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Well here it is, where it all started. Steven Spielberg is arguably the most successful director of all time, with a career encompassing aliens (both good and bad), dinosaurs, killer sharks, adventurous archaeologists and nazis amongst numerous other subjects. And while he made a little film by the name of Firelight which had a buget of $500 and made a $1 profit! this is universally considered to be his feature length debut.
And it really is a masterclass in simplicty and economical film-making. For the very large majority of this film all Spielberg has at his disposable is one character (Weaver's David), two vehicles (David's car and the satanic truck) and one setting (a lonely, never-ending dusty highway). And yet he is able to craft a film full of thrills and terror. The fact that such a simple premise is able to deliver such excitement and terror is down to the great confidence with which the camera is handled. Constantly darting around and combined with frantic editing it is a great exercise in paranoia and terror.
There is obviously a man v machine allegory going on here, right down to the fact that Weaver's character has the none too subtle surname 'Mann,' However that really is only the briefest of elements here. For the large majority the film is purely concerned with just being a thrilling kick-ass flick. And by never showing us the driver of the truck, or even letting us in on his motives, Speilberg gives the truck a somewhat supernatural element to its threat, added to by the seemingly unnatural level of speed it is able to reach
As a result of the story's nature the film does have a tendency to get a touch repetitive but that's a fairly minor complaint. Dennis Weaver makes for a likeable and sympathetic character to get behind, and sympathise with as he is terrorised and tortured by physically and psychologically. And considering he is pretty much required to carry the film all on his own he does a very nice, commendable job of it.
As you can see from the bit of trivia above this was actually a TV movie on its initial release in America. However it so impressed the head honchos at Universal that when it reached Europe it was shown in cinemas and in 1983 was eventually re-released in American cinemas to capitalise on Spielberg's growing fame. However without having the knowledge beforehand I can't see myself ever guessing that this was a TV movie. Just at no point does it ever look like it.
Upon its release Jaws famously kept people out of the water, and I wouldn't have been surprised had this minimalist cracker kept people out of their cars and off the roads!
Conclusion – A highly impressive film which must certainly be up there amongst the best TV movies ever made. It's just a small taster of the type of talents Spielberg possessed and would show us over the next few decades. Even if it is worlds away from the massive-budgeted spectacles we've become accustomed to. Though on this evidence I wouldn't mind seeing him return to a more simple, sparse film where he has to rely purely on his talents, and not on special effects.
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Year of release
1971
1971
Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Written by
Richard Matheson (story and script)
Richard Matheson (story and script)
Starring
Richard Weaver
Richard Weaver
Duel
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Plot – David Mann (Weaver) is driving home after a business trip. He gets into a small, and seemingly innocuous altercation with a large tanker truck. Except that the truck's driver apparently doesn't see it the same way. Soon David find himself being terrorised by the truck. No matter what he does to try and escape it he cannot lose it. And soon it becomes clear that things have escalated from fender bumping into out and out attempts at pure murder.
Well here it is, where it all started. Steven Spielberg is arguably the most successful director of all time, with a career encompassing aliens (both good and bad), dinosaurs, killer sharks, adventurous archaeologists and nazis amongst numerous other subjects. And while he made a little film by the name of Firelight which had a buget of $500 and made a $1 profit! this is universally considered to be his feature length debut.
And it really is a masterclass in simplicty and economical film-making. For the very large majority of this film all Spielberg has at his disposable is one character (Weaver's David), two vehicles (David's car and the satanic truck) and one setting (a lonely, never-ending dusty highway). And yet he is able to craft a film full of thrills and terror. The fact that such a simple premise is able to deliver such excitement and terror is down to the great confidence with which the camera is handled. Constantly darting around and combined with frantic editing it is a great exercise in paranoia and terror.
Film trivia – Spielberg shot Duel in a mere 12 days! Unsurprisingly it remains Spielberg's shortest film shoot to date. And one I'd say he's never likely to beat.
As a result of the story's nature the film does have a tendency to get a touch repetitive but that's a fairly minor complaint. Dennis Weaver makes for a likeable and sympathetic character to get behind, and sympathise with as he is terrorised and tortured by physically and psychologically. And considering he is pretty much required to carry the film all on his own he does a very nice, commendable job of it.
Film trivia – Early on in the process Gregory Peck was briefly considered for the role of David, but that idea was abandoned when it was decided it would be a TV movie. And while Dennis Weaver was always Spielberg's first choice he didn't actually sign up until the night before shooting began.
Upon its release Jaws famously kept people out of the water, and I wouldn't have been surprised had this minimalist cracker kept people out of their cars and off the roads!
Conclusion – A highly impressive film which must certainly be up there amongst the best TV movies ever made. It's just a small taster of the type of talents Spielberg possessed and would show us over the next few decades. Even if it is worlds away from the massive-budgeted spectacles we've become accustomed to. Though on this evidence I wouldn't mind seeing him return to a more simple, sparse film where he has to rely purely on his talents, and not on special effects.