Two-Lane Blacktop [1971] [Criterion] (BLU)
Monte Hellman

Synopsis
Drag racing east from L.A. 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.
Special Features:
- Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Monte Hellman, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, supervised by Hellman, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
- Two audio commentaries: one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders and one by screenwriter Rudolph Wurlitzer and author David N. Meyer
- Interviews with Hellman, actor James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
- Screen test outtakes
- Performance and Image, a look at the restoration of a '55 Chevy used in the movie and the film's locations today
- Color Me Gone, photos and publicity from Two-Lane Blacktop
- Trailer
- PLUS: new essay by Kent Jones, appreciations by Richard Linklater and Tom Waits; and a reprint of the 1970 Rolling Stone article "On Route 66, Filming Two-Lane Blacktop"; ; the DVD edition also features Wurlitzer's screenplay.
Product Details
- Format: Color, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Label: Criterion Collection
- Release Date: 01/08/2013
- Run Time: 103 minutes
- Catalogue #: 414
- Region: A