Simply a rivetingly murderous game of cat and mouse that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Comment
01/26/06
Duel (1971)
82 %
Reviews Counted: 34 Fresh: 28 Rotten:6 Average Rating: 7.6/10
Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis: DUEL, one of Steven Spielberg's first vehicles, foreshadowed the blockbuster film JAWS. Using minimal dialogue and effects, Spielberg defines the characteristics of his prolific oeuvre in this early work. Through tight cinematic narration, he effectively conveys the sudden and... [More]
Genre: Television
Starring: Dennis Weaver, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel, Eddie Firestone, Gene Dynarski
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Richard Matheson
Producer: George Eckstein
Composer: Billy Goldenberg
Screenwriter: Richard Matheson
Producer: George Eckstein
Composer: Billy Goldenberg
Reviews
Top Critic
Spielberg's first film finds the director ruthlessly exploiting a devastatingly simple premise to extraordinary effect.
08/19/03
Top Critic
Duel achieves the frantic energy and striking simplicity of silent film: ironically, considering its small screen origins, it is pure cinema.
06/10/02
Top Critic
The film pits the awesome talents of Richard Matheson ... with Spielberg, delivering one of the best genre films of the past 50 years.
07/04/08
An exquisite piece of streamlined suspense and action that clearly demonstrates that [Spielberg] was already in full control of his vision.
12/10/07
Top Critic
This 1971 made-for-TV movie was one of Steven Spielberg's auditions for Jaws, and the same slickly impersonal shock effects prevail.
12/10/07
Duel demeure donc encore aujourd'hui l'un des meilleurs exemples de l'agilité de Spielberg à si bien combler un manque de substance par ses grands talents de raconteur.
02/09/06
Even without benefit of hindsight, Duel looks like the work of an unusually talented young director.
01/15/05
Top Critic
A lean, efficient thrill ride that taps into "road rage" long before the term existed.
11/11/04
[A] masterpiece of visual suspense that’s hardly dated at all, more than 30 years later.
10/29/04
Not even Hitchcock could have shot or paced Duel any better. Spielberg understands precisely where to insert his silences and pauses, and when to make them restful or tense. He knows how to pour it on for the exciting chase scenes.
09/13/04
A thrillingly paranoid tale of a businessman (Dennis Weaver) and his apocalyptic duel with the driver of a monster truck.
09/03/04
A sort of minimalist telepic precursor to John Dahl’s Joyride that packs the unadulterated genre punch of pure grain alcohol...
08/23/04
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