Two-Lane Blacktop (record Label)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is a 1971 American
road film A road movie is a genre of film in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alie ...
directed and edited by
Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...
, from a screenplay by
Rudy Wurlitzer Rudolph "Rudy" Wurlitzer (**Rudy Wurlitzer** born January 3, 1937) is an American novelist and screenwriter. Wurlitzer's fiction includes '' Nog'', ''Flats'', ''Quake'', ''Slow Fade'', and ''Drop Edge of Yonder''. He is also the author of the t ...
and Will Corry. It stars musicians
James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...
and
Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Carl Wilson as well as ...
,
Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). ...
, and
Laurie Bird Laurie Bird (September 26, 1953 – June 15, 1979) was an American actress and photographer. She appeared in three films during the 1970s, two of which were directed by Monte Hellman. She was romantically involved with Hellman and Art Garf ...
in the leading roles. The sparse,
existentialist Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...
plot follows a group of street racers during a cross-country race through the
American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
.
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
commissioned the film in the wake of ''
Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...
'' monumental success. Hellman, who had previously worked in low-budget and independent films, developed the screenplay with Wurlitzer, then-known mainly as an underground writer, during an actual cross-country road trip. Filming took place in locations around the Southwest between August and October 1970. On initial release, the film received generally positive reviews, but was not a commercial success. Over the years, it developed the reputation of a
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...
and a
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
, and has been reevaluated as a major work of the
New Hollywood The New Hollywood, Hollywood Renaissance, American New Wave, or New American Cinema (not to be confused with the New American Cinema of the 1960s that was part of Experimental film, avant-garde underground film, underground cinema), was a movemen ...
movement. In 2012, the US Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."


Plot

Two
street race Street racing is an illegal form of motor racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is likely as old as the a ...
rs—the Driver and the Mechanic—live on the road in their highly modified, primer-gray 1955
Chevrolet 150 The Chevrolet One-Fifty (or 150) was the economy/fleet model of the Chevrolet car from 1953 until 1957. It took its name by shortening the production series number (1500) by one digit in order to capitalize on the numerical auto name trend of the ...
two-door sedan drag car, drifting from town to town and earning income by challenging locals to impromptu races. While driving east on Route 66 from
Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the California border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is accessible v ...
, they pick up the Girl, a
hitchhiker Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...
they meet at a diner in
Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...
. Though the Driver develops a crush on her, she sleeps with the Mechanic while he is out drinking. In
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, they encounter another driver, GTO, on the highway. A tense rivalry forms between the groups. Despite GTO not being an obvious street racer and displaying little automotive knowledge, a cross-country race to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, is proposed. The Driver insists the prize should be “ pinks” (i.e., ownership of the loser’s car). Along the way, GTO picks up several hitchhikers, including an insistent homosexual man. When GTO’s inexperience becomes clear, he, the Driver, and the Mechanic form an uneasy alliance; the Driver even takes the wheel for a stretch when GTO grows fatigued. Needing funds, the trio competes at a
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...
race track. After the Driver finishes his race, he discovers the Girl has left with GTO. He chases them to a diner, where the Girl has just rejected GTO’s suggestion to visit
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. The Driver proposes a trip to
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, for car parts, but she rebuffs him as well, instead leaving with a stranger on a motorcycle and abandoning her belongings in the parking lot. Later, GTO picks up two soldiers and boasts that he won his car by defeating two men in a cross-country race involving a custom 1955 Chevrolet 150. The film concludes abruptly with the Driver racing a
Chevrolet El Camino The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupé utility vehicle that was produced by Chevrolet between 1959–1960 and 1964–1987. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the El Camino was adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and in ...
at an airstrip in East Tennessee.


Cast

All of the characters in the screenplay and in the film are unnamed.


Production

''Two-Lane Blacktop'' originated with producer
Michael Laughlin Michael Stoddard Laughlin (November 28, 1938 – October 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Biography Laughlin was raised in Minonk, Illinois, where his father Donald M. Laughlin had extensive farms. He played ...
who had a two-picture deal with CBS
Cinema Center Films Cinema Center Films (CCF) was the theatrical film production company of the CBS Television Network from 1967 to 1972. Its films were distributed by National General Pictures. The production unit was located at CBS Studio Center in the Studio City ...
. He convinced the production company to pay Will Corry $100,000 for his original story, about two men, one black and one white, who drive across the country followed by a young girl, which was inspired by his own cross-country journey in 1968. Returning from Italy after a film project had fallen through, Hellman was introduced to Laughlin who presented Hellman with two projects, one of which was ''Two-Lane Blacktop''. He asked Hellman to direct, who found Corry's story "interesting, but not fully realized". Hellman agreed to make the film only if another screenwriter was hired to rewrite the script and Laughlin agreed. A friend of Hellman's recommended underground writer Rudolph Wurlitzer. Hellman read his novel ''Nog'' and was impressed enough to hire Wurlitzer, who began reading Corry's story, but gave up after five pages. Hellman and Wurlitzer agreed to keep the basic idea of the cross-country race as well as the characters of the Driver, the Mechanic and the Girl. Wurlitzer invented the GTO character and the rest of the supporting cast. To prepare for writing the script, he stayed in a
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
motel and read car magazines, as well as hanging out with several obsessive mechanics and "stoner car freaks" in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
. Wurlitzer said that he did not know much about cars, but did "know something about being lost on the road". He wrote a new script in four weeks. In February 1970, Hellman began
location scouting Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work ...
and was a few weeks from principal photography when Cinema Center suddenly canceled the project. He shopped the script around to several Hollywood studios that liked it, but wanted a say in the casting. However,
Ned Tanen Ned Stone Tanen (September 20, 1931 – January 5, 2009) was an American film studio executive. The films he produced were some of the most popular films of the 1970s and 1980s, including the key Brat Pack films '' The Breakfast Club'' and '' ...
, a young executive at
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
gave Hellman $850,000 to make the film and gave him control of the final cut. Hellman saw a picture of James Taylor on a billboard on the
Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...
and asked the musician to come and do a screen test. Four days before beginning principal photography the role of the Mechanic was still not cast. Hellman was desperate and tested people he met in garages. A friend of casting director Fred Roos suggested musician Dennis Wilson. Wilson was the last actor cast and Hellman chose him because he felt that the musician "had lived that role, that he really grew up with cars". Principal photography began on August 13, 1970, in Los Angeles and lasted for eight weeks with a crew of 30, three matching Chevrolets and two matching G.T.O.s traveling through the southwest towards
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. Gregory Sandor shot the entire film, but due to union issues, camera operator Jack Deerson was hired and credited as director of photography. Hellman insisted on going across country, like the characters in the film, because he felt it was the only way to convince the audience that the characters raced across the United States. He said, "I knew it would affect the actors — and it did, obviously. It affected everybody". Hellman took an unconventional approach of not letting his three lead, inexperienced actors read the script. Instead, he gave them pages of dialogue on the day of shooting. The actors felt uncomfortable with this approach. In particular, James Taylor, used to having control when it came to his music, was upset at being unable to read the script in advance. Hellman eventually gave him permission to do so, but Taylor never did read it. Hellman shot almost the entire script as written. The first cut of the film was three-and-a-half hours long, in which Hellman was the editor. "I can't look over someone's shoulder. I need my hand on the brake". He had control of the final cut, but was contractually obliged to deliver a film no longer than two hours. The final version ran 105 minutes. In their April 1971 cover story, ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine proclaimed ''Two-Lane Blacktop'', "film of the year". Hellman initially thought that the ''Esquire'' article would be good publicity for the film, but in hindsight was not, because "I think it raised people's expectations. They couldn't accept the movie for what it was". There was a lot of advance buzz about the film, but
Lew Wasserman Lewis Robert Wasserman (March 22, 1913 – June 3, 2002) was an American businessman and talent agent, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades afte ...
, head of the studio saw the film and hated it. He refused to promote it and when it opened in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on the
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
weekend, there were no newspaper ads promoting it.


Soundtrack

Unlike other existential road movies of the time (such as ''
Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...
'' and ''
Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point (geometry), point on the projection plane, image plane of a graphical perspective, perspective rendering where the two-dimensional perspective projections of parallel (geometry), parallel lines in three-dimensional ...
''), ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' does not rely heavily on music, nor was a soundtrack album released. The music featured in the film covers many genres, including rock, folk, blues, country, bluegrass, and R&B.
James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...
and
Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Carl Wilson as well as ...
did not contribute any music. However, there are some notable tracks featured in the film, including "
Moonlight Drive "Moonlight Drive" is a song by American rock band the Doors, released in 1967 on their second album '' Strange Days''. It was edited to a 2:16 length for the 45 rpm single B-side of " Love Me Two Times". Though a conventional blues arrangement, t ...
" by
The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
, "
Maybellene "Maybellene" is a rock and roll song by American artist Chuck Berry, adapted in part from the western swing fiddle tune " Ida Red". Released in 1955, Berry’s song tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance, the lyrics describing ...
" performed by John Hammond, the traditional folk tune "
Stealin' "Stealin" (also called "Stealin', Stealin'") is an American blues song from the 1920s. It originated with jug bands, but gained wider popularity after several 1960s contemporary folk musicians recorded it. Although various artists have recorded ...
" performed by
Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...
, and "
Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posth ...
" performed by the song's author
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
. A song titled "Truckload Of Art" written and performed by Terry Allen can be briefly heard coming out of the GTO. In 2003 Plain Records issued a tribute album made in honor of this cult classic called
You Can Never Go Fast Enough
featuring exclusive tracks by
Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...
,
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
, Will Oldham/Alan Licht, Calexico &
Giant Sand Giant Sand (formerly Giant Sandworms) is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The groups have developed idiosyncratic sound rooted in alternative country, but t ...
, Suntanama, Steffen Basho-Junghans,
Charalambides Charalambides is an avant-garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, United States and lately of Austin, Texas. They were formed in 1991 under the short-lived name Mutual Admiration Society by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silf ...
, Mark Eitzel/Marc Capelle, Roy Montgomery and Alvarius B with rare tracks by
Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in ...
,
Roscoe Holcomb Roscoe Holcomb (born Roscoe Halcomb; September 5, 1912 – February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, ...
,
Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter ( ; January 1888 or 1889 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the ...
and
Sandy Bull Alexander "Sandy" Bull (February 25, 1941 – April 11, 2001) was an American folk musician and composer. Bull was an accomplished player of many stringed instruments, including guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo, and oud. His early work blends n ...
.


Reception

''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine published the entire screenplay in its April 1971 issue, and referred to it on the cover as "Our nomination for movie of the year", though it failed to include any explanation for this decision or any critical commentary, and also failed to review the film when it was released that fall. The film opened and disappeared so quickly that at the end of 1971, ''Esquire'' included its own cover prediction as part of its annual ''Dubious Achievements of the Year Awards''.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "What I liked about ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' was the sense of life that occasionally sneaked through, particularly in the character of G.T.O. (Warren Oates). He is the only character who is fully occupied with being himself (rather than the instrument of a metaphor), and so we get the sense we've met somebody". In his review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
wrote, "''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is a far from perfect film (those metaphors keep blocking the road), but it has been directed, acted, photographed and scored (underscored, happily) with the restraint and control of an aware, mature filmmaker". ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's
Jay Cocks John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College. In his review for the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
'',
J. Hoberman James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at ''The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic f ...
wrote, "''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is a movie of achingly eloquent landscapes and absurdly inert characters". In his review for the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'',
Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...
wrote, "The movie starts off as a narrative, but gradually grows into something much more abstract — it's unsettling, but also beautiful". The film has since become a
cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
it has an approval rating of 93% based on reviews from 40 critics. The site's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully directed and utterly unique, ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' captures the spirit of its era as smoothly as it evokes the feeling of the open road." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
it has a score of 89 out of 100, based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
selected the film for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
in 2012 as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."


Home video

''Two-Lane Blacktop'' was unavailable on video for years because
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
only released a few films from their catalog each year and it was not a priority. In 1994, Seattle's Scarecrow Video invited Hellman to show the film at their store. They proceeded to collect 2,000 signatures, including
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...
's, for a petition to get the film released on video. Both ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine and ''
Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film ...
'' ran articles about the store's effort and the film. For years, Universal had been looking for a partner to give ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' a proper release befitting its cult film status. However, efforts to release it had always been hampered by issues with music rights, in particular the use of "Moonlight Drive" by The Doors. Director
William Lustig William "Bill" Lustig (born February 1, 1955, in The Bronx, New York) is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. He is the nephew of former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. Film career As ...
, also a "technical advisor" for Anchor Bay, got Hellman to approach the surviving band members to get their approval. In 1999, Michigan-based
Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...
licensed the film from Universal and released it on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
, with an audio commentary by Hellman and associate producer
Gary Kurtz Gary Douglas Kurtz (July 27, 1940 – September 23, 2018) was an American film producer whose list of credits includes ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Ret ...
and a documentary on Hellman directed by
George Hickenlooper George Loening Hickenlooper III (May 25, 1963 – October 29, 2010) was an American narrative and documentary filmmaker. Early life Hickenlooper was born in St. Louis, the son of Barbara Jo Wenger, a social worker and stage actress, and George ...
. The limited edition DVD was packed in a metal tin and extras included a 48-page booklet featuring behind-the-scenes photographs and liner notes about director Monte Hellman, a 5" X 7" theatrical poster replica, and a die-struck miniature car key chain. Anchor Bay released a regular edition without the poster and key chain. At a July 2007 screening of the film, Hellman revealed that the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...
was releasing a two-disc special edition DVD that featured a new documentary made by Hellman that included an interview with Kristofferson about how "Me and Bobby McGee" has become so closely associated with the film. This DVD set was released on December 11, 2007. ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is available on Blu-ray disc from UK distributor
Masters of Cinema Masters of Cinema is a line of DVD and Blu-ray releases published through Eureka Entertainment. Because of the uniformly branded and spine-numbered packaging and the standard inclusion of booklets and analysis by recurring film historians, the li ...
, having been released on 23 January 2012; this release was marked as a Region B disc, which would only play in Blu-ray disc players in Europe, Africa and Australia. The Criterion Collection released a U.S. Region A Blu-ray edition in January 2013.


Legacy

''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is notable as a time capsule film of
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
during the pre-interstate highway era, and for its stark footage and minimal dialogue. It has been compared to similar road movies with an existentialist message from the era, such as ''
Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point (geometry), point on the projection plane, image plane of a graphical perspective, perspective rendering where the two-dimensional perspective projections of parallel (geometry), parallel lines in three-dimensional ...
'', ''
Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...
'', and '' Electra Glide in Blue''.
Brock Yates Brock Yates (October 21, 1933 – October 5, 2016) was a prominent American journalist, TV commentator, TV reporter, screenwriter, and author. He was the longtime executive editor at ''Car and Driver'' magazine—and contributed to ''The Washingt ...
, organizer of the Cannonball Run, cites ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' as an inspiration for the race and commented on it in his ''
Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine first published in 1955. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased it from its prior owner Hachette Fi ...
'' column announcing the first Cannonball.


See also

*
List of American films of 1971 This is a list of American films released in 1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) ...
*
List of cult films Cult films are films with a dedicated and passionate following, often defined by their opposition to mainstream appeal and traditional cinematic norms. While the term lacks a singular definition, it generally includes films that inspire devoted fa ...


References


External links


''Two-Lane Blacktop'' essay
by Sam Adams at
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
*
''Two-Lane Blacktop: Slow Ride''
an essay by Kent Jones at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

Behind The Camera: ''Two-Lane Blacktop''
{{Authority control 1971 films 1970s drama road movies American drama road movies American auto racing films Films directed by Monte Hellman Films shot in New Mexico Films shot in North Carolina Films shot in Tennessee Films shot in Oklahoma Films shot in California United States National Film Registry films U.S. Route 66 Films about automobiles Kustom Kulture Films produced by Michael Laughlin 1971 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1971 independent films Universal Pictures films English-language independent films