Monte Hellman
Monte Hellman (1929–2021) was an American director and editor whose lean, existential genre features made him a touchstone figure of late-1960s and 1970s American independent cinema. He trained as a director and editor in low-budget productions for Roger Corman before producing the existential Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind on shared budgets. His best-known feature Two-Lane Blacktop became a defining work of the American road movie. His acclaimed films include Beast from Haunted Cave, Back Door to Hell, The Shooting, Ride in the Whirlwind, Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter, China 9, Liberty 37, and Iguana.