Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

New at the Browning

Directed by George Miller, George Ogilvie

With Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Frank Thring

Rated R, 107 minutes

The third film in the Mad Max series and the last one starring Mel Gibson, this one broke the mold so that it took nearly four decades for Mad Max to return in Fury Road. Like all of the Mad Max sequels, this title definitely can be enjoyed without knowledge of the earlier iterations. Most quickly recognized as 'the one with Tina Turner in it,' Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome takes a particular American Western film premise and infuses it with more post-apocalyptic dune buggies, explosions, and science fiction than what one gets in, say, High Noon. The scenario sees Mad Max (Gibson) arriving in Bartertown, a town ruled by the evil despot Auntie Entity (Turner), where he must fight as a gladiator in order to save himself and the citizens oppressed by Auntie Entity's regime.

*Co-presented by The David A. Heskin and Marilou Brill Endowment for Excellence.