Now that rumors surrounding George Miller’s immediate future at the helm of Warner Bros.’ Mad Max franchise have been put to bed, the director has been reflecting on the one film that helped catapult the Road Warrior back into the zeitgeist: Mad Max: Fury Road.
With little over a month to go until the 2016 Academy Awards, of which Fury Road is up for 10 nominations, Miller himself spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the groundswell of love for the Doof Warrior and the anticipated black-and-white cut, which has now been confirmed to come bundled in a second DVD release of Mad Max: Fury Road.
Word of Warner Bros. double dipping is hardly surprising; Miller’s effects-heavy franchise revival was an expensive shoot, and one that didn’t exactly pull in the big bucks during its theatrical run. Now, said black-and-white cut – one which the director champions as the “best version” – will arrive alongside commentary and other new features.
“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. [It’ll end up] on another version with commentary and other features.”
Miller didn’t disclose when we can expect this new version of Mad Max: Fury Road to release, though Warner Bros. will likely unveil new details in and around next month’s Oscars ceremony.