"Two-Lane Blacktop" - A-

Way back in the day, there was this acceptable genre of film that involved bikers, solitary drivers, racers and other nomads heading (seemingly without aim) from one side of the country to the other. These, my friends, were the road pictures — men and machines racing against their fellow man as well as the inevitable march of time.

These pictures were dusty and desolate feature-length rides across America. Rebels and squares battled it out, or the last cowboy relived the better days in the fleeting glory of the dying west. These films always cover the same topics and the same emotions, but some were a little more memorable and deftly crafted than others.

Enter what many consider the greatest of these films — 1971's "Two-Lane Blacktop," which is now freshly pressed by the extremely good folks over at Criterion. (I once again offer the shameless promotion of those genius arthouse film nerds ... thanks guys and gals)

Road map to a great time: Two gearheads are tripping from place to place, racing for a hundred bucks here or a needed part or tool there. These guys — singer James Taylor and the late drummer Dennis Wilson — happen upon a few strange circumstances and end up racing their home-grown '55 Chevy cross country against a stock 1970 GTO piloted by a man with no name (the immortal Warren Oates).

The race is on: "Two-Lane Blacktop" is a great video time capsule capturing the last years of the famous Route 66. And it isn't easy to count the number of subsequent films that drew some of their inspiration from director Monte Hellman's road movie.

This is a production that's more about what's going on around the leads — which includes the cars — rather than some conversation occurring on screen. Hellman purposefully set his cameras to make it easier for you to catch all the action in any given scene, and you're meant to look around at what is happening behind and beside the actors.

The soundtrack has no music other than a brief tune or two played on a car stereo. There isn't much of a developing plot as much as their are overall themes carried from one day to the next. (Hellman filmed sequentially, gradually moving from one part of the country to the other while only supplying a day's worth of shooting scripts to the actors.)

Overall, the acting isn't great save for a few memorable scenes and lines coming from Oates' "GTO" character. But that isn't the reason to see this film; you're coming to watch how these simple players and their fast machines compel you to anticipate what's around the next curve.

And as is the case with any Criterion DVD, there are enough specials and added extras on the making of, and motivations behind, this film that you couldn't see it all in one sitting. You're going to get hours of viewing pleasure out of this set.

Grade: A - (Warren Oates . . . the cars . . . the scenery . . . yep, it's worth it.)