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Australian One Sheet (27" x 41"); Country-of-Origin, Matte Blue Style
Very Fine- on Linen
Roadshow Films, 1979

This movie had a very limited initial release in 1979, featuring one sheets and daybills in a purple color. After it became a hit, a small number of orange posters were printed, followed by matte finish blue posters, all in 1979. The matte finish blue posters were produced as the movie continued to show in drive-ins due to its success. This is from that printing in 1979.

Mel Gibson stars as a vengeful Australian policeman in a self-destructing world, seeking to stop a violent motorcycle gang in the first film of this series. This Country-of-Origin poster was folded and displayed signs of border wear, including chips and small tears, general fold wear, and a few scattered stains. It was professionally linen-backed, with expert touch-ups addressing these issues. This includes sporadic touch-ups to the folds and to a few areas in the background, while the borders have undergone some airbrushing. The muted color palette emphasizes the film's dark themes, reflecting its Dystopian sci-fi genre.

This low-budget, independently made dystopian action film, featuring unknown actors, directed by a first-time filmmaker, and written by a finance journalist penning his first screenplay, would likely not have been recognized at the time as the start of a highly successful franchise or a springboard for several remarkable careers. Yet, that is precisely what *Mad Max* (1979) achieved. The film was conceived by George Miller, an emergency room doctor in Sydney, who had firsthand experience with the types of injury and death depicted in the story about Max Rockatansky (played by Mel Gibson), a cop-turned-vigilante striving to restore law and order in a collapsing society. Miller raised part of the film's budget by taking on several months of emergency medical calls. The original film was followed by three sequels-the first two starring Gibson-and it continues to be a fan favorite.

Estimate: $1,000 - 2,000