Two-Lane Blacktop

Monte Hellman

 
Two-Lane Blacktop Criterion DVD

DVD

2 Discs

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price:$31.96

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  • United States
  • 1971
  • 103 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.35:1
  • English
  •  
  • Spine #414

SYNOPSIS: Drag racing east from L.A. in a souped-up ‘55 Chevy are the wayward Driver and Mechanic (singer/songwriter James Taylor and the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, in their only acting roles), accompanied by a tagalong Girl (Laurie Bird). Along the way, they meet Warren Oates’s Pontiac GTO-driving wanderer and challenge him to a cross-country race—the prize: their cars’ pink slips. Yet no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. Maverick director Monte Hellman’s stripped-down narrative, gorgeous widescreen compositions, and sophisticated look at American male obsession make this one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema, and possibly the greatest road movie ever made.

Cast & CreditsOpen

Cast

The driver James Taylor
GTOWarren Oates
The girlLaurie Bird
The mechanicDennis Wilson
Hot rod driverRudolph Wurlitzer
Driver’s girl Jaclyn Hellman

Credits

DirectorMonte Hellman
ProducerMichael S. Laughlin
ScreenplayRudolph Wurlitzer and Will Corry
StoryWill Corry
Associate producerGary Kurtz
Photographic advisor Gregory Sandor
Assistant cameraJohn Bailey
EditingMonte Hellman
Unit production managerWalter Coblenz
Assistant directorKen Swor
CostumesRichard Bruno
Production SoundCharles Knight
Music supervisorBilly James
Custom auto design and construction Richard Ruth, William Kincheloe and H. Alan Deglin

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED DOUBLE-DISC SET

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Monte Hellman
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
  • Two audio commentaries; one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders, and one by screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and author David Meyer
  • New interviews with Hellman, star James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
  • Rare, never-before-seen screen-test outtakes
  • Performance and Image: a look at the restoration of a ‘55 Chevy from the movie and the film’s locations today
  • Color Me Gone: photos and publicity from Two-Lane Blacktop
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • PLUS: Rudy Wurlitzer’s screenplay, reprinted specially for this release; new essay by Kent Jones, appreciations by Richard Linklater and Tom Waits; and a reprint of the 1970 Rolling Stone article “On Route 66, Filming Two-Lane Blacktop

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Two-Lane Blacktop: Slow Ride

By Kent Jones December 10, 2007

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Ten (sixteen, actually) Reasons I Love
Two-Lane Blacktop

By Richard LinklaterDecember 10, 2007

01   Because it’s the purest American road movie ever.  02   Because it’s like a drive-in movie directed by a French new wave director Read more »


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