Duel

Fig.1

Duel was directed by Steven Spielberg. This movie won a Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing, and Outstanding Cinematography.
The Film starts with David Mann (played by Dennis Weaver) who drives on a two-lane highway to get home to his family. He then encounters an old ‘enormous’ truck who endangers his life.

Fig.2 Exist to Kill

 

Spielberg hits, it simply exists to kill) but the driver is never ever revealed. Tension and terror, not characterisation and plot, are what matters here.” (Freer, 2000) Following what Freer said, Spielberg infringingly makes the audience feel the tension that the main character is feeling by not showing the drivers face. This then tricks the audience into thinking a ghost is chasing David which creates the suspense needed in this chase.
Not only did Spielberg make the tractor look personified he also “Plotted the action and camera placements on a map that Spielberg fashioned stunning variations on the cat and mouse theme, popping up the pursuit with bizarro camera angles.” (Freer, 2000) Meaning the camera angles also created the suspense needed in the film. For example, Spielberg uses close-ups on David hitting the brakes or looking in the mirror. Spielberg interestingly added a minor western genre in the movie. Another example would be when David and the truck face each other, an extreme close up is being used only seeing David’s eyes which turns into a mid-shot of him driving at high speed. This shot is commonly used in a western film if a character is about to have a fight, which connotates with the title of the movie “duel.”

Fig.3 Camera Shots

 

Spielberg did not mind the dialogue, however, knew that this was an action film and that he should focus more on the action and the camera angles to convey the story. ''Duel'' might almost have been a silent film because it expresses so much through action and so little through the words that are here. Mr. Weaver is David Mann, the film's only real character, and he's given a few internal monologues that only awkwardly express Mann's anxiety.” (Maslin, 1983)

Fig.4 Feminism

''Twenty, twenty-five minutes out of your whole life and then all the ropes that kept you hangin' in there are cut loose. And there you are, back in the jungle again.'' (Kenneth, 2010) This is one of the lines he said in his monologue which describes his felinity. For example, he had an argument with his wife ‘last night’ about how he was not able to stick up for his wife in the party. This already indicates that he is represented as a weak character. Spielberg makes this obvious by choosing the vehicles the characters were going to ride. For example, David drives a ‘small’ red car whilst a ‘big’ truck is chasing him to his death. In the end, David wins the ‘duel’ between the truck and is now seen as a masculine man.

In conclusion, Spielberg uses different camera angles to show the action in the film, he also uses various camera shots to create suspense.

Bibliography;

Freer, Ian (2000) – Duel Review at: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/empire-essay-duel/review/ [Accessed: 07/03/2018]

Maslin, Janet (1983) – 'SPIELBERG'S 'DUEL,' FOUR-WHEEL COMBAT: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9804EFD81138F936A25757C0A965948260 [Accessed: 07/03/2018]

Kenneth, John (2002) – CULT TV-MOVIE REVIEW: Duel (1971): http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/cult-tv-movie-review-duel-1971.html [Accessed: 07/03/2018]

Illustration;

Figure 1. Duel Movie (1971) [Poster] at: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/mediaviewer/rm3799735808 n[Accessed 07/03/2018]

Figure 2. Exist to kill (1971)[Still Film] at: http://www.blu-ray.com/Duel/112743/  [Accessed 07/03/2018]

Figure 3. Camera shots (1971) [Still Film] at: http://www.blu-ray.com/Duel/112743/ [Accessed 07/03/2018]

Figure 4. Feminism (2014) [Still Film] at: https://ccpopculture.com/2014/03/25/duel-1971/ [Accessed 07/03/2018]