Two Lane Blacktop DVD

[Daniel S.]

Dennis Wilson's movie Two Lane Blacktop is getting released by Criterion - http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=414

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I wish there was a commentary by the ghost of Dennis Wilson. Oh well.

[shelter]

I wish there was a commentary by the ghost of Dennis Wilson. Oh well.

Dennis wasn't the only star of that movie that died young. Warren Oates ("GTO") had a heart attack at age 61, Laurie Bird ("The Girl") committed suicide when she was 25 (she was Art Garfunkel's girlfriend at the time).

[Daniel S.]

Warren Oates died when he was 53. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

And James Taylor almost joined them....

[shelter]

Warren Oates died when he was 53. 

You're right. My mistake.

[8o8o]

That movie's cool, Warren Oates was always brilliant. Had he still been alive, I think Tarantino would have picked him for one of his flicks.

The story of Laurie is really sad.

[DJ M]

http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=414

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. Yet no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. Maverick director Monte Hellman’s stripped-down narrative, gorgeous widescreen compositions, and sophisticated look at American male obsession make this one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema, and possibly the greatest road movie ever made.

Special Features
- DIRECTOR-APPROVED DOUBLE-DISC SET
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Monte Hellman
- Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
- Two audio commentaries; one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders, and one by screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and author David Meyer
- New interviews with Hellman, star James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
- Rare, never-before-seen screen-test outtakes
- Performance and Image: a look at the restoration of a '55 Chevy from the movie and the film's locations today
- Color Me Gone: photos and publicity from Two-Lane Blacktop
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: Rudy Wurlitzer's screenplay, reprinted specially for this release; new essays 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."

Film Info
1971
103 minutes
Color
2.35:1
Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Anamorphic
English
Cast
The driver  James Taylor
GTO  Warren Oates
The girl  Laurie Bird
The mechanic  Dennis Wilson
Hot rod driver  Rudolph Wurlitzer
Driver’s girl  Jaclyn Hellman
 
Credits
Directed by  Monte Hellman
Produced by  Michael S. Laughlin
Screenplay by  Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Corry
Story by  Will Corry
Associate producer  Gary Kurtz
Photographic advisor  Gregory Sandor
Color by  Technicolor
Assistant camera  John Bailey
Film editor  Monte Hellman
Unit production manager  Walter Coblenz
Assistant director  Ken Swor
Costumes  Richard Bruno
Production sound  Charles Knight
Music supervisor  Billy James
Custom auto design and construction  Richard Ruth, William Kincheloe, H. Alan Deglin
 
Release Info
Catalog Number: CC1729D
ISBN: 978-1-60465-003-7
UPC: 715515026925