George Miller: Ranking His Movies From Worst To Best

3. Mad Max (1979)

The movie that started it all; not just Mad Max, but the career of Mr. George Miller, who would go on to build an undeniably sporadic but fulfilling filmography across the span of four decades. As a showreel for what was to come, Mad Max is a tour-de-force of low-budget action cinema; a raw and cynical explosion of unforgettable atmosphere. What most people remember about Mad Max is Mel Gibson, of course - for the part of the beaten, disillusioned cop who has lost it all, there was perhaps no better choice. Gibson embraces the part with gusto, and isn't afraid to showcase the madness that he would not only reprise in later Mad Max installments, but in other franchises like Lethal Weapon. But the true star of Mad Max is George Miller, whose slightly "off-handed" direction and expert use of low-budget aesthetics are used to enhance the mood, not subject from it. In the end, it's Mad Max's colour palette that feels like its most defining feature - not to mention its seemingly endless supply of innovative shots. And, of course, there's the violence - glorious, primal, and raw: everything that the Mad Max movies ultimately stand for.