At the risk of sounding too negative, I’d say that the majority of filmmakers, even some very good ones, are ultimately conventional in that they rely on established forms of film language to communicate with us. Throughout the history of cinema, it has only been a much smaller group of artists who have sought to… Read more »
Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971) opens on a street race. Engines roar prominently on the soundtrack, and we get a montage of tarmac, cars, and a few close-ups of The Driver (James Taylor) that will become one of our main characters. No one speaks. When The Driver finally does speak – after the opening credits… Read more »