Review of Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) by Noel V — 27 Aug 2011

Hellman's masterpiece is a supple metaphor for countless themes, but for me is really about a pair of samurai warriors riding their mighty steed (a '55 Chevy, modified for racing) in the quest for spiritual purity; running in their shadow (and leaving a trail of constant bullshit) is a Sancho Panza figure (Warren Oates in a '70 GTO), one of the sharpest, most quietly affecting portraits of male bravado in the face of loneliness ever put on screen.

Shot by Jack Deerson with uncredited help from Gregory Sandor, edited by Hellman himself, the film is also a kind of light-and-sound show of '70s Americana, from the relentless blowtorch glare of desert California to the honeyed sunset glow of North Carolina, from the full-throttle roar of souped-up car engines to the courteously murmured twang of country town folk.

A great film, easily the definitive statement on roads and cars and how they help define America's spiritual landscape.