Monte Hellman, the director of films such as ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’, ‘The Shooting’ and ‘Road to Nowhere’, died on April 20 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, California, after falling into his house on April 19. He was 91.
Hellman was a cult director who was much admired in the industry and earned fans like Quentin Tarantino; they like his derogatory storytelling, which contains poetic blossoms amidst his genre films.
After working as an editorial student at ABC, he made his directorial debut with the 1959 “Beast From Haunted Cave”, produced by Roger Corman. He became part of the Corman stable of veterans who learned how to get a maximum impact on the minimum budget. Other Corman alumni include Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.
Hellman worked with Jack Nicholson in the 1960s, including two films shot in a row in the Philippines, “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury.” Hellman and Nicholson once again played on two Westerns, “Ride the Whirlwind” and “The Shooting,” using elements of traditional Hollywood oats, spaghetti westerns, and 1960s anti-culture sensitivities.
He also directed “The Cockfighter” (1974) and “China 9, Liberty 37” (1978), starring Warren Oates. “China” has the added distinction of a rare play by Sam Peckinpah.
The road movie “Two-Lane Blacktop” opened in 1971 and the star pairing of James Taylor and Dennis Wilson attracted interest, but it was not a big hit; however, his reputation has grown over the years. Film Talk describes it as ‘one of the greatest road films ever made’ and was admitted to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2012.
He directs ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!’ (1989), a rare change in pace with a slasher sequel. He admitted that it was probably his worst film, but he was proud of the fact that he started filming in March 1989 and that the final cut was ready in June.
His 2010 noir film, “Road to Nowhere”, was by Variety‘s Steven Gaydos, won a special Golden Lion at the Venetian Film Festival. Tarantino was head of the jury and praised him as a great film artist and a minimalist poet. Hellman later said it was the most personal of all his films.
Hellman later contributed a 90-second film to the multi-segment documentary “Venice 70: Future Reloaded” (2013).
In addition to making his own films, he has also directed series in other films and served in other capacities, such as a dialogue director for Corman’s 1967 “The St. He was awarded the editorship of, among others,” The Wild Angels “. (1966), “Two-Lane Blacktop” and Peckinpah’s 1975 “The Killer Elite”, and did uncredited editing on several films, including the Monkees trippy comedy “Head” (1968) and the 1979 Lee Marvin Vehicle. Avalanche Express. “
Hellman was a producer of Tarantino’s 1992 “Reservoir Dogs”. He was also a directing teacher at the California Institute of the Arts.
Survivors include his daughter, Melissa; son, Jared; and brother Herb Himmelbaum.