I was amazed and thrilled at what I was watching. I was also quite scared. I now know that I was watching Steven Spielberg's first commercial direction of a TV movie, released when he was 25.

Richard Matheson penned the original screenplay for "Duel". Matheson is a prolific screenwriter, responsible for memorable screen moments for almost fifty years.

Spielberg's interpretation of "Duel" begins by using a clever camera perspective to visually insert the viewer in a passenger car driver's seat, heading eastward from the busy suburb of Garden Grove, California to an increasingly lonely desert highway in the Southwest. Once the setting is established, camera angles shift to reveal to us the driver, David Mann, whom we learn is a mild-mannered traveling salesman.

Dennis Weaver portrays David Mann, which was an excellent casting choice. As a native of the Southwest, Weaver "fits" into the environment. A versatile actor, Weaver convincingly demonstrates fundamental character traits that would be tested on this journey: rationality and decency, a policy of non-confrontation, and a susceptibility to incapacitating stress.

In the desert isolation, Mann catches up to a slow-moving, grimy Peterbilt tanker truck. With some difficulty, he passes the truck, and continues his journey. At a service station, where he and the truck stop, we learn that his car needs service. Through a phone call to his wife, we learn that he has to get back home quickly, he has a habit of avoiding confrontations, and he gets frustrated easily. Mann is able to see the boots of the truck driver, but that's about all.

As he leaves the service station, he realizes that the truck he earlier passed is now following him. Soon the truck passes him, then slows down in front of him and weaves its way up a steep grade. "I don't believe it", mutters Mann. It's hot, Mann is pressed for time, and this polluting tanker wants to play road games. The games turn deadly when the truck driver finally waves for Mann to passinto the path of an oncoming truck. Mann avoids the accident this time, but later he is run off of the road by the truck into a wooden fence.

"That truck driver tried to kill me!" he says to those who help him from his car. But the desert natives are focusing on what happened to him "out there"; his story does not register with them. He's shaken to the core. Who would have expected to encounter a homicidal truck driver in the middle of the desert

At a nearby truck stop, he tries to collect himself mentally and physically, with little success. He's stressed out, but at least it's over, until the tanker truck unexpectedly reappears outside the front window. He's got to do something to stop this madness, but what Try to identify the driver by his shoes Walk up to him and try to smooth things over His efforts to negotiate some sort of truce with whoever the driver is leaves him stomach-punched, bereft of support from the locals, and still unsure of the murderous truck driver's identity is. Mann must resume his journey and continue to duel with his 18-wheel assailant.

"Duel"'s plot builds suspense using several techniques.

You relate to Mann's predicament, because you sat in Mann's seat as he began his journey.

It's hot and isolated in the desert.

Mann is under pressure to make time.

The truck is really big and fast. Monstrous.

Mann's car is underpowered and underserviced (a commonly shared nightmare experience - the car that will let you down at the worst possible moment).

The unseen driver pursues with insistent, murderous, intent. Weaver's comments are slightly reminiscent of Butch Cassidy's "Who are those guys" comments uttered onscreen in 1969 while being pursued by relentless lawmen.

Plot twists consistently mislead Mann and the audience regarding the identity and the motives of the pursuer. The only certainties in this movie are Mann's anxieties and the ever-presence of danger.
Spielberg's direction applies several key techniques to enhance the suspense.

Camera angles initially place the viewer in the driver's seat. The image of the pursuing truck is too big for the screen, often you can only see the menacing bumper and grille, just as if you were viewing the behemoth through your rear window. We see Mann in his environment, in the rear view mirror. Quick, tightly edited images cover Mann and his pursuer.

Mann's running commentary provides the focus. We know what Mann is thinking, how he reacts and feels in all situations.

There's never an image of the driver, the soul behind the wheel of the truck which pursues Mann with unyielding, unstoppable, murderous intent. The menacing pursuit is by a melding of man and machine, and the insistent, deadly intent now reminds us of a great white shark that we have seen on screen.

There's almost no sound track, rather a series of sound effects to supplement the action at climatic moments. Most of the sound effects in "Duel" are terrifying enough: the roar of the truck engines, the squeal of tires, the blast of train, truck, and car horns.

Special effects are kept to a minimum. There's no need. The sounds and sight of the pursuing ta nker trucks are real and scary enough.
The net result is that we are never sure how this movie is going to end.

This year, I watched "Duel" again on videotape, using a color TV. I find that color added little to the story as presented. The desert sky was now strikingly blue, as was David Mann's shirt. There was very little color required of that malevolent grey tanker truck I was surprised that Mann was driving an ORANGE Plymouth Valiant. There aren't too many orange cars in circulation. Come to think of it, how many Plymouth Valiants remain on the highway The odd thought occurs to me that "Duel" may have been responsible for the demise of a line of automobiles.

I now realize that, back in 1971, I lost little by watching "Duel" in black and white. In fact, the action appeared more stark and compelling.

I am again struck by the quality of Weaver's acting. If this movie was reshot today, I believe that only actors of the ability of Harrison F ord or Tom Hanks could do an equivalent job of believably portraying Mann's panic and bewilderment from start to finish.

After twenty-eight years, I see little in "Duel" that seems stale or anachronistic. "Duel" ages well because the suspense continually builds, the editing is tight, the camera angles are unique, the sound effects are great, and Weaver's portrayal is genuine.

I think North American moviegoers would enjoy seeing a digitally remastered "Duel" re-released for a week in movie theaters.

I do not know much of the history behind the filmmaking of "Duel", and I am reluctant to reference second-hand research, or repeat tales that may not be true. I can factually state that "Duel" was first released in North America as an ABC TV-movie, and that the video version currently released represents the uncut version that was distributed to European theater audiences. Duel received impressive reviews after its release, and the movie is now widely regarded as a suspense classic, one of the best made-for-television movies ever made. Spielberg's direction in particular received critical acclaim.

"Duel" and the subsequent release of "Mad Max", also made a social impact. Once viewed, reporters found it easier to define and coin the term "road rage" to describe the behavior that sadly still exists, and seems to occur more often on American highways.

*****
Dennis Weaver is not only a fine, versatile actor with a very respectable body of work, but he is also a concerned citizen and an active environmentalist. Take the time to browse http://www.dennisweaver.com to learn more about what Dennis is doing to promote ecologically responsible habitat. We have been fortunate to see Dennis Weaver act in many roles, including "Chester" in Gunsmoke, the Emmy-award winning series "McCloud", and in several provocative and interesting television movies. I would enjoy watching him again in new roles, if he so chooses.