Mad Max (Beyond Thunderdome) is an Australian post-apocalyptic adventure movie with Mel Gibson as „Mad Max“ and Tina Turner as „Aunty Entity“. It’s the sequel to „Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior)“ and the first real starring role for Tina in an action movie. George Miller offered her the role on the same day, as her single What’s Love Got To Do With It reached #1 on the Billboard charts. The shooting took place in late 1984, while Tina was on tour in Australia.
The theatrical trailer for the movie is available on all formats of the home movie as a bonus. For promotion, the „Making of Mad Max,“ narrated by Tina Turner, includes some interesting behind the scenes information and one cut stunt scene.
Producer: George Miller, Doug Mitchell, Terry Hayes
Director: George Miller, George Ogilvie
Clothes: Norma Moriceau
Release: September 1985 (Cinema) / March 1986 (Video) / 1999 (DVD) / 2015 (Blu-ray)
Label: Warner
Format: VHS / LaserDisc / DVD / Blu-ray
Time: 107 Min.
Soundtrack
Beside the musical score, composed by Maurice Jarre and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the soundtrack album features also two new recorded tracks from Tina. We Don’t Need Another Hero, which was played during the end credits, was a worldwide chart topper. One Of The Living, which was played at the beginning of the movie, was honored with a Grammy Award in 1986.
The album comes with a wonderful gatefold cover, featuring many pictures from the movie and includes a giant poster with Tina & Mel Gibson. It was reviewed in Billboard magazine in it’s issue from August 10, 1985.
- We Don’t Need Another Hero (Extended) 6:07
- One Of The Living (Soundtrack Version) 5:59
- We Don’t Need Another Hero (Instrumental) 6:30
- Bartertown 8:27
- The Children 2:12
- Coming Home 15:12
Release: August 1985
Label: Capitol / EMI
Format: Vinyl / CD / Cassette
Charts: Germany: #7 / Europe: #16 / USA: #39 / Australia: #31
Go Ahead…Make Me Mad, Max! The soundtrack album of the summer is here. It’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome featuring two new hits by Tina Turner. Bring it home and let Tina take you to the Max. — Billboard - July 27, 1985
We needed someone whose vitality and intelligence would make her control over Bartertown credible. She had to be a positive character rather than a conventional evil bad guy. We had worked on the script with Tina Turner in mind, but we had no idea if she'd be interested. — George Miller