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Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Two-Lane Blacktop
You can never go fast enough.
—The Driver
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You'd be forgiven for mistaking indie darling Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop for any of the several dozen road movies to come out of the early ’70s, when the romance of cross-country travel appealed to a new generation of restless teens and their hand-me-down Chevys. And its similarities are many, though Hellman's unique direction style and deep investment in his subject matter set it apart from its poorly-crafted contemporaries.

As with the film, its titles are reduced to the essentials: the open road and the sound of James Taylor’s ’55 Chevy purring away as he ditches the cops in search of new mischief.

IMAGE: End credits listing cars as characters

Still from Two-Lane Blacktop's end credits in which the cars are listed as characters

  • Credits

Title Design: Marion Sampler

Titles & Optical Effects: Universal Title

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Title sequence

  • Category

    Film
  • Styles

    1970s, typographic
Two-Lane Blacktop
  • Film Director

    Monte Hellman
  • Release Date

    July 7, 1971
  • Aspect Ratio

    2.39:1
  • Studios

    Michael Laughlin Enterprises, Universal Pictures
  • Country

    USA
  • Language

    English
  • Reviews

    Reviews on Letterboxd
  • IMDb has full details

Article

  • Writer

    Ben Radatz
  • Published

    May 21, 2015

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