Two-Lane Blacktop: Slow Ride
By December 10, 2007
The two movies that opened the door to “youth culture” in Hollywood, The Graduate and Easy Rider, were milestones to be sure. But can it really be said that they Read more »
- 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 |
| GTO | Warren Oates |
| The girl | Laurie Bird |
| The mechanic | Dennis Wilson |
| Hot rod driver | Rudolph Wurlitzer |
| Driver’s girl | Jaclyn Hellman |
Credits
| Director | Monte Hellman |
| Producer | Michael S. Laughlin |
| Screenplay | Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Corry |
| Story | Will Corry |
| Associate producer | Gary Kurtz |
| Photographic advisor | Gregory Sandor |
| Assistant camera | John Bailey |
| Editing | Monte Hellman |
| Unit production manager | Walter Coblenz |
| Assistant director | Ken Swor |
| Costumes | Richard Bruno |
| Production Sound | Charles Knight |
| Music supervisor | Billy 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”
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Ten (sixteen, actually) Reasons I Love
Two-Lane Blacktop
By December 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 »
News
Hellman, Kechiche, More
Headed to Venice
July 29, 2010
Whenever a major international film festival announces its lineup, we keep our eyes peeled for fresh projects from our favorite filmmakers. New titles Read more »
