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Two-Lane Blacktop

United States

1971

103 Min
Color
2.35:1
English
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
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DIR Monte Hellman

PROD Michael Laughlin

SCR Rudolph Wurlitzer, Will Corry

DP Jack Deerson, Gregory Sandor

CAST James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson, Rudolph Wurlitzer, Jaclyn Hellman, Harry Dean Stanton

ED Monte Hellman

MUSIC Billy James

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. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

Monte Hellman

Monte Hellman (born July 12, 1932, in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, and film editor.

Hellman is among a group of directing talent mentored by Roger Corman, who produced several of the director’s early films. Hellman’s most critically acclaimed film to date has been Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), a road movie that was a box office failure at the time of its initial release but has subsequently turned into a perennial cult favorite.1 Hellman’s two acid westerns starring Jack Nicholson, Ride in the Whirlwind and The Shooting, both shot in 1965 and released directly to television in 1968, have also developed cult followings, particularly the latter. A third western, China 9, Liberty 37 (1978), was far less successful critically, although it too has its admirers, as do Cockfighter (1974) (aka Born to Kill) and Iguana (1988). In 1989 he directed the straight-to-video slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 45 wall posts.
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tiago

7Apr13

My favorite american film, too bad american cinema will never go that far on the road again. One can dream of making such a meaningful and profoundly resonant film like Two-Lane Blacktop, but only Monte Hellman has the balls to do it in a Hollywood production. No wonder that received backlash on its release whereas Easy Rider was a success, this industry wants nothing with ethics or the truth.

Aguaespejo likes this

Picture of Anna

Anna

4Mar13

"Here's to your destruction." "Same to you."

Picture of Sean

Sean

6Feb13

Cars have never sounded so good in probably the best road movie ever made. James Taylor and Dennis Wilson in their only acting roles takes us on a journey across country as they race against another driver to Washington. The Winner gets the loser's car.I was quite surprised at how much I loved this film and the realness of it.

Picture of Sudipto Basu

Sudipto Basu

21Jan13

I honestly need a second viewing to get in the mood - something I managed pretty late into the film. But boy, what a strangely life-like figure GTO is!

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 851 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Notebook Review. Entanglement Blues: Monte Hellman's "Road to Nowhere"

By Ignatiy Vishnevetsky on June 11, 2011

Monte Hellman's best films begin by pretending to tell a story. Take your pick: Ride in the Whirlwind, Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter

read article
W184

"Drop Edges of Yonder: The Films of Rudy Wurlitzer"

By David Hudson on April 28, 2011

Updated through 5/6. The series Anthology Film Archives is running from Friday through May 5, Drop Edges of Yonder: The Films of Rudy Wurlitzer

read article

Lists

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Reviews

Displaying 4 of 6

Wrrrummm!

By Konrad Szlenda​k on May 11, 2012

Four people coming from nowhere, drifting, heading nowhere but rich in stories to tell, even if there are no words to describe them as their life is embodied solely in their racing vehicles or their…  read review

poetry made up of grease and long hair

By Maicol Andrés Ordoñez on January 27, 2010

Though I wish nothing more than to love a Bressonesque journey into the heart of America, Monte Hellman’s rush of gear headed existentialism kind of left me twirling my hair in the uncomfortable back…  read review

What people mean when they recommend Easy Rider

By Adempti​on on January 10, 2010

Though it might have been too late to the decade party, I take Two-Lane Blacktop as what 60s nostalgia-trippers and film critics want everyone to see in   read review

Untitled

By Ben on November 29, 2009

As I sit and watch the film for a 4th time, I post my thoughts from August 2008 when I first saw the film:

A film of alienation, loneliness, obsession and the masculine inability to communicate…  read review

Forum

Displaying 2 discussion topics.

Monte Hellman recommendations?

4 posts by 3 people over 1 year ago

Two Lane Blacktop: Best American Road Movie?

80 posts by 19 people almost 2 years ago

DVD

Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.