> Before Duel, the Oscar-less Spielberg was off working as a television director wunderkind. He spent his early 20s directing episodes for a number of shows, including The Night Gallery, Marcus Welby, M.D., and Columbo. Yet, he also made a number of short films and independent feature efforts to support his filmmaking aspirations. Working in the studio system for a few years at this point, Spielberg's name was often getting thrown around to potentially helm projects. One such instance was when a secretary gave him an original short story titled Duel from Richard Matheson. Advising him to apply to direct ABC's Movie of the Week adaptation, Spielberg took her advice and directed an absolute bang up, rollicking picture that used every bit of its resources to its max potential, and then some. The film was shot over the course of 13 days on a shoestring budget, so Spielberg didn't have too much to work with, yet he didn't need much — he's Spielberg! He makes anything great. If someone handed him an orange juice and a camera, he'd know how to make it badass. Though the original TV version of Duel came out to an approximate 70 minutes, the film was so well received and successful in its efforts that Spielberg shot 20 minutes worth of extra scenes in order to pad out the run time enough for a theatrical release.

> Duel has just about the simplest story one can imagine. On the way to a meeting with a client, mild-mannered David Mann (Dennis Weaver) passes a truck driver on an old desert highway, leading the truck driver to follow him and, eventually, try to kill him. We never actually see the truck driver, but you never need to because our villain is basically the shark from Jaws on wheels. Spielberg is already a master of elevating the cinematic language of his films beyond what others might shoot in a conventional manner. But with Duel having such a lean premise which other filmmakers might bring to life without much urgency, this couldn't be further from the case here for Spielberg. If you haven't seen Duel yet, just know you'll be watching one of the angriest films that the man has ever done. Every bit of Spielbergian filmmaking is told in a cut-throat, bone dry fashion. Without any flashy effects to lean into, he was given rapid fire editing and inventive camerawork to wow audiences with, and he does so like he's fighting for his life.