George Miller's 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Gets the Black-and-White Treatment for Home Release
Furioso’s coming back like you’ve never seen her before… in black and white. After politicking from director George Miller — and breathless anticipation from fans of his 2015 adrenaline-jolt blockbuster — a black-and-white version of Mad Max: Fury Road will be coming to Blu-ray in time for Christmas.
Dubbed the Black & Chrome Edition, the $30 set will include both the original theatrical presentation along with the black-and-white version featuring a new introduction by Miller. Black & Chrome will also be available as part of a box set with the previous three Mad Max installments — Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) — as well as the feature-length documentary Madness of Max and Road War, a new behind-the-scenes account of the Road Warrior with interviews with Miller, star Mel Gibson, and screenwriter Terry Hayes.
Fans have been clamoring for the monochromatic Mad Max: Fury Road ever since Miller revealed the existence of the alternate version in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in January:
The best version of Road Warrior was what we called a “slash dupe,” a cheap, black-and-white version of the movie for the composer. Something about it seemed more authentic and elemental. So I asked Eric Whipp, the [Fury Road] colorist, “Can I see some scenes in black and white with quite a bit of contrast?” They looked great. So I said to the guys at Warners, “Can we put a black-and-white version on the DVD?” There wasn’t enough room.
But Miller promised that it would eventually be released. So mark your calendars for Dec. 6 — that’s the date both the stand-alone Black and Chrome Edition and the Mad Max High-Octane Collection ($55 for DVD; $80 for Blu-ray) will be available. Now if we only could get Warners to unleash Blood and Chrome in theaters, it would truly be a happy holiday season.
Director’s Reel: Watch George Miller discuss his greatest films:
