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.
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
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
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
