'Two-Lane Blacktop' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times

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  • čas přidán 12. 01. 2009
  • With the auto industry in difficult financial times, A. O. Scott looks back at the early days of America's fascination with cars.
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    'Two-Lane Blacktop' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times
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Komentáře • 250

  • @TRINZINI
    @TRINZINI Před 4 lety +29

    The 70s music, cars, landscapes and Warren Oates. Man, "those satisfactions are permanent".

    • @michael69040
      @michael69040 Před 2 lety

      They are transient and temporary. The brilliant refinement of timed detonation of petroleum is very impressive but it must be jettisoned. Where many males will look for masculine validation now that the infernal combustion engine has been proven to be an evil planet killing demon is a troubling contemplation.

  • @douglasadams6024
    @douglasadams6024 Před 5 lety +31

    the ending is perfect, James Taylor slams the window shut as it sounds like a prison door shutting, he realizes that he will never be free, he looks to the left and sees the cows in the field and accepts that even they are more free than he will ever be, a captive, a warrior of the street battles, it is his destiny to live the life of a street racer........he is the 55 driver and that is ALL he will ever be!

    • @Mphster
      @Mphster Před 3 lety +3

      I have another aspect. I'm 70yo yet a 55 Chevy was my launch. Jail time? Yep. Even then you got caught racing. But for me it wasn't an end all.

    • @robr5786
      @robr5786 Před 2 lety +1

      this has the same as the biker movie from 1966 " the wild angels",that the lifestyle was a dead end

    • @ericparrish1515
      @ericparrish1515 Před rokem

      You see those lifers???

    • @ericparrish1515
      @ericparrish1515 Před rokem

      @@robr5786 seen no spillage

    • @MrTheHillfolk
      @MrTheHillfolk Před rokem

      The ending when the film melts was unexpected, but very fitting.

  • @longfade
    @longfade Před 4 lety +11

    Thanks for paying tribute to this largely unknown gem. One of my favorite endings ever.

  • @Mr_Chris77
    @Mr_Chris77 Před 5 lety +24

    One of, if not the greatest car movie of all time. You can almost smell the leaded gasoline just watching it. My favorite scene is when the cops pull over the GTO. Great film!

    • @Redclxxd
      @Redclxxd Před 5 lety +1

      Spenser Hawk why is there no where to watch??

  • @tomjones560
    @tomjones560 Před 8 lety +101

    This film is a masterpiece and the ending is perfect.

    • @DRock6906
      @DRock6906 Před 7 lety +4

      Bought this movie on VHS years and years ago. Only one thing bothers me... Did James Taylor win the race at the end? Did he wreck the car? Or did he die if he did wreck the Chevy? The film melting away at the end leaves those answers up to the individual I guess.

    • @joel8583
      @joel8583 Před 5 lety +3

      It beats me if he won or lost. I don't think he died thou!

    • @Motorsportsinjapan
      @Motorsportsinjapan Před 3 lety

      @@DRock6906 The original ending was supposed to be him rolling it in that drag race but they decided to end it like they did and never filmed the roll over scene, leaving it to the viewer to decide. The rollover car was used instead in American Graffiti (as was the main car from this movie).

    • @CycolacFan
      @CycolacFan Před 2 lety +1

      @@Motorsportsinjapan in the script the rollover occurs when the Chevy avoids a two car accident between a station wagon and a truck, I presume the scene where they end up in the field was supposed to occur later in the film.

    • @Motorsportsinjapan
      @Motorsportsinjapan Před 2 lety

      @@CycolacFan Ok, maybe there were a few versions (not unusual). The one I mentioned I read in a Hot Rod magazine from 1977ish

  • @CycloneFE
    @CycloneFE Před 13 lety +15

    I like the critic's take on this movie. I have watched it hundreds of times also. I have a recorded vhs from before the movie was available for sale to the public. I think it is a very fair representation of a part of my youth. So many scenes are identical to what I experienced, nothing romantic, just real life, maybe this was one of the first "reality" type of shows.

  • @richardday9997
    @richardday9997 Před 6 lety +10

    There were two gentlemen toward the end of the film, possibly editted out by now, that grew up in my childhood community. Their names are Tommy Whitenbarger & Jerry Stooksberry. Not to do with the film but not long after Tom & Jerry returned from Viet Nam, one owned an early 70s Torino, with which the two of them "cut a dump truck in half". They were both car nuts and the faster the better, baby!
    When the 454 first came out they put one in a 55 belair.
    Those two were great people to know and good friends to have.

  • @hatbpto5180
    @hatbpto5180 Před 5 měsíci +1

    I happened to turn on the television one night right as this movie was starting. It was the public station, so there were no commercials. I watched it all the way through. For the next few days I found myself thinking about it, thinking how deep it was. It had some kind of delayed psychological effect on me. One of my favorite movies.

  • @MrOnemanop
    @MrOnemanop Před rokem +11

    In the movie soundtrack, "Me and Bobby McGee" -" Freedom's just another word for, nothin' left to lose." encapsulates the movie perfectly. GTO can't escape his PTSD, The Driver, will never stop racing, The Mechanic is constantly tinkering/working on the car. The Girl is desperate to find a way to connect with someone. Used to have to watch "TV Guide" to find out what Friday night at 2:00 am this movie would air. Ahh, the good old days.

    • @alertgasper
      @alertgasper Před 6 měsíci +1

      good assessment. The bar scene with the Driver was interesting, he listens to a couple argue--even being coupled to something isn't perfect, he realizes. he returns to his hotel room to realize he's an intruder there. They don't fit "small town America" and it takes GTO posing as one to get them out of trouble in a diner.
      But GTO is obviously not happy, even with a trunk load designed to "get you up, down, or sideways". Every stranger gets told a bigger and bigger lie about himself, until the end he adapts the story of beating his own car in a hand built one.

  • @scottmanduzy
    @scottmanduzy Před 13 lety +22

    warren Oates was so good in everything he did

  • @kenamaro
    @kenamaro Před 6 lety +91

    A cult classic..... either you get it... or you don’t.....

  • @Quiksilversurf311
    @Quiksilversurf311 Před 3 lety +5

    This is one of the most realest, raw movies there is.
    James Taylor was mesmerizing in this movie, that mans eyes can cut through souls.

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 13 lety +11

    @2hotinaz 35 years ago I thought this movie was all about being smart and cool. These guys had broken free from the 40 hour work week grind and were living a superior life. They were FREE! Free from bosses, alarm clocks, the IRS, sucky jobs, bills, etc. I totally admired them. They were two wild boys roaming free in a bitchin car on a wild adventure. What I didn't see was what a pointless existence they were leading. Adventure and freedom are nothing if we aren't feeling appreciated.

  • @rossmarvin584
    @rossmarvin584 Před 5 lety +15

    56 years old, and I still get to the digs during the season and think about racing everyday. Stripped down, flyweight duel purpose machines. I'm gonna have me another budget ride in the next year. Great movie. Even my old bookstore owner girlfriend liked it.

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 13 lety +68

    This is the greatest movie ever made.....I used to like this movie for the car, but now I get it. This movie is about loneliness, emptiness, purposelessness and disconnection. It's about people who are spiritual dead and don't even know it. They drive fast to drown out and get away from their misery, but they can't! They are victims of their own minds. Spiritually blind. 100% humans. Terrible! But the director captures this in every single moment perfectly! Incredible! Impossible! Brilliant!

    • @ajnorthrop9121
      @ajnorthrop9121 Před 3 lety +8

      Just like the car they drive... how stripped-down can you get and still have it be a movie? This film is the answer.

    • @Quiksilversurf311
      @Quiksilversurf311 Před 3 lety +5

      Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think you’ve went a little off and far with your analysis of this movie.

    • @Joetrout
      @Joetrout Před 2 lety +2

      Pretty much that was just the 70’s

    • @Roystothecoolkid
      @Roystothecoolkid Před 2 lety +3

      IMO I think they just liked racing, so they went out to do it with their wicked '55 chevy street rod.

    • @NYPATRIOTBX
      @NYPATRIOTBX Před 2 lety +2

      I think your over complicating car culture, unless your part of it, you’ll never understand it.

  • @Agislife1960
    @Agislife1960 Před 3 lety +6

    This movie is the car version of Easy Rider plus the significance of the car culture during the 60's and 70's can not be overstated, you either feel this movie on a deep level or you don't, theres not much in-between

  • @makiravila7751
    @makiravila7751 Před 7 lety +37

    That Plymouth had a Hemi with a Torqueflite.

    • @sbf_fox2434
      @sbf_fox2434 Před 3 lety +2

      @J T SMITH That was the opening line of the movie. The movie starts in LA with an International Brotherhood of Street Racers street race.

    • @christiansoldier1968
      @christiansoldier1968 Před 3 lety +3

      yeah,...the movie dialogue is almost completely banal, except for all of the pathological lying from GTO...doesn't matter though. All of the outdoor landscapes and the cars are outstanding. It's culturally significant, IMO.

    • @handymatt1970
      @handymatt1970 Před 3 měsíci

      yep the late & great big willie, his orange daytona got dipped one too many times in the acid bath.

  • @stuartmenziesfarrant
    @stuartmenziesfarrant Před rokem +2

    I watched this film out of the blue on tV and loved, couldn't find it anywhere for years, then finally googled for it years later and rediscovered it again. This is a time capsule movie and beautifully stripped down to the bare essentials, just like the Chevy.

  • @79tazman
    @79tazman Před 5 lety +18

    2 Lane Blacktop is awesome that and Vanishing Point are my favorites

    • @danielcarr7090
      @danielcarr7090 Před 4 lety +3

      1971 was the year for both films. I think it's my favourite year for films: Straw Dogs. The French Connection. Dirty Harry. A Touch of Zen. Harold and Maude. All great movies.

    • @KevAlberta
      @KevAlberta Před 3 lety +1

      Vanishing point is my fav

    • @bobmalack481
      @bobmalack481 Před rokem

      Kowalski would approve..Robert at 67.

  • @clevlandblock
    @clevlandblock Před 2 lety +4

    Good take on the movie..."a story of obsession and addiction". That could apply to a lot of car guys. I think they are missing the love cars guys have for their machines. But speaking of the only real actor in this movie, don't forget about the late, great Harry Dean Stanton.

  • @koomo801
    @koomo801 Před 3 lety +4

    I don't know if it was Hellman's intention, but having Oates play the only non-Bressonian role is such a complete contrast to everyone else, that Oates' performance comes across as the false and cringey one. Like the contrast in cars.

  • @earldwyer4120
    @earldwyer4120 Před 6 lety +20

    Two lane Black Top is an awesome flix My family thinks I’m nuts .

    • @joel8583
      @joel8583 Před 5 lety +2

      Lol, I don't think you're nuts!

    • @bobmalack481
      @bobmalack481 Před 4 lety +1

      If they think your nuts, they're either old or square, or both...Robert at 66.

    • @ericparrish1515
      @ericparrish1515 Před rokem

      Guilty conscience here...my bad

  • @allosaurusfragilis7782
    @allosaurusfragilis7782 Před 8 lety +19

    Also love this film. Not sure why. Its so unlike anything you would get now.

    • @bobmalack481
      @bobmalack481 Před 4 lety +3

      Because the times and mindset is far different

  • @randalkidd6404
    @randalkidd6404 Před 5 lety +19

    I love the whining of the M22 ! Most won't get it !

    • @paulhare662
      @paulhare662 Před 3 lety +2

      I miss the M22 and the Hurst competition plus with a 6 inch stick. Didn't matter what it was bolted to.

    • @christiansoldier1968
      @christiansoldier1968 Před 3 lety +1

      unmistakable, isn't it? My dad still has his 1970 Chevelle SS and my most vivid memories are night trips, watching him drive from the back seat. I remember the whine of that M22 and that purple hi-beam light in the center of the dashboard.

    • @feydespiel.
      @feydespiel. Před rokem +2

      Love that whine from the box......don't know why....don't wanna know why...

  • @driloc
    @driloc Před 3 lety +4

    The cinematography....a Western and wholly American landscape in this movie, as well as Vanishing Point, Easy Rider and I throw Welcome Home, Soldier Boys in there too..a vision of long and lonely two lanes, billboards and folks pre sixties just as lost and hungry as the youth were. It was said Warren Oates deserved an Oscar for GTO, and I couldn't agree more. Today's entertainment so up close, give me those drawn out scenes of a vehicle moving down a highway ANY DAY!!!

    • @danielburke4113
      @danielburke4113 Před 20 dny

      The reviewer actually understood this movie. He "got it."

  • @hiteck001
    @hiteck001 Před 8 lety +20

    its a bad azz movie about a bunch of borderlines living the existential dream !

  • @backnineblues5843
    @backnineblues5843 Před 7 lety +24

    RIP - Lauri Bird

  • @miked7004
    @miked7004 Před 3 lety +1

    In 1971 I bought a White 1971 Hemi 'Cuda, 4 speed car that to a lot of folks looked like the White Challenger in Vanishing Point. I love that car but almost lost my license for street racing twice.

  • @Theomite
    @Theomite Před 7 lety +25

    You can have a magnificent film without great acting; in such cases, the lack of acting talent adds to the authenticity. Just look at SLACKER or KILLER OF SHEEP or METROPOLITAN. I think this film fits in that category; the inexperience is not the same as ineptitude.

    • @Strangleholdintn
      @Strangleholdintn Před 6 lety +2

      That's your opinion jack hole // Watch Dennis Weaver in A Steven Spielberg movie from 1971 called DUEL!

    • @ricardocantoral7672
      @ricardocantoral7672 Před 5 lety +7

      Filmmakers like Hellman and the late Robert Bresson realized that acting is a distraction in a film.

    • @TRINZINI
      @TRINZINI Před 2 lety

      @@ricardocantoral7672 Pasolini too. Pretty much always used non actors.

  • @bobmalack481
    @bobmalack481 Před 7 lety +13

    ...oh yes, 'Hollywood machine' actors like Hoffman, Sheen, and Dreyfuss would definitely dampen the authenticity of this movie. Can you imagine Richard Dreyfuss trying to be early 70's 'cool?'..E-gawds! People comment that there is little dialog, or is boring in this movie, but then we were not interrupted by cell phone calls and text's, l guess we thought and pondered a lot. Believe it or not, in some circles in the day you were not 'cool' if you wore a watch, or had a job..too establishment!! Robert at 66.

    • @robertchandler5055
      @robertchandler5055 Před 4 lety

      CHECK OUT AMERICAN GRAFFITI ...IRONICALLY HAS THE VERY SAME 55 AND RICHARD DREYFUSS

  • @opossozoku8005
    @opossozoku8005 Před rokem +2

    Car culture will not die, I guarantee!!!!

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 13 lety +15

    I've watched this movie around 100 times. I always love it. Why? I think my favori+6
    t000[e scenes are when the 55 is going flat out in the middle of nowhere. I just think that's so cool. I just want to be running wide open in a bitchin car out in the middle of nowhere.
    Escapism? Freedom? Elitism? Power? What am I searching for?

    • @bobmalack481
      @bobmalack481 Před 4 lety +2

      another time period where that was the thing to do..Robert at 66.

    • @johnnyxmusic
      @johnnyxmusic Před 3 lety

      Something elemental and pure.

  • @1bountifulinc
    @1bountifulinc Před 13 lety +16

    This movie is a cult classic. I was 21 in 1970 and I was right there with these guys in my 1970 Firebird Formula 400, 3 in the floor. Ate GTO's for breakfast and 396 Chevelles for lunch. Got humuliated one night by a 440 GTX at a light on Gordon Hwy in Augusta, Ga. Would give anything to have that car back.

    • @michael69040
      @michael69040 Před 4 lety +2

      Buy a Hayabusa for under $15K and you will put that humiliation finally to rest. My guess is the 55 Chevy in the film could at best do 0 to 60 in about 6 seconds. A Hayabusa can do zero to 60 in 2.55.

    • @CycolacFan
      @CycolacFan Před 2 lety +2

      @@michael69040 the Chevy ran about 10.90 in the quarter so you’re probably not far off with 6sec.

    • @Martin-jc8kk
      @Martin-jc8kk Před rokem +1

      @@michael69040 Oh yes comparing a Hayabusa to a 70's hot rod right...

    • @Martin-jc8kk
      @Martin-jc8kk Před rokem

      @@michael69040 Oh no i'm like you with a creeper 🤣 but i'm not looking to be the fastest i just like tinkering and getting the thrills of driving things i fixed or tuned.
      You're right the Hayabusa will smoke 99% of the traffic but hot rods now are just for kicks and driving with friends, to go fast yea no need to bother with carbs or other outdated tech

    • @alertgasper
      @alertgasper Před 6 měsíci

      @@michael69040 for reference, my 1968 4-4-2 making about 400 hp/500 on the torque, does 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, and 13's at 100mph in the quarter. so a near--11 second car will be in the 3-4 second range so long as it gets traction off the line rather than get its acceleration done at the end of the track.
      but yes, the Hayabusa is an incredible machine.

  • @pajamas_the_emo
    @pajamas_the_emo Před 2 lety +1

    idk ANYTHING about cars but Dennis is worth it

  • @hogochodo
    @hogochodo Před 12 lety +6

    @1971SuperLead
    i guess i look at the film in more of a timeless sense. think of it outside of the 60s/70s counter culture.. the film runs deeper than that. i watched an interview with the director where he mentions that he almost thinks of the mechanic and driver as gunfighters.. in a sense its almost about archetypes.. its hard to explain because it works on such an intuitive level for me. its one of the best films ive ever seen, and because of that, its difficult for me to intellectualize...

  • @pizzandoughnutspage7817
    @pizzandoughnutspage7817 Před 5 měsíci

    My wife’s and I goal is to drive the Two Lane Black Top route, we don’t own a 55’ but it’ll still be fun and inspiring.

  • @lucygirl4926
    @lucygirl4926 Před 4 lety +2

    Obsession and addiction...two of my best friends...

  • @Tojazzer
    @Tojazzer Před 2 lety +2

    "...maybe the only real actor in the movie..." Completely forgetting that Harry Dean Stanton has a major scene.

  • @goalie9198
    @goalie9198 Před 6 lety +7

    James Taylor as Mitch Hedberg

  • @wesleyhayley3657
    @wesleyhayley3657 Před rokem +1

    why is it they dont show this movie very much? i could watch it almost every day!

  • @bobabooey285
    @bobabooey285 Před 2 lety +2

    As a kid this was a life changing movie

  • @miketurner1541
    @miketurner1541 Před 4 lety +2

    I remember watching this when I was a kid I haven't seen it in years

  • @joequillun7790
    @joequillun7790 Před rokem +2

    I remember all the burnouts on the road outside the drive-in, when this came out. Fun times.

  • @Dstrbrdgrnd
    @Dstrbrdgrnd Před rokem

    I saw this movie at the drive in from the back seat of my ‘55 Chevy with my girlfriend. Loved the Vanishing Point ending.

  • @currentbatches6205
    @currentbatches6205 Před rokem

    At the time I had a 12-cyl Ferrari and drove it cross-country. Low on gas, it took some searching in Wyoming to find a station close to I80.
    The attendant came out to ask if things were OK as the pump counted beyond 30 gallons.
    No problem...
    Added by edit;
    Sold the '52 Chev with the 357; no way the Ferrari could match the get-up-and-go!

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 13 lety +2

    @2hotinaz,Yes, I agree fully, but when I look at government and business practices, I see nothing but unabashed greed. What I wouldn't do to work for a place that actually cared about their customers.
    I first watched 2 Lane BT back in 1977 and though Warren Oates was nuts but that the James and Dennis where living a really great life. It took me 20 years of watching this a couple times a year to finally understand what this movie is really about. What a shock! It's about the road to hell.

  • @WANDERER0070
    @WANDERER0070 Před 11 lety +9

    the critic is right on the money,,two guys doing what they like best..racing..people working boring jobs chasing after money will never understand

  • @bobmalack481
    @bobmalack481 Před 7 lety +18

    People generally under 55 or 60 or so don't get it, and don't get the movie, and don't get simialar movies like Vanishing Point also. We interacted, thought, and communicated differently. Tail end boomers/ counter culture young people like us often really talked and acted like the James Tailor and Dennis Wilson portrails shown here. It might come off as boring acting sequences, but the understated acting is actually quite authentic. As young folks at that time we were yes, existential, partly confused, period cool, and trying to make heads or tails of our young lives. In a sense this was almost an early 70's reality movie. Laurie Birds 'performance' was especially spot on as the cool drifter. It also shows how a girl can look good without make up and fashion clothes. Simple shaggy long hair, little or no make up, levi's and a flannel shirt or a green army field jacket will knock me out every time, LOL! Robert at 66.

    • @ossarider
      @ossarider Před 6 lety +1

      You hit the nail on the head

    • @spacecaserecords1204
      @spacecaserecords1204 Před 6 lety +4

      I'm 36. I work at a hot rod shop and drive a '51 Ford. I get it. My dad was part of car clubs in LA County in the '60s. Velvet Underground + 383 strokers + Muncie 4 speeds = cool.

    • @Sirskibumsalot
      @Sirskibumsalot Před 5 lety +2

      Oh yea Vanishing point .....one of my favorites , saw it at the drive inns in my youth and I have it on DVD now ..... I agree with bob and Im 59 y/o .

    • @fastchevelle7794
      @fastchevelle7794 Před 5 lety +6

      Your age group is wrong because I am 50 and I get it better than anybody and most of my friends get it.....My FAVORITE movie of all time .

    • @ricardocantoral7672
      @ricardocantoral7672 Před 5 lety +1

      I'm 31 years old. This film transcends it's genre.

  • @CycolacFan
    @CycolacFan Před 2 lety +1

    Finally, someone who understands.

  • @reginalddentry7338
    @reginalddentry7338 Před 5 lety

    I saw it at the drive in and was hooked that 55 Chevy was a dream come true tunnel ram omg

  • @That_AMC_Guy
    @That_AMC_Guy Před 2 měsíci

    I wish they could locate his original, 3+ hour cut that features the plot that was left on the cutting room floor.
    But I did have strange thought the other day. Could you imagine replacing Warren Oates with Elvis Presley???? I thought if Elvis had broken away from the Colonel in 68-69 like he wanted to, he could kick-start his movie career with a low-budget, Road movie. I could TOTALLY see Elvis playing the GTO character. A man on the brink of his mid life crisis. It would have been perfect. AND then you'd have all three main leads as musicians/singers. Could have been amazing and I think Hellman could've gotten a fantastic performance out of Elvis. Elvis always operated a little better when he was out of his element and somebody was challenging him.
    Oh, what could have been!

  • @user-qj7ke6cv2k
    @user-qj7ke6cv2k Před rokem

    No one ever talks about the colors. Every scene is color matched perfectly.

  • @rickartdefoix1298
    @rickartdefoix1298 Před 3 lety +3

    This is a fine movie. Actually it is the Monte Hellman masterwork, think. It's a road movie dealing with bets. It has an open end, but in the meanwhile you would have enjoy each minute. It deserved to be better known. Good indépendant cinema. 🎦👍✔️

  • @stevefowler660
    @stevefowler660 Před 2 lety +1

    Seeing this for the first time as a kid at Lincoln Drive-In on Route 1 in Philadelphia! In my father's 65 Barracuda at the end of this movie when the film melts my old man had a meltdown what a rip-off still one of his favorite movies of all time he just won't admit it

  • @1955Cal
    @1955Cal Před 13 lety +2

    I thought the movie was pretty good but I enjoyed watching James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. They should have driving a little duece coupe.

  • @mercmarc
    @mercmarc Před 12 lety +12

    It might be the jets because we dont have an air cleaner to keep debris from the road out of the carburetor.

    • @prodrift101
      @prodrift101 Před 6 lety +5

      Let me explain something...jets inject fuel into the air mixture not air. The only way a jet gets clogged is because there is no fuel filter. The butterfly controls airflow. Airfilters keep crud from getting into the engine and scoring the cylinder walls and thats it. It has nothing to do with the fuel

    • @rh1011
      @rh1011 Před 5 lety +1

      @@prodrift101 Unless debris goes down the float bowl vent.

  • @hogochodo
    @hogochodo Před 12 lety +3

    @1971SuperLead
    i guess i disagree with both interpretations. true they arent truly "free" but at the same time their existence isnt pointless, just honed to the bare minimum.. taylors character realizes the ultimate possible consequences of that life, accepts it, closes the emotional door and burns up.
    apparently the end came to the director in a dream so i guess its open to interpretation..

  • @charliesmodels647
    @charliesmodels647 Před 4 lety +2

    Rip Dennis Wilson

  • @dwilson2548
    @dwilson2548 Před 3 lety +2

    At 58 years old I thought it was a very good movie it influenced me as in the mid 70s how many of us younger men weren't thinking and dreaming about getting a fast hopped up car getting our best friend climbing in that car and taking it around the country to race I just wish I actually had the balls to do it and did it but I didn't so now I just watch the movie and reminisce. Sigh. 😷

  • @DungeonStudio
    @DungeonStudio Před 2 lety +1

    I'd say this is all about 'mid life crisis'. Young kids in a old car that don't want to grow up. While an older man in a new car is trying to be young and free again. And the two sets are 'locked in'. Driver & Mechanic may have been racing 5 to 8 years previously, and seem like they could race for 10 to 20 more. Whereas GTO seems like he's only been at it for a year or less, and may give it up in as quick of time. The girl is 'the prize' that waltzes in for the ride and causes the men to 'wake up' momentarily to their possible future and/or past. And what I like best is the all around subdued empathy all develop for each other during their journey. Where the young start helping the old guy and his car, and GTO begrudgingly appreciates their help and rather join them than race them.
    And in the end, the girl realizes the two are more in love with their old car than they'll ever be with her. GTO would be a incestuous father figure which maybe she's running away from. And GTO through all his bolstering and yarns realizes reality and his age near the end and knows he has to 'grow up' again. And James Taylor gives such a GREAT performance of committed and confused loyalty to himself and those near him. Can he race forever? Could he fall in love? Will he be like GTO in time? And Dennis Wilson is great too, as he exudes 'he's just along for the ride'. Keeps Driver and the car running, but has enough wits, knowledge and passion that he'll forever be with cars for the rest of his life. Be it with Driver or working at a garage, or joining a legit race team. Rudy Wurlitzer is so humble about the script, and James with his performance. But I'd say there's a subconscious realization with all during writing and filming what's at stake for everyone. James just breaking into music and being highly regarded. Proud of his talent, yet so humble about it. Dennis, well established with The Beach Boys, connected, and experience galore. Laurie, new young talent open to anything - modelling, acting, settling down. And Warren, always a minor character behind some of the biggest stars. His behind the scenes stories probably outweigh his actual work and accolades ten fold! So just brilliant casting, subconscious analytical writing and performing, and brilliantly filmed! Definitely a movie I can watch over and over again, be it years or days apart.

    • @alertgasper
      @alertgasper Před 6 měsíci

      not a bad assessment. as many have posted here, they thought this movie was a dream for gearheads, but as they got older they saw it was also a trap.

  • @eddiebarnett2217
    @eddiebarnett2217 Před 5 lety

    Sweet baby James! I never knew this ever! Sweet..

  • @foreverblind8892
    @foreverblind8892 Před 4 lety +1

    Dead zone state. The brain of horsepower and good American boys. This wasn't a movie at all, it was reality. I was there I was Dennis, I was James. This is exactly what we were. Lots of us were this. Like Double Nickles, Evel knivel with George Hamilton. There's lots of material like this

  • @markbrynteson5141
    @markbrynteson5141 Před 3 lety

    I will have to check that one out

  • @andrewrhea5238
    @andrewrhea5238 Před rokem

    18 when this came out. Holy cow I thought, sweet baby James just acted fire and rain.

  • @SharonCreamer671956
    @SharonCreamer671956 Před 5 lety

    As is: playing the guitar, piano, drums, etc., etc., etc.. We have places for that around here.

  • @KimiWallrus
    @KimiWallrus Před 24 dny

    "3 yards mfer and you've got yourself a automobile race!"

  • @patrickmcgrath5411
    @patrickmcgrath5411 Před rokem +1

    MY FAVORITE ❣️

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 13 lety +1

    @greg55666, Let's add Easy Rider to the list. Once again we meet people who are "cool and free" but have forgotten, or never learned, that the only thing that makes life fulfilling is being selfless. The selfish road may seem rewarding, but like starting a cocaine habit, it's only fun for a little while. Eventually we can't stand to even look in the mirror. These people aren't mindless, but ego minded. The movie is ingenius in depicting the horror of being self absorbed.

  • @Formerlywarmer
    @Formerlywarmer Před 2 lety

    My older brother and one of his buddies took me with them to the sun set drive in in brunswick GA to see this…. I was 9 years old in 71. Ima car guy now and have been since 78-79 wen I got my license. MOPAR2YA

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 13 lety +1

    @2hotinaz Yes, I fully agree again, but where are these businesses? Where is the business that not just acts like they care about their customers, but actually does? Corporate mentality is infecting all business. It's all about money and nothing else.
    Back to Two Lane......what was their goal? Just living for kicks? Where was Warren going? Was he just hunting for anything that looked better than where he was?
    Competition is hell. I hate the competitive mentality.

  • @kimprisbrey368
    @kimprisbrey368 Před 5 lety +1

    This movie gets into your soul.........

  • @125southernnh2
    @125southernnh2 Před 5 lety +1

    I used to live for this stuff. The smell of av-gas and rubber. And of course...victory.

  • @jeffwoods9666
    @jeffwoods9666 Před 2 lety

    End in tears for you.! HotRods are alive in my life

  • @glennbice2030
    @glennbice2030 Před 5 lety +2

    If you grew up in those great times you would understand!

    • @withnail-and-i
      @withnail-and-i Před 4 lety +1

      I don't even need to understand being there, there's a larger scope in the message which makes it a timeless classic

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 12 lety +1

    @2hotinaz That makes sense, although I am sure that any really large company is going to be stupid to work for. The top never knows what the bottom is up against and so they tell the bottom to do all kinds of stupid things. I remember "empowerment training" where we were all told we were "empowered". Man, all that did was remind us how insignificant we were. In the 21 years I worked at that company, no big shot ever came to the floors to talk WITH us.

  • @Wickhaven1
    @Wickhaven1 Před 5 lety

    Can still find this. If you know where to look.

  • @strandwolf
    @strandwolf Před 13 lety +1

    @1bountifulinc I had a 55 Chevy convertible with a Muncie 4-speed.

  • @davidr4332
    @davidr4332 Před 7 lety +2

    I have the same taco that on the dash board in stored never did throw it away ....

  • @scottbarker9058
    @scottbarker9058 Před měsícem

    I'm 66 a gearhead.....never heard of this movie!!!!!

  • @WANDERER0070
    @WANDERER0070 Před 15 lety +2

    good movie,describes the 70s perfectly

    • @bobmalack481
      @bobmalack481 Před 4 lety +1

      EARLY 70's. There is a difference, not to be mixed up with the mid-late 70's Disco/platform shoes/designer jeans/crap/scene. Robert at 67.

  • @1971SuperLead
    @1971SuperLead Před 12 lety +1

    @2hotinaz Where are these companies? I worked for 20 different companies so far and everyone of them was crooked and callous.

  • @pmsfar-outgrooviness8025
    @pmsfar-outgrooviness8025 Před 3 lety +1

    RIP Monte

  • @peterGriffin-ug7jv
    @peterGriffin-ug7jv Před rokem

    Her name was Laurie bird she died in 1979

  • @peterschancel7223
    @peterschancel7223 Před 6 lety

    Checkout Rancho Delux . Jeff the dude Bridges and great cast . 70s

  • @Dogboy1960
    @Dogboy1960 Před 3 lety +1

    Perfect ending because it unintentionally captures a prediction of America and it's eventual divorce from a love affair with it's cars. In Released in 1971 but likely conceived as an idea for a movie then written and filmed over a period between 1969 and/or 1970........the very peak and so very near the end of the Muscle Car era.. It was, yet never will be, like this again. Today most people see their car as utilitarian transportation only. Reflected in the obvious move to dull as dish-water SUVs and Trucks. Sure there are still a few of us who get excited for the latest Corvette, Challenger, Mustang or Camaro offering but we are absolutely insignificant in numbers. Detroit and all over auto makers around the world see us as boutique small sized market barely worth even developing cars for and very soon I expect they won't even bother as electric cars grow in popularity and even autonomous driven vehicles make their way onto the scene. This isn't a very good movie but it does capture something you can only revisit today when you buy and restore an older car. As long as gasoline is still being sold there will always be an extra place in my garage for that Sunny Sunday driver that takes me back.

  • @BJI82a
    @BJI82a Před 2 lety

    We can’t find many films like this today but what does the ending mean at the last race does the burn up mean he went down with his car or he lost both races and he doesn’t care I’m surprised there hasn’t been a sequal to this soon cars will drive themselves and fly hard to believe it’s been 50 years since these racing days.

  • @steves9905
    @steves9905 Před 2 lety

    as a car guy, this movie is nirvana...grew up in the 60's and 70's with these very cars...in fact still own a couple. But this is actually not a car movie...the cars are only the medium to make the existential point that some live only in the now (the mechanic, driver, girl) with no past and no future and no cares about either, and others live in a fantasy (GTO) with a made-up past and unrealistic future and delusions of grandeur, and the two will cross now and then but can never really exist together.

  • @Mr66chev
    @Mr66chev Před 13 lety

    I don't know why he would say that Americas love for cars is ending. there are still plenty of guys who love bad ass cars.

  • @michaelconnolly4531
    @michaelconnolly4531 Před 2 lety

    Good Movie Parts Of Two Lane Blacktop Was Filmed On The Old US Route 66.

  • @Righty736
    @Righty736 Před 15 lety

    I only watched the movie for the muncie transmission!

  • @mikemilne
    @mikemilne Před 13 lety

    Warren Oates, always great- Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, The Wild Bunch, Stripes

  • @greg55666
    @greg55666 Před 13 lety

    @5191keith Oh, well, that's okay, but I always think it is not a legitimate criticism of a movie to say "it's not what I wanted it to be"--that is not the problem of the movie. But certainly, if you're just pointing out it's not "real" and that's what you were looking for, nothing wrong with that.

  • @handymatt1970
    @handymatt1970 Před 3 měsíci

    Wow something from the new york times that doesn't ask for tracking cookies or subscription far out man.

  • @tombrewsaugh1399
    @tombrewsaugh1399 Před rokem

    I did not like this movie when it first came out. I would like to rewatch it now at 71 to see what I may have missed as a teen gearhead but not sure if I want to buy a movie I still may not like. Indo find it a little strange that so many critics liked this movie but I think overlook or miss what Steve McQueen's intent in Lemans which I still feel is a better movie.

  • @95oldsman
    @95oldsman Před 11 lety

    @andyzip41 hahaha i remember that yes i would like one.

  • @greg55666
    @greg55666 Před 13 lety

    @5191keith Uh, I don't think you listened to what Scott was saying.

  • @JayBee-cr8jm
    @JayBee-cr8jm Před 6 měsíci

    I'm pretty sure Harry Dean Stanton was a "real" actor. @1:50

  • @strattuner
    @strattuner Před rokem

    make it three yards,and you got yourself a automobile race mfr--great line by SWEET BABY JAMES,got two copies RIP LORI DENNIS WARREN,YOUR WORK goes forward

  • @HEMIChopper69
    @HEMIChopper69 Před 13 lety +1

    One Badd Ass Big-Block '55 Chev.

  • @bobmalack481
    @bobmalack481 Před 3 lety

    If Kowalski from 'Vanishing point' raced or dragged James Taylor, wonder how that would go..