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Very Cool!!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This is a 2 hr movie carrying no more information or message than you'd find on a 30 sec news footage about road rage.

Originally produced for television, Spielberg's debut feature-length film has stood the test of time. Acquiring the ability to retain the thrilling suspense that was masterfully created back in 1971. A businessman travelling cross-country encounters an oil tanker that soon starts to recklessly infuriate him, turning an innocent drive into a cat-and-mouse pursuit. A simple premise that purposefully lacks backstory to enhance the emergent situation that is being illustrated. Just a feeble car fleeing a monstrous truck. Spielberg excellently ensures that the domineering presence of the beastly tanker is the prominent showpiece, conveying intimidation through its aesthetic appearance and booming engine. His directing technique, which includes POV car shots and wide panning shifts between the two vehicles, is the stand out. It's a prevalent element to the film which heightens its perennial status, even when watching this for the first time today it feels fresh as if watching a modern film. Astonishing really, but proving that solid direction is required to create a classic. Weaver's mild mannered behaviour juxtaposes the ruthless savagery of the anonymous truck driver, thus conjuring up the thrills that is surprisingly maintained well. There are a few moments where the fuel warning light comes on, particularly when the car tries to overtake the truck, due to repetitious scenes. Also can't shake the feeling that he could've simply drove in the opposite direction, easy solution really although not half as exhilarating. However the nitrous fuel is then refilled and the narrative speedily drives away without looking back. The final scene was tremendously filmed, especially the slow motion carnage, and proves that Spielberg works well with tiny budgets also. In fact, this is just as good as his big blockbusters which is an impressive achievement. So sit back, strap yourself in and push the pedal to the metal in this thrilling car chase.

It would always have been a tough call to do a 90-minute movie on such exiguous material, both in terms of script and equipment: basically a massive tanker truck and a small car. Given that just about the entire 90 minutes are on the road, one who knows anything about trucks knows that the menacing old jallopy of a tanker truck could never pump up to the speeds it appears to be doing in the movie. In reality, the central character, played by Dennis Weaver, should have put many miles between the two vehicles in no time, thus leaving the menace trailing in the dust and looking for opposition more its own speed and size.If you manage to overcome that hurdle in terms of believability, you have to wonder why Weaver keeps applying brakes, veering off the road, getting all rattled, and violating all manner of safe driving rules, often upon seeing the tanker truck in the rearview mirror. And, as if that were not questionable enough, twice he runs in the hope of catching up to the dastardly truck, as if he could catch up on two legs and businessman shoes!... and what about his fear that causes him to go all nervous upon sight of the truck, does it disappear miraculously when he is away from his own car and apparently even more vulnerable?Let me say without any hesitation that the character played by Weaver is not blessed with a high IQ. Quite the contrary, he decides to get into a phone booth standing in the middle of poisonous snakes and tarantulas while the truck is speeding up in his direction - and, needless to say, flattens the booth, snakes et all. The script is necessarily squalid, a monologue for the most part, and not a particularly exciting one at that. Camera work deserves plaudits for making the most of bare bones and Weaver's acting is competent and relatively convincing, once you've accepted that he is not the brightest spark around.You never get to see the truck driver, only his arm, very briefly, waving to Weaver to overtake, but he is a nasty villain obviously determined to prevent Weaver reaching his business meeting in time, to bother Weaver all he can, to place Weaver in harm's way, and, ultimately, to kill him. And it is in this frantic and obsessive attempt to kill that you realize that the truck driver's IQ is as low as his intended victim's, or he would have stopped the truck before rolling down the hill.Despite glaring flaws, DUEL is a much copied work and its influence can be seen in movies such as LES PASSAGERS (France, 1977, with Jean-Louis Trintignant) and BREAKDOWN (US 1997, with Kurt Russel), among others.It also helped launch Spielberg's career as director and he, like the film, has had ups and downs in terms of quality, from the lofty heights of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, to the depths of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, among others. 6/10 for Spielberg's honorable debut at age 22, and courage in taking up such a potentially un-filmable project as DUEL.

Duel was Steven Spielberg's debut film, made as a TV in the US but extended to be a theatrical film in Europe.Duel follows David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is a businessman who ends up being chased and tormented by a large truck on the Californian Roads. This simple premise was great for a first-time director to cut his teeth on and even at the age of 24 Spielberg showed his talent. Duel was basically a chase film/horror-thriller that only had a few moments of respite.Spielberg knew how to make increase the tension of the situation, working with his composer and editor to do this. It is especially true for the final showdown between David and the Truck. For a fan of practical effects Duel is a treat because of all the car chases and stunts. It is even more impressive because the film's budget $450,000, which even by early '70s standards a modest sum. It was similar to the first Mad Max film which was also a car movie made cheaply.The problem with the film is the writing. Duel was written by Richard Matheson, best known for writing I Am Legend. Matheson also wrote episodes of The Twilight Zone and Duel was basically an extended episode. Even at 89 minutes Duel was padded - 50 to 60 minutes would have been sufficient.