Two-Lane Blacktop @ 7 PM
1971, 102 minutes
Directed by Monte Hellman
55 Chevy Anniversary
Drag racing east from Los Angeles in a souped-up ’55 Chevy are the wayward Driver and Mechanic (singer-songwriter James Taylor and the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, in their only acting roles), accompanied by a tagalong Girl (Laurie Bird). Along the way, they meet Warren Oates’s Pontiac GTO–driving wanderer and challenge him to a cross-country race. The prize: their cars’ pink slips. But no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. With its gorgeous widescreen compositions and sophisticated look at American male obsession, this stripped-down narrative from maverick director Monte Hellman is one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema, and possibly the greatest road movie ever made. - The Criterion Collection
Two-Lane Blacktop's real star is an incredible 454-cubic-inch, high-performance '55 Chevy that was later used as Bob (Harrison Ford) Falfa's hot rod in American Graffiti.
American Graffiti @ 9 PM
1973, 112 minutes
Directed by George Lucas
From director George Lucas (years before Star Wars) and producer Francis Ford Coppola (right after The Godfather), American Graffiti is a classic coming-of-age story set against the 1960s backdrop of hot rods, drive-ins and rock ‘n’ roll. Starring Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers in their breakout roles as a group of teenagers cruising the streets on their last summer night before college. Nominated for five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Director.
The cars featured in the film are gorgeous - including Harrison Ford's beefed-up 1955 Chevy with a 454, the same physical car that was used in Two-Lane Blacktop, also showing this week.