Mar 23 2009
“Duel” (1971) *****
Preview
Starring: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzle, Gene Dynarski, Lucille Benson, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel, Shirley O’Hara, Alexander Lockwood, Amy Douglass, Sweet Dick Whittington, Cary Loftin, and Dale Van Sickle.
Directed by: Steven Spielberg.
Story:
The story opens with the sound of an engine starting up, that of the car’s. We follow along the road, via the car’s point of view, while listening to the radio as the driver takes heads out from the city, to the countryside, and finally, to the remote desert highways. The driver, played by Dennis Weaver, eventually runs into the villainous tanker truck which seems very persistent to stay in front of him. They even stop at the same gas station to fuel up; it is here where we begin to see bits here and there of the truck’s driver (i.e. his boots from beneath the truck). Then, later on, the truck follows him to a diner where he sees two-three men with the same exact boots with whom he suspects. They all turn out to be wrong guesses and the truck drives off again. Curiosity gets the best of our hero as he pursues the fear of the unknown, which the movie heavily plays on, until the two drivers are having it out by themselves on the highways as the flick approaches climax.
Characters:
*David Mann (Dennis Weaver): Middle aged businessman driving to an appointment.
*The Tanker Truck: A mean and big Peterbilt 281 model whose driver nearly goes unseen throughout most of the flick.
Overall:
Replace the shark from “Jaws” with a scary looking tanker truck and you have “Duel”, a film which marks the beginning of Steven Spielberg’s career. Released on television, the film is about a man who journeys cross-country in the west with his 1971 red Plymouth Valiant, only to be stalked on an almost remote and deserted road by a 1955 Peterbilt Tanker Truck, whose driver goes almost unseen throughout most of the flick.
The truck driver is always anonymous and unseen for the duration of the film, thus making it seem that the actual truck is the real villain, more so than its driver. It is also very notable how Mr. Spielberg decided to include multiple license plates on the truck’s front bumper, subtly suggesting that the truck may be a serial killer (i.e. possibly have run down other drivers elsewhere). Spielberg shoots the truck in ways that make it almost seem as if the machine is alive.
Being that this was a success back when it was aired on TV, the 74 minutes of film were extended into 90 minutes for a theatrical release in Europe one year later. These new scenes add a lot of more meat to the story, including Dennis Weaver’s character - A railroad crossing sequence, a school bus, and a telephone conversation with his wife. “Duel” may seem dated, but the content it delivers certainly doesn’t fail. After watching this movie, one can’t help but wonder what it would be like if Steven Spielberg was chosen to direct Stephen King’s 1986 flop, “Maximum Overdrive”.
RATING: *****
