Don't feel bad, because I had a hard time "getting it" myself. I enjoyed it, too. The director Monte Hellman is well-known for doing weirder fare than most.

It's been years since I watched the film, so I can't give you a strong summary of it. The ending is particularly strange, I recall.

Some genius from IMDb will most likely come in here and break it down for us, I'm sure.

Thanks, well now I feel less "square." :)

I saw it for the first time last week at an online watch party. The host described it as a reverse cowboy movie. The west ran out of west when it met the Pacific. This a pure cowboy road trip, but instead of heading west looking for freedom and adventure, these two gear heads are heading East, funding their way by racing for money. It was a look at the American counter culture of the late 60s and early 70s that was not self-identifying with hippies and drugs (despite Taylor and Wilson being the protagonists).

Now, I couldn't have come up with that. I'm not into westerns too much, so it's just impossible. Thanks for the heads up - I own a copy of Two -Lane Blacktop, so I will rewatch it with your analysis in mind, squareman.

I haven't seen it in a while but to me, the protagonists are not unlike gambling junkies. Vanishing Point, similarly, features a guy driving a fast car who just doesn't want to stop driving fast, even after it makes little sense to do so.

I've seen Vanishing Point. To me, it's a weaker film than Two-Lane is. The latter movie feels more nuanced; Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, another similarly themed film from the 1970s, is more maniacal and fun.

Vanishing Point doesn't have much in the way of an underlying philosophy. It's really just a high concept film with a back story that seems to haunt the protagonist. I would assume that Kowalski was just suicidal all along. I'll have to rewatch TLB. As a former motorhead, I always liked it. I just noticed that Hellman died last month.

@MongoLloyd said:

Vanishing Point doesn't have much in the way of an underlying philosophy. It's really just a high concept film with a back story that seems to haunt the protagonist. I would assume that Kowalski was just suicidal all along. I'll have to rewatch TLB. As a former motorhead, I always liked it. I just noticed that Hellman died last month.

I hadn't heard nor seen a word about it.

The news didn't report on it because most people don't know who he is.

The watch party that I was on was specifically to celebrate Hellman.

I rewatched this today and had to remind myself that the two leads were famous musicians, not actors. Since the driver and mechanic are pretty unemotional, it works fine.

There's an interesting write up on the film on wikipedia. I guess they didn't actually use the original script and the writer who created the new script didn't know anything about cars.

@MongoLloyd said:

There's an interesting write up on the film on wikipedia. I guess they didn't actually use the original script and the writer who created the new script didn't know anything about cars.

That lack of knowledge about the subject definitely shows through in the film. Say, would you happen to know what the "pink slips" are all about?

Never mind, I think I figured it out.

Pink slips are the car titles. There's also a scene in Rock Star where they race for pink slips.

@MongoLloyd said:

I guess they didn't actually use the original script and the writer who created the new script didn't know anything about cars.

This must be an enduring theme, as I recently watched a youtube video where street racers picked apart the original Fast & Furious. Apparently, they had a technical assistant on staff but rather than use proper terminology they just went with what sounded cool. It's ridiculous and annoying, and sadly, didn't hinder their success to the masses. In case it's not obvious, I'm not a fan of the franchise.

They know that most of their audience are lay people, not car enthusiasts, so they err on the side of whatever sounds better, yeah. I chuckled every time the mechanic said he had to check the valves, haha.

I've never watched any of the F&F films, mainly because Vin Diesel is probably the worst actor on Earth.