duel movie

production

Duel was Spielberg's feature-length directing debut, following a well-received turn directing a segment of the anthology television series Night Gallery. Initially shown on American television as an ABC Movie of the Week installment, it was eventually released to cinemas in Europe and Australia, and had a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States.

Despite its simple plot, a low budget (only $375,000) and very short filming deadlines (originally 10 days), the movie maintains a high level of suspense due to Spielberg's taut direction, tight editing and the script's refusal to resolve the central mystery of

the driver. The film's success enabled Spielberg to move beyond directing for television and establish himself as a competent film director. (source: DVD bonus material).

During the original filming, the crew only had one truck and so the final shot of the truck falling off the cliff had to be completed in one take. For the film's theatrical release, though, additional trucks were purchased in order to film the additional scenes that were not in the original made-for-TV version (i.e. the school bus scene and the railroad crossing). Only one of those trucks ha

s survived.

Much of the movie was filmed

in southern California's "Canyon Country," in and around Agua Dulce, California and Acton, California. In particular, sequences were filmed on Sierra Highway, Agua Dulce Canyon Road, Soledad Canyon Road and Angeles Forest Highway. Many of the landmarks from Duel still exist today, including the tunnel, the railroad crossing and Chuck’s Café, a place where David Mann abruptly stops for a break. The building, now a French restaurant, is currently still on Sierra Highway.

The original made-for-television version was only 74 minutes long and was completed in 13 days (3 longer than the scheduled 10 days), leaving 10 days for editing prior to broadcast as the ABC "Movie of the Week". Following Duel's successful TV airing, Universal released Duel overseas in 1973, especially in Europe. Since the TV movie's 74 minutes was not long enough for theatrical release, Universal had Spielberg spend 2 days filming several new scenes. These new scenes turned Duel into a 90 minute film. The new scenes were the railroad crossing, school bus, and David Mann's telephone conversation with his wife. Also a longer opening sequence was added with the car backing out of a garage and driving through the city. Expletives were added to make the film sound like a major motion picture.