LGM Film Club, Part 154: Two Lane Blacktop

Monte Hellman died yesterday, requiring Two Lane Blacktop to be tonight’s film selection. I find this film to be a real distillation of counterculture masculinity, with the obsession with the cars, the lone man on the road, sticking it to the man, etc. As always in these sorts of countercultural productions, the women are completely marginal, with the “girl” in this film not even given a name. It’s a great film in some ways, whether because of the bizarre casting or in spite of it. And of course Warren Oates shows up because he always showed up in weird films during this period. Also, I believe this is the first film where the great Terry Allen has a song in the soundtrack, in this case the oddball “Truckload of Art.” Anyway, here’s a clip.