First film shown : No, 45 Two Lane Blacktop Wed 18th Jan 2007
Philip French said "This magnificent, existential road movie pits sportscar driving conman Warren Oates against hot rod aces James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. Best of its time."
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5 comments:
VA-VA-VOOOOOM.
I've never liked James Taylor's singing or his music ,and I think i can add his acting to that too. But then i ain't a girl. That long hair atop the big lanky frame seems to do wonders for some folk.
Beach Boy Dennis held his own ok, but for me Warren Oates shone majestically, beating them all hands down, if not in the race. Without him, the film's lack of dialogue would be the death of it. And of course, the race goes nowhere. I think the real theme of the movie is obsession. Everyone is self-absorbed ,self-governing ,and even self-destructive... James Taylor strapped in to a certain celluloid suicide. "It's better to burn out than to fade away..."
Oates hasn't even got time for some Harry Dean leg rubbin'!
What coulda been a guy-heavy picture is balanced nicely by Laurie Bird's girl drifter, who makes a beautfully shot and choreographed entrance and exit. Adios dragsters.
With a feeling of dread I started to watch this film..... "lad flick", I thought. How wrong! Took 5 mins to get ears attuned to dialogue, then off we go right into the drifting, let's-see-what-happens-next feel of the piece itself. I really liked that it didn't follow the usual conventions of the picaresque genre. The two musicians held their own in a movie where laconic, non-acting performances were just right for their roles. Laurie Bird was a revelation, and Warren Oates a delight. This was our first foray into the "Lost Movie Classics" and was a grea way to start.
A bit like watching a Bruce Springsteen song, which given my dislike of anything cars demonstrates the power of the movie in that it gripped me from beginning to end. One of its strengths is of course Warren Oates but equally strong for me is the counterbalancing of James Taylor who is almost statue like in his non acting. And who couldnt like a movie in which Kristoffersons "Me And Bobbie McGhee" plays on a car radio in the background only to fade up on the line "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" whilst Oates and Taylor stare stoically across a filling station forecourt. Nice one Mr Hellman.
Was expecting this to be a chore but was won over by the gentle drifting style. Manages to turn a potentially macho story of men and motors into a surprisingly bleak and beautiful film about obsession and isolation. James Taylor does look good and Laurie Bird's indifferent hippy chick was a revelation.
In this month's UNCUT magazine is a brief interview with Monte Hellman regarding TWO LANE BLACKTOP. Here it is:
UNCUT: You made the whole journey when you were making the film - you didn't cheat.
HELLMAN: Absolutely. Universal said, "why can't you just shoot it all in the San Fernando Valley? It's all at night and it's inside a car, nobody will know the difference." Well, the difference is all those little weird gas stations and little cafes that only existed in those parts of the country.
UNCUT: What was the idea behind casting James Taylor and Dennis Wilson?
HELLMAN: I tried to cast it believably by meeting most of the actors in that age range. I just couldn't find anybody that sparked my imagination, then I saw James' face on a billboard advertising his first LP. I love movie stars, but they don't always seem like real people.
UNCUT: The performances seem flat. Was that deliberate?
HELLMAN: Dennis Wilson had no self-consciousness. He was just there, as Dennis, observing this scene that was going on around him. He would relate to Warren and James as if it were a real conversation. James got more emotionally involved, and I think he's actually giving a very powerful performance.
UNCUT: How did you get on with Warren Oates?
HELLMAN: We had a really beautiful relationship. He was one of the greatest actors. He was everyman yet completely unique. He had a poetry and mystery about him, all the things you want in a movie star, but see very rarely.
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