Monte Hellman

Two-Lane Blacktop

Two-Lane Blacktop

Drag racing east from Los Angeles 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. But no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. With its gorgeous widescreen compositions and sophisticated look at American male obsession, this stripped-down narrative from maverick director Monte Hellman is one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema, and possibly the greatest road movie ever made.

Film Info

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

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Monte Hellman
  • Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, supervised by Hellman and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Two audio commentaries: one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders and one by screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and author David N. Meyer
  • Interviews with Hellman, actor James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
  • Rare screen test outtakes
  • Performance and Image, a look at the restoration of a ’55 Chevy used in the movie and the film’s locations in 2007
  • Color Me Gone, photos and publicity from the film
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and appreciations by director Richard Linklater and musician Tom Waits and a 1970 on-set account from Rolling Stone by Michael Goodwin

New cover by Marc English

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Monte Hellman
  • Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, supervised by Hellman and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Two audio commentaries: one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders and one by screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and author David N. Meyer
  • Interviews with Hellman, actor James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
  • Rare screen test outtakes
  • Performance and Image, a look at the restoration of a ’55 Chevy used in the movie and the film’s locations in 2007
  • Color Me Gone, photos and publicity from the film
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and appreciations by director Richard Linklater and musician Tom Waits and a 1970 on-set account from Rolling Stone by Michael Goodwin

New cover by Marc English

Two-Lane Blacktop
Cast
James Taylor
The Driver
Warren Oates
GTO
Laurie Bird
The Girl
Dennis Wilson
The Mechanic
Rudolph Wurlitzer
Hot rod driver
Jaclyn Hellman
Driver’s girl
Bill Keller
Texas hitchhiker
Harry Dean Stanton
Oklahoma hitchhiker
Alan Vint
Man in roadhouse
George Mitchell
Driver at accident
A. J. Solari
Tennessee hitchhiker
Katherine Squire
Old woman
Melissa Hellman
Child
Jared Hellman
Last kid at accident
1955 Chevrolet
The Car
1970 Pontiac
The GTO
Credits
Director
Monte Hellman
Produced by
Michael S. Laughlin
Screenplay
Rudolph Wurlitzer
Screenplay
Will Corry
Story
Will Corry
Associate producer
Gary Kurtz
Photographic adviser
Gregory Sandor
Assistant camera
John Bailey
Film editor
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
Custom auto design and construction
William Kincheloe
Custom auto design and construction
H. Alan Deglin

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