This is cool! This is worthy of a road trip from St. Louis, or where ever, the next time they do this. Could you imagine roadtripping your '55 or your GTO, or maybe even your chopper, to a viewing of these two movies. Please keep us updated if they ever do this again.
Two Lane Blacktop is a fine example of antidisestablishmentarianism (I think that's the word) from the radical era. And even better if you're into cars. That '55 was my dream car....I remember taking the bell hose at the neighborhood Texaco and stretching it across US 33 around this same time......the pump jockey musta been smoking lefties in the back cuz it took him more than a couple cars to figure out what we had done. Nowadays you can't even buy air for your tires here in Wyo.
I am going to say this, because I beleive it. anyone that doesn't "get" Two Lane has never been one of the two guys in the car driving around for the sole purpose of getting into some kind of trouble. They have never made a 300 mile round trip drive to go hang out in thier buddies driveway "just because". Never realized while picking up a 4 pound bag of parts that it means beans and noodles until the next paycheck. Not car guys. not really.
I liked it! from the first time that I saw it on tv,to the time that I purchased it on VHS. I watch it from time to time. it is a bit like me,out crusin the streets lookin for something to do. or someone to do it with. Yes the ending I did not get,but you have to put it together for yourself. Now another classic movie I like is Easy Rider. and some say the same about this movie,and tlbt. when I watch tlbt I wanna put a straight axle on my '66 duece,and cut it all up to lighten it up. and whenever I watch Easy Rider I wanna go out the next day and get me a bike! so both movies move me! and isn't that the point of watch'n a movie is?
I think people read way too much into the "burning" ending. I've always viewed it simply as "......and the beat goes on", they just continue on with their racing for money routine. That's all. What I do think is really symbolic about the film is the fact that the titles to both of the vehicles end up in Washington DC. We may own and actually possess our old vehicles, but Washington DC is the true owner of our cars and determines our futures with them. The strict smog laws that soon followed, vehicle inspections, personal property taxes, cash-for-clunker progams, etc. Our hot rods and our other freedoms in jeopordy with the government.
I agree. They have never driven 300 mile round trip to go street racing in a town where they know nobody. They have never slept in a car with uncomfortable seats. They have never had the pleasure of driving a car with no insulation, no stereo, no creature comfots, just the sounds of power and the smell of fuel. They have never fell asleep, wrench in hand under the car while prepping for an upcoming grudge race against a guy a couple towns over, just to win enough money to replace the worn out slicks. Two Lane Blacktop is a true car guy movie. Thats all there is to it.
Yeah, but liking the movie and "getting it" are two different things. I'll speak for myself, but I'll bet others that didn't like the movie were let down by it's hype. It really falls so short on such a promising theme. Since the story between the racing was so weak, it left me just wanting more action. I'm all for a story movie, but they need to be able to act and the story has to compelling. TLBT was chopped up so much and had so many holes that when I started getting into it, it would just stop somewhere and jump to something unrelated. Even the script writer hinted to that in the added features on DVD. The idea of the story was very compelling. The execution really sucked. But like I said in other posts, I think they nailed the racing scenes. That's probably why I also wanted more (not just from a car guy standpoint, but because those were the best executed parts from a film making standpoint). Can you imagine if the time and effort put in to the rest of the film was as good? That's why I felt empty. I bet with todays technology you could edit that up with actors that can act and make a much better story (continuity wise). Like I said before, I really liked the cinematography and the depth of field he used so well. Plus the way he paid homage to some great film makers was a nice touch.
And one person reads way too much into the pink-slip race to Washington . It seems you're the opposite of most others - I never gave the Washington pink-slip race as deep a thought, yet have thought quite a bit about the ending. Very interesting view, I would have never thought of it that way!
The Driving 55 Chevy in TWO LANE BLACKTOP is the SAME CAR used in the AMERICAN GRAFFITI MOVIE....The Inside Shots were from the second prop car.... The second car had a Fake Carb mounted in the scoop to make it look like it had two carbs.... See the Two Lane Blacktop Web Site For Full Infor On All 3 cars Used.... The car seen racing in both movies belongs to DENNY MORAN and Wayne Newson in BALTIMORE MARYLAND ..... The AG 55 Chevy is seen all the time at local car hang outs with the Astros Car Club.....The cars are DOCUMENTED by the Builder of the cars..Richard Ruth.
I recall the Car Craft article on the car. Richard Ruth built it with a 454, 4spd, and 4.88's, it was said that the car ran a 10.90, I think it was at LACR. The movie had been out for about 10 years when I first saw it and I was really into street racing/grudge racing then, so I really got into it...not for the plot, but for the racing! I never could understand how they were gonna race the GTO across country with 4.88's!
chop32, all they mention about the car in the film is that it has a 454 with a 4-speed. Even though we know from Ruth how the car was really set up, nobody who watched the movie can really say "Hey, using those rear-end gears is a really bad idea for long distance driving." That removes a lot of nitpicking from viewers who are car guys who know their stuff. Also, the cars were being transported on a hauler, not driven to each location, so it doesn't really matter what gearing they had, especially since they didn't mention what they had in the film anyways (we could as easily presume they had numerically lower gears while watching it). On the other hand though, if we pretended they really did drive the cars from spot to spot, one thing I'm curious about is the M-22 Muncie Ruth installed in the car. I've read that the Muncie M-22 was designed and developed with road racing in mind and was poor for off-the-line acceleration due to its close-ratio gearing. If this is true, it would probably be good for long distance driving, and not necessarily for drag racing (which is how the Driver and Mechanic make their money in the first place). But at the same time, the M-22 was the most durable version of the three Muncies and the Driver and Mechanic were driving long distances from race spot to race spot, so maybe the durability and gearing of the M-22 would make up somewhat for the 4.88:1 rear-end on the long distance hauls? A compromise for travelling and drag racing But I guess in the end it's really pointless to question what Ruth installed in the main race car since they were being transported from location to location anyways, let alone they never mention what's in the car other than the "4-speed" and 454, so we should be free to guess. Just a thought
Cammer427, You make a valid point. I should have said "After I read the article in Car Craft, I never could understand how they were gonna race the GTO across country with 4.88's" Your thoughts on the use of the close ratio M-22 and the low rear gear would be invalid even during in town driving...a close ratio trans and low gears would mean more shifting. Wide or close ratio on the highway wouldnt matter as they would be in 4th gear, which is a 1:1 ratio in each of the 3 transmissions! By the way, M-21 and M-22 Muncies were both close ratio boxes, the M-20 was a wide ratio box. Its been a while since Ive seen the movie, but you should be able to tell if the car was highway geared or low geared by how fast the engine revs (the time) between shift points! Street racing 1A.
Wasnt the greatest movie poor acting and all ...but lots of hammer down and learned me something lol i gotta go change my jets an adjust the valves most over used line in the movie lmao
Two Lane Blacktop to me is a movie about life and being passionate about something. The art of street racing was Taylors and Wilson passion. The travel the neccessity we have to endure in life. Girls enter our lives and often break up friendships. Sometimes you get the girl, sometimes your best friend does but it does not matter cause in the end she leaves anyway. Oates is the establishment. A man without passion, envious of the heros' dedication and infatuated with them at the same time. Oates is everybody. His stories prove it. His singular journey confronts him with homosexuality and death. He does not come to grip with either. The ending is well chosen as it closes the movie without it coming to an end. They are still racing. I do not think that they ever stopped. They were not the type of men who quit.
I'm with the side of it being less of a movie and more of a car/racing thing. To me (and it's been a long time since I've seen it) it seemed like a bunch of related stories with a common theme and the only consistant story was racing to DC. Lame? I dunno, probably not so much considering when it was done and all of the abstract thinking people "thought" they were in to. Watch it with a buzz on? Hmmm, interesting idea. Like watching the Wizard of OZ muted with Dark Side Of The Moon playing in time to it. Who's got some skins...
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