After taking in Two Lane Black Top for the very first time, my contradictory first reaction is ‘this isn’t your typical road movie’ mixed with ‘this is one of the BEST road movies i’ve ever seen’. Let me remind you, I’m definitely not an expert in this sub-genre of film, but for what it’s worth, I can say this: It’s an art film wrapped inside of a Roger Corman b-movie concept. A film that somehow manages to let the cars be the stars while still retaining a rich, character driven approach. An introspective and cerebral hot rod picture that brings a respectablility to this branch of the drive-in genre. Featuring mostly non-actor’s and pop musicians, director Monte Hellman incorporates some experimental filmmaking techniques to create an interesting piece of pure, motor-car Americana.

The story is almost criminally simple; Folk singer James Taylor and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson play ‘The Driver’ and ‘The Mechanic’. Two guys who’s relationship is built around their obsession with cars. (Especially their car.) They frequent the underground street racing circuits, regularily blowing opponents off the asphalt with their grey, suped up ‘55 Chevy. Along the way, they cross paths with ‘The Girl’ (Laurie Bird), a young, attractive nomadic hippie that simply gets into their parked car, thus initiating a make shift three person pit crew. Warren Oats stands out as ‘GTO’, a man who’s seemingly experiencing a mid-life crisis, speeding around in his yellow GTO, passing the boys ‘55 Chevy on a number of occasions in a vulgar, yet somewhat misinformed, display of power. After a mutual stop at a gas station, the deal is set. A race across the country, ending in Washington. The prize; pink slips. The challenge is accepted, and thus begins and unusual game of cat and mouse that actually seems to bring these road racing rivals closer together, even if it’s not always under the best intentions.

The sparse dialogue and deliberate pacing of Two Lane Blacktop is what sets this film apart from other road pictures. Vincent Gallo’s ‘The Brown Bunny’ immediately comes to mind as one of the many films inspired by this classic. Of course, as mentioned in this Criterion release’s liner notes, the films of Richard Linklater also definitely touch upon the idea of simply ‘hanging out’ with it’s main characters. It’s the relationship between the Two Lane’s main character’s that stood out as something fresh for me. Wilson and Taylor are men of few words, yet seem to rely on the company of others. As does ‘The Girl’, moving from guy to guy whenever she deems it necissary. Then there’s Warren Oat’s obsession with picking up hitch hiker’s in an obvious attempt to avoid having to drive alone. His backstory is constantly changing as he attempts to relate to the people he picks up. (One of which, a gay cowboy, is played brilliantly by a young Harry Dean Stanton.) This cycle of hitch-hiking characters almost reminds me of the short story style used so often by Jim Jarmusch. These people seem unusually unaffected by the way in which people come in and out of their lives. That is, until they meet The Girl.

The film is masterfully directed by Monte Hellman, and was produced by a young Gary Kurtz, who would go on to work with George Lucas on American Graffitti and of course, the almighty Star Wars. Shot in a somewhat experimental fashion, non-actors such as Taylor and Wilson weren’t given their lines until right before the shoot, causing a little tension on set. Some scenes incorporate an almost documentary style, sending Laurie Bird into a crowd of real people (including some extras purposely left unaware that they’d begun shooting) begging for spare change. The effect is undeniably real and reminiscent of the guerrilla tactics of the time. (See Easy Rider’s martigras scene) Two Lane Blacktop definitely isn’t for everyone, but the film successfully manages to appeases both the hardcore car fanatics AND the hardcore film fanatics. This double disc Criterion Collection release is a top notch package for both the uninitiated and long time fans.

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