Skip to main content

Duel

Duel is not just an early work of Steven Spielberg but one of his best.
(Duel has been edited and re-edited to two versions and what follows is a writing on the 90 minute version rather than the 74 minute original. This version has a few additional scenes and more scope to write further!)
Richard Matheson has written the screenplay of duel based upon on his own short story. Dennis Weaver playing David Mann is dragged into a duel by a 40 ton truck. The build up of the duel between the car driver and truck driver has been written excellently. When most of the additions have added sharpness to the movie one of them stands out. The telephone conversation between David and his wife seems to be distracting. As of the information I came across, this sequence was added since producer George Eckstein wanted to make the runtime of the movie to 90 minutes.
The photography and make up for the truck has played a very significant part in the movie. The generation of evil character is portrayed with the truck in the major part of the film than in the driver. The visuals featuring the truck has been able to create fear in a way giving much life to it.
Spielberg's execution from the opening shot shows his craft in the business! He has shot the movie with such feel. The mystery, suspense, terror and thrill has been used to the fullest by him.
Strongly recommended.
Labels:

Comments

PJC said…
will try n get my hands on this one for sure...
July 7, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nidra

I haven't seen the original version of the film, Nidra, which was directed by Bharathan. But the version his son, Sidharth Bharathan, made was lovable for the way it was made. Nidra is a neat film. It has a writing material well adapted by Sidharth and Santhosh. The dialogues from Santhosh Echikkanam are bang on! Loved the visuals of the film as well but it seemed to have an excess of blue all over it. I wonder if Sameer Thahir did that to cover up for the excess of white that he might have had to  accommodate while shooting on the Red camera. The music and background score of the film sounded well with the film. The editing and sound design were no less good. It did feel as though there where a couple of instances when the footages jumped creating a disturbance for a second or two. But, otherwise the editing by Bavan Sreekumar was just too good. I loved the editing on all those scenes that featured the redish look from Sameer and the scene at the dining table that featur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kaminey

Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey is a classic film targeted at the masses. Vishal Bharadwaj could be a genius. He has handled a movie that could turn out to be a total mess at some other guys hand with great brilliance. He has not only managed to execute the film in style but also taken care of the music, screenplay and dialogues of the film. The plot of Kaminey is simple. The construction of the plot is where Vishal and his team has made the magic. As in a Guy Ritchie film here we travel with one character and then at a point slide over to another. The action as in a Quentin Tarantino movie is gonna come hitting at you as hard as you have ever imagined a Bollywood cinema to be (and the better thing here is that you have very less blood compared to QT)! What makes Kaminey have the class is the the fact that it is truely cinematic. Kaminey is a true film and not a hindi film. Vishal Bharadwaj has been able to communicate with his film very universally with the brilliant dark visual t...
3 comments
Read more

The Perfume of the Lady in Black (2005)

The Perfume of the Lady in Black is a very interesting French crime comedy. The movie happens to be fast with an old cult touch to it! The movie follows quite a simple plot which is based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. Bruno Podalydes, the director of the film, has done a wonderful job as he wins complete attention of the viewer. The film consists of two stories that follow one another. First is Rouletabille’s long-awaited reunion with his parents and the second is another crime to be solved at the castle where his mother is staying. Denis plays the lead role supported by the brilliant photographer Sainclair, played by Jean-Noël Brouté. The acting is again top class. The cinematography by Christophe Beaucarne too is of high standards largely due to the wise use of the brilliant locals in and around the sea. The movie is crisp for 115 minutes and a non-stop entertainer.
2 comments
Read more