The Road Warrior (1981) - full transcript

My life fades...

...the vision dims.

All that remains are memories.

I remember a time of chaos...

ruined dreams, this wasted land

But most of all,
I remember the Road Warrior...

...the man we called Max.

To understand who he was,
you have to go back to another time...

...when the world was powered
by the black fuel...

...and the deserts sprouted
great cities of pipe and steel.

Gone now, swept away.



For reasons long forgotten,
two mighty warrior tribes went to war...

...and touched off a blaze
which engulfed them all.

Without fuel they were nothing.
They'd built a house of straw.

The thundering machines
sputtered and stopped.

Their leaders talked and talked and talked.

But nothing could stem the avalanche.

Their world crumbled...

...the cities exploded.

A whirlwind of looting...

...a firestorm of fear.

Men began to feed on men.

On the roads,
it was a white-line nightmare

Only those mobile enough to scavenge...

...brutal enough to pillage, would survive.



The gangs took over the highways...

...ready to wage war for a tank of juice.

And in this maelstrom of decay...

...ordinary men
were battered and smashed.

Men like Max.

The warrior Max.

In the roar of an engine,
he lost everything...

...and became a shell of a man.

A burnt-out, desolate man.

A man haunted by the demons of his past.

A man who wandered out
into the wasteland.

And it was here...

...in this blighted place...

...that he learned to live again.

Don't hurt the snake. Put it down.

Gently, gently. Nice. Nice.

Now the iron.

The gun.

Down, down. Turn around.

Looks like I got myself some gasoline, eh?

V8?

Booby-trapped.
Touch those tanks and:

Booby trap. Back up.

Oh, you crafty little man, you.

You're quick, very quick.

Never seen a man beat the snake before.
Who are you?

Reflexes. Yeah. That's what you've got.

Me, I got brains.

Hey!

A fella, a quick fella...

...might have a weapon under there.
I'd have to pin his head to the panel.

Hey. Hey, hey-

Don't play me the fool.

Gas, fuel, gasoline!
Thousands of gallons of it!

- As much as you want!
- Where? Where?

Twenty miles from here.
Pumping it, they are. Refining!

- A huge tanker full.
- Crap.

No. No, no, no, it's true! It's true.

It's not self-service, no, no.
It's too hard for me.

- But a man of your ingenuity...
- Where? Where? Where?

Kill me and you'll never find out.

Good dog. Nice doggy, eh?

Good doggy.

Bless you, dog.

Well, there it is.

Four days I was up here...

...me and the snakes,
playing mahjong, taking tea...

...watching, thinking...

...how was I gonna
get in and get the gas?

Day and night it's pumping.

Fuel to burn.

They've got the lot.
Power, lights, you name it.

You can bet your life they mean to keep it.

Thirty of them in there.

Arrows, flamethrowers, guns.

No place for man or reptile, I thought.

Then this trash arrived...

...as moths to a flame.

Round and round, attack, attack...

...like angry ants,
mad with the smell of gasoline.

In the tanker, that's where they keep it.

Thousands of gallons.
As much as you want.

If anyone's gonna get in there,
it's gonna be you.

Me, I'm gonna feed the snakes.

A man lives by his word, I reckon,
and I've kept mine, eh?

Look, we had a deal. I show you the gas
and you let me go, right?

- The arrangement was I wouldn't kill you.
- After all I've done for you...

I reckon you got a bargain, don't you?

Attack, my vermin, attack!

Onward! Bring me the fuel.
For the glory of Humungus.

For the great glory of Humungus.

Smegma crazies to the left!

The gate! Gayboy berserkers to the gate!

I am your Lord.

Attack!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Save it

I'm just here for the gasoline.

Yeah. Yeah.

As much as you like.

Just take me back there.

Show your weapons and come forward!

Steady now.

Take it real easy.

That's as far as you go.

Turn around.

- Nathan! Nathan! It's Nathan!
- Hurry, get the stretcher!

Lose them.

Open the gate.

Hurry up with that damned stretcher.

Nathan!

Hey, that's fine. It's fine. Just stay here.

Cover him. Cover him.

Come on, quick. Quick.

Oh, what a waste!

Watch his leg.

You and your handiwork!

He didn't stand a chance!

Oh, I warned him. You all heard me.
"Madness," I said.

"We can escape, take our gas," he said.
"How?" I said.

Get that machine inside.
Charlie, help me--

Derek?

Get that machine inside.

Close the damned gate.

Mind your backs, mind your backs.
Coming through.

All right, give him room, give him room.

Who are you?

How did you get through out there?

Look, I want some answers.
Where did you find him?

Two or three miles down the road,
left for dead. We had a deal.

There were three other vehicles.
Did you see them?

They're heading to the southwest
in heaps of trouble.

He said if I brought him back,
you'd give me some gas.

- Now, there's not much time.
- There was a woman in the car.

She's dead.

What did they do?

It was quick. I just want my gas,
I wanna get out of here.

For all we know, he's one of them.
Give him nothing.

She's right, he's a parasite.

Trading in human flesh. Mercenary trash.

- We had an arrangement.
- What do you mean, an arrangement?

You talk to this man.

No, no. Try something. Try something.

If you had a contract, it was with him.

And it died with him.

- Get rid of him.
- Move it.

Left!

Left.

Gotta hand it to you, treasure.
The last of the V8 Interceptors.

A piece of history.

Would have been a shame to blow it up.

Let him go!

It's all right, mate.

Here they come! Close the gates!
They're coming back!

Hold your fire! He comes in peace!

For Christ's sake, hold your fire!

Greetings from the Humungus!

The Lord Humungus!

The Warrior of the Wasteland!

The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Roll-ah!

I am gravely disappointed.

Again you have made me
unleash my dogs of war.

- Look at what remains...
- Help!

-...Of your gallant scouts.
- Kill him now...

- Why? Because you're selfish.
-...while you've got the chance.

You hoard your gasoline.

- You will not listen to reason.
- Don't listen to him!

Now, my prisoners say...

...you plan to take your gasoline
out of the wasteland.

You sent them out this morning
to find a vehicle.

A rig big enough to haul
that fat tank of gas.

What a puny plan.

Look around you.

This is the Valley of Death.

See!

Nothing can escape!
The Humungus rules the wasteland!

Give them nothing. Blow it up.
Give them--

Humungus will not be defied.

Wez. Wez.

Listen to me!

I got it. I got it.

Good one.

Quiet. Quiet. No more games.

No more games!

We are here for a purpose.

We've come with an offer.

No. No more talk.

We go in. We kill.

We'll kill them!

We'll kill them! Kill them. Kill them!

Do you see him?

Kill! Kill!

Be still, my dog of war.

I understand your pain.

We all lost someone we love.
But we do it my way.

Losers. Losers wait.

We do it my way.

Their fear is our ally.
The gasoline will be ours.

Then you shall have your revenge.

Take him away.

There has been too much violence,
too much pain.

None here are without sin.

But I have an honorable compromise.

Just walk away.

Give me the pump...

...the oil...

...the gasoline...

...and the whole compound,
and I'll spare your lives.

Just walk away. I will give you
safe passage in the wasteland.

Just walk away
and there will be an end to the horror.

I await your answer.

You have one full day to decide.

We'll never walk away!

Never!

You heard what he said.
It sounds reasonable.

We don't have to die.

All we have to do is walk away.

No. We've worked too hard.

It's simple. All we do is change the fuel
and this junkyard for our lives.

Look, if we walk out there,
they'll slaughter us.

They'll set us loose
and then cut us down like pigs.

Don't listen to them.

All right. All right. This is it.

I'll talk to this Humungus.

Fool.

He's a reasonable man...

...open to negotiation.

He promised us safe passage.
He gave his word.

And let us suppose he keeps it...

...and we walk away from here
with our lives. What then?

But remember.

Remember one thing.
That is more than just a tanker of gas.

That is our lifeline to a place
beyond that vermin on machines.

That's 2,000 miles from here!

How do you expect us to get it there?
Drag it?

If we have to, yes. There's always a way.

But the first step...

...defend the fuel.

Words.

Just words!

You'd die for a pipe dream!

Wrong. We fight for a belief. I stay.

I wish it could have worked, Pappagallo.

You can't expect to compete with that.

Every day we get weaker
while they get stronger. It's finished.

I'm sorry.

Two days ago I saw a vehicle
that'd haul that tanker.

You wanna get out of here...

...you talk to me.

Okay, so that's my offer.

I deliver a rig big enough
to haul that tanker...

...you give me back my vehicle
and as much juice as I can carry.

We lost eight good people this morning.

What's he got in mind?

Now, to do the job
I need five gallons of diesel...

...and some high-octane gasoline.

Think of it as a down payment.

And that's the last we'll ever see of him.

He has to come back for his wheels.

What have we got to lose?

You've got yourself a deal.

My vehicle and all the juice I can carry.

Come on, dog.

You know what I miss most of all?
Clean women.

Nail polish, perfume...

...the smell of bicycle seats, cocktails...

- Shut up.
- Desserts.

Lingerie. Remember lingerie?

I knew it. I knew it'd work.

Lethal. Lethal, these snakes. Born killers.

Down!

It's my snake. I trained it.
I'm gonna eat it.

So find your own. Get out of it.

I've got a recipe for snake. Delicious.

Fricassee of reptile. Get out.

Better than your dog food. No!

Pure protein, minerals, vitamins.

A man's gotta look after himself.

Healthy mind, healthy body, dog.

Hey! You are what you eat, I reckon.
Get away!

You two ought to take a look
in the mirror some time.

No style, no taste.

Empty-

All this time.

That's dishonest. Low.

Let's have a look at this machine of yours.

How do I know that one's not a dud?

- Find out.
- Cool. Cool, cool.

Now, you've gotta understand the basics
of aerodynamics in a thing like this.

Shut up. Shut up.

What about me, eh?
You're not gonna leave me here, are you?

Do what you want.

We're partners.

You and me, we're partners.

Partners!

Go. Go.

My dogs, run. The gate.

The gate. The gate. The gate.

You. You can run, but you can't hide.

You did a great job.

That's my man.

That's my man.

Don't go overboard now.

No, don't touch, please.
It's a precision instrument.

Don't touch.

Don't touch.

Go.

Go on.

Tell me, son, this machine of yours...

...it can take two, can it?

Possibly.

All right?

I'm okay. Just get them organized,
we're moving out tonight.

Okay, listen, everyone.
We're going out tonight.

You all know what to do,
just get on with it.

Timbo, Derek, Pappagallo's been hurt.

How's the rig?

The rig. How is she?

A cracked timing case cover.

It's broken some teeth
off the timing gears.

It's got a cracked timing case cover.

It's broken a couple of teeth
off the timing gears.

- The radiator's damaged at the core.
- The radiator's damaged at the core.

- A cracked water pump.
- It's got a cracked water pump.

- And a fractured injector line.
- And it's got a fractured injector line.

- Well, what does all that mean?
- Yeah, okay, but what does that mean?

- What does that mean?
- Twenty-four hours.

Twenty-four hours.

They've got 12.

- You've got 12.
- Okay.

Okay.

Let's get him down. Quick, come on.

Listen, I was wrong about you...

...and I'm sorry.

Heel.

It's been a long time
since I've seen driving like that, man.

You're okay by me, son.

With you driving that rig, we got it licked!
Nice to have you aboard, son.

I've been saving those.
I want you to have them.

Thank you, and welcome.

It's been a pleasure doing business
with you, but I'm leaving.

I'm leaving. Thanks.

Oh, my God, look!

Up on the hill!

They're stringing them up, the bastards!

Look!

You have defied me.

You will know the vengeance
of Lord Humungus.

I promise you...

nobody

...nobody gets out of here alive.

Who's supposed to be helping out
with the drums? Come on!

Hey, don't forget,
don't waste a bit before we leave.

Just wanna catch the pigs.

Come on with the drums, come on!

Is anybody helping over there?

Hey, come on!

What's wrong? Come on.

It just seems really wrong,
sneaking away like this.

But you said you wanted to come,
sweetheart.

I know I did, but...

Look, you're scared. Now, come on,
it'll be much safer up there.

- What are we waiting for, eh?
- No,don%.

This is my family.

I'm not gonna leave these people.

I'm staying.

I'm sorry.

Come on, keep it together.

I told you, he's leaving.
What did I tell you?

Look, he's leaving.

Look, I don't have time for long speeches.
I want you to drive the tanker.

Sorry.

We had a contract.
I kept my part of the bargain.

We'll make a new contract.

I've got all I need here.

You don't have a future.
I could offer you that. Rebuild our lives.

Max...

...buy a ticket for 2,000 miles.

You have to come, sonny.
This is where we're going. Paradise.

Two thousand miles from here.

Fresh water, plenty of sunshine.

Nothing to do but breed.

No, thanks.

What is it with you, huh?
What are you looking for?

Come on, Max,
everyone's looking for something.

You happy out there, are you?

Wandering?
One day blurring into another?

You're a scavenger, Max.
You're a maggot.

Do you know that?

You're living off the corpse
of the old world.

Tell me your story.
Come on, tell me your story.

What burned you out?

Kill one man too many?

See too many people die?
Lose some family?

Oh, so that's it. You lost some family.
That make you something special, does it?

Listen to me.

Do you think
you're the only one that's suffered?

We've all been through it in here.
But we haven't given up.

We're still human beings with dignity.

But you, you're out there
with the garbage.

You're nothing.

Get out, kid.

Come on, get out of here.

Go on, get out. Scat. Get out.

You're letting him go?

Well, let's keep his vehicle, at least.

He fulfilled his contract.
He's an honorable man.

Okay, so who's gonna drive the tanker?

I am.

They've got you wrong,
you're not a coward.

Stupid maybe, but not a coward.

You're making a serious mistake...

...splitting a great team.

You and me together,
think of the possibilities.

See you around, maybe.
Goodbye, good luck.

We go!

You disobey me. You puppy.

Toadie, the gas. Hurry up.

Don't waste him. If he's alive...

...I want him.

The tanks are full, O, mighty Wez,
and it's all yours!

It's all over.

Let's go.

Look, out there. Northwest.

Oh, hell.

You blew it, you fool.

Relax, partner.

I'll be driving the tanker.

We're gonna crash or crash through.

Now at this point, that's all they want.
The tanker.

So they'll come straight after us.

So we'll use that to punch our way out...

...which will give all of you
a very, very good chance.

Now, don't hesitate.

Once you're outside there,
split up and go as hard as you can.

Now, 200 miles to the north...

...there's a place with a bridge
called Powder River.

That's our rendezvous.

Give us till sunset.

If we haven't made it by then, keep going.

Good enough for me to build,
but not to ride on?

- You are not coming on this tanker!
- I sweated blood on this...

...and no bastard's gonna tell me
to ride in no school bus!

Okay, settle down!

If it's all the same to you...

...I'll drive that tanker.

The offer is closed. Too late for deals.

No deals. I wanna drive that truck.

Why? Why the big change of heart?

Believe me, I haven't got a choice.

And how do you think you'll do it?

I mean, look at you.
You couldn't even drive a wheelchair.

You should look at yourself, Max.
You're a mess.

Come on, cut the crap.

I'm the best chance you've got.

Right, let's get moving.

Move that kid! Get rid of him!

Oh, shit!

Go! Go, go, 90. 99!

I'm all right, I'm all right.

Move it. Move it.

Come on, come on, come on!

The tire! Shoot the tire!

Boy! Come on, jump!

Come on, jump!

I say.

We've won.

It's over, boy.

Hey, kid.

Get the bullet. The bullet.

Get up. Go on.

Get the shell.

Get the shell.

Come on. Come on, go!

And so began the journey north to safety...

...to our place in the sun.

Among us we found a new leader,
the man who came from the sky...

...the Gyro Captain.

And just as Pappagallo had planned...

...we traveled far beyond
the reach of men on machines.

The juice, the precious juice,
was hidden in the vehicles.

As for me, I grew to manhood...

...in the fullness of time,
I became the leader...

...the chief of the Great Northern Tribe.

And the Road Warrior?

That was the last we ever saw of him.

He lives now only in my memories.