Duel (Collector's Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Duel (Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: Bloody brilliant piece of filmmaking!
Summary: 5 Stars
Still, to this day, DUEL (1971) is perhaps my FAVORITE Steven Spielberg "film"! Technically released as a made-for-TV movie in 1971 in U.S., it was re-marketed and theatrically released on Europe as a feature in 1972. Not surprisingly, it was a major success in both arenas, garnering major award nominations (Golden Globe for Best TV movie and Emmy noms for Sound Editing and Cinematography) and even garnering a film festival award as Best Feature Film of 1972. The then early-twentysomething Spielberg was immediately hailed as a phenom and the rest, as they say, is history. As far as I'm concerned, DUEL is a FILM. As good or better as any debut of an actual feature film of an up-and-coming director...and just as influential.
DUEL is a thrilling psychological tale of a cat-and-mouse game between a psychotic truck driver and David Mann (the perfectly cast Dennis Weaver in a magnificent performance), a weary family man and salesman on a business road trip. Mann is just casually trying to get to his destination, when the trucker goads him into road rage by constantly passing and blocking him. Just when Mann thinks he's gotten the better of the trucker, the real "game" begins and it becomes a matter of life and death as Mann must navigate the desert highway to elude this pyschopath. Weaver perfectly relays Mann's slightly frustrated, meek, everyday Joe quality. I like the fact that the story never makes Mann do anything out of character or impulsive and forces him to react, rather than act, for most of the film. Even when he does kind of take action, it does a good job of explaining his inner thoughts and what motivates him to act this way.
DUEL, minus a couple of hiccups, is one of the best edited films as each cut serves an actual purpose to simultaneously move the story along and relay the intensity of the situation. It's of great benefit that Spielberg was forced to use his imagination with intricate camera work as this was even before the era of fancy special effects in films. And Spielberg's direction is rock solid BEYOND good! Hard to believe it took less than 2 weeks to make this classic!
It always fascinates me how an older film like DUEL, which SHOULD be dated, still manages to seem more modern than many of the films that have tried to copy it over the decades. "Simplicity" is a word that often comes to mind. DUEL is minimalist filmmaking in that it's told from a singular point of view and presented in a (feasible) way that makes us totally empathize with the main character's plight to the point where we can actually see ourselves going through this. Another thing is that DUEL was literally shot on location in remote roadside desert locales, which gives the film a timeless quality. Not to mention that all minor characters (the diner crowd, the elderly couple on the highway, the bus driver and kids, and the "snake" lady) come across as being very convincing in their bit parts. The dialogue is spare, natural, and realistic. None of that "too clever for it's own good" stuff you hear in so many flicks like this nowadays.
I still think this is one of Spielberg's top films, right up there with JAWS, probably the only 2 films that he's made that I don't think slow down or lag at any moment. I own the DVD with Spielberg's commentary and added scenes that flesh DUEL out into a "film" more than it's initial TV-movie-of-the-week presentation, and for the most part, I think these scenes are of benefit.....TV movie?.....Film?..... A masterwork whatever the format!
Movie Review: Spielberg's a genius!
Summary: 5 Stars
It has been 20 years since I last saw this movie, and after watching the new DVD it still holds up. It's a classic mystery/suspense movie, showcasing a deadly cat-and-mouse game on wheels. It's a David and Goliath battle between a puny red car, and a demonic truck with the implications of ego between the drivers. Superp camera angles further add to the suspense of the film. The beautiful scenery of the desert highway compliments the movie even further. Dennis Weaver's acting in the movie is excellent, playing the part of a humdrum salesman driving on the open road and going through the motions of the day- until he passes a menacing-looking truck. Steven did great justice to a great story and plot by Richard Matheson.
There are however, a couple minor yet significant errors on this DVD. Periodically, the movie captures the thoughts of David Mann as he struggles with his situation psychologically and emotionally. Two of those essential audio clips were deleted from the dvd for some unknown reason. In the original tv movie, both of these audio clips happen towards the end of the movie. The first one is where David Mann passes the truck from a dead stop- the part that begins the final chase sequence. Upon passing the truck, David thinks to himself:
"Okay. I passed him. Probably just what he wanted. Then he'll keep me in his sights until it's time for the kill." David then looks in the mirror and sees his nemesis rapidly closing in on him. He then says, "Just what I thought."
The second audio happens a couple minutes later while David is thinking about his strategy of beating the truck driver. His strategy is to get to the high mountain pass on the upgrade. He believes this would surely cause the truck to fall far behind. But how to get there while maintaining his distance with the truck is the concern, as David thinks to himself again:
"...But can I hold that speed over a distance? I've never done that before. Well, then again I've never gone through this before. Okay. Okay, I'll just keep remembering there's a muderer behind me."
Both of these original audio clips I thought were essential parts of the movie, since they captured the FEAR and PANIC of the protagonist.
Last but not least, the "dinosaur roar" audio clip at the very end of the movie was also deleted. The original tv movie had the sound happen just as the truck was going over the cliff, and again as it crashed at the bottom of the mountainside. Ironically enough, Steven Spielberg himself talks about including that clip on the interview section of the DVD. So why did he leave it out then? I thought the "roar" was a perfect audio effect to include as the monster truck fell to its doom.
It was disappointing that all of these original audio clips were deleted from the movie. Yes they are minor changes, but nevetheless it takes away the originality of the film. I guess I have an appreciation for preserving originality where it's necessary. Oh well. It's still great to have on DVD finally!
Movie Review: Great movie with interesting Special Features
Summary: 5 Stars
I like this DVD, not only because it's the early Speilberg classic, but because the special features are really cool.
Of course, you get the classic...
A regular, mild mannered 70's salesman from Southern Cal, David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is on a road trip accross the desert to meet a client.
On his way, he has a simple run in with a mysterious, rusty, huge deisel truck with an unseen, mystery driver. As everyone knows, you never see the driver throughout the film, but it becomes obvious early on that this driver is crazy and has singled out Dennis Weaver's character for no aparent reason, and continues to terrorize and chase David Mann across the desert, until the climactic showdown.
A lot of films that have come out since then have drawn a lot of inspiration from this suspense classic, from the 80's (C Thomas Howell/Rutger Hauer "The Hitcher" comes to mind), all the way up to more recent suspense/horror films with more obvious influence from Duel, like Kurt Russell's "Breakdown", "Joyride" with Paul walker, and of course "Jeepers Creepers", which repeats certain lines and camera shots from Duel as an actual tribute...it would have been cool if the Bonus Materials had gone through and interviewed other directors who have referenced Duel in one way or another in later films. As far as suspenseful desert highway films go, this is the classic.
I like the original movie for it's 70's style cinematography, (the use of sunlight is really retro 70's, but is still cool) and for the details that, even that early on, Speilberg addded.
The special features are really good, especially the extended feature where Speilberg himself talks about the making of the film. Anybody who is an aspiring filmaker (like myself) would find this interview really informative, because he gives a lot of camera tricks and production techniques he used. He also shows the time saving techniques he used to shoot the entire film in as short a time as possible (he was only given 13 days). A lot of cool details are given out about camera angles, production techniques, why and how he picked the truck that was used, and more. Even though the film was made in 1971, a lot of the tricks Speilberg used then are still pretty ingenious, even today. Also the references to past films and filmakers (especially Hitchcock) was cool as well.
If you like the movie Duel, or consider yourself a fan of Speilberg's films, this is a good DVD to get
Movie Review: Steven Spielberg's first masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
Duel was created by a young Steven Spielberg, way back before he became a Hollywood legend. No other film maker does suspense, like Spielberg does. This is certainly evident with Duel, which was Spielberg's first film. Dennis Weaver is cast as the main character, named David Mann. David is a rather milquetoast traveling salesman. He's a bit afraid of his demanding wife, and under constant pressure to perform well at his job.
One day, David sets out on a long road trip, to handle some important business at his job. David travels lots of deserted highways, to get to his destination. He has no reason to expect his journey to be anything other than a pleasant drive, out on those remote highways. But a deranged trucker harasses David out on the road, and turns his otherwise routine business trip into a nightmare.
This film belongs entirely to Dennis Weaver, as David. The few supporting characters, seem to be just incidental to the plot. Spielberg made sure that the whole thrust of the story-line, was intensely focused on David, and his quest to escape the insane trucker. None of the other characters take David seriously anyhow, when he tries to get their help to fend-off the trucker. David realizes in horror, that he is left all alone, to defend himself.
Dennis Weaver does a superb job, of portraying the terrified David Mann. Weaver makes the viewer believe that David is utterly shocked and bewildered, by his predicament. Spielberg's genius at milking every iota of the film's suspense element, is everywhere in this movie. For instance, the viewer always wonders if David will ever identify the trucker, or why the trucker is after him to begin with. Also, just as the trucker is closing in on David, David's car starts to malfunction. This is one of the most spine-tingling parts of the film, that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Duel is a sparse film. It was made during an era when most films lacked all of the frills, of today's overblown 'blockbusters'. It's all substance, without a slick veneer of style. If you like movies with genuine, cliff-hanger suspense and visceral thrills, then Duel is a must-see.
Movie Review: Precocious Kid Surpasses Budget, Timetable, And Expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
Picture this: a 23-year-old directs a cast composed entirely of actors older than him (with the exception of a bunch of school children whose scene lasts just a few minutes), exceeds the producers' budget, fails to meet the imposed deadline, and comes up with a piece that still packs enough chills to terrify motorists 35 years later.
Eschewing plot intricacies and character depth, Spielberg brings us back to the time when movies were vehicles for no-frills storytelling. The sheer simplicity of the plot is in fact what makes Duel so frighteningly real to anybody who has gotten behind the wheel and traveled alone, especially on long stretches of highway.
One thing I noticed that was not mentioned by any of the other reviewers here is the fact that Duel plays out in real time. With the exception of one scene where a time lapse is compressed into just under a minute (when David Mann hides his car behind some bushes and waits it out for an hour or so before continuing his trek), the entire movie's events take place in the same amount of time as the movie itself. So what's the significance of this? It makes the entire experience of our protagonist even more real. You get more of that "oh-my-God-this-could-very-well-be-me" feeling when you see the events unfolding with virtually no time lapses.
Spielberg holds the distinction of being the only director with five entries in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time (from 1896 to 1996): Jaws, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T, and Schindler's List. I'll go out on a limb here, folks, and declare that Duel remains Spielberg's best movie. The others have not aged all that well. The awe and wonder of his fantasy flicks have faded, and so has the pathos of Schindler's List. On the other hand, the terror that Duel elicits has remained real as ever.
So does that lead me to the conclusion that Duel deserves to be in the 100 Greatest Movies list, in place of one of these five Spielberg films? It's a tough call, but I would have to say that at the very least, Duel just has to be the greatest made-for-TV movie of all time.