Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome them, as Max, still alive in the desert, wanders on to places unknown. "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" was the first "Mad Max" film made without producer Byron Kennedy, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 1983 while location scouting for the film. While the film was in development before Kennedy's death, director George Miller was hesitant to continue without his producing partner. "I was reluctant to go ahead," said Miller. "And then there was a sort of need to – let's do something just to get over the shock and grief of all of that." A title card at
Mad Max was the most profitable film ever made at the time, holding the Guinness World Record for the highest box office to budget ratio of any motion picture. The film was awarded three Australian Film Institute Awards in 1979 (for editing, sound, and musical score). It was also nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Keays-Byrne) by the Australian Film Institute. The film also won the Special Jury Award at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. "Mad Max" holds a 90% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 61 positive critic reviews,