[4] At the time, both directors and the producer were looking for a score that resembled the works of Bernard Herrmann and specifically what Bernard Herrmann and Co. did in Hitchcock films," In his own words; "because they had a big action movie and they needed a score to propel it along and give it a lot of bite and energy.

"It was very jagged and shearing, and George particularly wanted me to antagonize the audience by making them feel uncomfortable.

[6] May went on to win the Australian Film Award for Best Original Score for his work on Mad Max.

Coupled with furiously staccato writing and Stravinskian time signatures, the result was a strident, metallic score, perfectly underscoring the film's barbarous, high-velocity car culture.

"[11] Chris McEneany, writing for AVForms, similarly praised the soundtrack, describing it as "often harsh, wild and blood-curdling".