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Duel
Universal // PG // August 17, 2004
List Price: $19.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
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Duel originally aired on ABC sporting a 74 minute runtime, and additional footage was shot to bring the film to feature-length for theatrical exhibition overseas. The lengthier 90 minute version is what's provided on this release, including an extended title sequence, a scene with the truck plowing David's car towards a speeding train, and footage of David calling his wife on the road. None of this additional material seems superfluous or dulls any of the suspense throughout.
Duel has been a hotly-desired commodity on DVD for years now, with numerous scheduled release dates tossed around and a handful of leaked copies selling at an enormous markup. Although there doesn't appear to be any substantive differences between this release and the DVDs that started floating around this time last year, the sheer quality of the final product is still worth the wait. This DVD includes a beautifully-remastered full-frame image, an impressive pair of six-channel remixes along with the original monaural audio, and a great collection of interviews with Steven Spielberg and Richard Matheson.
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Audio: There are several different soundtracks available, beginning with the original monaural track, encoded at bitrate of 192Kbps. Universal has also provided a pair of remixes in Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kbps) and DTS. The movie sounds nearly as good as it looks, and the core premise of the movie takes advantage of the six discrete channels it has on-hand. Directionality is considerably above average, with very localized sound effects and numerous pans from speaker to speaker. Aside from the title sequence, these effects sound smooth and natural, not saddled down by the forced, artificial quality of lesser remixes. There's a low-frequency rumble throughout as these cars barrel towards one another, culminating in a climax that threatened to rattle my house down to a shattered foundation. Dialogue comes through reasonably well, if a bit flat and more obviously dated than other elements of the mix. Even disregarding the technical aspects of this multichannel remix, the sound design in Duel is a significant part of the movie's appeal, from the sounds of creaking metal to its unconventional score. Very well done.
Subtitles have been provided in English, French, and Spanish, though there are no closed captions.
Supplements: Although Steven Spielberg has an aversion to recording audio commentaries, an interview of the quality of the thirty-five minute "A Conversation with Director Steven Spielberg" is more than capable of taking its place. Every facet of the process, from hearing about the original novella from his assistant to the movie's enormous success on television, is covered in detail. Among the numerous topics are his fight to have the movie shot on location, creating the illusion of speed by shooting with certain lenses and angles, trying as an unproven filmmaker to earn the respect of an established crew, and the detailed planning that made it possible to shoot a movie in such an incomprehensibly short period of time. It's also interesting to hear what an indelible impact Duel had on his career and how he incorporated elements from the movie into a number of his later projects. What I've rattled off is just a fraction of what's covered in this engrossing, informative documentary, which is essential viewing for anyone buying or renting this DVD.
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A small image gallery cycles through a series of production stills and promotional artwork. The gallery doesn't appear to be properly flagged for widescreen displays, leaving the images vertically stretched. The second and final page of extras offer a fairly lousy minute-long full-frame trailer, a set of cast/crew biographies, and brief production notes. The DVD features a set of static 16x9 menus and an even twenty chapter stops.
Conclusion: Some viewers are likely to be drawn towards Duel because of its status as the debut feature from one of Hollywood's most popular and influential filmmakers, and the movie can certainly be appreciated as a landmark in that respect. Still, Duel is a film deserving of praise on its own merits, regardless of the current marquee value of its then-unknown director. Even more than three decades after its original broadcast, Duel remains a tense, suspenseful, well-crafted film. Its release on DVD makes a purchase even more compelling, given the impressive quality of the presentation, an assortment of excellent supplemental material, and an exceedingly reasonable price tag. Highly Recommended.
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