Duel DVD > Reviews > Spielberg's Hollywood Calling Card

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	see review
Disadvantages:	see review

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The movie is to be applauded on two counts. Not only is it one of the most nailbitingly tense movies ever made, but it also the movie which acted as a certain Mr. Steven Spielberg's Hollywood calling card. Originally made for TV on a meagre budget of around $425,000, Duel was to be snapped up firstly by European cinemas where it went on to achieve great success and finally ten years later received a much overdue US run after Spielberg had plundered its ideas in his blockbuster movies like Jaws. The idea was not Spielberg's however, but that of screen writer Richard Matheson, who came up with the idea after having been dangerously tailgated by a menacing truck in a narrow canyon. "...we were terrified" he recalled in one interview but "once you survive death, you start thinking of a story". The result is certainly just that simplistic, a guy menaced by a truck, but the terror he must have felt been pushed down the road at high speed with no means of getting out of the way is perfectly recreated by Spielberg's production. I wouldn't hesitate to say this is, in my eyes, Spielberg's finest hour...

Duel is effectively the first real 'road rage' movie and still one of the finest thrillers ever produced, the lack of budget obviously getting the creative juices really flowing as opposed to handing the responsibility over the special effects team to draw in the crowds. It is also notable that there is little of the now sadly characteristic sappy 'Americanisms' which Spielberg's laeter movies all seem to exhibit and absolutely no hint that this is in any way, shape or form a 'message movie'. The agenda here is to terrify the viewer, nothing more, nothing less and terrify us Spielberg does. There is effectively just one character in the entire movie, that of David Mann(Dennis Weaver) a man in a hurry to get to an urgent meeting. Travelling across California, on a deserted stretch of highway he finds himself caught behind a big old diesel tanker and decides of course to overtake - who wouldn't? That is of course without reckoning with the consequences, as obviously this action is against the wishes of the psychotic rig driver and so begins a David and Goliath style duel as Mann in his red Plymouth Valiant battles first to get past the mechanical monster and then for his very survival as things turn progressively ugly.

The premise is that simple, but the finished product is pure genius. Dennis Weaver(probably most notable as the star of Maverick) may not be the most highly regarded of actors, but his perormance here is perfect. He is a typical American, a meek mannered salesman, busy minding his own business and suddenly plunged into a nightmare for the 'crime' of overtaking a truck on a dusty desert road. Silence is a main feature of this movie, non-speaking silence that is at least, and Weaver must instead convey his terror in his face and body language which he does superbly. When he ponders his own situation aloud, the fear in his voice in tangible and the depair of his situation is infectious. So deeply are we involved in his thoughts and feelings that we 'become' him for the duration of the movie, resultantly we feel his terror and despair and ultimately forget how easy it would actually be to outrun a lumbering old tanker on the open road. One scene in particular, inside a roadside cafe, where paranoia overtakes him, quite literally puts you inside David Mann's shoes. We are inside Mann's head, hearing his thoughts, seeing through his frantically darting eyes as he realises the tanker driver is there as well and tries to work out which of the other diners it is. You can almost feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead - you forehead - trickling down the back of his neck as overwhelming panic sets in. Not many movies can so effectively draw you in like this.

Weaver's Mann is NOT the only character in this movie however - the other is the truck itself. Spielberg ingeniously never once reveals the driver of the cab, rather exposes a chunky arm as the driver waves Mann on into oncoming traffic or a boot to let us know that there is nothing supernatural about the pursuit of the relentless metallic monster. The effect of this ambiguity simply heightens the already tense atmosphere, Spielberg utilising the primal fear of an unseen enemy take firm hold of our imagination(an effect he would use again in Jaws) rather than giving us the easy option of a greasy tattooed psycho to focus upon. Instead however, he turns the truck itself into a character, careful selection having been employed in the choice of a Peterbilt gasoline tanker truck, as its snoutlike engine housing and earlike hydrolic tanks by the doors give it the rather eerie look of a gigantic iron monster. This put something of a novel spin on the classic monster movies he grew up on before returning to flesh and blood beasts in Jaws where he would reuse so many of these ideas.

Pitting the rusting hulk of the Peterbilt tanker against Mann's comparitively weedy red Valiant gives us something of a David and Goliath struggle and the futility of Mann's situation is something played upon repeatedly in this. Spielberg makes sure to make great use of sound effects to impress this fact upon us, switching regularly between the poweful heavy duty growling of the Peterbilt and the pathetic mosquito-like whining of the Valiant during the chase scenes. These scenes themselves are incredibly kinetic, Spielberg filming the pursuit with cameras low to the ground to over-emphasise the difference in scale of the two metallic gladiators and to put across the true speed these vehicles reached - upto 135 mph apparently as stunt drivers Carey Loftin (also used in that other great car chase movie Bullitt) in the Peterbilt and Dale Van Sickle in the Valiant really pushed the pedal to the metal on the deserted desert roadways! The pace is relentless and despite the sweaty, dusty settings and the almost tangible fear and taste of burning rubber and expended gasoline, Spielberg manages to inject a strange beauty into some of the most unlikely scenes. A chase around a snake farm and the concluding moments are quite stunning in their own right and his wide variety of different and surprsing camera angles keep it visuals intriguing.

I suppose what makes Duel quite so frightening and effective is that the events which happen here could just so easily happen to every one of us when we step inside our cars and hit the open road. Perhaps this is not quite so relevant to us when travelling in this country, with settlements never being too far away even in the most barren areas, but when driving through the barren desert areas of places like Arizona, Nevada etc. its difficult for those who have seen this movie not to have it in the back of their minds. Even here, surely there can be none among us who has never been tailgated, pushed to speeds we would rather not drive at around dangerous roads or in dangerous conditions by another driver at least and the recent media panic over road rage adds even more relevancy to the events here. Duel has certainly stood the test of time in every respect and perhaps has gained even more relevance due to recent stories surrounding assaults and even murder through road rage. Its the kind of movie which will make your palms sweat, your knuckles progressively whiten and is sure to leave your nerves shot to pieces at the end of its extended 90 minutes(the TV version was only 72 minutes long) running length but, the human condition being what it is, you'll love every second of it.

For me, this is still Spielberg's best movie, remaining entertaining long after we dared to go back into the water and Jurassic merchandise stopped stalking the shop shelves. Spielberg was only 26 when he made this, which shows just how good a dirctor he is, with or without the multi-million dollar budgets. Duel was due for a region 1 DVD release in April 2002, no doubt with the other regions to follow but for unstated reasons this release date was shelved and is now marked a disappointing 'TBA' leaving its future hanging in the balance. Until it arrives, or if it never does, Duel is available on VHS format for £5.99 from Amazon and undoubtedly you'll find it knocking around the likes of eBay etc. as well for a cheaper tarrif. If you haven't seen it then definitely consider checking it out, its definitely 90 minutes of your life well spent.