Directed by:
Monte HellmanCinematography:
Gregory SandorCast:
James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson, Harry Dean Stanton, Alan Vint, Melissa Hellman, James Mitchum, George Mitchell, Rudy Wurlitzer (more)Plots(1)
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. (Criterion)
(more)Cast
James Taylor
USA
Best movies:
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002) (TV movie)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Funny People (2009)
Warren Oates
USA
Best movies:
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
East of Eden (1981) (series)
Laurie Bird
Best movies:
Annie Hall (1977)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Cockfighter (1974)
Dennis Wilson
USA
Best movies:
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Harry Dean Stanton
USA
Best movies:
The Green Mile (1999)
The Godfather: A Novel for Television (1977) (series)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Alan Vint
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
Badlands (1973)
Melissa Hellman
Best movies:
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
American Samurai (1992)
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989)
James Mitchum
USA
Best movies:
Colorado Territory (1949)
In Harm's Way (1965)
The Victors (1963)
George Mitchell
USA
Best movies:
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Rudy Wurlitzer
Best movies:
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Walker (1987)
Katherine Squire
USA
Best movies:
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
Bill Keller
Best movies:
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Ride in the Whirlwind (1966)
Jaclyn Hellman
USA
Best movies:
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Flight to Fury (1964)
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)