28 March 2024
Duel (1971)
90 min.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
With Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, Gene Dynarski, Lucille Benson, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel, Shirley O'Hara.
A taut, powerhouse TV thriller of road rage (expertly directed by a young Steven Spielberg).

A mild mannered businessman David (Weaver) innocently passes a huge gas tanker on the highway...but soon finds that the unseen driver of the tanker takes the passing as a sign of a....DUEL!

Nailbiting suspense filtered through exciting mano a mano action makes for a top notch telefeature. Weaver is excellent as the terrified David, and the ending is a real hatblower.

Proof positive that oftentimes less is more, since the real crux of Duel is the basic conflict between man versus man (er, 40 ton truck) and the tension that builds therein...It's no frills, high octane horror.

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