With the melancholy open-road epic Two-Lane Blacktop American auteur Monte Hellman (The Shooting Cockfighter & the recent Road to Nowhere) poeticised the beautiful terrible rootlessness of his nation in the era of Vietnam. Funded by Universal in a bid to recreate the success of Easy Rider – by giving a number of filmmakers $1m & final cut – Hellman's effort is now regarded as one of the key films of the New Hollywood renaissance of the early 1970s. While driving eastward on Route 66 two rival car owners – The Driver (singer-songwriter James Taylor) & The Mechanic (Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys) in a souped-up drag-racing '55 Chevy & a middle-aged braggart (Warren Oates) in a gleaming GTO – begin to race for each other's pink slips & the affections of the listless female hitchhiker (Laurie Bird) who joins them on the road. Scripted by esteemed novelist Rudy Wurlitzer & featuring the only screen performances of Taylor & Wilson Two-Lane Blacktop remains a timeless existential portrait of lives in transit & of a country questioning its identity. Special Director-Approved Blu-Ray
Features: New restored high-definition master supervised & approved by Monte Hellman Original mono soundtrack & optional newly remastered 5.1 mix Optional English subtitles for the deaf & hearing-impaired Audio commentary by Monte Hellman & associate producer Gary Kurtz On The Road Again: Two-Lane Blacktop Revisited a 43-minute video piece in which Monte Hellman revisits the film's locations Somewhere Near Salinas a 28-minute interview by Monte Hellman with singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson Sure Did Talk To You a 24-minute video piece by Monte Hellman interviewing producer Michael Laughlin production manager Walter Coblenz & the director's son Jared Hellman Rare archival screen-test footage of James Taylor & Laurie Bird Original theatrical trailer Optional music & effects track A lavish 36-page booklet featuring rare production imagery the words of Monte Hellman & more!