Duel

David Price5 said:there just isn't enough budget for two trucks..

Exactly right. Just like Spielberg said, one truck is plenty 😁>

Man, I just finished watching the movie too! I actually went ahead and read through the synopsis a while ago, and honestly, I couldn't find anything about that scene where some guy is cooking his wife and he just sits there taking it without fighting back? Like, seriously? And I’m not alone either—I saw that whole sequence with the kids in the trailer, but once the actual movie starts playing, it's nowhere to be found! It's so weird, right? Plus, if you check IMDb, it says the runtime is 90 minutes, but when I was watching it on NPR, I swear it didn't even hit the 80-minute mark!

Yes, well, it kicked off at about 6:50, I believe, and then, somehow, it all wrapped up by 8:00 sharp.

Regarding the runtime:

"Upon its release it was edited in two versions, American and European, and the latter one had an additional fifteen minutes of footage. The American version was used for broadcasting on Television , which was in fact The targeted medium for Duel."

NPR probably aired the stripped-down American TV cut rather than the full theatrical version.

Anyway, as far as the movie goes, I thought it was killer. Super minimalist, but it hits hard... In those early days, Spielberg was basically a mini Hitchcock on the open road 😁

Thanks so much for the heads-up! I actually found the theatrical cut of the movie over on YouTube with English subtitles right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mkiUbKfK-M

I guess Spielberg is really the only one who actually makes good movies.

The movie is fantastic
...

A truly fantastic movie

I've sat through this one four or five times now, and honestly, it grabs me just as much every single time. In my book, it stands as one of the greatest movies ever made.

I’m with you there. It’s a solid piece of filmmaking that doesn't get nearly enough hype. Maybe if they’d cast a more charismatic powerhouse in the lead role, it would have been a massive hit... but even as it stands, it’s great.

Those plaques on the truck—they're basically trophies, aren't they?

Drew Bennett68 said:Those plaques on the truck—they're basically trophies, aren't they?

Man, I didn't catch any license plates at all! Seriously, should I maybe go back and rewatch the movie from the beginning just to be sure? 🙂

I mean, what was the driver even thinking chasing him in the first place??

And honestly, that whole bit at the end where the car gets basically cooked... it felt completely unrealistic to me, I guess.

copperstag95 said:I mean, what was the driver even thinking chasing him in the first place??

And honestly, that whole bit at the end where the car gets basically cooked... it felt completely unrealistic to me, I guess.

He was just bored...

copperstag95 said:I mean, what was the driver even thinking chasing him in the first place??

And honestly, that whole bit at the end where the car gets basically cooked... it felt completely unrealistic to me, I guess.

Why wouldn't it be?

copperstag95 said:I mean, what was the driver even thinking chasing him in the first place??

And honestly, that whole bit at the end where the car gets basically cooked... it felt completely unrealistic to me, I guess.

I actually stumbled upon this fascinating little anecdote on IMDb:

When Carey Loftin, playing the truck driver, asked Steven Spielberg what his motivation was for tormenting the car's driver, Spielberg told him, "You're a dirty, rotten, no-good son of a bitch." Loftin replied, "Kid, you hired the right man."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/...item=tr0776298

And regarding those charts:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/...item=tr1783893

Man, I remember having this recorded on a VHS tape back when I was just a kid, watching it from the beginning probably a hundred times. I finally sat down to revisit it after all these years, and I guess it’s still 🙏
.

The truck driver is essentially Michael Myers, and this movie serves as a mere window into his daily routine while he relentlessly pursues Jamie Lee Curtis and the rest of her family.

copperstag95 said:I mean, what was the driver even thinking chasing him in the first place??

And honestly, that whole bit at the end where the car gets basically cooked... it felt completely unrealistic to me, I guess.

Just because he could. 🙂

Michael Lopez2 said:He was just bored...

Why wouldn't it be?

Well, if the car breaks down, then it simply breaks down, and you don't exactly just keep driving it along, do you? Though, I guess in movies, anything is possible, isn't it?

And honestly, it seems pretty obvious that the trucker just wanted to have a bit of fun and maybe make his life on the road feel a little less monotonous. I mean, did he even ever stop at that dive bar?

copperstag95 said:Well, if the car breaks down, then it simply breaks down, and you don't exactly just keep driving it along, do you? Though, I guess in movies, anything is possible, isn't it?

And honestly, it seems pretty obvious that the trucker just wanted to have a bit of fun and maybe make his life on the road feel a little less monotonous. I mean, did he even ever stop at that dive bar?

Personally, I've 8.7 miles driven a car where steam was pouring out from under the hood just like in this movie, so yeah, it's totally possible.

It's pretty clear we're dealing with a total psycho here, not someone who's just pulling a prank.

copperstag95 said:Well, if the car breaks down, then it simply breaks down, and you don't exactly just keep driving it along, do you? Though, I guess in movies, anything is possible, isn't it?

And honestly, it seems pretty obvious that the trucker just wanted to have a bit of fun and maybe make his life on the road feel a little less monotonous. I mean, did he even ever stop at that dive bar?

Well, it certainly wasn't exactly the perfect moment to pull over and wait for things to cool down.