Duel

Leave it to prosemaster extraordinaire, Richard Matheson (a favorite of mine and the man Stephen King acknowledges as being his biggest influence), to come up a premise so simple yet so believable and terrifying that the viewer will never look at an eighteen-wheeler the same way ever again...and leave it to cinematic wunderkind, Stephen Spielburg, to do right by Matheson's script and win acclaim in the bargain.

Though some may argue that "Bullit", "Vanishing Point", or maybe even the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" could be called the ultimate car chase movie, "Duel" deserves this designation better because it does something none of the above films can claim. The story literally starts on the road and ends on the road. No location in the entire film is ever out of sight of the highway and, in spite of the brief conversation with the wife, virtually nothing else happens outside the highway. For David Mann (played adequately enough by Dennis Weaver) and the monster truck he's trying to get away from, the road and everything alongside it is their entire universe. Nothing else of importance exists outside of it.

Though it's never mentioned in the film, this would seem to take place on the California highways. When I went out there about eight years ago, I went down roads that seemed to be not too dissimiliar to the ones shown here. They seemed to stretch on forever, no vestiges of civilization in sight for miles. Spielburg uses this setting to great advantage. Being in your car in a crowded city intersection is one thing, but on those highways with nothing but your car and a homicidal maniac in a diesel for miles? The isolation factor that cars naturally produce jumps up a thousand percent. The radiator hose problem made me think of many other times that I had similar troubles with cars I've had. Of course, I never had someone trying to kill me at the time, but...

Anyone looking for drama, character development, or all the other elements that pseudo-critics point out as the mark of cinematic excellence are liable to be disappointed by "Duel". It's what King described in "Danse Macabre" as a Tale of the Hook. It's only purpose is to scare the hell out of you. Damn if it doesn't work. THAT'S the mark of a classic.

While traveling through the desert for an appointment with a client, the businessman David Mann (Dennis Weaver) from California passes a slow and old tanker truck. The psychotic truck driver feels offended and chases David along the empty highway trying to kill him.

In the 70's, in Rio de Janeiro, most of the teenagers like me watched the impressive movie of a new and promising director called Steven Spielberg. On the beach, in school, in bars, everybody in Rio commented the story of a crazy truck driver that chases a common man in his car along the lonely roads through the desert. Thirty-six years later, I have just watched "Duel" on DVD with my son and it is fantastic to see how this movie has not aged. The tense and suspenseful story consists basically of a storyline, without development of characters, one actor, two stunts, lots of action and a magnificent work of direction and edition. One amazing detail is that all the afflictive and credible situation happens on the day light, i.e., Spielberg does not need to use the usual fear of the night to create a stunning tale of horror and fear, showing his talent of genius in his worldwide debut. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Encurralado" ("Trapped")

Although Dennis Weaver is probably best known for his two small screen TV series McCloud and Gunsmoke, there are those that hold out for his career role being the frightened and harassed driver in Duel.

Some years ago I was with two friends and a passenger in a car going on the Thruway in Upstate New York. Some idiot truckdriver thought we had offended him some how and chased us through several miles. We eluded him by going into a service station and driving around until he could not maneuver that big rig. I know exactly what Dennis Weaver was going through.

Weaver plays Mr. Average man on his way home from a business trip when some how he offends a faceless truckdriver whom we never see, but whose power behind that tanker truck we definitely feel right along with Weaver. Unless you're driving a bus you are no position to play turnpike tag with a big rig.

In the end Weaver decides he's so mad he stops being frightened and looks to take him down any way he can.

Weaver's performance is a one man tour de force. As much as Spencer Tracy in The Old Man And The Sea. One not to be missed.

The idea of a motorist getting terrorized on the highway feels like it's been done to death in the last four decades, but I'll be damned if "Duel" doesn't feel fresh. You get the idea how this will all play out - 18-wheeler stalks Dennis Weaver, puts the guy through psychological torment, vanishes only to reappear - but Spielberg keeps up that unrelenting dread beautifully with creative use of sound and camera panes around the tanker that really give it size. What's impressive here is that a big rig has such evil personality. Even more impressive is that such a taut thriller was made for TV.

This is obscenely enjoyable stuff.

8/10

A brilliant study in minimalist suspense and terror

This film is the perfect example that you don't need a gigantic budget, sound names, great publicity or a little push from someone famous to create a cult classic. All it takes is talent and Spielberg has repeatedly shown us that he has plenty of it. It was filmed in a modest budget, the characters hardly talk and the plot is quite simple: it is the story of a man being chased in a highway by an truck. However it was filmed in such a way that it literally sticks you to the screen, never being boring for one second. The truck (not the driver) is the main protagonist of the story, a menacing character who chases a man to death for no particular reason. It plays marveously with our most intimate fear: the unknown. An absolute must see, a cult classic. this is a unique film.