Mad Max missing charred face scene? (1 Viewer)

[Frank_S]

I could have sworn when I saw Mad Max years ago that in the hospital scene they showed the charred face of his mate, but when I watched it last night, it was'nt there, no charred face. All they showed was the charred arm falling from the bed. Am I right on this?

 

[Chris PC]

I'd have to rent the video to compare, but I remember seeing Max's face react to what he saw and he also sees the arm/hand poke out from under the covers. There might have been a split second shot of a charred Goose, but I can't recall. Anybody else?

 

[Christina_V]

There is no charred face scene........i've seen the films plenty of times + just checked both dvds(in case) and they are the same.....you only see a reaction shot of Mel as he looks at Goose.
It's probably just you're imagination and as always.....can make you think you saw something you did'nt!

 

[Frank_S]

Yeah, you're probably right. I have a great imagination.
If anyone has the VHS copy, check it out, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep until I know for sure.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Never was, that's when you cantell the director's vision is good, when he can make you imagine something by a unique shot. Mel's face said more than any special effect could ever convey.

 

[Kwang Suh]

Must... resist... urge... to... make... fun...

Pay... back... Satan... later...

Ahh

 

[Larry Bevil]

I do not recall ever seeing the charred face of Goose, only his arm falling from the sheets. They have cut that portion of the film where the motorcycle gang catches up with the boy and girl in the red Chevy. In the cable tv version, when they took the girl from the car, the scene went on for several minutes. In this, and recent releases, a crow pops up and the scene goes away to another location.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

I doubt that. Why isn't there any mention of such a scene anywhere?

 

[Chris PC]

I remember that the lighting on Max's face and the hand popping out made you almost NOT want to see the charred remians.

 

[Larry Bevil]

Jussi:

Since your post followed my posting, I'm not sure if you are challenging the charred face scene or the scenes I said were in the cable version but not on the dvd. Back in the late 1980's, I saw the film on either The Movie Channel or Showtime and the scenes I mentioned were in that version. I had taped it, but when I bought the laserdisc, I unfortunately erased the tape before I watched the laserdisc. Big mistake. The scenes had already been cut on the laserdisc. Not sure if you get The Movie Channel and Showtime over in Finland, but if you do, that version would have had to been seen back before 1990, as they have no longer show that version around here either. In fact it's pretty much been relegated to the non-premium cable tv stations now, ie TNT and TBS.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Never Ever Was in it. This reminds me of the hannibal thread from awhile back. Good movies can make you imagine what you are not seeing but MM never had this scene, maybe you are thinking of another Movie

 

[Frank_S]

Thanks everyone for clarifying the "no charred face" in MM.
I must have seen a similar scene in another film, my memory aint what it used to be.

 

[Chauncey_G]

Maybe you're mixing up your Mad Max films? At the start of Road Warrior, he finds that guy in the cab of the truck. As I recall his face wasn't going to win any awards...

 

[Jason_Els]

But there is a charred arm, visible from the hand to the elbow, that falls out from under the drape. Goose's face is not shown on any version I have seen.

 

[DarrenA]

They have cut that portion of the film where the motorcycle gang catches up with the boy and girl in the red Chevy. In the cable tv version, when they took the girl from the car, the scene went on for several minutes. In this, and recent releases, a crow pops up and the scene goes away to another location.

Larry,

I'm afraid that this is simply not the case. At one point, UK video releases edited the scene where the bikers tear up the hot-rod with the terrified couple inside. The scene simply cut to black as the bikers smashed the first window.

In 2000, MGM (which by this time had assumed control of the American International Pictures/Filmways/Orion Pictures library) re-issued the film in limited roadshow release in its original uncut version with the Australian dialogue track intact. This is the version that has been transferred to the new Mad Max: Special Edition DVD.

 

[Larry Bevil]

Darren: As the old saying goes, I saw what I saw. The bikers raped both the boy and the girl in that red Chevy. To have included that in the video release would have garnered a rating of Not Rated or Unrated. Whenever you saw that boy running across the field with his naked butt showing, what did you think? That he was just "scared"? In the cable version, it was very graphic what they did to both the boy and the girl and explains why his rear is red. So, it was in fact censored from that cable version. That version has never made it to a video release, for one reason or another, to the best of my knowledge. No imaginations on my part. The only difference between the earlier video releases and the current one is that they have restored the original Australian language soundtrack and appear to have improved both the video and audio quality.

 

[Rob Pritchard]

I've seen Mad Max both on its original UK cinema release & on home video/tv numerous times. I have never seen or heard anything to justify Larry's claims. Before I get flamed let me just say that it's not impossible just highly, highly unlikely.
There's no mention of such a missing scene on any of the Max fan sites, or by the production team who supplied the commentary for the SE. One would have thought that such a cut in such a vivid sequence would have provoked some comment from them...
One film that has been cut however, is The Road Warrior. The UK DVD appears identical to the US version, down to the title change (it was always known here as Mad Max 2). The cuts are minor trims & are as follows. The first trim occurs just after the Feral Kid lobs his boomerang at Wez - who ducks - & Wez's boyfriend gets it in the head. Wez kneels down to examine him & you should see a quick insert shot - a grisly makeup fx of the boomerang stuck in the lads head - the action here is Wez turning the face towards the camera & as he does so the boomerang shifts its position in the wound. Well, yeuch! It's a very quick shot - literally just a second or two but it's missing from both the UK & US DVDs.
The second cut occurs just after the above sequence. The raiders have driven away from the refinery & are wondering whether to carry on fighting. Their leader Papagello makes a short speech. On both the UK & US DVDs it ends like this:
Papagello 'If we have to yes, there's always a way. But the first step - defend the fuel.'
Woman 'Words! Just words...you'd die for a pipedream'
The full version is this:
Papagello 'If we have to yes, there's always a way. But the first step - defend the fuel. And I stay. Alone if I have to. I'll leave them nothing. That I promise.'
Woman 'Words! Just words...you'd die for a pipedream'
I would guess the first cut was made for the original US theatrical release possibly to avoid getting an X rating? Here in the UK the shot was present in both the original theatrical & home video release (later VHS releases here suffered from censorship)
Why the dialogue was cut I have no idea - perhaps it made Papagello sound a bit too heroic? I'm not relying on my memory for these either - I have both the UK & US DVDs of The Road Warrior plus a VHS copy of the original video release in the UK in which both cuts are present.
It's a shame both are missing & I sincerely hope that the sales of MGMs superb Mad Max SE will encourage Warners to remaster the COMPLETE version of The Road Warrior (with a ton of extras).
Rob:frowning:

 

[mantro174]

Never Ever Was in it. This reminds me of the hannibal thread from awhile back. Good movies can make you imagine what you are not seeing but MM never had this scene, maybe you are thinking of another Movie

I didn't even know there was a debate regarding this. I only discover it researching why the scene of Goose burned head was missing from the Blu Ray I just picked up. I remember the scene but cant remember if it was on cable or VHS. I suspect cable but it was a scene I always remembered and was waiting for it when watching Shout Factory Blu Ray but it was not there. Strange that only a few people saw it. I lived in Brooklyn and New Jersey in the 70's and 80's so maybe some local cable company had it in their release. I don't know. It's very strange.