“A big influence”: the movie George Miller called “my absolute favourite”
He may not be the most prolific of filmmakers, but George Miller has nonetheless secured his place in history by becoming arguably the greatest post-apocalyptic auteur of them all.
Countless directors have lent their talents towards ravaged dystopias, the last vestiges of humanity, and a future where the planet has become a ruined shell of its former self, but none have done it as often and to such a high level as Miller.
The auteur has only helmed ten live-action features since 1979, but quality is an acceptable substitute for quantity when 40% of that number encompasses the Mad Max franchise. It’s become his life’s work, and audiences everywhere will be eternally grateful that he’s never truly been able to leave the Wasteland alone.
The first instalment was a global sensation that became the most profitable release in history, while the second upped the ante and emerged on the other side as not just one of the best action flicks ever made but one of cinema’s greatest-ever sequels. Beyond Thunderdome increased the camp but remained a worthy successor, leading to a 30-year sabbatical that ended in the most spectacular fashion imaginable.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a 21st-century masterpiece that deserved all of the flowers it got, even if it’s tantamount to a crime that prequel Furiosa was allowed to bomb so thunderously. It was a change of pace because it unfolded over the years and told a sprawling narrative, expanding the scope of the franchise without sacrificing its visual splendour, an approach derived from the seminal film that exists as Miller’s favourite.
“You know The Godfather Part II is one of my favourite movies, maybe my absolute favourite, I’ve seen it dozens of times,” he told Rolling Stone. “I’ve been telling people this for a while now, but it only just occurs to me now that it was very much an influence on this film. A big influence.”
Anya Taylor-Joy rebelling against her oppressors by attempting to tear down a dynasty from within and Al Pacino strengthening his grip on the Corleone crime family in Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to The Godfather may not make for obvious companion pieces, but dig a little deeper beneath the surface, and it’s clear where Miller was taking his cues from whether he realised it or not.
Both explore what it means to be part of a family the protagonist never chose to be born into, even if Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa and Pacini’s Michael exist at different ends of the spectrum. One wants to break free, and the other wants to take charge, but Furiosa and The Godfather Part II nonetheless tap into themes of loyalty, brotherhood, the shadows cast by patriarchal figures, and the machinations required to manoeuvre oneself into a position of freedom and power.
