Nick Riganas A former police officer is now a lone wanderer, traveling through a devastated Australia after a nuclear war looking for now-priceless petrol. He lives to survive and is none too pleased when he finds himself the only hope of a small group of honest people running a remote oil refinery. He must protect them from the bike gang that is terrorizing them whilst transporting their entire fuel supply to safety. — Graeme Roy Roaming the highways of post-apocalyptic Australia, years after he avenged his wife and son and his partner who were murdered by the motorcycle gang led by the evil Toecutter. Burnt out former Australian policeman Max Rockatansky, now known as "The Road Warrior" searching for sources of fuel, stumbles upon a gasoline refinery home to a community of survivors who are struggling for survival and finds the community is being terrorized by a band of brutal motorcyclists led by The Humangus and his finest warrior, Wez, who bid to loot all the gasoline from the refinery for themselves. The community hires Max, as Max agrees to help the community transport the gasoline across the highway and fight for freedom, as they are pursued by the Humangus and his warriors. — Daniel Williamson Max is travelling in a post apocalypse Australia where Gasoline is the most valuable commodity. He becomes involved in a struggle between bandits and a town that has build defenses around a small refinery. He must cross the no man's land several times to allow them to make a dash for freedom, pursued by the bandits in their vehicles. — John Vogel