Duel

Duel (1971)

Runtime: I saw the international theatrical version at 90 minutes

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, Gene Dynarski

From: Universal Television

This is a motion picture I once saw on television… between 25 and 30 years ago one weekend afternoon. I have a variety of movies that Spielberg made for Universal in a Blu collection, this included; ‘bout damn time my fat-headed self got to it, right? Unlike the 74 minute version originally released on TV back in ‘71-i.e. the version I saw as a kid-what was on disc was only the 90 minute “international theatrical” cut.

It had quite the simple premise of “milquetoast man in a Plymouth Valiant is harassed then is the victim of attempted manslaughter by an unseen foe in a Peterbilt tanker truck” yet despite the lead being alone for much of the movie, the premise manages to work. Dennis Weaver is poor David Mann, the driver of the Valiant. Besides the plotting (courtesy of Richard Matheson) and how often you see the truck terrorize an innocent person just because the truck driver is a sociopath, the minimal score, the sounds of the vehicles, the radio, Weaver’s internal monologue and other usages of diegetic sound help create a terrifying world where a faceless machine is portrayed as an unstoppable enemy as if it’s The Terminator.

I’m not sure if the new scenes added for the international theatrical cut were really needed (nor the random mild cursing) yet at least there were more thrills and even some time spent with Mann’s wife so it wasn’t bad footage by any means. In any case, it’s a very good movie where it becomes rather easy to root for random businessman Weaver, which still thrills even half a century later. Hopefully no one’s ever had the experience of having a sociopath in a vehicle chase after them… because I have! In Florida there’s no shortage of awful drivers & not everyone takes it well when I honk at them for their stupidity. That’s as specific as I’ll get but don’t worry, it was nothing like what David Mann experienced, especially the finale. To think that Spielberg was only 24 when he made this, AND it was his feature debut.

This was perfect for viewing last night due to two factors: a bad day on the road yesterday where multiple people either almost pulled out or backed into me, and today that was not only better, it was spent at an auto show which had many different auto companies present various 2023 model year vehicles.