#661) Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

#661) Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

OR “I’ve Seen Tires and I Seem Drained”

Directed by Monte Hellman

Written by Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Corry

Class of 2012

Other notes 

• Perhaps the surest sign of the film’s low-budget: your two leads are musicians in their first (and ultimately final) film performances. While this is James Taylor’s sole NFR appearance, Dennis Wilson can be seen playing drums with his fellow Beach Boys in “The T.A.M.I. Show“, which I still consider one of the greatest movies on this list. Neither one of them is that great an actor, but it works in the context of these two loners who live in their own world.
• “Two-Lane Blacktop” made some things very clear to me from the get-go. From its earliest moments, there’s an “Easy Rider” vibe to the whole movie (minus the soundtrack), which led to my ultimately-confirmed theory that this film was Universal’s attempt at their own counterculture hit in the wake of “Easy Rider”. The other major point came to me in the pre-credits sequence: an extended, dialogue-free scene of the Driver and Mechanic in a drag race. Right before the credits started I turned to my viewing partner and said, “I think this is what the whole movie will be like”. I hate it when I’m right.
• Let’s see, what do I actually like about this movie? Well, there’s excellent use of natural lighting throughout. Shout out to the film’s cinematographer Gregory Sandor, who for union reasons couldn’t be credited as such, instead being billed as a “Photographic Advisor”.
• It’s so weird hearing James Taylor say “fuck”. I got nothing else to say about that, it’s just so weird.
• The other thing this movie has going against it for me: car talk. So much car talk. This movie might as well be in a foreign language.
• In order to truly appreciate Warren Oates’ work in this movie, you have to have seen or at least be aware of his previous typecasting. Oates was primarily a western actor, often playing the henchman of whoever the main villain was. “Two-Lane” was a chance for Oates to play a more substantial, contemporary part. On its own I found the character a bit grating, but with more context I can start to understand why many critics singled out Oates and his performance in their reviews.
• That’s a young Harry Dean Stanton (credited as H.D. Stanton) as the cowboy that GTO picks up, and who subsequently tries to pick up GTO, wink wink nudge nudge.
• I couldn’t help but think of all the other car-related movies that could have made the NFR instead of this one. Where’s “Smokey and the Bandit”? “Duel”? “The Fast and the Furious”? “The Love Bug”? “Driving Miss Daisy”?
• I know I complain a lot about movies where “nothing happens” and I tried to give this movie the benefit of the doubt, but man “Two-Lane” really tested my patience. It’s like they cut out the actual scenes and left the outtakes in the final film. I’m sure in 1971 it was still revolutionary to see a movie where people sit in silence for long passages, but my 2023 sensibility needed more. And before you say “You just didn’t get it,” rest assured I got it, and I did not care for it.
• Oh my god, how did this movie make racing look so boring? I’ve seen senate races that were faster than this!
• Coca-Cola products are all over the place in this movie. Did Coke pay Universal for all these shoutouts? Fun Fact: 1971 was the year Coke first aired their “Hilltop” ad, aka the Don Draper “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” commercial.
• During my viewing, I predicted that the film would just end randomly, and I would say “That’s it?” Turns out “Two-Lane” has one of the more original final shots in a movie: As the Chevy drives off into the distance, the film appears to break and deteriorate before our eyes, leaving us with the final image of a blank screen. Points for originality, but for me this was too little too late.
• Well, there was a two-lane blacktop in this movie. I have to admit they delivered on that.

Legacy 

• In the lead-up to the release of “Two-Lane Blacktop”, Esquire magazine published the screenplay and prematurely declared the film “Our nomination for movie of the year”. Despite this prediction, and praise from critics, Universal head Lew Wasserman hated the film and pulled it from theaters after a brief run over the 4^th of July weekend with zero advertising. After that, “Two-Lane Blacktop” remained unavailable to the viewing public, but started gaining an almost mythical stature amongst those who actually saw it.
• For many years “Two-Lane Blacktop” didn’t get a video release due to a rights issue with the film’s use of The Doors’ song “Moonlight Drive”, exacerbated by Universal’s general disinterest in releasing the film. In 1999, video distributor Anchor Bay Entertainment (which specialized in releasing cult movies) was able to strike a deal with Universal and the surviving members of The Doors and got “Two-Lane Blacktop” a proper video release. A 2007 Criterion release on DVD helped earn the film a further re-evaluation. I borrowed the 2007 DVD from my local library for this write-up! Support your local library!
• Monte Hellman reunited with Warren Oates and Laurie Bird for his next movie: 1974’s “Cockfighter”, which was even less successful than “Two-Lane Blacktop”. In addition to directing, Hellman was the second-unit director on the original “RoboCop” and an associate producer on “Reservoir Dogs”. Hellman’s last film was the short “Vive l’amour”, released posthumously in 2013.