If the reviews continue to hold as well as they currently are, Mad Max: Fury Road may very well end up being the most positively reviewed blockbuster of the modern era. Director George Miller’s action film is a masterpiece, plain and simple. It’s thrilling and hypnotic from start to finish, and it’s an unabashedly feminist film with profound subtext throughout. This is all the more impressive considering the buzz on Fury Road was straight up bad for quite some time. The project took years to complete, the actors were frustrated and butted heads on set, and post-production lasted so long that Warner Bros. had to keep pushing back the release date. But now that it’s finally been unveiled to the public, we understand that Miller was just fine-tuning his masterwork.
If you’re at all interested in the intricacies of craftsmanship that go into creating a movie as glorious as this, the Australian Cinematographers Society has a treat for you. They’ve posted a two-hour presentation from Fury Road director of photography John Seale (who does brilliant work on the film) and second unit DP David Burr that delves into any and every detail about how the actioner came together on set. It’s a fascinating talk, as Seale dives deep on the numerous issues he was presented with while trying to bring Miller’s vision to fruition.
Some of the more notable tidbits include Seale describing the 3D cameras that Miller was inventing to use on the film. Miller didn’t want to deal with sand or dust getting into the camera every time they changed the lens, so his workaround was to simply build a series of 3D cameras with all different lenses (he eventually decided to shoot in 2D). Seale also reveals that Miller initially intended to film the entire movie with a single camera, but Seale thankfully talked him down for select scenes.
What’s clear from this video is that, while the practicality of making the movie seemed confusing and even frustrating to some, Miller had a purpose for everything, and it was all in service of making the vision in his head a reality. Mission accomplished.
Watch the video from the ASC below (via Larry Wright), and click here to read Matt’s review.
