“Two Lane Blacktop” is the best car movie you have probably never seen, and possibly never even heard of.
“Two Lane Blacktop” was filmed in 1970, and released in 1971. It was directed by Monte Hellman, who has also made some other road-trip movies. I watched it a few days ago for the first time, having never seen it before. I had never heard of it until about a month ago when I was watching a couple of Western movies from 1965 made by the same director. (“The Shooting”, and “Ride in the Whirlwind.”) The commentaries on the two Western movies kept making reference to Monte’s film “Two Lane Blacktop”. My local library had a copy so I checked it out.
This film is different from any other movie I have ever seen. I was amazed at how good it was, and how much I liked it. There are only four main actors in the film, and only one of them had any previous acting experience at the time of the filming. None of the actors has a name, there is not a lot of dialog, two of the main actors never made another movie, the two cars in the movie are at the very least main characters, and to some viewers may even be considered the stars of the show. There is no character development. The people in the film just do what they do. No questions asked, no answers given.
The cars are a heavily modified 1955 Chevrolet 150, and a factory stock 1970 Pontaic GTO. The film crew had three of the Chevys: one the actual race car and the other two for some non-race shots; and two GTOs to use in making the movie, provided by Pontiac. The film was shot on Route 66, starting in California and ending up in Tennessee with lots of places in between. There are lots of street races and drag races. And there are lots and lots of cars in the film. Almost all of them are American. I have watched the film three times now and I think I saw two foreign cars, but I was not able to figure out exactly what they were.
The two main characters, called “The Driver”, played by the singer/songwriter James Taylor, and “The Mechanic” played by founding member and drummer of the Beach Boys Dennis Wilson, travel from town to town engaging in street racing with their 55 Chevy for the money they need to buy gas, food and motel rooms. They meet up with “The Girl”, played by Laurie Bird.
Not long after “The Girl” joins them the trio meets “GTO”, played by Warren Oates. Warren drives the GTO, and he and “The Driver” soon decide to engage in a cross-country race to Washington DC, with the winner getting to claim ownership of the loser’s car.
When the director Monte Hellman was asked what the movie “Two Lane Blacktop” was about he replied, “It is about an hour and three quarters.” It is hard in words to describe such a visual movie. The actors spend a lot of time not saying anything, and sometimes not even doing much of anything. But there is always something happening on the screen. The actors are able to speak volumes with their silence.
This film is really a slice of time. Back in 1970, Route 66 was not the celebrated driving experience it is now. There was not much traffic on the road, but the big interstate highways had not all been finished yet. So, there were still people and businesses that were using Route 66 has their connection to the world. And in 1970 it was still possible for a guy to fix his own car, and car parts and speed equipment were not all that expensive. Gas was cheap. Food was cheap. Tires were cheap.
The director has said that this movie could not be made today. The making of the movie was a road trip, and it shows. It is rare in movie making for the script to call for the final scene being filmed last, but in this case that is just what happened.
Try and find a copy of this film. Watching it will be well worth your time.
Intriguing. I have heard of the movie as well but now I want to watch it just to see how the shots of Arizona and New Mexico look.
As a life long car enthusiast, coming of age in the 1970’s and a life long “Beach Boys” music fan, this movie was a “Must See” for me. I have it, copied from Cinemax, on Beta and VHS formats.
This movie has the same gritty, realistic feel of “The Last Picture Show”; also a personal favorite.
Although I “grew up” with the fashions of the period; I can’t help but think how both Chevy guys would look so much more appealing with shorter hair and clean clothes.
(Showing my advanced age of almost 60, I guess…….)
Another Beach Boys fan here. I’ve read that the movie was initially panned because fans were disappointed that Brian Wilson’s character didn’t sing in it. Interesting to see Brian Wilson in this, partly because he is well-known as a recluse (though that was after 2LBT was made).
This is Dennis, not Brian. Dennis was the drummer and the one who could actually surf. Brian was getting fat by this time and spending months in bed.
Wow, I’m out of it today. Need to go find more caffeine….
LOL. Or less
Major Beach Boys fan here – my all-time favorite rock/pop band. “Sunflower” was and is my favorite album by them, FWIW.
Dennis (not Brian) Wilson’s reclusiveness had a lot to do with the Tate-La Bianca murders (he knew Charlie Manson, and there was a tie-in). All of which came together during and after the film was made.
Check the Wikipedia entry on Charles Manson for the full details.
I watched this movie when I was about 14 or so. It’s oddly moving. In a lot of ways, it’s like an old existentialist novel…you can see and feel the emptiness and hopelessness of the characters. I think Warren Oates said “If I’m not grounded pretty soon, I’m going to go into orbit.”
I agree on the existentialism. I bought this movie a few years ago because I had always heard it was a must-see car movie, and it is, but I also saw it as a movie about young people with no real direction in life. About young people that don’t know what to “be” when they “grow up”. Like a poem, it can be interpreted in many ways. Or maybe it’s just a car movie about young people being young people!
I first saw “Two Lane Blacktop” probably sometime in the mid Seventies and that film made a lasting impression on me and my love of cars and made me the road trip lover that I am. I “got it” even as a kid :)… an epic film IMHO.
Saw this movie about five years ago because it was on the “cheap isle” at the movie rental place.
I loved it! There is something fun about watching normal dudes racing american muscle cars on country roads!
Great flick- thanks for making me remember it.
I think i saw this movie in the late 90’s / early oughts – the old speed channel (pre buyout) used to show car movies on saturday night, hosted by Bruce Dern. This, Vanishing Point, and The original Gone in 60 Secons are the only movies I remember that they showed.
But wait, there’s much more to this story. That ’55 is the very same that Harrison “Bob Falfa” Ford drives in American Graffiti. I’ve watched this film many times and it just gets better and better with each viewing. The full movie may still be posted on youtube, which is where I last watched it.
The three ’55’s referred to were required for the complex interior shots (noise and space issues), for highway driveability , and then there’s the race version. Last time I looked, there was an excellent page on Wikipedia. check it out.
IMHO- this is the best ‘car porn’ you’ll ever see. It could never be reproduced without a whole lot of CG.
Pretty sad, how they painted it black for American Graffiti, only to total it, in the race with the Deuce coupe.
VERY sad that both those cars got totaled.
Yeah ahh no they used a mock up car to total, the real one was just fine.
I’ve watched this a couple of times, and while it’s an interesting period piece, the “acting” is so dreadful that I found it a tough slog. “Don’t quit your day job” is sometimes solid advice, and we can be grateful that Messrs. Taylor and Wilson took it.
I completely agree. Vanishing Point is a better movie and an equally good time capsule.
Agreed. I just watched it the other day; definitely a period piece, in more ways than one. But the acting was almost shockingly bad. Stephanie couldn’t take it for more than a couple of minutes. Not a “chick flick”, in the ultimate sense.
But it did take me right back to that same time, when I spent a lot of time hitchhiking around the country. The slowness (except the cars) and the general vibe that way are very evocative of those times. That alone kept me watching.
There was a big deal being made when the movie came out that this, finally, was the answer to “Easy Rider” (which the studios had been desperately trying to come up with, with total failure). Esquire, during the shooting, made a big deal of this point, this was the Next Great American Movie, etc., etc., etc.
After the final cut was released, Esquire immediately started backpedaling like crazy. While, in retrospect, a good movie; by no means did it even come close to “Easy Rider”.
Which, by the end of the era, was still an unmatched original.
In 1971 my dad was friends with a guy who handled coverless returns of paperbacks, and I got my pick. One that I’ve had ever since was the paperback version (including the several black-and-white photos above, and some others) which reproduced the complete shooting script of Two-Lane Blacktop that had appeared complete in Esquire. I hadn’t known that after it was released Esquire had a change of heart. I probably reread it every 5 years or so and enjoy it – the non-dialogue parts (scene descriptions etc.) are often entertaining. Still haven’t gotten around to seeing the movie, and I fear I might be disappointed by the (non)performances.
Two Lane Blacktop and Vanishing Point are two of my most favorite movies. They both center around existentialism and the futility of life without hope using cars and movement as a metaphor. I need to do a similar write-up on Vanishing Point. I saw both movies as part of a double bill at a drive-in in Arkansas when I was 16 and drove home amazed and changed.
Agreed on Vanishing Point. I first watched it at 14 and felt similar sentiments. Unfortunately, by then most of the drive-ins were long gone so I had to just pick up a copy at the video rental store. I have not seen Two Lane Blacktop but, from reading this article it sounds like similar film style in that it is quiet, with the story told through feeling and instinct rather than words.
One of the dullest, most boring movies ever filmed, with the lamest ending. Reality falls far short of the hype.
The only redeeming feature is the cars, and after awhile they become predictable and dull. Good thing Taylor gave up acting and Dennis…well, you know.
But I agree that the ’55 turns up in American Graffiti and Harrison Ford has one of the best lines in it: “Hey, you know a guy around here with a piss yellow deuce coupe, supposed to be hot stuff?”
Re: Dennis Wilson. Having the fear that the Manson Family had you targeted next had a lot to do with his behavior in the 70’s.
A buddy and I saw the movie at our base’s theater – a midnight flick in late 1971, I believe. I thought it was a horrible, crude movie and didn’t like it a bit, aside from the cars. “Vanishing Point” was a much better film, quirky as it was, but that was more-or-less standard for the times.
“American Graffiti” accurately – except for the holdup scene where the liquor store owner comes out blasting his pistol – sums up the average weekend, sometimes weekday evening in many communities up until the gas crisis hit. Where I lived in Jennings, MO, cops had to direct traffic in front of Steak ‘n’ Shake on weekends because of cruising – in the summer of 1972!
All I did when in the USAF near Yuba City was cruise all the time, but then I had the perfect car to cruise in!
Also, there’s a nice backstory on this film on “The Selvedge Yard” website.
Yeah, I’m a fanboy with this one…
i also learned about this from the selvedge yard. count me as a fan, too. there was a period in the seventies when hollywood was willing to experiment with the basic elements of filmmaking. not everything worked but at least it wasn’t a formulaic narrative like everything out of hollywood is today. for the record, i’m also a fan of the often panned “zabriskie point” from the same period.
Oh C’mon, I’ve known about this film since the early ’80s, when my teenage car friends and I first heard about this amazing car movie we just had to see. Finally it was on late night TV and I stayed up to watch and and went “Huh, what just happened?”
I got a DVD from the library a few years ago, and watched it again. Yes it’s a low budget movie and it shows, but a great time capsule of America. And for what it’s worth I still find it waaaaayyyy better than Easy Rider.
What I’d really like to do someday is recreate the journey as a road trip. The restaraunt at the end is now the gas station at Deal’s Gap on Hwy 129 in NC. Been there!
I recall Esquire magazine proclaiming this as ‘The Movie of the Decade’ not long after it was released. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it’s definitely a glimpse into an America when the automobile was on its last legs as a cultural icon. For that reason, alone, it’s worth a viewing.
A boring, poorly-acted, low-budget, car-trip B-movie? Possibly, but when compared with ridiculous tripe like ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ a half dozen years later, this is a deep, thought-provoking classic.
Possibly the only “B” film of the `70s that had art house or Ingmar Bergman pretentions, at least to the critics anyway.
Many young folks use to cgi action movies hate it. Sign of the times I guess.
This. Also, nothing’s blown up and nobody’s got a weapon. How can anyone be expected to stay focused?
A lot of my favorite films are where I get to write the ending. With this one, I was left to imagine when these guys would have to pack it up and get on with life. Or, could they still be out there doing the win some/lose some existential trip, living one day at a time.
That there is the magic of film making.
I got the VHS of both TLBT as well as Vanishing Point when I was 13 (2001ish) and as a huge muscle car fan throughout my childhood I found them both fantastic, watched them a million times(I like them even more now). A few years later my best friend at the time was hanging out at my house one rainy summer day so I thought “hey I need to introduce him to my favorite movies!” So we watched Vanishing Point first, followed by Two Lane Blacktop… I have never seen so much boredom in someone’s face since that day.
We got into a bit of a fight after I called his taste in movies shit. Prior to this viewing his Mom usually carpooled our group of friends to the theaters back then and they were usually the ones who selected movies for us, and let me tell you, sitting through Daylight, Godzilla(1998), Driven, xXx, Hellboy, and various other shitty cliche CGI laden tripe that I’ve successfully blocked out of my head, I firmly believe I won that argument.
Right, because CGI=automatic tripe and any filmmaker who uses it is worthless.
Really, guys?
IT all depends on WHY it would be used, and to what end. Some films wouldn’t exist without it, whereas others have absolutely no need for it. Fantasy vs. reality, or something…
But, we’re talking about car films here, and where is the need for CGI in any car film?
No, it’s tripe if it’s used in a movie that’s already tripe to begin with. CGI just happens to be omnipresent in those types of movies, a good filmmaker knows how to use it, but most aren’t/don’t.
Ever see the Gone in 60 seconds remake? the epic jump on the Vincent Thomas looked like someone Put a cardboard cutout of a GT500 in front of a greenscreen, totally took me out of the movie, and compared to the 1974 version’s climatic REAL jump/landing it’s instantly inferior
Show me a re make of any film starring Nicholas Cage that’s better than the original.He ruined Gone in 60 seconds,Bad Lieutenant,The Wickerman
Well I’d be hard pressed to show you a remake starring anyone that’s better than the original 😛
I tolerated the remade Gone in 60 Seconds aside from the bad cartoon jump, it did ultimately lead me to the original 1974 version (I had never heard of it at my age) so I have to thank it for that at least. I more disregard that movie due to the effect of aftermarket customizers butchering huge numbers of regular 67/68 Fastback Mustangs to give it the now very cliche and tired Eleanor treatment.
I’ll just throw in with the naysayers on the movie quality. No need to be redundant. I saw it when it first came out and was unimpressed with the movie but very impressed with the cars. I found it sort of silly to consider the 55 for a long road trip with the dragstrip suspension. Was surprised to find it was a 454 as we were all still attuned to the 427 being the big dog.
IIRC they were driving a little coupe off into the sunset and I liked it a lot also. Maybe a different film. Concur with “keeping your day job” for the actors (except Oates) but I sure did like the cars. Did I mention I liked the cars?
I think the movie with the deuce coupe driving off into the sunset was ‘American Graffiti, Pt 2’. It was stunningly bad (much worse than ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’) and that ending was likely the best part.
Kind of harsh, dude. And, you may be remembering the end of part one- that deuce coupe and it’s driver never made it. Killed by a drunk driver as we learned in part two. To me, that was a great ending, watch closely and notice the oncoming car weaving, and the rolling terrain helping to build the tension. And then, the cars seem to just…disappear. Brilliant!
Two excellent films that could have been combined into one…my two cents.
My bad. It was Part two (More American Graffiti) when it was totaled. Guess it’s time for me to re-view both of them.
“Two Lane Blacktop” ended as James Taylor began another race, as as he started off, the film gradually went into slow-mo to one-frame-at-a-time and faded out.
Lots of movies in that era ended leaving you hanging, figuring out for yourself how it might have ended.
Really, it just fades out? The published script (first in Esquire and then as a mass-market paperback) has the film slowing down, appearing to get stuck in the projector, and finally a hole burning in the image. (As noted elsewhere: I’ve read it but not seen it.)
Overall I like 2LBT. I watched it a couple years ago, and eventually I’ll pull out the DVD and watch it again. It has no real beginning and no real ending, at least not with any kind of closure. Consequently it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Such as, at the end of the movie, it appears that everyone has forgotten about the actual race. Don’t they kind of need the ownership to their own car at least?
If Pontiac loaned the GTO for the filming of this, looking for a little publicity, I wonder how they felt about its portrayal?
“I don’t believe I’ve seen you. ‘Course there’s lots o’ cars on the road like yours, they all get to lookin’ the same. They perform about the same, too.” – The Driver, Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Not a bad film,one of the writers from Easyrider’s magazine was involved in it.It deserved better than the “Go to bed” review from the TV guide
Like Zackman, I saw this at a base theatre way back when it first came out. It is WA A A A Y different from most movies in that the cars are a part (a big part?) of the story. You have an older guy, who is actually kind of cocky, driving a near new car while “the kids” drive a car almost as old as they are. As far as the (odd) non ending goes, I think that was a suitable ending. This was supposed to be a race but neither party looks all that anxious to end it. And does anyone really think either driver wants the other driver’s car?
As an actual race, Vanishing Point is a better movie. While TLBT is a good look at a point in time as experienced by these 4 people AND the audience.
I saw this when it first came out, one of the unintended advantages of being old. Actually I remember taking a date to see the movie because she was a huge James Taylor fan; needless to say she didn’t think much of the movie. I can see that I am going to need to put 2LBT on the list of movies I need to watch again, sometime. I’m not really a movie watcher but the list keeps growing.
Vaguely remember watching the movie in tv years ago. Wasn’t there a scene at a gas station where a 356 was gassing up, or driving by, or something? “The driver” made some comment about the Porsche and not wanting to race it.
Alistair
I saw it in about 73 at highschool the boarding house ran a movie every Saturday night and this was one we had along with red line 7,000 the Losers etc etc, Some interest was sparked in old chevies as a result and a classmates dad had nearly half an acre of tri 5s in his wrecking yard but they were mosdtly rusted out and crashed dungas never to hit the road again, one was resurected by my class mate a 57 283 3 speed manual it went ok couldnt out run another guys souped up 57 Cresta which began to point out the lies the movie told but overall it was a fun film for the times.
Lies the movie told? Because your buddy beat a worn out 283 you think he could’ve taken on their car? Ha ha, I don’t think so.
One of the 55’s from 2LBT was restored and just sold at auction. Specs on the car are here.
http://bangshift.com/bangshift1320/actual-two-lane-blacktop-1955-chevy-movie-car-hit-block-barrett-jackson-scottsdale-2015/
I agree that the acting by some the principals was, uh, different and in no way your typical Hollywood stuff, but it also boosted the realistic vibe of the film. I felt Warren Oates was the most unrealistic character- a bit of a sociopath- but his acting certainly added color to each scene he was in.
The one character that went way over the top and was maybe used simply for it’s WTF! effect was that of Harry Dean Stanton as the gay hitchhiker. My guess is that Harry and Warren where just having some fun with that scene and the director was along for the ride, so to speak. Hilarious that GTO wasn’t put off so much with the proposition- as if it was a normal situation- but that it would have interfered with his pursuit of whatever. Subversive stuff! For that matter, all of the hitchhikers were odd in one way or another.
I saw both this and Vanishing Point around the same time in my early teens, so naturally I kind of relate the two interchangeably in my mind(although it’s appropriate since both were 1971 releases) and I think getting the existentialism of both of them(especially TLBT) is key to their brilliance. It took me quite a few years to really get that aspect since I watched them purely for car porn initially.
The thing I really love about Two Lane Blacktop is the genuineness of it. Aside from the gritty bleak portrayal of the characters lives, and in my usual nature, focusing on the car, the 55 Chevy(s) was the REAL deal, a genuine hotrod, built by a genuine hot rodder that could run a genuine 11 seconds in the quarter mile. It’s so often custom cars in movies are just clapped out poseurs made to look fast, afterall the magic of editing can make anything seem amazing with a tweak of the framerate, dubbing the audio from other engines, and sandbaging cars around it during filming to make the star appear much faster, all of which is much cheaper than presenting the genuine article.
Of course all the genuineness was nearly ruined when Warren Oates character referred to his GTO Judge having a 455, but that could just be a boastful lie the character made up to sound cool to the various hitchhikers he’d try to impress. Anyone car guy enough to spot a Rat motor Chevy with a tunnel ram intake(although it in reality was a 427, not a 454 as identified in the film, but they are visually identical so that gets a pass) would know the Judge only came with the 400. 😀
I don’t think a single word that the Warren Oates character says in the film is meant to be believed. His story changes with every new person he is telling it to.
He was making up stories as fast as his brain could come up with them to try and build himself up in the eyes of everyone he meets in the movie.
Yes, and what was Warren Oats talking about when he referred to the car having a “Carter High Rise Setup”? When the car broke down with carburetor trouble Dennis Wilson went to the auto parts store and bought a Q-jet kit. Duh!
Nonetheless, 2LBT is one of the all-time great gear head flicks, minor mistakes notwithstanding.
Also, he exaggerated the HP rating, claiming it be 390 when it was really 360. He got the torque right a 500 foot pounds (whatever that is!).
Also, no 455 ever received the “Ram-Air” moniker, whether III or IV. That was strictly 400.
There is so much to critique, for sure.
Genius in the way the character’s clothing matches their respective rides. Did the Driver or Mechanic even have a change of clothes, or was it too much weight to pack or maybe a suitcase would have displaced the toolbox? Maybe their clothing allowance was eaten up by the cost of carb jets, oil and spark plug changes? Their dialogue matches their rides as well- GTO can’t seem to STFU- while his ride sports LOUD paint and graphics and a wearing a freakin’ ascot and driving gloves while his counterparts barely speak. The 55’s finish is a thin coat of primer and all unnecessary weight has been removed, including door glass and trunk hinges, just to name some.
Sheer genius at work there, in how this film was made.
The Chevy’s trunk lid was made from a sheet of aluminum. The doors were fiberglass, as was the hood. The rear side windows were plastic too. The car was made as light as it could be.
Agreed with everybody, once you watch a movie enough you just start picking out things to critique haha
Anyway I gotta go change my jets 🙂
Actually, some 1970 Judges did have a factory 455. See http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2009/11/01/hmn_feature14.html.
I agree with the “analysis” of Warren Oates’ s character. After a few minutes of the film I even began to wonder if he actually owned the car he was driving. (45 years ago it still might have been possible to steal a car on one coast and drive it across country to the other.)
Naaaah,I don`t think so. Warren Oates doesn`t seem like a car thief in this film, but James Taylor………
There’s a scene where Wilson takes the wheel of the GTO, and Oates begins to come unglued. He begins to say he was a TV producer and his life fell apart.
Wilson stops him short and tells him it isn’t his problem. I personally believe that this was the one time he wasn’t BSing.
I think most people’s preconceptions of this film would be way off but it is interesting as a period snapshot of an odd slice of life. The dynamic between the characters makes it interesting.
I wonder how many car builds were inspired by the 55, eg the ‘Blasphemi’ car from Hot Rod’s Roadkill video series.
Another one is one of the main cars in the 1982 Australian film ‘Running on Empty’ that also features a custom Dodge Challenger and an XY Falcon GT.
I’ve heard of it and seen it… love it, with James Taylor in the lead, too.
Love the GTO Judge in the film, also.
Although, I prefer the Mopars in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry… the Plymouth Fury III and the Dodge Charger R/T…
The Sublime Green Dodge Charger R/T, that sadly gets destroyed in Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry…
Another Warren Oats movie that revolves around a motor vehicle is ‘Race With The Devil’. In this one his co-star is Peter Fonda and the vehicle in question is a 70’s era Vogue motorhome. There’s a lot to be said for motorhome car chases.
And when all is said and done . . . . .
“Easy Rider” puts them all to shame.
Maybe it’s because I don’t like two wheeled motoring but I just could never get into Easy Rider, even though it pioneered existential road flicks like this. To each their own
Yeah? Well, you know, that’s just like uh, your opinion, man.
That’s not to say I didn’t like Easy Rider. I just wouldn’t rate it any higher than Two Lane Blacktop.
I wouldn’t rate it any lower either. It’s in my top 20 as well. Vanishing Point? Not so much.
I’m looking forward to a lively discussion of Gone in 60 Seconds- the good one- and not a word about that sh***y remake with what’s-his-name and that stoopid lookin’ Mustang wannabe unless all pertaining remarks about it are disparaging. Because the first one was raw, and beautiful and features Dunkirk, NY which, in itself, is pretty amazing!
Agree! The original “Gone in Sixty Seconds”, while no “Lawrence of Arabia” was superior to the remake on all levels. Wish they would stop remaking films that were good the first time around, but I guess that Hollywood has finally run out of ideas, and it shows.
The car chase in The 7-Ups and the French Connection puts Easy Rider to shame… not much you can do on a motorcycle, bud.
Plus, Jack Nicholson is overrated(loved him in the Shining)… like Peter Fonda, though.
The 7-Ups car chase, featuring TWO Pontiacs… a Grand Ville and a Ventura.
I like The Seven Ups and it’s chase but it’s pretty much a shot for shot reboot of the Bullitt chase, even reusing the same GT40 sourced engine sounds for the Ventura(Ha!) so I think it’s a bit inferior in that sense.
Besides which it’s an apples to oranges comparison. The Seven Ups, French Connection, Bullitt, and the like are action thrillers, Easy Rider, Two Lane Blacktop and Vanishing Point are existential dramas
Iconic car chase, in the French Connection… starring Gene Hackman and ANOTHER Pontiac… a Le Mans.
Two Lane Blacktop and Vanishing Point were popular second and third features at my favorite drive-in back in the 70s. They would be coupled with a more recent film. One of the lesser films would start just at dusk, followed by the “main feature”, then the other lesser film was shown after the snack bar closed and the drive-in was in full passion pit mode. I watched them more than once from the front or back seat of my own 55 Chevy.
Anybody remember “Aloha Bobby and Rose? An underrated classic if ever there was one.
I can solve one of your mysteries, amazonray. That little boxy orange foreign car seen in the distance at the Memphis drag strip was an NSU Prinz 1000, one of less than a thousand ever imported across our shores. It shows that a true car guy can always find something to treasure in a movie never quite got going for me, otherwise.
For my time capsules into midcentury roadside nostalgia, I much prefer the original “Route 66” TV series.
Thanks for the info. You have a good eye for small foreign cars.
The movie cars received second lives in other Universal Studio productions, since the studio retained ownership of the cars .
The 55 Chevy and the GTO have appeared in episodes of Adam-12, and the GTO figured prominently in the opening credits of Bereta. The last time I saw the GTO, was an episode of the Rockford Files called “The Family Hour”, where it was driven by some bad guys. It was about 7 years old at that point and had been repainted red with an ugly “Starsky” stripe, but the Keystone mags told the tale. There’s no doubt in my mind that it was the same car.
The director of “Two Lane Blacktop” has said that the 2 GTOs went back to Pontiac after the filming was completed. The studio did retain ownership of the 3 Chevys.
There doesn’t seem to be any documentation as to what happened to the GTOs after their return to Pontiac, or even if they still exist.
I am not saying that the GTOs in 2LBT did not appear in other films or tv shows. I am just saying that there is no proof one way or another.
There are several defining traits to the 2LBT GTOs though that the cars mentioned also shared, namely the Keystone mags as mentioned, as well as the lack of “The Judge” decals, instead wearing regular GTO details. The proof is in the pudding, why would the studio make these same exact changes to another Orbit Orange GTO Judge?
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_475825-Pontiac-GTO-1970.html
Exactly.
The film is a good example of the Acid Western genre, literally a reverse western, like Easy Rider or No Country for Old Men; where instead of the traditional Western trope of manifest destiny and western expansion symbolizing new life, success, prosperity, etc, it is a literal journey into death and decay of the American ideals. Rudolph Wurlitzer, who wrote the final screenplay, has silently been the foremost writer involved with this genre; Jarmusch’s Dead Man was based on an unreleased work of Rudolph’s called Zebulon, which was finally published in book form as The Drop Edge of Yonder in ’08.
I think it’s a fascinating film for so many reasons – the slice-of-time in American transport and the generational divide; it was filmed in sequence with non-actors (never happens-check out this interview with Monte Hellman about that : http://www.hotrod.com/features/history/stories/hppp-0806-behind-the-camera-two-lane-blacktop/), the theme of dropping out of so many from plastic society, small-town American values imbued in all (a theme explored in depth in No Country for Old Men), and the fact that James Taylor wrote many of the songs for Sweet Baby James during the filming. I love it. But I’m certainly biased, as my partner just wrote an Acid Western novel, to be released next week worldwide! (Which I will shamelessly plug here as I’m super excited about it, hope you don’t mind! But how often does one’s partner wrote a debut novel? http://smallpresspicks.com/interview-with-pamela-difrancesco-author-of-the-devils-that-have-come-to-stay/)
couldn’t wait to see this movie in the theater when it was released summer of ’71. the day it opened in Boston, went to a rainy day matinee performance with a few friends who were into cars (maybe not as much as I was). Hardly anyone in the theater which was in perfect sync with the mood of the movie. I thought it was great. A bold movie making undertaking which to me was all about the total absorption of the love of hot cars and the open road.
This is perhaps my favorite movie of all time. I can’t really describe to you why. Part of it is the nostalgia for an era that existed before I was born, part of it is the characters doing what they do without a care in the world until the Girl screws it all up and makes everything complicated, and of course the existential nature of it appeals to me.
For those of you interested in seeing it, you can find a full-length copy on the Internet to stream relatively easily or you can buy the Criterion Collection release, which has a lot of extras including commentary.
For those unfamiliar, a movie released under Criterion is usually a good bet for some sort of redeeming quality, and TLBT is no exception. Just the number and general regard for the film in the responses on this forum (a car-based website), alone, is testament to that.
It wouldn’t be much a story without The Girl. She saved their asses when she worked the crowd for change. And, as much as I liked watching the ’55 in action, and all the racing, for that matter, she was WAY better looking than anyone or anything else in the film!
I so wanted to see this when it came out, when I was in high school, but somehow never did. Made up for it by seeing Vanishing Point multiple times.
This post cost me a good Friday night!
Watched 2lbt, followed by The original Gone in 60, and wrapped it up with Duel!
Oh well…there are worse ways to spend a Friday evening… 🙂
There is another Cinema Noir car film in a similar vein – Walter Hill’s classic 1978 The Driver (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077474/).
I commend you to it, people doing things with cars in a gritty and determined manner, no names, not a lot of dialogue, Bruce Dern plays a bad cop.
If anyone recalls Speedvision ‘The Lost Drive In’, as hosted by Dern, that’s where these movies shone and I first saw them.
I remember seeing this flick in the theatre when it first came out , like most gear heads I loved it .
I also well remember ” Aloha Bobby & Rose ” although I guess no one else does . the car used in that flick spent a few years parked in a Body Shop in Eagle Rock , Ca. , right on Colorado Blvd. after the film was released .
It’s pretty common to see old movie cars in junkyards and custom shops all around Los Angeles after movies are made with them , the Studios no longer keep large fleets like they did in the old days .
? Was the intro bit with Bruce Dern filmed at the old Pickwick Drive In ? it sure looks familiar to me .
-Nate
Joining this very late but I just got a chance to watch the movie again. The library had to pull it in from another branch. It’s the Criterion edition with two dvds and a copy of the screenplay! The film follows it word for word.
I love the film for the scenes of a vanished US where mom and pop diners and drive-in joints were common. Hard to believe that was 45 years ago.
Had to google Laurie Bird. Sad story. In 1979 she was found dead of suicide in Art Garfunkel’s apartment. She was 25.
Yes, knowing what happened to Laurie Bird, as well as Dennis Wilson, dead at 39, and Warren Oates, dead at 53, adds a note of sadness when watching the movie.
Dennis Wilson was 48 when he drown.
I used Wikipedia as my source.
Birth name Dennis Carl Wilson
Born December 4, 1944
Died December 28, 1983 (aged 39)
Marina del Rey, California, US