DUEL

This was indeed a tricky year for me to choose a film for my annual 4th of July review that relates to "JAWS". I didn't know if I should review "JAWS 3-D" since this year marks the 40th Anniversary of "JAWS"; or if I should review a sequel to the "JAWS on land" film "Jurassic Park" since "Jurassic World" just came out. After so many moments of thinking of what "JAWS" related film I was going to review, I've decided to review the film that Spielberg felt that "JAWS" was a sequel to and that film is...

 

Before we had a shark terrorizing a summer Island, and Dinosaurs escaping from their cages to cause havoc; we had a giant monstrous oil truck chasing after a traveling businessman on the open road. While this film was made for TV, this is still considered to be the first full length film that Spielberg ever directed, and this television movie did eventually make it to the big screen with a few added scenes to make it longer, so it counts. As much as I am sure the majority of you haven't seen it or heard of it compared to his later two Blockbuster monster movies, is it just as great as "JAWS" and "Jurassic Park"? ON WITH THE REVIEW!



Unlike Spielberg's later monster films, instead of having a whole cast of characters that we're with throughout the film, we have only one, and that's of course our lead played by Dennis Weaver. He does meet people during this cat and mouse chase, but for the majority of the film, we're just with him and the truck. Weaver's performance throughout the film is excellent. Every single bit of stress, anxiety, paranoia, confusion, and relaxation from his performance is so great and so convincing that you feel just as scared as he is, as well as fearing for his life. Not once did I find myself being bored with the character, or not feeling what the character's feeling, it’s all done very effectively. The crazy thing about the character that Weaver is playing is we really don't know a whole lot about him. We know he's a married businessman with two kids; we know he's a coward for not doing something to a man who nearly raped his wife at a party; but outside of that, we really don't have too much of a background of this character's past, and on top of it, all that stuff that we know about him is all summed up in one scene. However, despite knowing little about the character's life, we still care for him, because Weaver not only sells out the madness of the situation that his character is in, but he also makes this simple character really likable and that to me is good enough. As for the people that Weaver meets throughout his journey and asks for help, while being pretty over the top characters and performances much like the comical extras who play some of the Islanders in "JAWS", they're still fun and do support the insanity of Weaver's character despite that they're not the best of actors.


 

Now we move on to the film's monster which is of course the truck. While the idea of a killer Truck doesn't sound as interesting or creative as a giant Shark or a Dinosaur, it's just as plausible. Instead of the Truck being alive as you would suspect, it's driven by a driver who we hardly see but we do see the evidence that it's driven by someone, which is a technique that Spielberg would use for the Shark in "JAWS". All we see from the truck driver are his boots; his hand signaling to Weaver outside of the Truck's window; hardly seeing his face through that fifthly wind shield; and even catching a tiny glimpse of him as he passes by Weaver through his opened window, that's it. We don't know who he is (outside of being a truck driver); what he really looks like; why he's after Weaver; and what he's thinking or planning. This driver is really unpredictable. Some times he taunts Weaver by toying with him or showing off; other times, he's trying to kill Weaver; and in some scenes, we can’t tell if he's toying with Weaver, or actually trying to kill him (like the train track scene for example). All this lack of detail of not seeing the driver and not exactly knowing what he's thinking half of the time, is another huge reason why this film is so suspenseful; all we know is the driver is planning to get Weaver, and looking at the collection of license plates attached to his grill from other states, we can surely tell that Weaver is not the first one to be terrorized by this mysterious driver.



All the thrills, suspense, tension, and excitement that we all love and admire from "JAWS" and "Jurassic Park" can all be found in this film as well! However, unlike the opening scenes to "JAWS" and "Jurassic Park" where our monster makes its first attack as we don't see the monster at all, this film doesn't start out with our monster. Instead, the film opens up with a POV shot of the car that Dennis Weaver is driving (much like the POV opening shot in "JAWS"), as we spend 5 minutes on the peaceful open road listening to the radio as the opening credits roll, feeling just as relaxed as Weaver is. Once we see the truck a minute or two after the opening credits, that's when all the chaos officially begins. This whole film is one long thrilling car chase from beginning to end where you don't feel safe until its all over. Even when the character stops at places to rest, we still don't feel safe because we don't know if the truck will come back or not, or start attacking while the character is at some of these places where the truck at times also happens to be. I think one of the most suspenseful scenes in the movie is when Weaver is at a Cafe only to find that the truck is parked outside of it, as Weaver tries to figure out who's the guy that's been chasing after him; and the way it’s shot, paced, acted, and edited, along with the music as we hear our characters thoughts in his head really makes this scene tense, as well as making the audience just as curious as he is in finding out who this mysterious crazy truck driver is. As for the effects, I seriously never would have guessed that this film was made for TV, because they look amazing! None of this is shot in a Studio with a green screen effect, its all practical effects on an actual location which is all very impressive, especially when being directed by a guy in his early 20s on a low budget who has a really small amount of time to film all these scenes. In fact some (if not most) of the action were all done in one take, such as the phone booth scene and the cliff scene; and if that's not crazy enough for you on Spielberg's part as a director, the actor not only did most of the driving, but he actually had the guts to do his own stunt as the truck comes after him as he is having trouble getting out of a phone booth! Seriously, Spielberg and Weaver have guts! While the shots; sound effects; edits; music; acting; and the special effects are what make the film such a suspenseful thrill ride, I love that Spielberg chose to use a bright red car, while the Truck is all old, polluted, and disgusting looking to make the two vehicles stand out on this empty dusty highway!

 "JAWS" is the film that put Spielberg on the map, but "Duel" is what introduced us to the awesomeness of Spielberg as a film-maker! Every thing about Spielberg's first monster film "Duel" is just as awesome as his other two monster classics. The character is likable and well acted; the effects are cool; the set-up is creative and exciting; and the thrills and suspense that the film brings, keeps you on the edge of your seat. Spielberg has always felt a strong "Kinship" between "Duel" and "JAWS", as well as showing a "Kinship" between "JAWS" and "Jurassic Park", and these three films really do show it! They may have different characters, monsters, and elements that were not always used in all three films, but they do have a lot in common. They all have the same amount of scares, thrills, suspense, action, and excitement; the effects and style of directing are ingenious; the stories revolve around regular people in a non-stop fight against a giant monster that lives to kill and terrorize; and they all feature the roar of a T-Rex, which is something you really have to listen for in "Duel" and "JAWS". "Duel" is the film that started two great things for the art of cinema, and those two things are Steven Spielberg as a film director (despite that this was made as a TV movie); and the other one is being the start of the famous three epic monster films that Spielberg has directed, which I'd like to personally call "The Spielberg Monster Trilogy".  If you haven't seen the film that started it all, be sure to check it out!

RATING 5/5

As for those of you who are wondering why I didn't count or even talk about "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" as being a part of "The Spielberg Monster Trilogy", which would have made the trilogy into a series; join me next July 4th!