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Stars:
Dennis Weaver
Writer:
Richard Matheson
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Feature
length: 90 minutes
Extras:
Steven Spielberg On Making Duel, Steven Spielberg And The Small Screen, Richard
Matheson: The Writing Of Duel, Photo Gallery, Trailer, Production Notes, Cast
And Filmmaker Bios
Languages:
English DTS Digital Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound,
and Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
DTS Digital Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and
Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Year
of American Television Broadcast and Theatrical Release: 1971/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Watching
“Duel” for the first time on DVD as well as the first time in my entire
life, I think it is easy in both hindsight given Steven Spielberg’s phenomenal
success as a filmmaker and also as a former film student myself to see the
talent “Spielberg” brought to the small screen turning what could have been
an ordinary “ABC Movie Of The Week” into something truly special. Now I
think it is one of his best films. You see the problem with some Steven
Spielberg films is that they are great to watch the first time around, but then
don’t have quite the same impact the second time around so as a result I and a
few other people I know find that some of his movies can be watched once, but
not immediately over and over again. Please note that only some of his
movies I feel play this way. I think as Spielberg has matured his movies have
gotten better, but with perhaps the exception of “Jaws” and the three
“Indiana Jones” films he has directed so far, none of them have the
relentless intensity of “Duel.” The framing of the scenes themselves show
just how much of an admirer of cinema and film language Spielberg is with
certain shots like seeing Dennis Weaver calling his family on the telephone
through the circle of a drying machine door emphasizing in a visual way the
isolation of the character. The staging of the assaults and use of wide-angle
lenses adds greatly to the overall effect of “Duel,” which truly grips the
viewer with a nightmare of madness on the open desert highways long before the
term “Road Rage” came into the vocabulary of American pop culture. I also
think that as much as Spielberg was inspired by Hitchcock and other great
filmmakers while directing this film, “Duel” seems like a forerunner to many
highway horror thrillers that have since followed.
David
Mann (Dennis Weaver) is a mild mannered traveling salesman on his way home from
what appears to be a less than satisfactory trip. We never no for sure exactly
what he sells and how his career is going, but he sure doesn’t seem like a guy
returning from a successful business trip. On the road he innocently allows an
old, rusty, almost feral looking truck to pass him only to then have the driver
slow down considerably as if he is taunting Mann. When the driver waves his hand
for Mann to pass, Mann almost hits an oncoming car moving the other direction.
Annoyed, Mann manages to pass the driver and continue onward. When he stops for
gas and to call his wife, Mann gets glimpses of the truck driver’s cowboy
boots and notices the string of license plates across the front fender of the
truck like trophies from past victims. On the road, the frequent appearances and
incidents associated with the driver begin to play on his paranoia as the
confrontation escalates from what could be rationalized as a misunderstanding to
outright sadism and soon blatant attempts to run Mann off the road and end his
life culminating in a final frightening confrontation that is both suspenseful
and terrifying at the same time. Weaver gives a terrific performance and for the
most part, the pacing on “Duel” is quite effective building upon itself al
the way through to its thrilling conclusion.
Though
the film is presented in the (1.33:1) broadcast aspect ratio the version of the
film is the extended cut with approximately 15 minutes Spielberg added for the
film’s European theatrical release where it was framed in a (1. 66:1) aspect
ratio. Spielberg states in the first exclusive featurette included on this DVD
that since he was shooting on location under a tight budget and schedule he did
not get to see the dailies personally so there were a few shots where the
Director actually got caught on frame. In one case he can be seen almost out of
frame inside the car Weaver drives in the film. So that scene had to be blown up
for the European release so his image would not appear, thus one could say that
visual information was compromised as a result. So I think the decision to
present “Duel” in the (1.33:1) broadcast aspect ratio is better because the
film was originally directed for television even if Spielberg treated it like a
theatrical feature and had I not watched the Spielberg featurette where he
reveals that and another scene where he got caught on camera, I would not have
noticed the mistakes at all. I certainly was too caught up in the action to
notice them the first time I watched the movie on DVD.
In
terms of picture, “Duel” is a bit mixed, but more so on the positive side. The red of Weaver’s car jumps out at the viewer as
Spielberg intended it to be so we can easily identify it in any shot and much of
the bright desert locations look fabulous, but some of the interior scenes, such
as the diner sequence reveal some grain and yet I feel it is appropriate
somehow. It gives “Duel” a gritty feel and if “Duel” looked too polished
I think the visceral effect of the action would be less effective. So while not
perfect, for a 1971 made for TV film, I think as a whole “Duel” looks pretty
damn good.
There
is a choice between English DTS Digital Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound, and Two-Channel Monaural Sound, but unfortunately once an
option is chosen on the menu, it cannot be changed while the feature is in
progress. As a whole I found the DTS score to be quite aggressive and loud with
the majority of the effects being separated between the center and front
speakers while the music and some little side elements take advantage of the
rear channels more. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is more or less
the same. Both tracks are quite clear and full and far from hollow sounding and
there is a Two-Channel Monaural Soundtrack also included for those who prefer to
hear it in a fashion closer to how it was originally exhibited.
English Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language
Subtitles are encoded as options too.
Laurent
Bouzereau produced all the featurettes in 2001 since this DVD has been one of
the titles that have been announced than delayed and announced again over the
past year or so. As it is on the day I received my copy it appeared on the
Internet that “Duel” was delayed again and so I held off screening and
reviewing the disc until I could confirm this. By now it is no secret that
certain retailers have already sold a few preorders while others have pulled it
from their upcoming selections for August. After talking with a representative
at Universal and basically asking if it is okay to review this or should I hold
off, I was told that for now the DVD is still going to be released with an
official street date of August 12, 2003. So unless something changes again,
those of you who have been wondering whether or not “Duel” is indeed going
to come out could check your preferred on or offline retailer next week and see
if the DVD is indeed for sale. Just do not get too enthusiastic until the disc
is in your hand because anything can happen between now and August 12.
The
first featurette is an interview with Steven Spielberg on the making of
“Duel” (35:42), where Spielberg is quite candid and down to earth about how
he became involved with the film and his career up until that point. Spielberg
points out a few of the mistakes where he appears in the film, which I think it
cool because if anything it shows aspiring filmmakers that even master
filmmakers can make mistakes and even Spielberg went through a tough love kind
of experience early in making the feature, which is a process that we all go
through and I think we all hate while we are going thought it, but ultimately it
does bring out the best in us. Spielberg also points out nods to “Duel” that
he placed in some of the features that followed where supporting character
actors from “Duel” appeared in similarly staged situations in “1941” and
“Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” and even the truck roar from the end of
the film found its way into the final demise of “Bruce,” the great white
shark in “Jaws.”
The
second featurette has Spielberg commenting on his early career in television
(9:28) directing episodes of programs that included “The Psychiatrist,”
“Night Gallery,” and “Colombo: Murder By The Book.” The third featurette
has Author Richard Matheson recounting the scary tale that inspired the idea to
write “Duel” and the eventual development of the story for the screen
(9:24). There is a gallery that can automatically be viewed as one 3 ½ minute
reel or skipped through using the remote with a few production shots and
advertisements. The full framed trailer (1:01), cast and filmmaker bios and
credits, and onscreen production notes as well as information on Universal
Studios Home Video’s e-mail newsletter wraps up the extra features included on
this DVD.
The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Duel” is a great movie and a good DVD that I highly recommend picking up if
you should see it available at retailers on and offline when it hopefully will
make its official DVD debut on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 from Universal Studios
Home Video.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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