For years, Monte Hellman's minimalist road movie Two-Lane Blacktop was one of the great cult movies that home video forgot (thanks in part to music licensing issues), but in 1999 Anchor Bay released a fine-looking DVD of the film, and eight years later the Criterion Collection have done them one better with this truly definitive video presentation. Two-Lane Blacktop has been given a fresh transfer to disc for this release, which was supervised and approved by director Hellman; the widescreen transfer is letterboxed at its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on conventional televisions and is enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16x9 monitors. The image looks excellent, capturing the film's deep-focus camerawork and naturalistic color balance with seemingly flawless accuracy and the source materials are squeaky clean while still retaining the look of the original film elements. The audio appears in two mixes -- the original monophonic sound track mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, and a remixed surround track in Dolby Digital 5.1, and though the new mix has more depth and presence, the original single-channel track sounds surprisingly lively in this edition. The dialogue is in English, with optional English subtitles but no multiple language options. Disc one of this package includes two optional commentary tracks; Hellman is joined by filmmaker Allison Anders for a entertaining conversation about the making of the picture, working with inexperienced actors, and the story's roots in late '60s car culture, while screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and film historian David Meyer team up for a discussion of the film's philosophical underpinnings and the relationships between the enigmatic characters. Disc two of this package is devoted to bonus materials, including "On the Road Again," in which Hellman, his daughter, his dog, and a student film crew drive from Los Angeles to Needles, CA (one of Two-Lane Blacktop's locations) as the director talks about the genesis and production of the movie, as well as in-depth interviews conducted by Hellman with actor James Taylor and songwriter Kris Kristofferson. Another featurette features interviews with producer Michael Laughlin and production manager Steven Gaydos as they talk about the nuts and bolts of the picture's production. Archival screen tests with Laurie Bird and James Taylor are also included (both screened public for the first time here), as well as Two-Lane Blacktop's original theatrical trailer and a portfolio of production stills. Finally, gearheads will appreciate a photo essay in which car collector Walt Bailey tracks down and restores one of the 1955 Chevrolets used in the film (it also appeared in another cinematic look at car culture, American Graffiti). A booklet included with the package features a new essay by Kent Jones on Two-Lane Blacktop, an article on the making of the movie which appeared in Rolling Stone in the fall of 1970, a poetic celebration of the picture from Tom Waits, and "Ten (Sixteen, Actually) Reasons Why I Love Two-Lane Blacktop" by filmmaker Richard Linklater, in which he beautifully describes it as "both the last film of the '60s -- even though it came out in '71 -- and the first film of the '70s." And finally, a 112-page perfect-bound book contains Rudy Wurlitzer's complete screenplay (which was published in full by Esquire magazine before the film was released). Two-Lane Blacktop is an intelligent and thoughtful mood piece disguised as a drag-racing picture, and it's one of the signature films of its era; it deserves to be seen, and it has never looked better or been celebrated with greater eloquence than in this DVD edition from Criterion.