Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Director:

Monte Hellman

Writers:

Rudy Wurlitzer (screenplay) and
Will Corry (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 October 1972 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You can never go fast enough...

Plot:

Story of two men drag racing across the USA in a primer grey 55 chevy. Wilson is the mechanic, James Taylor is the driver.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Driver | Mechanic | Drag Racing | Gas Station

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

James Taylor	...	The Driver
Warren Oates	...	G.T.O
Laurie Bird	...	The Girl
Dennis Wilson	...	The Mechanic
David Drake	...	Needles Station Attendant
Richard Ruth	...	Needles Station Mechanic
Rudy Wurlitzer	...	Hot Rod Driver (as Rudolph Wurlitzer)
Jaclyn Hellman	...	Driver's Girl
Bill Keller	...	Texas Hitchhiker
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Oklahoma Hitchhiker (as H.D. Stanton)
Don Samuels	...	Texas Policeman #1
Charles Moore	...	Texas Policeman #2
Tom Green	...	Boswell Attendant
W.H. Harrison	...	Parts Store Owner
Alan Vint	...	Man in Roadhouse
Illa Ginnaven	...	Waitress in Roadhouse
George Mitchell	...	Truck Driver at Accident
A.J. Solari	...	Tennessee Hitchhiker
Katherine Squire	...	Old Woman
Melissa Hellman	...	Little Girl with Old Woman picked up by G.T.O.
Jay Wheatley	...	Man #1 at Race Track
James Mitchum	...	Man #2 at Race Track (as Jim Mitcham)
Kreag Caffey	...	Boy with Motorcycle
Tom Witenbarger	...	Pickup Truck Driver
Glen Rogers	...	Soldier #1

Directed by
Monte Hellman

Writing credits
Rudy Wurlitzer		(screenplay) (as Rudolph Wurlitzer) and
Will Corry		(screenplay)
Will Corry		(story)
Floyd Mutrux		uncredited

Produced by
Gary Kurtz	....	associate producer
Michael Laughlin	....	producer (as Michael S. Laughlin)

Original Music by
Billy James		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Jack Deerson		(director of photography)
Gregory Sandor		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Monte Hellman

Casting by
Fred Roos
Jennifer Shull

Costume Design by
Richard Bruno

Production Management
Walter Coblenz	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ken Swor	....	assistant director

Art Department
H. Alan Deglin	....	custom auto design and construction
William Kincheloe	....	custom auto design and construction
Richard Ruth	....	custom auto design and construction

Sound Department
Charles T. Knight	....	production sound (as Charles Knight)
Howard S. Wollman	....	sound re-recordist
James Nelson	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gregory Sandor	....	photographic advisor
John Bailey	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Earl C. Williman	....	lamp operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Billy James	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Jaclyn Hellman	....	dialogue coach
Bonnie Prendergast	....	script supervisor
Marion Sampler	....	title designer
Lee Wenner	....	assistant to producer
Jay Wheatley	....	technical advisor
Steven Henschel	....	location manager (uncredited)
Beverly Walker	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Michael Laughlin Enterprises
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Boid (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (2011) (Australia) (theatrical) (New 35mm Panavision film print)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1973) (France) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (Limited Edition)
• Universal Pictures
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Edit-Rite  sound editing
• Synchrofilm Inc.  music editing
• Technicolor  color
• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min | Argentina:105 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:R | Argentina:13 | UK:X | UK:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Norway:12

Filming Locations:

Athens, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Michael Laughlin Enterprises

Trivia:

This would be Laurie Bird's (as the girl/hitchhiker) film debut. She would only star in two more films including Cockfighter (1974) and Annie Hall (1977) before taking her own life in New York in 1979.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the garage where the race is being set up, watch the crank of the hand mangle as it mysteriously changes its position throughout the clips.

Quotes:

G.T.O.:Well, here we are on the road.
The Driver:Yup, that's where we are all right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Cinema Snob: Silent Night, Deadly Night III: You Better Watch Out (#4.34)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Hit the Road Jack

How Good Is This Film?

This is either the best film I've ever seen, or just an interesting exercise in film-making that is ultimately of little value. The problem is that I can't decide which! No film has ever given me as much trouble in terms of my deciding where to place it in my personal Top 250 list. I mean, I know it's difficult to compare the relative merits of movies from different genres (e.g. "Schindler's List" vs "Monty Python And The Holy Grail"), but this movie is so unlike almost any others that I still don't know what to make of it.

I tried listening to the DVD commentary for some help, but Monte Hellman and Gary Kurtz had obviously pre-decided that they wouldn't talk about any aspect of the "meaning" or intent of the movie, preferring to concentrate on technical aspects such as pre-production, casting, locations, logistics, acting, lighting, sound, camera-work etc. I kind of respect them for this - leaving Joe Public to use his/her own brain in order to decide what the movie is all about.

One of the people in a featurette on the DVD said that "people haven't begun to realise how good Two-Lane Blacktop is" and I think that's right - the more I think about it, the better this film becomes in my estimation.

My take on the movie is that it's basically a contrast of the two extremes of human behaviour, as characterised by the brash, noisy "GTO" played by Warren Oates and the quiet, understated-to-the-point-of-lifelessness "Driver" and "Mechanic" - their personalities perfectly mirrored in their choice of cars. Most people's personalities lie somewhere in between, but by juxtaposing the extremes it forces one to think about one's place in that spectrum. "The Girl" is mainly a plot device to create a little bit of dramatic tension, as blokes left to themselves tend to go with the status quo. But we only want a little bit of drama, because that's not really the point, and too much drama would distract from the underlying theme.

I really love the "space" in this movie: the long takes, the long silences, the wide-open scenery, the fact that nobody SAYS anything (Warren Oates talks a lot, but never SAYS much). In modern life in general, I think people talk too much - try sitting still and shutting up for 103 minutes while watching this movie.

Not that I suppose anyone is interested, but I eventually rated this at about #70 in my Top 250, but next time I watch it I may move it up to #1 or drop it out of the 250 entirely...