Who can forget Mad Max, the movie that launched Mel Gibson into the public eye? It’s the first installment of the original Mad Max trilogy, but it often gets pushed out of the way by its baby brother, The Road Warrior. Both films are awesome, and Beyond Thunderdome is pretty decent, but the first Mad Max has a special glint in its eye. Granted, there aren’t as many elaborate action sequences involving spike-studded cars and screaming psychos wearing leather diapers. What really stands out in the first film is the portrait of pre-badass Max Rockatansky, when he had a BFF and a loving family. Mad Max allows us to see the hero going over the tipping point and becoming the restless ass-kicker that we know and love. I’m really excited about Fury Road, and I don’t think the new films will diminish the impact of the ones that came before it. If anything, they will strengthen it.

This poster was a joy to create because it gave me an opportunity to play around with different textures and make it worthy of Mad Max himself. The process was pretty arduous at first, but once it was done, I nodded with contentment and popped in the DVD. Mad Max forever!

Mad Max poster