Duel (1971 film)
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| Duel | |
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 Promotional poster (re-release version) |
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| Genre | Thriller |
| Running time | 74 min. 90 min. (DVD version) |
| Written by | Richard Matheson |
| Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
| Produced by | George Eckstein |
| Starring | Dennis Weaver Carey Loftin |
| Music by | Billy Goldenberg |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Release date(s) | November 13, 1971 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Duel is a 1971 television movie about a trucker stalking a motorist (played by Dennis Weaver) on a remote and lonely road. It was the first feature film directed by Steven Spielberg (then 23 years old) and was written by Richard Matheson based on his own short story. It was #67 on Bravo's "Scariest Movie Moments."
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[edit] Plot
David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is a middle-aged businessman driving to an appointment in his Plymouth Valiant. On a two-lane highway in the California desert, he encounters a faded and grimy tanker truck, a Peterbilt 281, traveling below the speed limit and expelling thick plumes of diesel exhaust. Mann passes the unsightly truck, which promptly roars past him and slows down. Mann passes the truck a second time and is startled when the trucker issues a long air horn blast.
Mann soon finds himself in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game with the truck, which follows him into a gas station and begins tailgating him once the vehicles return to the highway. After Mann allows the truck to overtake his Plymouth, the truck slows down and soon begins blocking Mann’s path each time he attempts to pass the truck. Mann discovers an unpaved turnout next to the highway and uses it to race ahead of the truck. The truck pursues Mann again, this time chasing him at high speed until the Plymouth runs off the road in front of a diner.
Mann enters the diner (Chuck's Cafe) to compose himself and eat lunch. After returning from the men’s room, he is shocked to see the truck parked outside the diner. Mann studies the diner patrons carefully and begins an inner monologue in which he contemplates the trucker’s motives and second guesses his decision to sit helplessly in the diner. Mann decides to confront a patron he suspects of driving the pursuing truck and an altercation ensues. The suspected patron leaves the diner in a livestock truck and seconds later, Mann sees the tanker truck drive away.
Mann returns to the highway to discover the truck is still stalking him. As each of his attempts to outwit and escape the trucker are foiled, Mann finally realizes his best hope for survival is to outrun the truck in one final do-or-die chase.
Mann manages to face his opponent on a large hill. He places his briefcase on the accelator and Drives it into the face of the truck, leaping from the car at the last second. The truck cannot keep control after hitting the car and plunges off the end of the hill. The truck finally beaten, Mann laughs hysterically in triumph then sits down and waits while the sun sets.
[edit] Production
The script is adapted by Richard Matheson from his own short story, originally published in Playboy magazine. It came from a real-life experience, in which Matheson was tailgated by a trucker on his way home from a golfing match with writer friend Jerry Sohl, on the same day as the Kennedy assassination. The short story was given to Spielberg by his secretary who reportedly read the magazine for the stories. [1]
Some have proposed that Matheson may also have been inspired by a 1947 episode of the old-time radio series Lights Out entitled "What the Devil", which had a similar plot but different resolution.
Duel was Spielberg's feature-length directing debut, following a well-received turn directing a segment of the anthology television series Night Gallery. Initially shown on American television as an ABC Movie of the Week installment, it was eventually released to cinemas in Europe and Australia, and had a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States.
Despite its simple plot, a low budget (only $375,000) and very short filming deadlines (originally 10 days), the movie maintains a high level of suspense due to Spielberg's taut direction, tight editing and the script's refusal to resolve the central mystery of the driver. The film's success enabled Spielberg to move beyond directing for television and establish himself as a competent film director. [2]
During the original filming, the crew only had one truck and so the final shot of the truck falling off the cliff had to be completed in one take. For the film's theatrical release, though, additional trucks were purchased in order to film the additional scenes that were not in the original made-for-TV version (i.e., the school bus scene and the railroad crossing). Only one of those trucks has survived.
Much of the movie was filmed in southern California's "Canyon Country," in and around Agua Dulce, California and Acton, California. In particular, sequences were filmed on Sierra Highway, Agua Dulce Canyon Road, Soledad Canyon Road and Angeles Forest Highway. Many of the landmarks from Duel still exist today, including the tunnel, the railroad crossing and Chuck’s Café, a place where David Mann abruptly stops for a break. The building, now a French restaurant, is currently still on Sierra Highway.
The original made-for-television version was only 74 minutes long and was completed in 13 days (3 longer than the scheduled 10 days), leaving 10 days for editing prior to broadcast as the ABC "Movie of the Week". Following Duel's successful TV airing, Universal released Duel overseas in 1973, especially in Europe. Since the TV movie's 74 minutes was not long enough for theatrical release, Universal had Spielberg spend 2 days filming several new scenes. These new scenes turned Duel into a 90 minute film. The new scenes were the railroad crossing, school bus, and David Mann's telephone conversation with his wife. Also a longer opening sequence was added with the car backing out of a garage and driving through the city. Expletives were added to make the film sound like a major motion picture.
Director Steven Spielberg lobbied to have Dennis Weaver in the starring role because he admired Weaver's work in Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.
[edit] Cast
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[edit] Reception
Though the film was a made-for-TV movie it received many positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film currently has a "Fresh" score of 81% (2008).
[edit] The vehicles
In the DVD documentary, Spielberg observes that the fear of the unknown is perhaps the greatest fear of all and that Duel plays heavily to that fear. Throughout the film, the driver of the truck remains anonymous and unseen, with the exception of two separate shots where his arm beckons Weaver to pass him, and another shot where Weaver observes the driver's snakeskin boots. His motives for targeting Weaver's character are never revealed. Spielberg says that the effect of not seeing the driver makes the real villain of the film the truck itself, rather than the driver. An 'audition' was held, where Spielberg viewed a series of trucks to choose the one for the film. He selected the older 1955 Peterbilt 281 [1] over the then-current flat-nosed 'forward control' style of trucks because the long bonnet of the Peterbilt, coupled to its split windscreens and round headlights gave it more of a 'face', adding to the menacing personality.[3]
For each shot, several people had the task to make it uglier, adding some "truck make-up". The car was also carefully chosen, a red 1971 Plymouth Valiant with an underpowered engine to signify the weakness of the David Mann character. Its red color was also intentional for Spielberg wanted the car to appear well among all the dust and rocks on the road, which are basically brown and green. The shots of the truck are done in such a way as to make it seem "alive" in terms of its attack on Mann. According to Spielberg, the multiple license plates on the front bumper of the truck are meant to subtly suggest that it is a serial killer.
[edit] Duel and Jaws
The dinosaur roar sound effect that is heard as the truck goes over the cliff is also heard in Jaws as the shark's carcass sinks into the ocean. Spielberg has said that this is because he feels there is a "kinship" between Duel and Jaws, as they are both "about these leviathans targeting everyman." He has also said that inserting the sound effect into Jaws was "my way of thanking Duel for giving me a career." [4]
[edit] References
- ^ Duel: Special Edition DVD (2005)
- ^ Duel: Special Edition DVD (2005)
- ^ Duel: Special Edition DVD (2005)
- ^ Duel: Special Edition DVD (2005)
- The Complete Spielberg by Ian Freer, Virgin Books (2001).
- Steven Spielberg by James Clarke, Pocket Essentials (2004).
- Steven Spielberg The Collectors Edition by Empire Magazine (2004).
- The Steven Spielberg Story by Tony Crawley, William Morrow (1983).
- Duel by Richard Matheson, Tor Books Terror Stories Series (2003).
[edit] External links
- Duel at the Internet Movie Database
- Duel at Rotten Tomatoes
- Duel (1971) Theatrical Trailer at YouTube
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