BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Mr-Fusion With a movie like "Two-Lane Blacktop", just knowing the character names will give you an idea of the existential road movie you're in for: The Driver, The Mechanic, Girl, GTO. James Taylor and Dennis Wilson are speed demon, tearing up the road in a stripped-down '55 Chevy (lacking even a basic heater because it'll slow her down). They just sorta happen upon Warren Oates in his spankin' new GTO and both engage in a cross-country race. This is a nomad's movie; drifting along the road, throughout the country, through life. It doesn't have a distinct beginning, middle, or an ending because it's not about that; it's about being out there. Which is great, and I liked the final shot of the melting film. But it left me cold. I wanted to know more about these people, something to hold onto. But this only lets us drift in and out of these characters' lives just as they do with each other. And being kept at arm's length was disappointing.6/10

krocheav I remember when this film came out, I liked the title. The film itself was looked upon in the industry as maybe being up for a week or so in the Drive in circuit. How right they were. As an example of how far the quality of movie making had, and was slipping, this is a fair guide.Now, it's getting a few raves from a generation who were brought up on these 'less is more' movies. The 70's have been described by some as one of the poorest eras in film making, they could be right. This films credentials don't stack up very well either. The Director, Monte Hellman was an early collaborator of el-cheapo film maker Roger Corman. Hellman, who's only earlier claim to fame would most likely be two 1966 quickie Westerns, "The Shooting" and "Ride in the Whirlwind" ~ while these were quite watchable, were by no means great movies. 'Two Lane Blacktop' was clearly intended to cash in on the surprise success of "Easy Rider", it's roadside café scene set up to look like a carbon copy, endless roads traveled by drop-outs going nowhere, and minimal story to get in the way or complicate the low cost film making process. I can understand Universal studio chief of the day, Lew Wasserman not wanting anything to do with it, in fact seems he hated it. My wife and I screened the theatrical version, clocking in at 1hr 40min. By around the 55min mark she could no longer stay in the room. Thank heavens Wasswerman forced Hellman to reduce his original 3Hr 30m cut! I doubt anyone would have had the staying power to remain brain numbed for that long.Many are now reading all manor of deep and meaningful insights into these empty characters and their wasted lives. But hey, they chose to be petrol heads 'n speed freaks, to hide from any commitments that would make them responsible for their lives. Any or all moral fiber has been stripped away from their being, they live for the road and any other riff-raff they pick up on the way to the next drag circuit. This is all they want to know or enjoy. The movie even reduces them down to being known as, the driver, the mechanic, and the girl.The only real actor in the cast, Warren Oates is known only as GTO (his car of course ). As the only trained professional he is given the most lines (knowing this interesting, one of a kind actor, he probably made many of them up as he went), what a sad loss he was at only 56. The critic Leonard Maltin sites his performance as worthy of the years Oscar...Where had he been! didn't he see him as Arch, the partner in "The Hired Hand" '71, or as Mr Giddens in Leslie Stevens's curious "Hero's Island" '62, he was even this good as Ves Painter in Leslie Stevens's short lived "Stoney Bourke" series. The GTO character was good, but not that good.Director of Photography: Jack Deerson whose claim to fame was mainly made up of some dreadful el-cheapo porn films, shoots a lot of interiors from fast cars and some scruffy country shots. He does what he can with the very limited, unsubstantial material. One of my favorite performers Harry Dean Stanton, gets wasted in a throwaway role as a queer hitch hiker. The 'Girl' Laurie Bird, plays an ultra loose hippie, went on in real life to take her own life at the ripe old age of 25! This film, and the film making life-style probably did not help her any either. And what happened to Beach Boys drummer Denis Wilson, who went on to 'drown'. So sad. As for that famous ending, almost lifted out of William Castles cheapie "The Tingler" '59...while it looks cleaver, is mostly just another cop-out. A neat way to end the endless. If you like to look for deep meanings in cheap fiction, born out of an era of film making where so many were looking at ways to cash in on the minimalist 'small is big' - then this is the film for you! Anyone looking for more, be warned, it just may not be there.....

jamesdeanevans i think that this film is an excellent film it has touched the heart of drag racing and stripped out muscle cars if you disagree you have never seen the film. this film has helped me know what a real film is all about and as well that there is not a lot of speech in it makes it more enjoyable to the viewer as it focuses more on the car the racing and the journey of the people as they race across America finding new challenges to beat this means that you can get more of an understanding of the life in America this means that they live the American dream racing in fast stripped out American muscle cars with big blocks and small block v8

qormi Okay, for a few minutes there, it was cool seeing James Taylor and Dennis Wilson just hanging out...then you realized...wait...this is a movie? Very quickly, these rock icons are revealed to be self-absorbed, self- conscious, conceited punks who think they can throw their jock onto the field and the game's over... I mean, these guys were stoned, the director was stoned,the film editor was stoned, everyone in the theater was stoned... ...c'mon - there's no other explanation. The film was devoid of plot, the girl was no prize - she brought new meaning to the word, "plain"....the cars were no match for modern muscle cars....the ending just characterized the cheapness and lack of effort in a film when a car crash is depicted by discoloring the film in the projector....,.I kid you not. The absolute worst...unbelievably, disgustingly bad.A complete bore fest.