Sorry, this movie sucks

Powerful

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

There was way too much dead air in this movie. Unless the owner of the red car is the worst driver in the world he had numerous chances to get away and stay away from that truck. After having one confrontation with the big truck our "hero" is shown driving only 40 miles an hour on a straight road when he should have been hitting 100 to escape that maniac.Some of the scenes where he was going around corners were so pathetic, I had to laugh at it.I gave it five of ten for the scenery but the driving was awful.

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.

Television Review: "Duel" (1971)Naming 54 directing credits to his name since 1961; including shorts films, television content and theatrical feature presentations; director Steven Spielberg, at age 24, gets the chance by producer George Eckstein (1928-2009) to direct an original thriller script by screenwriter Richard Matheson (1926-2013) on salesman David Mann, portrayed with beat work and convictions by actor Dennis Weaver (1926-2006) in a casual red car driving U.S. nid-western roads before a small-time roadhouse misunderstanding transforms an unless relaxing sales representative ride into a nightmare of paranoia; while getting chased to the edges of a deserted highway by an old, rusty truck vehicle, which surprisingly stays a 85-Minute suspense entertainment ride produced for primetime NBC Universal television content, airing November 13th 1971 to success with living room audiences, marking first steps towards the name by "Steven Spielberg" as a director's trademark for quality motion picture content, following into further engagements with Hollywood producers Dan Brown and Richard D. Zanuck, when the final breakthorugh hits four years after "Duel" with shark-water-thriller "Jaws" to even more gripping tension points and indentifiable character studies in an open sea adventure story.Copyright 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC

I'm coming back to my Halloween theme on Horror films that don't seem, at first glance to be Horror films. I think that nothing represents this kind of movie better than Steven Spielberg's first film, Duel. A TV movie starring Dennis Weaver (Of McCloud fame), Duel was pretty much the result of a TV Network throwing Spielberg a bone for winning an award for a Night Gallery episode, or maybe just because he survived working with Joan Crawford. It was meant to be just another TV movie of the week. And it was nothing more than that in North America. But French critics, including Francois Truffault were so impressed with the movie that it was a successful theatrical release in Europe. Duel has the production value of a 70s TV Movie, but it still manages to be much more than that. First, it was preview of what Spielberg was capable of as a director. And second it is a superb monster movie. You wouldn't know it from the premise. Duel is the story of a somewhat weak willed motorist who finds himself pursued by a truck after he passes it on the highway. He doesn't even cut the truck off. And that's part of the key to this being a very good horror movie. The Antagonist operates without reason and seems to be utterly relentless. You never see the trucker. You see a hint of boots and an arm, but you never see a man. As he will do so well later in Jaws, Spielberg makes the unseen and unknown create the tension and the fear in our minds. Because we never see the trucker Weaver's character is pursued by a machine, not a human being. Even Pauline Kael gave the movie a great review. And she would go on to blame Spielberg, along with George Lucas for ruining American film. Her particular prejudice, that small films are important, and big budget films are mindless, would be echoed by far too many people, particularly when it came to Steven Spielberg. He didn't just become a great film maker when he made Schindler's List and Finding Private Ryan. Jaws is a superb film. One of the greatest horror films of all time. It put beaches out of business. And Duel, despite being intended as a cheap TV movie, is far better than it might seem on the surface. What Spielberg was able to do with so little is an indication of how great a director he was even then. It's a creepy, nerve wrenching monster movie that draws you in to its odd premise scene by scene. It's original and it's so much better than it was meant to be. It's well worth the watch, especially just before Halloween. If you haven't seen Duel, I would highly recommend it. Even if you watch it just as a curiosity, just as Spielberg's earliest work, I think you'll be surprised at how much of the film mastery that we would see in Spielberg's later work already present in Duel. And you may not want to drive on a lonely highway for a little while after that.#movies #film #filmcritique #horrorfilm #duel #stevenspielberg