Duel

[Cobber]

One of my favourite films this. After not having watched it for years I popped it in last night - I'd forgotten just how good this film actually is.

Nerd fact: it was based off a short story in playboy magazine ... back when there was actually articles to pretend to read

[Chops]

It was a good flick.
Even a tad scary for a young one

Have they just done a remake of this recently?

[synthium]

I am pretty sure it is Spielberg's directorial debut - originally made for tv but picked up for cinema.
At least thats what i remember from media class

[Cobber]

Have they just done a remake of this recently?

Yeah, in 2010 and it was a bit . They had a prime mover, which really could have been any truck. It lacked the character of the original. That's what happens sometimes when you try and bring something into the 21st century - it just doesn't work.

I am pretty sure it is Spielberg's directorial debut - originally made for tv but picked up for cinema.

Correct. Not long after this came Jaws where he really made it big

[Sitec]

For all you Duel fans, here's a pic of 'one' of the trucks used in the film, and the same model car. This is believed to be the last remaining truck, as the others were sacrificed in the making of the film! It was also said that all the various rego plates were mounted on the front as though they were the plates from all the previous cars the driver had chased down....

[vnx205]

That film was quite useful for film study.

The condition and appearance of the truck were a good example of how useful stereotypes can be in films. One look at that truck and you could tell it was a threat; a bit like the unshaven baddies wearing a black hat in Westerns.

Low angle camera shots enhanced the impression of the truck as a bully. The smoky exhaust helped create an unfavourable impression of the truck.


There were several other things that were well done too, but as it's some time since I last saw the film, I can't remember them all.

My recollection was that the only thing not well done was Dennis Weaver's acting.