I watched it last night in sunny Manchester in 3D. :thumbup: All in all I think George Miller did a great job on this film and i am sure we will see a few more Mad Max films in the near future.
Points that needed to be improved for me.
1, We need to enjoy Mad Max's Interceptor in a longer car chase at the start and then see the V8 Supercharger kick in with all its glory. Then see the enemy talk about the greatness of the pure V8 power before the fun of them turning the taps to the nitros.
2, The marsh area needed a run down abandoned fort, like Mad Max 2 with a hint of Water World to it. It felt like the budget ran out there or the script gave up soon after this point.
3, Story could have been great as there where so many great ideas but it was just a little bit all over the place. I loved the new religion, the milkers (mothers milk), the breeders, the growths on the populations poisoned bodies, the medical bleeder, The "Witness" sacrifice, and so much more.
Really loved this movie, haven't enjoyed a film at the cinema like this for a while!
Thanks to those who linked to behind the scenes stuff I always like 'making ofs' and seeing how it's all designed and put together. Has anyone seen/got the 'Art of' book? It looks really good! http://www.parkablogs.com/content/book-review-art-of-mad-max-fury-road
The movie was amazing, the most fun I've had in the theaters in a while, I want to go back and see it again.
I borrowed the art book from some people I know and though it's light on the art and is more of a design/"making of" kind of deal, it's definitely worth it. It's really good read and goes in to a lot of the world building aspects and design choices for the movie, which is interesting in it's own right.
There is also another art book called: Mad Max: Fury Road Inspired Artists which I also had a chance to borrow. I found it alright to be honest, but if you're into comic book art you might enjoy it more. The biggest problem with this book is that all of the prints are on a two page spread across the gutter which looks awkward on some pieces.
It works due to the lack of digital visual effects, you simply get nutters jumping over trucks on motor bikes dropping petrol bombs and to get around health and safety you shot it in Africa, genius!
I loved this movie, and I say this as someone who only had a general awareness of the previous Mad Max films. It wasn't nostalgia for me, it was incredible visual story telling and one of the best action movies I've ever seen. I'm thinking about seeing it in the theater a 2nd time and I never do that. I really hope it picks up steam via word-of-mouth and makes a good showing at the box office.
It blows my mind that people can come out of that and be critical of it.
You can be critical of anything. Nothing is above reproach or analysis. Frankly, there is quite a bit in this world that people should be more critical of.
That said, I enjoyed Fury Road immensely and feel that it has numerous merits beyond simple visual spectacle. And I think the general critical consensus on Fury Road has been quite positive as well. This movie definitely has my personal recommendation.
It works due to the lack of digital visual effects, you simply get nutters jumping over trucks on motor bikes dropping petrol bombs and to get around health and safety you shot it in Africa, genius!
Actually, the film is filled with VFX, you don't just see it. They've said several times that health and safety was the biggest priority, so many scenes(explosions, crashes etc.) are recorded alone and then later composited together in post for the added safety. Other then that, theres a huge ammount of rig removal(the guys on the swinging things where all strapped in pretty good). On top of that a good ammount of crowd sim for the "city" shots, matte paintings, you name it.
Saw this last night and I'm still buzzing about it. I haven't been truly excited by a movie in a long time. As much as I love CG, there's nothing like that raw feel of actual physical stuff going on. I know there was a ton of VFX and compositing going on, but it was all so well executed that it still keeps that visceral feel. I really liked how character development continues through the film without spoonfeeding, or spending too much time sidetracking the early parts. (I feel most directors would have had a super-extended psych scene to explain part of max's past partway through where he discovers his superpower and learns a valuable lesson in the process)
BTW, there's a group called wasteland weekend that's in the vein of SCA/Burning man. Been wanting to go for a while, it'd be a ton of fun.
In the meantime, Imma buy that silver spray shit and go to valhalla at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
going the theatres and having no expectations at all, this movie was one hell of a ride. Non-stop and well paced, visuals are seamless, I totally believed in every single crazy shot that was thrown on screen. thanks for the share on the breakdowns btw.
wicked movie, I also want to see it a 2nd time too. And whoever thought of that guitar player ride is a genius.
Actually, the film is filled with VFX, you don't just see it. They've said several times that health and safety was the biggest priority, so many scenes(explosions, crashes etc.) are recorded alone and then later composited together in post for the added safety. Other then that, theres a huge ammount of rig removal(the guys on the swinging things where all strapped in pretty good). On top of that a good ammount of crowd sim for the "city" shots, matte paintings, you name it.
I think what people mean by lack of VFX for a film like this, the vast majority of the vfx was compositing shots together, getting rid of rigs, cleaning up shots, etc. There was some adding terrain, backdrops, etc. But the film wasn't filled with CG cars, destruction, or characters (besides crowd filling). There wasn't much that was completely filmed in front of a green screen.
I think what people mean by lack of VFX for a film like this, the vast majority of the vfx was compositing shots together, getting rid of rigs, cleaning up shots, etc. There was some adding terrain, backdrops, etc. But the film wasn't filled with CG cars, destruction, or characters (besides crowd filling). There wasn't much that was completely filmed in front of a green screen.
True. They took very deliberate choices about what they were gonna film and what they weren't, and it works great. I'm just making sure that people understand that while there's not a lot of greenscreen, there is still a TON of composting of different shots. As far as I know, they still used many digi doubles for stunts and in the wider shots, CG cars and CG augmented explosions(they don't have enough replicas of the cars to keep destroying them for each take).
I think this is rather a testament to having a narrowed and focused story, then CGI vs. real props.
Notice how modern movies film action scenes so chaotically you can't tell what's going on? Miller filmed Fury Road so the audience knows where to look and can follow the action. He's pretty much the anti-Bay
I went and saw Fury Road on opening night and have seen it twice more in the theatre since then. I'd never seen a Mad Max film, and I'm kind of meh on the post-apocalyptic genre in general. For example the only Fallout game I've played was 3 and that bored me to tears. I went expecting big explosions and Tom Hardy (I'm a pretty big fan). What I got was one of the most tightly produced stories I've seen in a LONG time. I read a review that compared the story of Fury Road to a lean desert coyote, ribs sticking out and near starvation but still dangerous and still hunting. There's nothing there that doesn't need to be. I found it incredibly refreshing to be allowed to absorb the story instead of having it spoon fed to me. At the core, this movie is about the chase. Everything is in service to that. We get fringes and snippets about other things, other events, other characters, but it's only in passing. Like the swamp walkers, we only see extraneous fluff as the core story careens on past, inexorable, ever-moving. This movie has stuck with me like nothing has in a LONG time and I think it's in part because there's so little explained. There are a million nooks and crannies for my imagination to worm into and think about and speculate on.
Since watching Fury Road, I've since gone back and watched the three preceding films. I found them fascinating, though I didn't have the visceral love for them that I walked out of the theatre with for Fury Road. I think a large part of that is my modern viewpoint. I've become desensitized to a lot of the spectacle that these films pioneered. There was one moment where I was watching an explosion in the Road Warrior and felt disconnected, thought it would have been more impactful if the camera were closer, and then I realized that with the technology of the time and the realities of filming, getting any closer could very well have melted the equipment, or murdered a camera operator.
On Beyond Thunderdome specifically, I didn't hate it, but I can understand why many people did. If I'd seen it when I was much younger I would probably have loved it. Seeing it for the first time as an adult though, I liked Bartertown, I liked Tina Turner in it. I could have done without the saxophone but that's neither here nor there. Then halfway through the movie it goes full ewok mode and the tone completely changes. I just found it a strange, disjointed film, definitely not a patch on the tightly-wound elegance that was Fury Road.
Then halfway through the movie it goes full ewok mode and the tone completely changes. I just found it a strange, disjointed film, definitely not a patch on the tightly-wound elegance that was Fury Road.
Beyond Thunderdome was originally conceived as a sort of post-apocalyptic take on Lord of the Flies, but somewhere during production someone had the idea to refit it into the Mad Max franchise and hire George Miller and Mel Gibson. Then during shooting, Miller's friend and co-writer died in a helicopter crash and he was just too devastated to take full responsibility for anything - so a good half of the movie wasn't even directed by him.
Finally got to see this. Been avoiding this thread and other spoilers like the plague. Anyhoo, here's my 2 cents.
Insane! Epic! Awesome!..... however, absolutely chock full of CG contrary to what I was led to believe. Also, its possibly a bit too "fantasy" and doesn't feel like the other Max films, which were more believable due to the lower budget and less FX if you ask me. For some reason I keep thinking it felt more like DUNE in some ways (and not just coz there was a lot of sand). It was also a lot like a 300 but with spikey cars (a good thing tbh).
Loved the vehicles, didn't like the guitar dude. Story... story was ok even though it was very predictable. I'm not sure if I prefer this over Max 1&2, will have to give them a watch again. 4/5
You can always roto. On the one hand the tools are really advanced nowadays - on the other, one can always hire dozens of guys from non-western studios to do all the work manually...
Roto artists are the unsung heroes of VFX. Not that anyone else in VFX gets songs sang about them.
Finally got to see this. Been avoiding this thread and other spoilers like the plague. Anyhoo, here's my 2 cents.
Insane! Epic! Awesome!..... however, absolutely chock full of CG contrary to what I was led to believe. Also, its possibly a bit too "fantasy" and doesn't feel like the other Max films, which were more believable due to the lower budget and less FX if you ask me. For some reason I keep thinking it felt more like DUNE in some ways (and not just coz there was a lot of sand). It was also a lot like a 300 but with spikey cars (a good thing tbh).
Loved the vehicles, didn't like the guitar dude. Story... story was ok even though it was very predictable. I'm not sure if I prefer this over Max 1&2, will have to give them a watch again. 4/5
What were you thinking was CG? Beside the obvious, like the sandstorm. Because I was shocked to find out that pole cars were fucking REAL. That's actually Tom Hardy swinging around on one of them, not even his stuntman. So fuckin epic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the same for ALL the stunts and vehicle stuff. In an interview, George Miller talks about how he never thought they'd be able to do the pole cars. Then one day he just saw them driving up in the desert.
What were you thinking was CG? Beside the obvious, like the sandstorm. Because I was shocked to find out that pole cars were fucking REAL. That's actually Tom Hardy swinging around on one of them, not even his stuntman. So fuckin epic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the same for ALL the stunts and vehicle stuff. In an interview, George Miller talks about how he never thought they'd be able to do the pole cars. Then one day he just saw them driving up in the desert.
So, so, so good. Incredible art
Well, I sit down to watch it and say to my wife. "Apparently they used hardly any CG in this". Then the first thing we see is a CG lizard in a heavily composited environment... Then we see Joe's Citadel which screams CG... I say to my wife "maybe i was lied to..."
Yeah, I realise all the stunt work and car stuff is "mostly" real. But pretty much all the environments and a few other bits and pieces (Furiosa's arm, explosions, storm, etc) were CG. And it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.
Don't get me wrong. I loved it. It looks gorgeous. But lets be honest, its full of CG and it makes the film feel more like a Frank Miller movie. I think I would have preferred real, "less grandiose" environments tbh.
Yep, I agree, cg wasn't that great. The citadel is meh, the physics of ejected stuff (bodies) seems a bit weird. But the movie is awesome overall. Spielberg's Duel on steroids.
I think people heard "this movie uses a lot of practical effects" and misunderstood that to mean "this movie doesn't use much CG". Obviously that's not the case, it uses a ton of CG. What does set it apart and really make some of the visuals work IMO is that it does use way, way more practical effects than your average modern action flick. Hand this script to almost anybody else and we'd have actors jumping around on greenscreen over top of videogame cars.
That's actually Tom Hardy swinging around on one of them, not even his stuntman.
Not sure how many times they've actually used it, but Hardy did have a digital double. Probably just a handful of shots - one interview says that all the DD work was for something 20+ shots altogether and that included the toxic storm scene.
Saw it today. It's a really fun thrill ride movie. Would watch again!
From an artist point of view, it's got some really cool design and mixing of building/industrial parts with vehicles, for example the duct work used on this thing:
I made shishkabobs this weekend and watched Fury Road again, 3rd time's the charm!
Every time the Buzzard's big rig makes an appearance, I get a big smile on my face. Anyone know what language they were speaking? edit: nvm found out it's Russian Mad max wiki
Even more behind the scenes for those who are interested. Appearently around 4/5th of the shots in the movie had VFX elements like rig removal, sky replacement and environment replacement. What actually surprised me the most is that many of the elements(like the guitar swining and steering wheel in the air) are actually real life footage instead of CG.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGz3b1YpiTs[/ame]
I still cant get over how good this movie is. I fucking love it!
Agree, I might have to go and watch it again. :thumbup:
In the Mao Zedong Yin and Yang scale is 80% great for me. I have no idea why Mao Zedong appears in that sentence it just got dredged up from somewhere from the depths of my messed up brain?
Replies
Points that needed to be improved for me.
1, We need to enjoy Mad Max's Interceptor in a longer car chase at the start and then see the V8 Supercharger kick in with all its glory. Then see the enemy talk about the greatness of the pure V8 power before the fun of them turning the taps to the nitros.
2, The marsh area needed a run down abandoned fort, like Mad Max 2 with a hint of Water World to it. It felt like the budget ran out there or the script gave up soon after this point.
3, Story could have been great as there where so many great ideas but it was just a little bit all over the place. I loved the new religion, the milkers (mothers milk), the breeders, the growths on the populations poisoned bodies, the medical bleeder, The "Witness" sacrifice, and so much more.
:thumbup: Great film
Thanks to those who linked to behind the scenes stuff
http://www.parkablogs.com/content/book-review-art-of-mad-max-fury-road
it kinda looks more natural here:
I borrowed the art book from some people I know and though it's light on the art and is more of a design/"making of" kind of deal, it's definitely worth it. It's really good read and goes in to a lot of the world building aspects and design choices for the movie, which is interesting in it's own right.
There is also another art book called: Mad Max: Fury Road Inspired Artists which I also had a chance to borrow. I found it alright to be honest, but if you're into comic book art you might enjoy it more. The biggest problem with this book is that all of the prints are on a two page spread across the gutter which looks awkward on some pieces.
The item in question.
so true it hurts.
It blows my mind that people can come out of that and be critical of it X_X.
You can be critical of anything. Nothing is above reproach or analysis. Frankly, there is quite a bit in this world that people should be more critical of.
That said, I enjoyed Fury Road immensely and feel that it has numerous merits beyond simple visual spectacle. And I think the general critical consensus on Fury Road has been quite positive as well. This movie definitely has my personal recommendation.
Actually, the film is filled with VFX, you don't just see it. They've said several times that health and safety was the biggest priority, so many scenes(explosions, crashes etc.) are recorded alone and then later composited together in post for the added safety. Other then that, theres a huge ammount of rig removal(the guys on the swinging things where all strapped in pretty good). On top of that a good ammount of crowd sim for the "city" shots, matte paintings, you name it.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kK-CbqH0k[/ame]
http://www.fxguide.com/featured/a-graphic-tale-the-visual-effects-of-mad-max-fury-road/
BTW, there's a group called wasteland weekend that's in the vein of SCA/Burning man. Been wanting to go for a while, it'd be a ton of fun.
In the meantime, Imma buy that silver spray shit and go to valhalla at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
wicked movie, I also want to see it a 2nd time too. And whoever thought of that guitar player ride is a genius.
I think what people mean by lack of VFX for a film like this, the vast majority of the vfx was compositing shots together, getting rid of rigs, cleaning up shots, etc. There was some adding terrain, backdrops, etc. But the film wasn't filled with CG cars, destruction, or characters (besides crowd filling). There wasn't much that was completely filmed in front of a green screen.
Some good breakdowns!
True. They took very deliberate choices about what they were gonna film and what they weren't, and it works great. I'm just making sure that people understand that while there's not a lot of greenscreen, there is still a TON of composting of different shots. As far as I know, they still used many digi doubles for stunts and in the wider shots, CG cars and CG augmented explosions(they don't have enough replicas of the cars to keep destroying them for each take).
I think this is rather a testament to having a narrowed and focused story, then CGI vs. real props.
The Editing of Mad Max Fury Road
Since watching Fury Road, I've since gone back and watched the three preceding films. I found them fascinating, though I didn't have the visceral love for them that I walked out of the theatre with for Fury Road. I think a large part of that is my modern viewpoint. I've become desensitized to a lot of the spectacle that these films pioneered. There was one moment where I was watching an explosion in the Road Warrior and felt disconnected, thought it would have been more impactful if the camera were closer, and then I realized that with the technology of the time and the realities of filming, getting any closer could very well have melted the equipment, or murdered a camera operator.
On Beyond Thunderdome specifically, I didn't hate it, but I can understand why many people did. If I'd seen it when I was much younger I would probably have loved it. Seeing it for the first time as an adult though, I liked Bartertown, I liked Tina Turner in it. I could have done without the saxophone but that's neither here nor there. Then halfway through the movie it goes full ewok mode and the tone completely changes. I just found it a strange, disjointed film, definitely not a patch on the tightly-wound elegance that was Fury Road.
Hell yeah, a green screen shot with properly planned lighting! ! Take that, every hollywood movie ever !
Beyond Thunderdome was originally conceived as a sort of post-apocalyptic take on Lord of the Flies, but somewhere during production someone had the idea to refit it into the Mad Max franchise and hire George Miller and Mel Gibson. Then during shooting, Miller's friend and co-writer died in a helicopter crash and he was just too devastated to take full responsibility for anything - so a good half of the movie wasn't even directed by him.
Insane! Epic! Awesome!..... however, absolutely chock full of CG contrary to what I was led to believe. Also, its possibly a bit too "fantasy" and doesn't feel like the other Max films, which were more believable due to the lower budget and less FX if you ask me. For some reason I keep thinking it felt more like DUNE in some ways (and not just coz there was a lot of sand). It was also a lot like a 300 but with spikey cars (a good thing tbh).
Loved the vehicles, didn't like the guitar dude. Story... story was ok even though it was very predictable. I'm not sure if I prefer this over Max 1&2, will have to give them a watch again. 4/5
i wonder how this complicates things for keying the green out since i assume the colorbleed of the green on the actors will also be higher
Roto artists are the unsung heroes of VFX. Not that anyone else in VFX gets songs sang about them.
What were you thinking was CG? Beside the obvious, like the sandstorm. Because I was shocked to find out that pole cars were fucking REAL. That's actually Tom Hardy swinging around on one of them, not even his stuntman. So fuckin epic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the same for ALL the stunts and vehicle stuff. In an interview, George Miller talks about how he never thought they'd be able to do the pole cars. Then one day he just saw them driving up in the desert.
So, so, so good. Incredible art
Well, I sit down to watch it and say to my wife. "Apparently they used hardly any CG in this". Then the first thing we see is a CG lizard in a heavily composited environment... Then we see Joe's Citadel which screams CG... I say to my wife "maybe i was lied to..."
Yeah, I realise all the stunt work and car stuff is "mostly" real. But pretty much all the environments and a few other bits and pieces (Furiosa's arm, explosions, storm, etc) were CG. And it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.
Don't get me wrong. I loved it. It looks gorgeous. But lets be honest, its full of CG and it makes the film feel more like a Frank Miller movie. I think I would have preferred real, "less grandiose" environments tbh.
Here's an article about the FX used:
http://www.fxguide.com/featured/a-graphic-tale-the-visual-effects-of-mad-max-fury-road/
Not sure how many times they've actually used it, but Hardy did have a digital double. Probably just a handful of shots - one interview says that all the DD work was for something 20+ shots altogether and that included the toxic storm scene.
From an artist point of view, it's got some really cool design and mixing of building/industrial parts with vehicles, for example the duct work used on this thing:
Every time the Buzzard's big rig makes an appearance, I get a big smile on my face. Anyone know what language they were speaking? edit: nvm found out it's Russian Mad max wiki
[ame]
Bleeding Mad Max, skin growths, cesarean, still born, milkers and many more.
Agree, I might have to go and watch it again. :thumbup:
In the Mao Zedong Yin and Yang scale is 80% great for me.