Duel (1971)

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Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Starring Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, Tim Herbert, Jacqueline Scott, Dennis Weaver.

Driving down a deserted Southern California highway at a safe and sane 55 miles per hour, David Mann (Dennis Weaver) steps on the pedal to pass a large gas trailer truck. Moments later, the truck is back, dangerously tailgating Mann before abruptly cutting him off. For the next 90 minutes, Mann and the never-seen truckdriver are pitted against one another in a motorized duel to the death. Author Richard Matheson conceived Duel after a similar experience with a reckless trucker. The story first appeared in Playboy magazine, then was picked up for adaptation by the producers of The ABC Movie of the Week. The director chosen to helm Duel on location in Soledad Canyon was a bright 23-year-old who'd shown promise on such series as Night Gallery and Columbo: Steven Spielberg. First telecast on December 18, 1971, Duel was so popular that a somewhat longer version (with added violence and profanity) was prepared for theatrical release in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

FilmCouch #75 - The Happening: ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening is as bad as we feared (or hoped?). Shyamalan, and the studios who have dared to work with him, would like to paint him as a first-bill auteur, a director of genius and vision who’s name atop the poster puts butts in seats. Alas, things do not looks good for ol’ Manoj. In this episode of FilmCouch we compare The Happening with two classics by directors whose names do sell movies, and who have influenced Shyamalan’s career: Spielberg and Hitchcock. Duel, Spielberg’s first film, is a lost gem, and a must-see for anyone hoping to populate their film with a faceless evil. And of course, we look at Hitchcock’s The Birds, the genesis of the spooky nature-turns-on-man sub-genre. (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) filmcouch-75 The Happening, The Birds, Duel, Shyamalan, Spielberg, Hitchcock Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]

Re:Who's your favorite horror m ...
by elmonstro1982 in HORROR MOVIES 101

hasn't rated it.

"[quote user="Risselada"] I'm not really not sure if this would qualify as a horror movie, but The Monster in No Such Thing for sure! Otherwise either Jack Torrence in The Shining, Raymond Lemorne in The Vanishing, or the truck in Duel. [/quote] Thanks for the idea Risselada, I'm gonna check out "No Such Thing." I think many of us are going to...It may warrant a new thread! " [More]

Re:Who's your favorite horror m ...
by Risselada in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"I'm not really not sure if this would qualify as a horror movie, but The Monster in No Such Thing for sure! Otherwise either Jack Torrence in The Shining, Raymond Lemorne in The Vanishing, or the truck in Duel. " [More]

Re:$7 Champagne
by Risselada in B Movies

loved it.

"[quote user="Dr_Gor"] [quote user="Risselada"] I agree. And what about Steven Spielberg whose greatest movie in my opinion is Duel. Then they gave him quite a bit more money to do Jaws which was just as awesome. But after that I think his movies got too "big". [/quote] Interesting that you should mention those two movies, Rizzo. Did you know that Spielberg intended for JAWS to be a sequel to Duel ? I actually heard him say this in an interview. Actually there ARE a few similarities... raplace the truck with a shark and Dennis Weaver with 'Martin Brody' and there you have it. Also, you will notice that he used the exact same orchestral sound effect at the end of both movies... When the truck is plunging over the cliff and when the exploded shark is sinking to the bottom of the ocean it is the exact same sound effect! check it out! I also heard that he 'lifted' this sound effect from an earlier dinosaur movie, The Lost World I think, where it was the sound ... " [More]

Re:$7 Champagne
by Dr_Gor in B Movies

loved it.

"[quote user="Risselada"] I agree. And what about Steven Spielberg whose greatest movie in my opinion is Duel. Then they gave him quite a bit more money to do Jaws which was just as awesome. But after that I think his movies got too "big". [/quote] Interesting that you should mention those two movies, Rizzo. Did you know that Spielberg intended for JAWS to be a sequel to Duel ? I actually heard him say this in an interview. Actually there ARE a few similarities... raplace the truck with a shark and Dennis Weaver with 'Martin Brody' and there you have it. Also, you will notice that he used the exact same orchestral sound effect at the end of both movies... When the truck is plunging over the cliff and when the exploded shark is sinking to the bottom of the ocean it is the exact same sound effect! check it out! I also heard that he 'lifted' this sound effect from an earlier dinosaur movie, The Lost World I think, where it was the sound of a T-Rex dieing or s ... " [More]

Re:$7 Champagne
by SkyPilot in B Movies

liked it.

"[quote user="Risselada"] And what about Steven Spielberg whose greatest movie in my opinion is Duel. Then they gave him quite a bit more money to do Jaws which was just as awesome. But after that I think his movies got too "big". [/quote] I like Jaws too, and to me it's more of an exploitation creature feature than a blockbuster. Can you think of anyone who has given more consistently thrilling movies after they hit the big time? I'm pretty ignorant about Hitchcock (I've only seen Rope and Rear Window) but from the reviews I've seen, his later movies are more revered than his earlier contract work. " [More]

Re:$7 Champagne
by Risselada in B Movies

loved it.

"[quote user="SkyPilot"] B movies can be like a seven dollar bottle of champagne, miles away from the real thing but every bit as fun. I sometimes wonder if the most "alive," vervacious movies are necessarily made on a low budget... Compare Star Wars: Episode IV to Episode I. Or True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction on the one hand -- the getting-bloated Kill Bill 2 on the other hand, followed by the totally hit-and-miss Death Proof. Energy and entropy, Mssrs. Lucas and Tarantino! What's going on here, money or ego? [/quote] I agree. And what about Steven Spielberg whose greatest movie in my opinion is Duel. Then they gave him quite a bit more money to do Jaws which was just as awesome. But after that I think his movies got too "big". " [More]

Sweeney Todd Duels Charlie Wilson
by dibot in dibot Blog

is neutral about it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Sweeney Todd is just further proof that Tim Burton ("Corpse Bride") doesn't make bad movies. London is dark and gloomy. Johnny Depp ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End") is singing his pants off. (This is a musical, people. I went with my sister-in-law and after a few minutes, she leans over and says, "They sure sing a lot.") It's glorious. Not only does the music really compel you, there are lots of bloody deaths as well. (Please note the subhead: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. My sister-in-law also commented on how grisly some of the deaths were.) Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I, of course, have a couple of complaints which may or may not have any bearing on the actual film. The young guy who falls in love, Jamie Campbell Bower in his big screen debut, made me giggle. Almost every time he came on screen. I don't know why. Also, they didn't do my favorite song from the stage version of the play where they sing, ... " [More]

Spielberg's First Film Is A Win ...
by JakeStevens in JakeStevens Blog

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I've got to admit - I was impressed. Spielberg does so much with so little in this film, and it certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat. You can really see a lot of Alfred Hitchcock's influence on Spielberg in this film. I particularly liked the sequence where Dennis Weaver's character is attempting to get his overheating car up the mountain side - you really feel the panic of the moment. Speaking of Dennis Weaver, this is the first film I'd ever seen him in, and although I found his voice AND his voice overs a tad grating at times, he really pulled it together in the last 20 minutes or so. The editing in certain parts was God-awful, but it didn't take too much away from the film overall, because the scenery is fantastic; it makes me wish I were back in California (where this was obviously filmed). Good for a Saturday night rental...and you don't have to think too much to enjoy it, if that's what you're looking for. " [More]

Re:'Tis the season...
by Risselada in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"Well Doctor, I'm fairly sure I haven't seen even 10% of the horror movies you have, but I will make a list anyhow.I know we have had many discussion in the past about what constitutes a horror movie. But for purposes of this list, I will try to limit myself to more strictly defined horror. In other words, I will only include movies that I think there would be a decent chance that you could find them in the "horror" section of your video rental store. It's still hard to differentiate though because some movies might be more thriller than horror, or more sci-fi than horror, or more action than horror, or more comedy than horror.1. The Shining2. Ravenous3. Cube4. The Thing (1982)5. Night of the Living Dead 6. Psycho7. Alien8. American Psycho9. The Blair Witch Project10. Sleepy Hollow11. Jaws12. From Dusk Till Dawn13. Funny Games14. Ringu15. Jurassic Park Here are some more that I think are pretty close to horror that I love but might be more thrillers.Th ... " [More]

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Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

A traveling salesman and a mysterious truck that pursues him are the only ingredients in this minimalist story that marked Steven Spielberg's first major directorial feature. Originally made for television, Duel was shown theatrically in Europe in the early '70s but did not have an American release until 1983, after Spielberg had become a household name with Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T. Writer Richard Matheson concocted an exercise in paranoia, featuring Dennis Weaver as the salesman, in which the truck driver's face is never shown and his motives are never clear. Thus the story has a Kafkaesque quality, as the salesman is psychologically tortured while being physically terrorized. Spielberg shows a firm grasp of the action, even if it occasionally becomes repetitive. It is hard to imagine, from this spare, economical film, that he would go on to a career as an impresario of big-budget, special-effects blockbusters. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Tags: roadrage , highway , debut , tanker , Classic
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