Two-Lane Blacktop

American film experienced a revolution in the late 1960s. A new generation of filmmakers, influenced by the French New Wave and other cinematic art movements, began making highly personal pictures that were more statements than entertainment. Films like 'Easy Rider' tapped into the counterculture that was rapidly growing during the period. The hallmark of these films is that they showed America in a new light, and most importantly, were shot with low budgets. Independent pioneers like Roger Corman could afford to give directors carte blanche to tell whatever stories they wanted, so long as they fell within the small budgets that such productions provided. The best of these artists learned to make movies economically and creatively.

Perhaps the best of these films is Monte Hellman's 1971 entry, 'Two-Lane Blacktop'. Singer/songwriter James Taylor stars as the Driver (no characters ever get a real name), and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys plays the Mechanic. The pair drive around the American east coast in a modified '55 Chevy, frequently crossing paths with GTO (Warren Oates) and picking up a hitchhiker, the Girl (Laurie Bird). Eventually a challenge is made: The first car to arrive in Washington D.C. gets both the Chevy and the GTO. Along the way, all the riders will see America at its best and its worst.

'Two-Lane Blacktop' is deceptively simple. A plot synopsis like the one above inevitably misses that special texture that makes the movie so unique. 'Two-Lane Blacktop' isn't a racing movie. In fact, the DC challenge is just a MacGuffin, a device to get the characters into the right places at the right times. And that's important, because otherwise these people could end up anywhere. This is a film about drifters. The Driver and the Mechanic seem to have no past, and no future beyond their next race. They wander forgotten highways, dropping off at gas stations to refuel, hardly ever talking about anything but the car.

GTO, on the other hand, rarely stops talking. He picks up a constant stream of hitchhikers and the price of the fare is a conversation. Oates performance as GTO rides a fine line. He's an unreliable but sympathetic narrator, looking perhaps to tame his restless soul. In one of the key moments of the film, he tells the Girl that he needs to get grounded, lest he fly into orbit. But can a man such as this ever truly plant roots anywhere? Oates was in his 40s when 'Two-Lane Blacktop' was made. Is he a man going through a mid-life crisis? Is he a perpetual wanderer looking to slow down, even settle down? Or is he just looking to bend the ears of his companions, to seduce sympathy from them as he lives the life he loves? The movie provides no answers.

By contrast, the Driver and the Mechanic are stoic loners. Taylor, in his first of very few roles, cuts a striking figure. There's an intensity to him, a perpetual chip on his shoulder that makes him an unlikely hero. The Driver isn't fighting for an ideal. He's just looking for the next thrill. But he rides a clean race. When GTO is pulled over by the cops, and later has mechanical trouble, the Driver and the Mechanic stop to help him, saying they don't want to win with such an obvious lead. The Driver taxis GTO into town to get repairs, and in those moments you realize that these men are more alike then they are different. Even as competitors, they're both playing the same game, even if they've come to it from different ends.

Hellman directs things naturalistically, allowing each scene to play out without flash or panache. The dialogue, from a script by Rudy Wurlitzer, almost sounds like code, with the characters speaking a lingo that's part counterculture, and part niche culture. Taylor and Wilson had never acted before, and Bird was new to the screen when she appeared here. Their lack of training gives them an awkward authenticity that extends to the rest of the film. Hellman shoots scenes with unknowing extras (such as when the Girl begs for money on a crowded street), and also shoots chronologically as the progress of the narrative follows the progress of production. These techniques, along with the combination of non-actors working with professionals, give the movie an off-kilter feel that makes it all the more compelling. And Hellman seems to take a bit of pleasure in casting two major musical figures and then not letting them sing.

'Two-Lane Blacktop' feels immediately of its time and yet removed from it. It's clearly part of the American filmmaking renaissance, yet stands apart as something distinct. There's a casualness to it that belies the real emotions that are subtly on display. It's a movie that reveals itself in stages, and multiple viewings are a must. You have to come to it on its own terms and soak it in. Like the characters, it will not conform to outside standards. And the world of cinema is all the better for it. 'Two-Lane Blacktop' isn't quite as earth-shattering as some of the films that surround it, but it's one that you'll find yourself returning to again and again, either because you want to understand it, or you just want to revel in its sly strangeness.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Criterion releases 'Two-Lane Blacktop' in their signature clear cases. Gone is the reproduction of the script that came with the DVD release, but the rest of the supplements remain and have been consolidated onto a single 50 GB disc versus the two discs on DVD.

As with most Criterion releases, the booklet, printed on thick and sturdy paper, contains supplements beyond those on the disc. In this case, we get a lyrical tribute from Tom Waits, a verbose and overlong essay by Kent Jones, a far more succinct list of reasons why Richard Linklater loves the movie, and finally a reprinted article from 'Rolling Stone' that documents the making of the film, all interspersed with full color and black and white photos.