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Eye of the Sandstorm: The Ultimate Video Essay Guide to ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

Everything you ever wanted to know and more.
Mad Max Fury Road
By  · Published on August 11th, 2017

Without a doubt, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road is the most-discussed action film of the 21st century, and quite possibly the greatest (at least so far). From the second the first footage was revealed, filmgoers knew they were going to be getting something that was a little bit past, a little bit present, and a whole lot of trail-blazing future. Miller blends the mythology of his original series with the high-octane expectations of our Fast & Furious world and creates in the process a vivid, stark, unforgettable portrait of humankind’s possible progression.

Upon the film’s release, the world went nuts. Film scholars especially jumped at the chance to interpret, dissect, and analyze the many facets of Miller’s masterpiece, and here I’ve collected 10 of the best from the Film School Rejects’ archives and around the web. We got a take on the storyboarding and how it establishes the film as an unconventional entry in the comic book genre; a stripped-down look at the action scenes before visual effects were added; various studies of the film’s cinematography by John Seale; a comparison to the original trilogy; a shot counter of the best-edited scene; and a pair of mash-ups, one with Buster Keaton’s The General, and one with Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Bottom line, if after you go through all these you still have questions about the film, you better get to making your own video to answer them.

Mad Max: Fury Road and the Influence of Storyboarding

 


Mad Max Center Framed


Mad Max: Fury Road vs The Mad Max Trilogy


Mad Max: Fury Road – Push-Ins, Pull-Outs, and Fast-Motion Shots


Mad Max: Up Close


Fury Road Shot Counter


The General: Fury Road


Mad Max: Fury Road is INSANE


It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Max Fury Road

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Novelist, Screenwriter, Video Essayist