So good news from Blu-ray.com yesterday. Warner Brothers is releasing all three of the original Mad Max films in anticipation of the new movie starring Tom Hardy; Mad Max Fury Road. I like Hardy in most things I see but it will be hard for him to fill the shoes of Mel Gibson (who turned out to really be mad) in the original trilogy. New to the set is Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which is making it debut on Blu-ray. Warners must of made a deal with MGM/Fox to package the original Mad Max in here. Details are forthcoming. One question I have is will they upgrade the sound on Road Warrior. The original Blu-ray copy of Road Warrior had only lossy sound (Dolby Digital, DTS,etc.). In simple terms this means that when they encode the sound; bits and pieces where thrown out to make room. The great thing about Blu-ray's larger capacity over DVD is that it supports lossless sound (PCM, DTS-HD MA, Dolby True), meaning nothing is thrown out. The original pressing of Warrior was done in a time were Warners didn't do lossless sound but they have been shown to add it later when the re-release movies (ie Deliverance).
Road Warrior is my favorite of the bunch but I definitely have a place in my heart for Beyond Thunderdome. My brother and I use to watch it all the time on the local UHF channel 20 in Washington, DC. Back in the days before totally cable proliferation, my younger brother use to watch actions movies that they showed on Saturday after cartoons and Sunday after church. I know the movie is not a beloved as the other two and many of the complaints are legitimate. The ending chase is basically a rehash of Road Warrior; only with a train versus the original's tanker truck. And the oasis scenes with the kids basically stops the plot mid-stream. What is it that WC Fields said, "never work with children or animals"? But man is this movie ever quotable:
Who run Bardertown?
You know the law, two men enter, one man leaves.
But how the world turns. One day, cock of the walk. Next, a feather duster.
Bust a deal, face the wheel.
I still wonder if Bruce Spencer is playing the same character as in Road Warrior. Frankly. I loved Tina Turner as Aunty, I always wish see had done more acting.
