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Monte Hellman's Cockfighter, adapted by cult noir writer Charles Willeford from his novel, is a strange bird indeed, an art film for an exploitation audience. Set in the game-fighting pits of the Deep South, it follows a season on the circuit with Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates), a veteran fighter whose hubris has cost him everything and who rebuilds his stable and his reputation while honoring a vow of silence. Costars Harry Dean Stanton and Laurie Bird previously appeared with Oates in Hellman's cult classic Two-Lane Blacktop. There are also appearances by Millie Perkins, Steve Railsback, Richard B. Schull, and writer Willeford, who acquits himself nicely as a pit judge.

Oates's portrayal of a determined, silent obsessive is almost minimalist yet beautifully expressive, accomplished with gestures, smiles, and nods. He's thoughtful and gentle yet dedicated to bloodsport, and his contradictions can be felt in the tension between the comic adventures and gritty stories of Willeford's script, with the meditative intensity of Hellman's often serene direction and cinematographer Nestor Almendros's lovely images of the Deep South's rural beauty.

Cockfighter was one of the few films produced by "King of the B's" Roger Corman that lost money, so he added a dream sequence full of nudity, created a trailer with action scenes nowhere to be found in the film, and rereleased the film under the title Born to Kill. Needless to say, Anchor Bay has returned to Hellman's original cut, which does contain footage of real and often savage cockfights. Animal lovers and squeamish viewers beware.

The accompanying documentary Warren Oates: Across the Border is a genial if ultimately lightweight portrait of the actor by friends and fellow performers Ben Johnson, Stacy Keach, Peter Fonda, and his Cockfighter compatriots Harry Dean Stanton, Millie Perkins, and Monte Hellman.

The DVD also features commentary by Hellman and production assistant Steven Gaydos, along with moderator Dennis Bartok. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

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James Taylor is The Driver, a car-obsessed racer with stringy hair and a concentration that precludes conversation. He travels the backroads of rural America with his buddy, The Mechanic (Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys), an equally obsessed lost soul at home only in the car or under the hood. They have no names, only designations, and no life outside of their gypsy existence, riding the unending highway in their souped-up '55 Chevy from race to race. After picking up a hitchhiking Girl (Laurie Bird), whose presence breaks the tunnel-vision focus of the two men, they challenge a middle-aged hotshot, the garrulous G.T.O. (Warren Oates) to a cross-country race. Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop is the most alienated evocation of modern America ever made, an almost abstract study in dislocation and obsession set against a vague landscape of roadside diners and rest stops. Taylor and Wilson deliver appropriately blank performances, only expressing emotion when The Girl sparks jealousy between them. Oates is a glib dynamo constructing a new persona in every scene, as if trying on characters to play as he ping-pongs between the coasts. "How fast does it go?" asks The Driver, admiring G.T.O.'s car. "Fast enough," he answers. The Driver snaps, "You can never go fast enough." These are characters on the road to nowhere who can't work up enough speed to escape themselves. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Color me gone, baby!
I've just made my fourth trip down the two-lane blacktop, having recently caught this film on the Big Screen. (Do not--repeat, DO NOT--miss a chance to see this in a theatre.) This film gets better ever time I see it. Part road movie, part travelogue of America circa 1970, part existentialist tragedy, it's a strange, fascinating hodgepodge with no real precedent--not even "Easy Rider"--that I'm aware of. "Two-Lane Blacktop" is what it is; if you're expecting just another car chase movie, you will likely be disappointed. It's a movie for anyone fascinated by the mystique of lonely gas stations in the middle of nowhere, of long, quiet rides down the highway with nary another soul in sight.... I've never seen a movie that has so effectively communicated the extraordinary vastness of America. It manages to be sad, pathetic, funny, and haunting all at once. You can criticize it for its sometimes shaky acting (Warren Oates, at least, is fabulous), but I think the sum effect of the movie precludes serious complaint. And what an amazing ending....

Existential Road Trip
Less dated than Easy Rider, this early 70's time capsule is an existential masterpiece. What the hell does that mean? It means the film is full of space. It's about absolute nothing, or everything, or somewhere in between. It's a poem that doesn't deliver what an audience expects but is utterly faithful to it's idea. It doesn't have an emotional pay-off, but instead finds a stylish way to cinematically burn rubber and fade away. It's characters are called Driver, Mechanic, GTO and Girl. Its stars are James Taylor (yeah the pop singer), Dennis Wilson (yeah the late Beach Boy), Warren Oates (in perhaps his finest performances) and Laura Bird (most won't know her, she's good).

Driver and Mechanic are the original slackers. They love racing, and hustling people to keep racing and their supercharged '55 Chevy. They are not hippies, but car junkies. The meet a loud mouth middle aged guy driving a newer sportier GTO who wants to race them for pink slips. Eventually they agree to what amounts to a gentlemen's type race from New Mexico to the East Coast. There's not a lot of suspense to the race, and the film is about. . . well whatever you want it to be about. GTO pretends to be someone else everytime he picks up a new hitch-hiker. He's amusing himself with his creative imagination and re-inventing himself to escape the middle age blues. Eventually there's a little bit of a competition over a young female hitchhiker.

The film was filmed on location as cast and crew drove across the country. The bare-bones script is by Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Curry.

The film becomes more and more abstract as it moves along. The story matters less and less. A circle eventually forms and we realize we've been riding along on a very unique, one of a kind film. There's a wonderful example of an utterly open ended final shot.

Some are going to find this film very dull and wonder what there is to admire and respect about it. Others are going to 'discover' all sorts of things that are of course not actually present in the film itself, but are thoughts and reactions the film has sparked and triggered within them as they watched the film. Other's will enjoy the muscle cars, and late 60's cars that make sporadic appearances or rev up their engines on occassion.

It's a film you watch many times and find different subtexts, moods, ideas and space within. It's a film that requires the viewer to both observe, accept and participate in, like one would a living sculpture.

It's the kind of art film you would never expect from a director who made two quirky Westerns for Roger Corman in the mid 60's (The Shooting and Ride the Whirlwind --with Nicholson right before Jack became a star with Easy Rider). Hellman also went on to make the very interesting Cockfigher with Warren Oates. He's appreciated by a small, growing cult of afficianado's and you'll find Hellman's name more recently as executive producer of Reservoir Dogs.

For something really unique I suggest you find a way to watch the DVD of Two-Lane Blacktop.

The film was long out of circulation because of disputes over music rights. They were resolved and the film has been beautifully transferred to DVD and actually looks better than it ever did since the contrasts in light were carefully boosted during the DVD transfer.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder - A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You

A RESPONSE TO REVIEWER "CORREIA"
Hey Correia,
Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but you're in the minority here. Two-Lane Blacktop is worshipped by film-lovers around the world and is regularly cited as one of the best pop-art flicks of the 70's, one of the most exciting periods in American cinema.

The reviewer's two complaints (little dialogue, couldn't understand what it was about) reveal the shortcomings of the reviewer, not the film. I mean really: "no dialogue?" Is he serious? Has he never seen a Western? A film noir? Charlie Chaplin? Keaton? Bresson? Wong Kar Wai?

In order to get Reservoir Dogs made, Quentin Tarantino got Two-Lane Blacktop director Monte Hellman to co-produce. I'm not a big Tarantino fan, but he DOES have great taste in other people's movies [his film company A Band Aparte is named after a Jean-Luc Godard film (paucity of dialogue, anyone?), he helped get Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express distributed, and idolizes Monte Hellman as one of the great American directors].

Based on the fact that Correia would critique a movie because it has little dialogue, it is no surprise that he "had absolutely no idea what the movie is about." Surely he can't mean the plot? Two muscle-car drivers race across country for their cars' pink slips? Most Schwarzenegger movies are less "high concept" (i.e. easy to sum up in a sentence).

Or is Correia admitting that he couldn't identify any Grand Themes or Social Issues? It's true, Hellman doesn't hit his viewers over the head with Deep Meanings. Like most of the greatest works of art, Hellman allows the meaning to be porous, letting each viewer read a certain amount of their own lives and themes into the characters.

TLB bears analysis, and is in fact deeply philosophical, but it is first a riveting aesthetic and emotional experience. Like a great landscape painting (or a David Lynch film?), it is primarily meditative, spiritual, and even deeply religious, rather than intellectual.

While watching it one re-experiences and understands many of the best things 'about' America-- the Road, movement, freedom-- and some of the worst-- rootlessness, restlessness, alienation. It can be read as a portrait of the modern, secularist, existential journey through life; in the lack of dialogue one could feel alienation and aloneness, or a comfortable silence expressing the deep bond between the driver and mechanic (we never hear the character's names, nor do the credits give them any).

TLB traffics in pop iconography, in quintessentially American images. We travel with the perfect embodiment of the Self-Reliant American Male, through rugged, iconic American landscapes, until the landscape and the travellers (and the audience?) become one.

Have these two men achieved a level of self-reliance that has freed them from the constraints of civilization? Or has their laconic independence imprisoned them, dooming them to ride alone, ala John Wayne in The Searchers? Hurtling through a Godless universe with only the most ill-defined of goals to guide them, and so on? Undergrad term paper, anyone?

The value of any creative expression is in the effort you expend, the distance you travel, to explore its meaning. Movies and books should pull us out of what we know, force us to expand to incorporate new ways of seeing and thinking. It ain't always easy but it's almost always rewarding. I applaud Correia for trying, but just because TLB isn't immediately easy to 'get' doesn't mean it isn't a great work of art.

Two Lane Dead End
I watched the movie after purchasing it for a freind who is a big James Taylor music fan. I was disapointed in the character writing, as J.T. (The Driver)and Dennis Wilson (The Mechanic) both play the "straight" role, and it causes the scenes to drag. Upon more in depth analysis, Wilson's character is supposed to be aloof, and J.T.'s intense. Unfortunately, bad acting and poor character developement defused this combination.
Warren Oates does contribute to some of the best scenes in the film, as the mixed-up "GTO". A chameleon-like persona, ever-changing to adapt to and impress each hitch-hiker he picks up.
The scene with Harry Dean Stanton is particularly amusing in its context.
In all, "Two Lane Blacktop" was interesting, easy to watch, but the ending, if you can call it that (I find it hard to believe that the original theatrical ending is what I viewed on DVD) left me cold and wanting.

DENNIS WILSON IN HIS ONE AND ONLY
THE REASON I GOT THIS MOVIE WAS BECAUSE OF DENNIS IT DID NOT HAVE A BIG BUGET BUT IT HAD FAST CARS AND THE ACTING WAS COOL PLUS THEY HAD A DOORS SONG IN IT SO YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH THAT SO FOR ALL THAT STUFF I GIVE IT 5 STARS BUY WHY YOU STILL CAN. ... Read more

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This idiosyncratic twist on Beauty and the Beast was inspired by a real-life 19th-century sailor who enslaved a group of castaways on an island in the Galapagos. Herman Melville turned the story into a sketch in his book The Encantadas, which in turn inspired Alberto Vázquez Figueroa's novel La Iguana. Director Monte Hellman brought in his visions of Phantom of the Opera, and the elements coalesce together in a harshly beautiful story of a horribly scarred sailor who declares war on mankind for all the evils men have perpetrated on him out of fear and intolerance. Everett McGill plays the angry, defiant Oberlus as a ruthless philosopher-dictator, one moment thoughtful and respectful, the next fierce and vengeful. Maru Valdivielso stars as Carmen, a free spirit in the constrictive confines of Spanish society, "a monster" herself for her social transgressions, who is captured by Oberlus and made his sexual slave. It's a hard film to define, neither adventure nor romance, and the subdued drama, stark beauty, and still mood give it a dreamy atmosphere. While not wholly satisfying, Hellman's strange, dark portrait of sex and power in a primal island paradise is certainly fascinating. Michael Madsen costars as Oberlus's first slave who becomes a faithful lieutenant, and Italian star Fabio Testi has a small but memorable role as the vicious nemesis of Oberlus.

Director Monte Hellman joins writer Steven Gaydos, star Everett McGill, and moderator Dennis Bartok to discuss the genesis of the film, with McGill offering a clear-eyed perspective on his approach to his character and Hellman detailing the demands of the production. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Flawed yet compelling mix of the real and the surreal
Monte Hellman's Iguana is a unique film for this director, who previously helmed skewed action films like Two Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter, as well as the equally skewed Westerns Ride in the Whirlwind and The Shooting.

Here he tells the tale of a 19th century sailor, Oberlus, played by Everett McGill--a man whose face is half normal, half bizarrely deformed, earning him the nickname that gives the film its title. His fellow sailors despise and ridicule him; he escapes to an abandoned isle in the Galapagos to establish his own "kingdom" based on his declaration of war on mankind.

Making those who foolishly dock there his slaves, his kingdom grows to a total of five, aside from him--a studious ship's clerk, a cook, a mute, a beautiful woman, and the rebellious former captain of the ship on which Oberlus sailed. He brutalizes those who disobey him and rapes the woman repeatedly.

In spite of the character's overly dark psychology, Hellman infuses the film with a momentum based on Oberlus' conflicting emotions. The Iguana, as it turns out, is not completely dark. He wants to learn to read and forces the clerk to teach him how. When the woman tells him she's pregnant, his face seems to soften; he then treats her with what appears to be a sense of compassion. The feel of this film is made compelling not so much by the acting, which is fine yet not great, but by the astute portraits of characters who respond to their imprisonment in various ways. For imprisonment can be physical--shown by the leg-irons Oberlus makes his "subjects" wear constantly--or psychological, that is, of course, the prison in which he himself exists.

There are minor problems--McGill really doesn't know how to speak with a convincing accent that seems to be an attempt at Cockney, but doesn't quite make it. And the beheading of one "slave" by another is not credible based on the dialogue that immediately preceded the gruesome event. Yet in spite of these and other small mistakes, this is a film all the more remarkable because it is, in fact, based on a true story.

Not a classic, surely, but an interesting work from a man whose first film was, believe it or not, the Roger Corman produced "The Beast From Haunted Cave". This (Iguana) was Hellman's penultimate film. Interesting that he started with a monster and (almost) ended with one as well...

haunting, mythical, beautiful
monte hellman's iguana is a real find. i'm always on the lookout for films that can overwhelm me with their atmosphere and their artistry. only a few films have ever succeeded (friedkin's SORCERER, argento's INFERNO, some of fulci's mid career films). this film is by no means perfect. but what is amazing is how hellman has created a magnificent work of art; from the most unpromising of scripts hellman has crafted a haunting fairy tale with a superbly realised mythical ambience. the script is bad, mcgill switches accents a couple of times, and the make up is poor. but hellman utilises the mechanics of cinema (images, sounds, staging, cutting) to overcome budgetary and casting limitations, resulting in a film that is trashy but eloquent, haunting and astonishingly beautiful. ... Read more

Description

The incredible career of perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, is dramatized in this exciting film starring Ali himself. Fresh from his gold medal victory at the Olympic Games, 18-year-old Cassius Clay is ready to seek the heavyweight championship. Under the masterful guidance of trainer Angelo Dundee (Ernest Borgnine). Clay snatches the title from Sonny Liston. Soon afterward, Clay converts to the Islam religion and changes his name to Muhammad Ali. When he is suddenly classified 1A by the Draft Board that earlier rejected him, Ali refuses the draft on religious grounds. His hard-won title is taken from him. Winning a three-and-a-half year long court battle. Ali returns to the ring for what have been some of the greatest fights of all time. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

It was a nice movie, if not the Greatest
This was a nice movie. It was enjoyable. To take this movie to seriously might not be a good idea, but if you just wanna see Ali its good to watch. The acting is terrible, the only actors who were good in the movie were Ali himself and James Earl Jones. It was obviously a low budget movie, and if your not an Ali fan you might not like it. But Ali himself was charming in the movie and it's worth buying. If you want to see what Ali was like you should get this, if you want to see the events of his life in a clearer more serious way, get Ali with Will Smith.

Neither movie however does Ali's whole life full justice, so you might want to get an Ali documentary if you want to have a fuller look at Ali.

I thought I was renting a documentary
Expecting to see a documentary of the great man I was rather surprised when I realised this is in fact a film starring Ali himself detailing what he sees as the key points in his life.

As the three stars indicates this film is a mixed bag. Ali does a solid job of portraying himself and the ever brilliant Ernest Borgnine does a good job as Angelo Dundee. The storyline is somewhat disjointed and seeing an old Ali replaying his youthful antics is only a limited success.

There are points in the film where Ali is acting like a prize ..., whether he intentional meant to show this or whether he still didn't realise considering it was still only 1977 when this was made I am not sure.

Like the life of Muhammad Ali himself there are some areas of the film which age very well whilst others already seem rather embarressing and will only get worse as time goes on.

Ali's risking prison by refusing to be inducted into the military is a great example of a principled stand, something that will never be diminished.

However the three stages of Ali's interest in women is an example of the rather dated attitudes of the day. First we have Ali with the white hooker, thankfully saved ...by the calling of Malcolm X. The not so subtle message of this encounter equating white women as basically [easy] who are there to tempt the black man from the righteous path is racist nonsense. Ali is then saved by the perverted ideology of the Nation of Islam as spoken by Malcolm X (bizzarely played by James Earl Jones) and their "blue eyed devil" hate filled speaches. Next he moves to a transitional stage where he is with a black woman who is swiftly got rid of once she dares to dress provocatively and heaven forbid is willing to talk, even flirt with the devil white man. Finally Ali gets the perfect girl, your classic submissive and virginal young black muslim girl who needs her parents permission to go on a date.

The scenes where Ali encounters racism is no more or less convincing than the usual Hollywood stuff. Ali looks all noble whilst some small time actor is paid to stand there and call him "boy" and generally give him grief.

All in all this is probably only going to be enjoyed by the Ali fan. As someone who is a huge fan of the man despite recognising his many shortcomings I found it interesting. Someone with a limited knowledge would perhaps be better off with the modern day Wil Smith epic.

ps. I noticed they didnt include Ali getting pole-axed by 'enrys Hammer (Henry Cooper) in London. Where only the quick thinking of Angelo Dundee ripping Ali's glove and thus stopping the fight for five minutes and allowing Ali to recover prevented him from losing. ;)

Chip Mcalister
Chip was excellent in this movie and I know what happened to him. I ran into him in San Clamente, Ca and ate lunch with him. He seems to be doing very well. Good actor and good guy. 11/16/02

Perfect for the hard-core Ali fan
To sum it up, "The Greatest" is not a very well made movie. There are a few very taltented actors in it, but overall the movie lacks that certain special somthing that a movie needs to be good. Most of the scenes are dull, long and drawn out. And i don't believe that Muhammad Ali was the perfect choice to play Muhammad Ali, he really is not a good actor. But I did enjoy the movie, because I am a huge Muhammad Ali Fan. Many that ive heard have tried to compare this movie and the recently released "Ali" on DVD. But you can't really compare the two movies. "The Greatest", even though it's not a very good movie, its does portray what happened in Muhammad Ali's life very well. But the movie "Ali" does not portray his life, It just portray's Muhammad Ali himself, not his life. So I would say that this movie is a must for those who want to know more about Ali. Then after wards, rent or buy "Ali" to understand Ali's mind. when you do that, you'll have a great understanding of what kind of person, what kind of things he had to go through, and a much higher respect for "The Greatest."

More compelling than ALI with Will Smith
The day after I paid to see the film ALI, starring Will Smith, THE GREATEST, starring Muhammad Ali (playing himself), showed up on cable television. I had high hopes for ALI and low expectations for THE GREATEST.

The better picture? THE GREATEST. That's not saying much (if you saw ALI), but if nothing else THE GREATEST is worth a look for Muhammad Ali's charming performance. THE GREATEST offers several compelling scenes, even if they don't add up to a coherent film, all anchored by the ever-watchable Ali.

As the 5/30/00 review points out, Muhammad Ali doesn't sanitize himself in THE GREATEST. However, the movie's 1960s documentary fight footage followed by Ali, age 36, playing himself at age 22, breaks your concentration. Thankfully, talented actors, including Ernest Borgnine, James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, help Ali pull it together. See THE GREATEST. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Too many cooks?
This movie is a legendary mess - Roger Corman wrapped filming on THE RAVEN early, and not wishing to waste a castle set and the remainder of Boris Karloff's contract, started a gothic movie, then handed this unfinished flick to a series of proteges to complete. Jack Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, and Monte Hellman all took cracks at trying to make sense of an unfinished script. THE TERROR is often referred to as a movie without a plot - there's a plot in there alright, but you've got to be prepared to fight for it. Worth seeing if only for the combination of Karloff and an alarmingly young Jack Nicholson.

Not Really a "Terror", But It's Still Good!
I have watched this movie twice on TV in the past, and I enjoyed it. Even though it's called "The Terror", it doesn't seem like a terror movie, but it is still entertaining. Jack Nicholson starred in this one (he was young then, just like in the original "Little Shop of Horrors" he was in before this one), and he played a Napoleon soldier. His then-wife, Sandra Knight, played Helene who was a "ghost" in the movie, and Boris Karloff, a famous horror movie actor, played the Baron.
This movie is a little phony, like the "witch" in the movie...and how she died. I never dreamed that lightning can burn a witch to a crisp like in this movie, just because she saw the hawk flying in the sky! Same thing at the ending when Nicholson kissed the beautiful Helene, who then melted on the ground, revealing her skeleton. Nice special effects in the 1960s...I give them (and Roger Corman) credit for that.
This is a good movie, although not Oscar-winning, to watch on a rainy day for fun.

Yes, Adult Human Beings Really Got Together and Made This!
The history of the movie is far more interesting than the movie, itself. Corman had three extra days after his prematurely wrapped The Raven shoot, and tossed this thing together off the top of his (and everybody else's) head to end up making two features for the price of one. Considering the circumstances, the thing is a masterpiece.

Of course, the finished product neither knows nor cares about the circumstances, which is why this movie is doubly entertaining. The mix of costuming and acting styles, the endless anachronisms throwing the audience out of suspension of disbelief that they are in Napoleonic era Germany (or is it supposed to be Spain? and if so, why so many German names? and if not, where does one get a seaside cliff in Germany?) - not to mention the genuinely really bad acting from pretty much everyone involved (including Karloff, who almost certainly didn't take it seriously), and the grossly mixed accents of the cast - make this one endlessly entertaining, in that drop-your-jaw, I-can't-believe-adult-human-beings-actually-got-together-and-made-this-thing kind of way.

It actually has a plot, which if you're really attentive and diligent you can pick out in the last five minutes of the movie, and if you do, it's terribly clever and grossly improbable, which just makes it all that much more fun.

But you won't care about that. What you really want to see is Jack Nicholson performing flatter than a block of wood, his then-wife Sandra Knight with an accent and acting style flatter still (though she is quite beautiful), Dorothy Neumann as a cackling revenge-driven old witch, Bronx-accented Dick Miller as a supposedly very German manservant, and Karloff struggling to keep a straight face given all the preceding impediments.

Nicholson happily confesses in interviews that they all had a ball making this wonderfully absurd movie, and it actually shows. Interestingly enough, if you're in the right mood, you can even see the horror movie this almost was, if they'd had more time to make it really work. There are some good gore effects - a man's eyes gouged out by a killer hawk, and an incredibly goopy melting woman, topping the list - and it's pretty handsomely produced, even with a decently eerie musical soundtrack throughout.

Don't watch it because it's good - watch it because it's FUN.

The best B horror movie of its class!
The Terror is simply a fun B horror flick. Forget the acting, it's terrible, but that's its charm (it's worth it just to see the early Nicholson). It's the atmosphere that makes this movie a classic. The musical score gives it the true feel of the late night horror genre. Of course it's not scary, but that's beside the point. The ancient castle with its wonderful architecture, the ocean waves crashing on the rocky beach, the "old women" and her shack in the woods, and Stephan (the butler) whose performance is reminiscent of a Mel Brooks movie, make it a treat. For Karloff fans, this is a must see. I've been a fan of Corman's work for quite some time, and I think this is one of his better films. I would also recommend "Die Monster Die," directed by Daniel Haller, for those incurable Karloff fans.

Low-budget, snail-paced movie...typical Jack Nicholson stuff
This movie moves at a snail's pace as a soldier takes shelter at an old Baron's castle while searching for a mysterious woman he discovered at the beach near the castle. Boris Karlof's performance as the elderly Baron is the only one that makes this movie worth watching for the first half hour, and even then his acting gets lame and overleveled. Just like other typical Jack Nicholson movies, the movie is very slow, and extremely boring. It is not scary, and it is very easy to see that it is fake and stagy...Rent it, don't buy it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Three cowhands, between jobs, have the bad dumb luck to pitch night camp in the same valley as a cabin full of guys who just robbed a stagecoach and killed the guard. Come morning, a posse arrives, forms up along the ridge, and takes for granted that everyone down below is guilty--fit for either shooting to bits or hanging from a tree, whichever comes first. Precisely half of Ride in the Whirlwind's 82 minutes is devoted to tapping the matter-of-fact, absurdist horror of that situation. In the remaining half, the two surviving cowpokes (Jack Nicholson and Cameron Mitchell) seek shelter at a farmhouse where they reluctantly threaten the farmer, accept breakfast from his wife, flirt with his daughter (Millie Perkins), play some checkers, and hope to remain undetected till nightfall.

Somehow, when people speak of the two existentialist Westerns that Monte Hellman made on a single trek into the desert in 1966, Ride in the Whirlwind never gets as much attention as The Shooting. All right, so it doesn't star Warren Oates (though it does have Harry Dean Stanton, Oates's clear successor as sainted American character actor), and Jack Nicholson's screenplay isn't as infatuated with arty enigma or coffeehouse-quaint dialogue as Adrien Joyce's Shooting script. But of the two, Ride arguably cuts deeper as a meditation on things Western, and it's surely the one that would bring nods of recognition from a Parnassian review board comprised of William S. Hart, Harry Carey, and the various casts of The Virginian.

Unforgettable, unbelievable, yet of course entirely believable Zen moment: H.D. Stanton, mere seconds before holding up the stagecoach, steps behind a rock to take a leak. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Tough, laconic Western
Jack Nicholson wrote the screenplay for this little gem, and in the dialogue he captures the flavor of life at that time perfectly. While too much time is spent on the shootout in the first half of the film, the second half more than makes up for that, as Jack and Cameron Mitchell--two cowpokes unlucky enough to be too close to an outlaw gang--hole up in a sodbuster's cabin.

The sodbuster, an old guy, lives with his wife and daughter, played by Millie Perkins, and as Jack says about her, "You don't talk much." True. In fact, nobody does in this film, but that's just fine. Because it's the atmosphere that counts here, and Monte Hellman, the director, gets that just right. I found Hellman's The Shooting somewhat pretentious and the ending was just plain weird. But Ride in the Whirlwind is the kind of Western that resonates a lot more--it FEELS like you're there; it feels like you can talk to these people. They won't say much, but what they will say counts for a lot.

Nicholson is fine as Wes and Cameron Mitchell equally strong as his partner Vern. As Blind Dick, leader of the small outlaw gang, Harry Dean Stanton puts in another of his strong, straight-ahead performances. The shootout is between the outlaw gang and a vigilante posse that's out to get the gang after the latter have held up a stagecoach.

One thing that makes this Western so strong is the small, dusty, lonesome life that all the main characters lead. The sodbuster and his family live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The cowpokes ride together, but they're removed from anyone else. The outlaw gang similarly hangs out in an isolated shack, and the vigilate posse, all men, ride wherever they think there's outlaws; one of them, seeing Abigail for the first time (Millie Perkins) mentions to his partner that she's a "cute piece" and that he'll be coming back to have a meal.

This lonesomeness is what pervades Ride in the Whirlwind and what makes it so compelling. It's a short (82 minutes) film, but well worth watching, if not owning.

SEE THIS WITH "THE SHOOTING"
In the spring of 1965, Roger Corman, the king of profitable, low budget movies, helped produce (without credit) two amazing films that have achieved legendary cult status. Now, thanks to VCI Home Video, Monte Hellman's "THE SHOOTING" and "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND" are available on DVD in pristine, widescreen transfers. The films should be seen together. They are subtly connected in many ways. Perhaps even insubtext and theme.

Both films star a then unknown Jack Nicholson and super starlet Millie Perkins and were shot simultaneously on location in Utah for the modest amount of $150,000. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced "Ride in the Whirlwind." It is the straightforward tale of the making of a bad man and features on target performances from Cameron Mitchell, Harry Dean Stanton, Rupert Crosse and Katherine Squire among others. After accidentally happening on a group of outlaws, and getting caught in the crossfire by a sheriff and his posse, Wes (Jack Nicholson) is mistaken for one of the gang and escapes. But, in order to defend himself during his flight, has to start killing. By the end of the film he has become a legendary and mythic figure. Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Hellman, has called this "one of the greatest films ever made."

In the The Shooting, former bounty hunter turned miner Gashade (Warren Oates) returns to his diggings to find one of his partners, Leland, dead, his brother Coigne gone, and his third partner, Coley (Will Hutchins) holed-up in a nearby cave. Soon, a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) materializes out of nowhere and offers Gashade a huge sum of money to guide her on a journey he soon realizes is a manhunt.

The quirky screenplay is by Adrien Joyce, the odd pen-name of the brilliant screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the acclaimed "Five Easy Pieces" which also stars Nicholson.

What "The Shooting" is actually about is anybody's guess. It has been called an existential western, or anti western. The super low-budget enforced a minimalist, almost surrealistic style that is terrific and timeless. The stark outdoor locations add immensely to the mood and of this this strange, enigmatic story that seems to reflect mid 60's paranoia and disillusionment.

Since their initial release, both films, though seldom seen, have become critical favorites, and have attained cult film status here and in Europe. Both discs include an entertaining and revealing commentary by director Monte Hellman and actor Millie Perkins with additional informed commentary by American Cinematheque programmer Dennis Bartok.

ride the whirlwind
wow ! i saw this movie years ago ! can't remember very well, but remember that it was one of the best performances of Cameron Mitchell ! (i am a big fan of him !) the movie is as far as i remember about friends who got fals accused for something and got hunted ! and about sacrifice ! watch it !

Existential - Whatever That Means
This western has been called existential, a term liberally used in film reviewing, and I'm not sure I know the correct usage of the word. But I like this film a lot. Made by a colourfull man named Monte Hellman who hasn't made a lot of films, this is one of his most unusual. Made in 1967, back to back with another film, The Shooting (also worth checking out), Jack Nicholson, Tom Filer & Cameron Mitchell, are being pursued by a posse who have mistaken them for thieves. Hellman's film are often about characters who are aimless, well, maybe not aimless, but they end up going nowhere, and this is no exception, as they climb a hill/mountain that goes up and up....one of the characters remarks "Shame to do all of this walking for nuthin'". Damn straight. They discover a cabin, where a grown daughter (Millie Perkins) and her mother suffer in servitude to the old man. Odd things happen. The film is wonderfully odd, minimilist (not by choice), it was made on a low budget, but the minimilism adds to the often unsettling atmosphere. Film is full of great dialogue, such as "It's peculiar to sit here playing chequers while a bunch of men want to string us up" Wes replies "Why don't you put a tune to it?". Highly recommended for fans of Existentialism! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Back when Jack Nicholson was a Hollywood unknown appearing in Roger Corman quickies such as Crybaby Killer and Little Shop of Horrors, it wasn't unusual for Corman to make a movie in just a few days. That was the case with this nifty little thriller, which was filmed in just three days using the same sets that Corman had used in his Boris Karloff thriller The Raven, which Corman had finished ahead of schedule. In fact, the sets were being torn down almost as fast as Corman could film them, but that hasn't stopped this moody little gem from acquiring a modicum of cult status over the years. Karloff plays the alleged baron of an isolated castle on the Baltic coast, where a Napoleonic officer (played by Nicholson!) appears after becoming intrigued by the presence of a mysterious and beautiful woman.Karloff's baron has a dark history, of course, and creepy atmosphere makes up for the minimal plot, which makes The Terror a vintage treat for horror fans. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Shooting, perhaps the most famous Western hardly anybody ever saw, takes deadpan survey of the fallout from a casual atrocity, or perhaps only a ludicrous accident, in a nameless town. We never see the atrocity/accident, or even the town. Word simply reaches a prospector's camp, a wood-and-canvas pimple on the blankness of the wasteland, that someone "rode down a man and a little person... maybe a child." Was the someone Willett Gashade's brother Coin, who has gone missing? Was it Leland Drum, Coin's companion, who gets shot from ambush at his fireside--perhaps by an unknown avenger, perhaps by Coin? The death of Drum explains the film's title, but there's a long list of things we never know in The Shooting, and most (all?) of the characters in the movie never know them either. Still, the small, relentlessly enigmatic cast of characters gets into motion and keeps moving--chasing something, running from something, headed for somewhere that may turn out to be nowhere, or deep inside themselves.

Monte Hellman made The Shooting (and a second movie, Ride in the Whirlwind) during one brief trip into the desert, anonymously financed by Roger Corman, in the summer of 1966. His material was a script by Adrien Joyce (later of Five Easy Pieces fame), the patient camera of Gregory Sandor, and the faces, voices, and brazenly modern presences of Warren Oates (Gashade), Jack Nicholson (a white-collar killer), and Millie Perkins (a pinched Medusa, freckled with trail dirt, bitchy light years from Anne Frank). Over the intervening decades the Beckettian movie has been sporadically available only on late-night TV or via scrappy 16-millimeter prints at film societies. That now triumphantly changes with this crisp, color-saturated DVD release, whose modest letterboxing eloquently enhances the unsettling power of Hellman's compositions and eerie long takes. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Duel In The Dust
THE SHOOTING (1966): Willet Gashade (Warren Oates) and his dimwitted friend Coley (Will Hutchins) are in a state of growing paranoia after their partner is inexplicably shot to death by an unseen assassin at their small mining camp. The murder may have been in retaliation for the accidental trampling death of "a little person" in town, ostensibly by Gashade's brother, who had left camp in a great hurry immediately prior to the shooting. The next morning, while the two remain confused and suspicious over this disturbing mystery, a strange young woman (Millie Perkins) shoots her horse to death outside of the camp and then offers Gashade a thousand dollars to lead her to a place called Kingsley. He accepts even though he makes no attempt to hide his distrust. Intrigued by The Woman, Coley offers to tag along. On their journey, the trio are tracked at a distance by a black clad stranger, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, The Woman laughingly toys with Coley's emotions and refuses to answer any of Gashade's questions. Spear eventually joins them and proves to be a most despicable companion. Hostile and abusive in the extreme, Spear is a gunslinger cohort of The Woman, who is herself quickly revealed to be every bit as wicked as Gashade had suspected from the beginning. Eventually, the strange journey ends in bloody disarray at the foot of a rock-strewn mountain, where Gashade comes face to face with the answer to the mystery, at great cost.

One of the most celebrated of all cult movies, and deservedly so, THE SHOOTING is a truly great example of the once vital western form, a triumphant dying gasp for the genre. This compelling tale of weird vengeance is directed with icy cold brilliance by Monte Hellman. The perennially underrated Hellman works wonders on a lowbudget, with stunning cinematography (by Gregory Sandor) provoking a strong aura of the mysterious and uncanny even in the most realistically detailed scenes.

A small but terrific cast helps brings the occasionally mystical narrative to life. Warren Oates plays the world weary and wise Grashade with his usual gritty style, making him a suitable anti-hero for this dark tale. He's an excellent foe to Jack Nicholson's irredeemably evil Billy Spear, one of the most repulsively mean of all movie villains. As bad as he is, Nicholson is ultimately simply a well armed servant at the beck and call of The Woman, who is beautifully played by Millie Perkins for maximum hissability. Both Spear and The Woman engineer the destruction of Oates' foolish sidekick Coley, whose decency earns him an undeserved fate; Will Hutchins' charmingly sweet performance provides the film with its only moments of gentleness.

Richly ambiguous and by turns realistic and dreamlike, THE SHOOTING is a sporadically baffling but undeniably heady ride into the desert. The creepy ending makes this one of those rare movies that will compel you to immediately rewatch the whole thing from beginning to end, if only so you can try to satisfy your curiosity about what it just might REALLY be all about. Its THAT great of a movie.

The VCI DVD presents THE SHOOTING in a fine, modestly letterboxed transfer that captures the film in all its eerie widescreen glory. Since the film never received a theatrical release and has been shown only rarely on television, this is the first time most people will have ever had the chance to see this film in its intended aspect ratio. The only extra is a terrific and highly informative audio commentary from Hellman and Perkins, who vividly recall with candor and humor the filming of this ultra-cheap, high-class production.

Doesn't make a lot of sense, but interesting
Not sure what to make of this film. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Summary:
While Willett Gashade (Warren Oates) was gone for supplies for his mining operation (very small mining operation of only a couple of people in the middle of the desert) his brother and one of their friends got into some trouble in town. They both return to the camp but Willet's brother flees the camp and the friend is gunned down in the middle camp. Another friend, Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), sees what happens, but it upsets him so much that he hides in the mine with his gun. When Willet finally returns he has to talk Coley out of the cave. Not long after he does, a woman (Millie Perkins), whose name we never find out, appears and hires Willet to guide her across the desert to a city. Willet agrees to go but only if Coley can come.

So they set out, with Coley as something of an errand boy and Willet as the rough and tumble tracker. What Willet and Coley don't realize is that the woman has already hired a gunmen that is riding behind them and trying to stay out of sight to kill the person they are tracking. Though they were told they were just helping the woman across the desert, they are actually tracking someone, and the woman wants that someone dead.

When Coley accidentally sends the wrong signal to the hired gun, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), Billy appears at their camp then joins the entourage. As they finally catch up to the person they are 'hunting', Billy kills Coley for trying to warn Willet that Billy is likely just going to kill them all in the end. When Billy passes out from the heat, Willet beats him up then crushes his gun hand with a rock, preventing him from being able to accomplish his mission.

While Willet and Billy are fighting, the woman chases the prey up a mountain side. Once Willet finishes with Billy he enters the chase and reaches the woman in time to ?

Sorry about the question mark there. The truth is, you aren't exactly sure what happens. You hear gun shots and it seems like the prey (whom I believe is Willet's brother), the woman, and Willet all die. But you can't be sure. The only person that looks to be alive when the movie ends is Billy.

My Comments:
I must admit, even though nothing is ever really happening, that the set up of the movie is good enough to make you want to keep watching it. You don't ever really know what is going on and you never actually find out, either. But, because we are human, we want to try to figure it out. So, we keep watching, hoping to pick up on some detail that will help the movie make sense. None are forthcoming.

The soundtrack reminds me of the original The Planet of the Apes, where the music just doesn't seem to fit the action, and there are long periods of time when you would think there should be music, but there isn't any. I guess, if the intent of the director was to give the impression that this story was taking place over an indeterminate period of time, he accomplished his goal. To the viewer, the movie seems to go on forever and it feels like they spend months out in the desert.

Overall, the movie kept my interest most of the time just because I wanted to figure out what was going on. It never made much sense, which I guess is okay. I definitely don't think this movie is for everyone. I didn't think it was too bad, but I didn't really love it either.

SEE THIS WITH "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND"
In the spring of 1965, Roger Corman, the king of profitable, low budget movies, helped produce (without credit) two amazing films that have achieved legendary cult status. Now, thanks to VCI Home Video, Monte Hellman's "THE SHOOTING" and "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND" are available on DVD in pristine, widescreen transfers. The films are subtly interconected.

Both films star a then unknown Jack Nicholson and super starlet Millie Perkins and were shot simultaneously on location in Utah for the modest amount of $150,000. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced "Ride in the Whirlwind" which is a straightforward tale of the making of a bad man and features sharp performances from Cameron Mitchell, the great Harry Dean Stanton, Rupert Crosse and Katherine Squire among others.

After accidentally happening on a group of outlaws, and getting caught in the crossfire by a sheriff and his posse, Wes (Jack Nicholson) is mistaken for one of the gang and escapes. But, in order to defend himself during his flight, has to start killing. By the end of the film he has become a legendary and mythic figure. Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Hellman, has called this "one of the greatest films ever made."

In the "The Shooting," former bounty hunter turned miner Gashade (Warren Oates) returns to his diggings to find one of his partners, Leland, dead, his brother Coigne gone, and his third partner, Coley (Will Hutchins) holed-up in a nearby cave. Soon, a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) materializes out of nowhere and offers Gashade a huge sum of money to guide her on a journey he soon realizes is a manhunt.

The quirky screenplay is by Adrien Joyce, the odd pen-name of the brilliant screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the acclaimed "Five Easy Pieces" which also stars Nicholson.

What "The Shooting" is actually about is anybody's guess. It has been called an existential western, or anti western. The super low-budget enforced a minimalist, almost surrealistic style that is terrific and timeless. The stark outdoor locations add immensely to the mood and of this this strange, enigmatic story that seems to reflect mid 60's paranoia and disillusionment.

Since their initial release, both films, though seldom seen, have become critical favorites, and have attained cult film status here and in Europe. Both discs include an entertaining and revealing commentary by director Monte Hellman and actor Millie Perkins with additional informed commentary by American Cinematheque programmer Dennis Bartok.

Millie, what an ice woman
Good movie, although the cowboys in the movie ought to have had less hesitation in slapping that "Woman" Millie Perkins to the ground. What a horrible woman.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE DESERT
If director Monte Hellman's THE SHOOTING is not the cult movie by excellence, I'm ready to watch the whole production of Jackie Chan available here at ... . DVD's and VHS. Without fast forwarding.

Shot entirely in the gorgeous Utah desert sceneries, THE SHOOTING relates the story of a hunting. Who is hunted and who is hunting is one of the multiple unanswered questions of this unusual western. The name of the character played by Millie Perkins is never uttered, she is only credited as "The Woman". Is she the mother of the child Warren Oates's brother would have hurted during a ride into town ? Just guess.

Monte Hellman and Jack Nicholson were both part of producer Roger Corman's unbelievable nest of future stars, they teamed up in 1967 for THE SHOOTING and RIDE IN A WHIRLWIND shot simultaneously. All I can say is that THE SHOOTING is a kind of UFO in the american production of this period and deserves to stay in your collection as an example of what can be done with a restricted budget and a lot of good ideas. Simply amazing.

I had a few problems with the menus of the DVD, never knowing where I was because the different available features were not lightened. But fortunately I know how to count until ten and made my way through the menus where I discovered filmographies, a picture gallery, different trailers and a very informative commentary said by Monte Hellman and Millie THE WOMAN Perkins. I eventually learned that Jack Nicholson was helped by a technical trick when he had to draw his gun. Simple but efficient.

A DVD for your library. ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Color me gone, baby!
I've just made my fourth trip down the two-lane blacktop, having recently caught this film on the Big Screen. (Do not--repeat, DO NOT--miss a chance to see this in a theatre.) This film gets better ever time I see it. Part road movie, part travelogue of America circa 1970, part existentialist tragedy, it's a strange, fascinating hodgepodge with no real precedent--not even "Easy Rider"--that I'm aware of. "Two-Lane Blacktop" is what it is; if you're expecting just another car chase movie, you will likely be disappointed. It's a movie for anyone fascinated by the mystique of lonely gas stations in the middle of nowhere, of long, quiet rides down the highway with nary another soul in sight.... I've never seen a movie that has so effectively communicated the extraordinary vastness of America. It manages to be sad, pathetic, funny, and haunting all at once. You can criticize it for its sometimes shaky acting (Warren Oates, at least, is fabulous), but I think the sum effect of the movie precludes serious complaint. And what an amazing ending....

Existential Road Trip
Less dated than Easy Rider, this early 70's time capsule is an existential masterpiece. What the hell does that mean? It means the film is full of space. It's about absolute nothing, or everything, or somewhere in between. It's a poem that doesn't deliver what an audience expects but is utterly faithful to it's idea. It doesn't have an emotional pay-off, but instead finds a stylish way to cinematically burn rubber and fade away. It's characters are called Driver, Mechanic, GTO and Girl. Its stars are James Taylor (yeah the pop singer), Dennis Wilson (yeah the late Beach Boy), Warren Oates (in perhaps his finest performances) and Laura Bird (most won't know her, she's good).

Driver and Mechanic are the original slackers. They love racing, and hustling people to keep racing and their supercharged '55 Chevy. They are not hippies, but car junkies. The meet a loud mouth middle aged guy driving a newer sportier GTO who wants to race them for pink slips. Eventually they agree to what amounts to a gentlemen's type race from New Mexico to the East Coast. There's not a lot of suspense to the race, and the film is about. . . well whatever you want it to be about. GTO pretends to be someone else everytime he picks up a new hitch-hiker. He's amusing himself with his creative imagination and re-inventing himself to escape the middle age blues. Eventually there's a little bit of a competition over a young female hitchhiker.

The film was filmed on location as cast and crew drove across the country. The bare-bones script is by Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Curry.

The film becomes more and more abstract as it moves along. The story matters less and less. A circle eventually forms and we realize we've been riding along on a very unique, one of a kind film. There's a wonderful example of an utterly open ended final shot.

Some are going to find this film very dull and wonder what there is to admire and respect about it. Others are going to 'discover' all sorts of things that are of course not actually present in the film itself, but are thoughts and reactions the film has sparked and triggered within them as they watched the film. Other's will enjoy the muscle cars, and late 60's cars that make sporadic appearances or rev up their engines on occassion.

It's a film you watch many times and find different subtexts, moods, ideas and space within. It's a film that requires the viewer to both observe, accept and participate in, like one would a living sculpture.

It's the kind of art film you would never expect from a director who made two quirky Westerns for Roger Corman in the mid 60's (The Shooting and Ride the Whirlwind --with Nicholson right before Jack became a star with Easy Rider). Hellman also went on to make the very interesting Cockfigher with Warren Oates. He's appreciated by a small, growing cult of afficianado's and you'll find Hellman's name more recently as executive producer of Reservoir Dogs.

For something really unique I suggest you find a way to watch the DVD of Two-Lane Blacktop.

The film was long out of circulation because of disputes over music rights. They were resolved and the film has been beautifully transferred to DVD and actually looks better than it ever did since the contrasts in light were carefully boosted during the DVD transfer.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder - A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You

A RESPONSE TO REVIEWER "CORREIA"
Hey Correia,
Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but you're in the minority here. Two-Lane Blacktop is worshipped by film-lovers around the world and is regularly cited as one of the best pop-art flicks of the 70's, one of the most exciting periods in American cinema.

The reviewer's two complaints (little dialogue, couldn't understand what it was about) reveal the shortcomings of the reviewer, not the film. I mean really: "no dialogue?" Is he serious? Has he never seen a Western? A film noir? Charlie Chaplin? Keaton? Bresson? Wong Kar Wai?

In order to get Reservoir Dogs made, Quentin Tarantino got Two-Lane Blacktop director Monte Hellman to co-produce. I'm not a big Tarantino fan, but he DOES have great taste in other people's movies [his film company A Band Aparte is named after a Jean-Luc Godard film (paucity of dialogue, anyone?), he helped get Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express distributed, and idolizes Monte Hellman as one of the great American directors].

Based on the fact that Correia would critique a movie because it has little dialogue, it is no surprise that he "had absolutely no idea what the movie is about." Surely he can't mean the plot? Two muscle-car drivers race across country for their cars' pink slips? Most Schwarzenegger movies are less "high concept" (i.e. easy to sum up in a sentence).

Or is Correia admitting that he couldn't identify any Grand Themes or Social Issues? It's true, Hellman doesn't hit his viewers over the head with Deep Meanings. Like most of the greatest works of art, Hellman allows the meaning to be porous, letting each viewer read a certain amount of their own lives and themes into the characters.

TLB bears analysis, and is in fact deeply philosophical, but it is first a riveting aesthetic and emotional experience. Like a great landscape painting (or a David Lynch film?), it is primarily meditative, spiritual, and even deeply religious, rather than intellectual.

While watching it one re-experiences and understands many of the best things 'about' America-- the Road, movement, freedom-- and some of the worst-- rootlessness, restlessness, alienation. It can be read as a portrait of the modern, secularist, existential journey through life; in the lack of dialogue one could feel alienation and aloneness, or a comfortable silence expressing the deep bond between the driver and mechanic (we never hear the character's names, nor do the credits give them any).

TLB traffics in pop iconography, in quintessentially American images. We travel with the perfect embodiment of the Self-Reliant American Male, through rugged, iconic American landscapes, until the landscape and the travellers (and the audience?) become one.

Have these two men achieved a level of self-reliance that has freed them from the constraints of civilization? Or has their laconic independence imprisoned them, dooming them to ride alone, ala John Wayne in The Searchers? Hurtling through a Godless universe with only the most ill-defined of goals to guide them, and so on? Undergrad term paper, anyone?

The value of any creative expression is in the effort you expend, the distance you travel, to explore its meaning. Movies and books should pull us out of what we know, force us to expand to incorporate new ways of seeing and thinking. It ain't always easy but it's almost always rewarding. I applaud Correia for trying, but just because TLB isn't immediately easy to 'get' doesn't mean it isn't a great work of art.

Two Lane Dead End
I watched the movie after purchasing it for a freind who is a big James Taylor music fan. I was disapointed in the character writing, as J.T. (The Driver)and Dennis Wilson (The Mechanic) both play the "straight" role, and it causes the scenes to drag. Upon more in depth analysis, Wilson's character is supposed to be aloof, and J.T.'s intense. Unfortunately, bad acting and poor character developement defused this combination.
Warren Oates does contribute to some of the best scenes in the film, as the mixed-up "GTO". A chameleon-like persona, ever-changing to adapt to and impress each hitch-hiker he picks up.
The scene with Harry Dean Stanton is particularly amusing in its context.
In all, "Two Lane Blacktop" was interesting, easy to watch, but the ending, if you can call it that (I find it hard to believe that the original theatrical ending is what I viewed on DVD) left me cold and wanting.

DENNIS WILSON IN HIS ONE AND ONLY
THE REASON I GOT THIS MOVIE WAS BECAUSE OF DENNIS IT DID NOT HAVE A BIG BUGET BUT IT HAD FAST CARS AND THE ACTING WAS COOL PLUS THEY HAD A DOORS SONG IN IT SO YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH THAT SO FOR ALL THAT STUFF I GIVE IT 5 STARS BUY WHY YOU STILL CAN. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Too many cooks?
This movie is a legendary mess - Roger Corman wrapped filming on THE RAVEN early, and not wishing to waste a castle set and the remainder of Boris Karloff's contract, started a gothic movie, then handed this unfinished flick to a series of proteges to complete. Jack Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, and Monte Hellman all took cracks at trying to make sense of an unfinished script. THE TERROR is often referred to as a movie without a plot - there's a plot in there alright, but you've got to be prepared to fight for it. Worth seeing if only for the combination of Karloff and an alarmingly young Jack Nicholson.

Not Really a "Terror", But It's Still Good!
I have watched this movie twice on TV in the past, and I enjoyed it. Even though it's called "The Terror", it doesn't seem like a terror movie, but it is still entertaining. Jack Nicholson starred in this one (he was young then, just like in the original "Little Shop of Horrors" he was in before this one), and he played a Napoleon soldier. His then-wife, Sandra Knight, played Helene who was a "ghost" in the movie, and Boris Karloff, a famous horror movie actor, played the Baron.
This movie is a little phony, like the "witch" in the movie...and how she died. I never dreamed that lightning can burn a witch to a crisp like in this movie, just because she saw the hawk flying in the sky! Same thing at the ending when Nicholson kissed the beautiful Helene, who then melted on the ground, revealing her skeleton. Nice special effects in the 1960s...I give them (and Roger Corman) credit for that.
This is a good movie, although not Oscar-winning, to watch on a rainy day for fun.

Yes, Adult Human Beings Really Got Together and Made This!
The history of the movie is far more interesting than the movie, itself. Corman had three extra days after his prematurely wrapped The Raven shoot, and tossed this thing together off the top of his (and everybody else's) head to end up making two features for the price of one. Considering the circumstances, the thing is a masterpiece.

Of course, the finished product neither knows nor cares about the circumstances, which is why this movie is doubly entertaining. The mix of costuming and acting styles, the endless anachronisms throwing the audience out of suspension of disbelief that they are in Napoleonic era Germany (or is it supposed to be Spain? and if so, why so many German names? and if not, where does one get a seaside cliff in Germany?) - not to mention the genuinely really bad acting from pretty much everyone involved (including Karloff, who almost certainly didn't take it seriously), and the grossly mixed accents of the cast - make this one endlessly entertaining, in that drop-your-jaw, I-can't-believe-adult-human-beings-actually-got-together-and-made-this-thing kind of way.

It actually has a plot, which if you're really attentive and diligent you can pick out in the last five minutes of the movie, and if you do, it's terribly clever and grossly improbable, which just makes it all that much more fun.

But you won't care about that. What you really want to see is Jack Nicholson performing flatter than a block of wood, his then-wife Sandra Knight with an accent and acting style flatter still (though she is quite beautiful), Dorothy Neumann as a cackling revenge-driven old witch, Bronx-accented Dick Miller as a supposedly very German manservant, and Karloff struggling to keep a straight face given all the preceding impediments.

Nicholson happily confesses in interviews that they all had a ball making this wonderfully absurd movie, and it actually shows. Interestingly enough, if you're in the right mood, you can even see the horror movie this almost was, if they'd had more time to make it really work. There are some good gore effects - a man's eyes gouged out by a killer hawk, and an incredibly goopy melting woman, topping the list - and it's pretty handsomely produced, even with a decently eerie musical soundtrack throughout.

Don't watch it because it's good - watch it because it's FUN.

The best B horror movie of its class!
The Terror is simply a fun B horror flick. Forget the acting, it's terrible, but that's its charm (it's worth it just to see the early Nicholson). It's the atmosphere that makes this movie a classic. The musical score gives it the true feel of the late night horror genre. Of course it's not scary, but that's beside the point. The ancient castle with its wonderful architecture, the ocean waves crashing on the rocky beach, the "old women" and her shack in the woods, and Stephan (the butler) whose performance is reminiscent of a Mel Brooks movie, make it a treat. For Karloff fans, this is a must see. I've been a fan of Corman's work for quite some time, and I think this is one of his better films. I would also recommend "Die Monster Die," directed by Daniel Haller, for those incurable Karloff fans.

Low-budget, snail-paced movie...typical Jack Nicholson stuff
This movie moves at a snail's pace as a soldier takes shelter at an old Baron's castle while searching for a mysterious woman he discovered at the beach near the castle. Boris Karlof's performance as the elderly Baron is the only one that makes this movie worth watching for the first half hour, and even then his acting gets lame and overleveled. Just like other typical Jack Nicholson movies, the movie is very slow, and extremely boring. It is not scary, and it is very easy to see that it is fake and stagy...Rent it, don't buy it. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Call him Mr. Shatter!
Back in the 70's, England's Hammer Studios contracted with the famous Shaw Brothers to produce a few movies in Hong Kong. Only two ever came from the union, this tepid movie and the much better Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1979).

I think the idea behind this movie was to combine the action of kung fu, whose popularity was in full swing thanks to Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) and the grittiness of Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1972). This hybrid fell short of this lofty goal. Actually, it didn't even come close to the mark, as this movie really sucked rotten eggs. I hesitate to mention this movie with those two, truly wonderful achievements in cinema history, but I wanted to give you an idea of what you're in for here.

Craggy faced actor Stuart Whitman, probably best known for his television work from the early 50's through the 70's, stars as Shatter, a hit man contracted to kill an African dictator. He completes his assignment, returns to Hong Kong to collect his fee, only to discover the double cross is on and finds himself in the position of being a marked man. It turns out he was hired through his normal channels, but only by someone who intended on using Shatter as a patsy, and now he is wanted by various governments and mafias.

As Shatter tries to sort out the mess, he meets a master martial artist Tai Pah (Lung Ti). Shatter makes a deal with Tai Pah, promising him half the money he intends to collect for his services render if martial artist will help keep Shatter alive long enough to get the money. This offers the showing of much martial artistry, and while interesting; it didn't really seem to be on par with some of the other Shaw Brothers' releases.

I do give credit where credit is due, as the plot, while fairly complicated, seemed well laid out, and also, the movie did follow it pretty much all the way until the end. Also, as the film was shot on location in Hong Kong, providing a sense of claustrophobia while in the city, but also giving some really beautiful views in and around Hong Kong. The biggest problem, in my opinion, with the movie was that it was just boring more often than not. The action would pick up, and then die out, making for a sense of herky jerkiness (stop, start, stop, start) kind of like driving a car with new brakes. While Stuart Whitman was a serviceable actor, I felt nothing for the character, cared not if he lived or died.

The star power in this movie comes from veteran actor Peter Cushing and Anton Diffring, Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and Circus of Horrors (1960), although neither actor appears for any great length of time in this film, but fans of Cushing might find interest here if they're looking to complete a collection.

I commend Anchor Bay on their release, as the movie looks really good in this wide screen format, and there are even some real extras, like a commentary track, a trailer, and a couple of TV spots. There is also a featurette about various Hammer releases, which I've seen included on other Anchor Bay releases of Hammer films. Even with the extras, the best I could give this film would be 2 ½ stars, as it was just a difficult and uninteresting release to sit through. Oh yeah, listen for Shatter's own personal theme music, in that 'wak ki cha' style of the 70's. Nowhere near as entertaining as John Shaft's theme music, but somewhat interesting.

Quite good for fans of Stuart Whitman.
The print is excellent but what makes this DVD worth purchasing is the audio commentary. The uncredited director Monte Hellman offers some insight into the trouble bound production. Stuart Whitman's commentary is recorded in a hotel room and is not as clear as I would have liked,though his stories are fascinating.

Downhill fast
In the early 1970's Hammer films saw their movies slipping, they tried new angles like adding more gore and nudity, but were still falling behind. They decided to join together with Shaw Brothers to make two joint productions that would combine the martial arts elements that Shaw Brothers used with some british actors and some of the elements Hammer was known for. The first result was Legend of the seven golden vampires or the Seven brothers meet Dracula as it called in the states once it was released several years after it was made. That film had it's share of good points and it's share of the bad, which is more than I can say for the second collaberation.

I wasn't expecting Enter the Dragon, but I thought it would have some decent action and maybe a fair spy - drama type plot because Hammer had put out some decent thrillers in the sixties. The plot is like a third rate 70's cop show, guys with lots of guns and very little charater or sense. The fight scenes are not of the terribly phoney variety, but just pretty lame and unspectacular with the sole exception being the final fight scene. It says something when you cannot make a tournament with fighters of varied styles the least bit interesting.

Stuart Whitman is really quite bad, maybe not at first, but he gets old quick. Anton Diffring and Petet Cushing have small roles, but they make the best of them. The sets and scenery are good and as usual, Anchor Bay did a good job of releasing a very sharp looking product. This film is actually qite hard to watch in one sitting because it just tends to drone on and on. The one star is largely for Cushing and Diffring.

Only Slim Whitman could've been worse.
Hammer studios known by most for their gripping horror films, produced this drama "Shatter". The only horror in Shatter is Stuart Whitman's acting. Shatter (Whitman) is a hitman whose government turns on him, framing him for a murder they put him up to. Mayhem and martial arts ensue. Lots of nice scenery, action, and a special appearance by Peter Cushing in his last Hammer film. Once you view this film you will understand why Whitman was cursed to play baddies in 70's television cop shows....who loves ya baby?

Bulletproof.
Everybody trashes this movie it seems, even its own director (Carreras) hated it. But how anyone can hate a movie blessed with the presence of Cushing is a tall question indeed. -He's wonderful in a rather small part, one I understand he even did more or less as a favor to Hammer boss Carreras. The action scenes involving gun-fights and car-chases are nice to watch, but because the Shaw Brothers co-produced we sadly have to endure some martial arts stuff as well. Not only is this a Hammer film with the great sir Peter, but two other faves of mine are also featured; Stuart Whitman and Anton Diffring. By no means a great movie, but most certainly not the terrible mess some would have you believe, either. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Too many cooks?
This movie is a legendary mess - Roger Corman wrapped filming on THE RAVEN early, and not wishing to waste a castle set and the remainder of Boris Karloff's contract, started a gothic movie, then handed this unfinished flick to a series of proteges to complete. Jack Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, and Monte Hellman all took cracks at trying to make sense of an unfinished script. THE TERROR is often referred to as a movie without a plot - there's a plot in there alright, but you've got to be prepared to fight for it. Worth seeing if only for the combination of Karloff and an alarmingly young Jack Nicholson.

Not Really a "Terror", But It's Still Good!
I have watched this movie twice on TV in the past, and I enjoyed it. Even though it's called "The Terror", it doesn't seem like a terror movie, but it is still entertaining. Jack Nicholson starred in this one (he was young then, just like in the original "Little Shop of Horrors" he was in before this one), and he played a Napoleon soldier. His then-wife, Sandra Knight, played Helene who was a "ghost" in the movie, and Boris Karloff, a famous horror movie actor, played the Baron.
This movie is a little phony, like t