Steven Spielberg’s First Movie Dubbed ‘His Most Inventive Film’ by Stephen King Is Available on Prime

Summary:

• Spielberg debuted as a full-length director with the 1971 action thriller, following a man who is chased by a psychotic truck driver.
• It raised the topics, which were later developed in other works of the acclaimed filmmaker, mostly exploring the people’s fear of the unknown.

Having inscribed his name in history as a major figure of the New Hollywood era and as a pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Steven Spielberg ’s name says it all without explaining what figure of the industry he is. However, almost nobody knows that the most commercially successful director in history started directing movies for TV at a very young age, as his first feature was made 53 years ago, when he was only 25.

However, it’s not a case when the first attempt turns out to be less successful than the following ones. Apart from the accolades and the cultish status the movie received, it was even praised by the master of horror novels, the accomplished writer Steven King, who stated this thriller is the most inventive film ever made by Spielberg.

Surprisingly, the plot of the movie seems to be quite simple. It follows a salesman David Mann, who is driving his car through rural California to meet a client, but his trip is disturbed by a mysterious truck driver. Being chased down a highway by a psychotic person in a tanker truck, David can’t help with paranoia and fear of being killed by him.

It’s peculiar that the movie doesn’t really show the chaser aside from the few shots of his arms and boots, thus, it plays with the human fear of the unknown – presumably, the greatest fear of all. By not depicting the driver, the thriller makes us not only understand David and his road struggle better, but also makes a villain out of the truck itself.

If we take Spielberg’s filmography into account, we’ll understand that such a synopsis displays a number of themes that would carry through a number of his works. It includes the trope of an ordinary, “small” man who finds himself in an unordinary battle with a larger force, whose motives are unknown to both the man and the audience.

This outstanding thriller, titled Duel is “stripped to the very core: one man, one truck, one fight to the death,” as admitted by King. It definitely set the bar high not for the following Spielberg’s works, but to the Hollywood movies of the genre too.

“It's even better when the director remade it four years later, but replaced the truck with a shark,” jokes Redditor @Wreckwitness, comparing it with the Jaws franchise.

Check out this classic movie that deserves to be in cinematic history, as Duel is available for watching on Prime.

Source: BFI