|
MOVIE SCORE |
 |
|
DVD SCORE |
 |
|
REVIEWER |
WesCraven |
|
REVIEW DATE |
7th September, 2004 |
Review Quote
"I'm not even sure everyone would even consider "Duel" a horror movie, and I
wouldn't say that I blame them. However, at worst it's a frightening thriller
with its roots deep within the realm of horror. More hardcore fans of the genre
might be a tad disappointed."
|
The Plot
A businessman passes a semi-truck on the highway, and truck then
begins to harass him and endanger his life.
The Movie
Steven Spielberg's first foray into movies all started here. "Duel" might have originally been a TV movie, and rated PG, however it's still one pretty good movie. Being directed by Spielberg certainly helps; he may have been young when he filmed this, but come one, he's Steven Spielberg. The story is excellent; written by Richard Matheson, it's easily quite realistic, and thought provoking. When I first heard the premise I seriously wondered if they could really make a film at this length, and make it not carry on too long. I
was surprised to find out that they could.
Being shot on location really helps this film out a great deal. Had it been
shot in a studio with fake backgrounds, and of course mostly fake driving, it
wouldn't have the raw thrill you get from knowing that what you're seeing is
really happening. Another crucial thing to the movie is the truck. It's the
antagonist of the story. It's dirty, grimey, bellowing out a horde of noxious
gasses, full of license plates from many states (perhaps the plates of people
he's terrorized in the past. Another thing along with this that works well, is the
fact that we never really see the driver (or at least we think we don't). This
works so well because instead of making it a man Vs. man scenario, all we are
given is the truck, and thus a man Vs. machine scenario, which with that
truck is pretty frightening.
Can you imagine Spielberg minus John Williams? Yeah, me neither. However,
that was the case with "Duel". However, that doesn't make the score by Billy
Goldenberg drivel. On the contrary it's actually quite good. I have no doubt
that John Williams could have written something stellar for this film, but he
didn't, and so the score used here is easily adequate, if not great.
I'm not even sure everyone would even consider "Duel" a horror movie, and I
wouldn't say that I blame them. However, at worst it's a frightening thriller
with its roots deep within the realm of horror. More hardcore fans of the genre
might be a tad disappointed. However, I must say I was quite impressed with
"Duel", and I highly recommend it.
The DVD
For something that was originally just a TV movie, this DVD is
pretty good. The visual and audio transfers are magnificent, some of the best I
have seen. The extras too are surprisingly good as well.. We get three
documentaries (Steven Spielberg on Making "Duel", Steven Spielberg and the small
screen, and Richard Matheson on writing "Duel"), which are all pretty entertaining,
and all of which total around almost an hour. We also get a photo gallery, a
Theatrical Trailer (for the foreign market), production notes, as well as cast
and crew bios.
So not an amazing DVD by any means, but much better than to be
expected.
|
|
|
|
|
Director
Steven Spielberg
Cast
Dennis Weaver
Eddie Firestone
Lou Frizzell
Gene Dynarski
Jaqueline Scott
Screenplay
Richard Matheson
Tagline
"Fear is the driving force."
Country
USA
Classification
PG-13
Year
1971
|
Format
NTSC
Region Coding
1
Aspect Ratio
1.33:1
16x9 Enhanced
No
Running Time
90 minutes
Year Released
2004
Packaging
Keep Case
Extra Features
3 Documentaries
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Cast / Crew Bios
Theatrical Trailer
|
This Version On DVD
Region 1: Buy Me Now
Other Versions On DVD
Region 0: Not Available
Region 2: Not Available
Region 3: Not Available
Region 4: Not Available
|
|
If you find any errors in this review, know of any other versions of this DVD available or no longer available, send us an e-mail so we can get the word out to the horror community.
|
|
|
