'Mad Max' trilogy features 'Thunderdome' Blu-ray debut

• Groundbreaking series made stars of Mel Gibson%2C director George Miller
• The low-budget 1979 original sparked revitalization of the action genre
• Films depict not-too-distant future where marauding gangs rule the highways

When Mad Max barreled full-throttle onto movie screens in 1979, it had a visceral impact on viewers who were unused to its raw, adrenaline-fueled violence and high-octane vehicular stunts. Although its limited release in the U.S. made it more of a cult film here, the low-budget, independent Australian film became a $100 million international sensation.

The film made a star of an unknown novice named Mel Gibson and launched the filmmaking career of former medical doctor George Miller. But its impact went beyond just being a surprise hit. With its Wild West-meets-demolition derby motif, Mad Max has served as a template for the dozens of post-apocalyptic films and video games that have followed. Mad Max spawned two big-budget sequels — 1982's Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome — and paved the way for a wave of action franchises that included Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Terminator, Bruce Willis' Die Hard, Sly Stallone's Rambo and Gibson's own Lethal Weapon.

The Mad Max Trilogy (1979-1985, Warner Bros., R/PG-13, $50) arrives on home video Tuesday, with Beyond Thunderdome making its debut on Blu-ray. The three-disc set comes packaged in a tin box with pictures inside and out of a laconic Max in tattered leathers, sawed-off shotgun close at hand. Bonus features are few, but the Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon feature adds context.

Director Miller, who in recent years has made such family-friendly movies as Babeand Happy Feet, makes good use of stark landscapes to give the films a sense of desperation. In addition to the colorful villains, the road itself is a source of danger and the cars — i.e. Max's black Ford Falcon V-8 Pursuit Special with the super-charger on the hood — seem to have a growl of their own.

Here's a quick look at the films:

* Mad Max (1979). In the near future, society is beginning a descent into chaos, and marauding motorcycle gangs rule the road. All that stands in their way is the Main Force Patrol, cops in turbo-charged cruisers who try to enforce what little law there is left. Max Rockatansky (Gibson) is the most relentless of the bunch, but he's ready to take his family and go away. But when the gang lead by the evil Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) kills his wife and son, the renegades find out what makes Max mad.

* Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982). Max, now an ex-cop, is an aimless wanderer in the post-apocalyptic Australian outback where gasoline is scarce and worth killing for. He roams around in his car doing just enough to survive. He agrees to protect a community of people who have settled in an oil refinery and are besieged by vicious barbarians led by the disfigured Humungus (Kjell Nilsson), who wants their fuel supplies.

* Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Max confronts power-mad Aunty Entity (Tina Turner), who uses him to get rid of a rival for control of Bartertown, a violent settlement powered by methane refined from pig slop. When she exiles him to the desert, Max is saved by a tribe of lost children, and he in turn helps them escape capture.

After years of false starts, Miller is directing a new installment in the franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road, with Tom Hardy taking over as Max. Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult are also in the cast, and a certain drifter will also make a cameo. It is currently in production and expected to arrive in theaters in 2014.