It has interesting camera work ,I like the way it was made.
You could mention Shindlers List but that was basically a copy of the brilliant documentary "Shoah".
Perhaps Jaws because it made history as the first block buster.
But I go for "Duel" ,it's by far his best!
I agree. Duel is just great in so many ways. I have watched this film so many times, and I never get bored of watching it.
shareAnd in many ways, "JAWS" was his big-budget "Duel." A giant, uncontrollable menace comes out of nowhere and injects fear into the lives of the person/people in its path. And there are narrative and technical nods from one to the other.
Duel: A man in a lukewarm marriage leaves the city and ends up in a life-threatening battle in the remote, sparsely-populated boondocks/desert where some of the locals don't accept him warmly.
Jaws: A man in a lukewarm marriage leaves NYC and ends up in a life-threatening battle on a remote, sparsely-populated island where some of the locals don't accept him warmly.
Duel: The man questions his own ability to handle all that's thrown at him, and has some whiny inner monologue moments that make him look like a sap.
Jaws: The man questions his own ability to handle all that's thrown at him (afraid of water, boats, swimming, etc.), and has some whiny dialogue moments that make him look like a sap.
Duel: About 12 minutes into the movie, Mann is filmed through the circular window of the clothes dryer in the laundromat, as he talks on the phone to his wife. It's not long after this that he starts the inner monologue at the diner, where he questions himself, as if--a la the framing through the little circular window--he's viewing his whole life through too small a lens.
Jaws: a) After Michael goes into shock on the beach, Brody looks at the ocean through the support beams under the boardwalk, as if all life, the whole world, and the giant ocean have been narrowed to this one small point of existence. b) As the Orca leaves for the fatal hunt, the boat is filmed through the jaws of one of the sharks Quint has killed and collected. Their lives and possible deaths are now narrowed to this one encounter with the shark.
Duel: The locals in Chuck's Diner drive trucks, but it's not THE truck, and they all think Mann is nuts.
Jaws: The locals kill a shark but it's not THE shark, and they all think Brody is nuts.
Duel: The truck knocks out the pay telephone at the reptile exhibit so no help can be summoned.
Jaws: Quint (whose raging desire for vengeance is half the menace once they get on the water) crushes the radio so they are without any ability to summon help.
Duel: Mann tries to get the old couple in the car to help him, but they don't take him seriously and have no intention of helping him.
Jaws: Brody tries to get the mayor, the coroner, the newspaper editor, and the shopkeepers to help him, but none of them take him seriously and they have no intention of helping him.
Duel: After several encounters with the truck, Mann hides near a junkyard--old dead cars and memories of the past--and takes a nap, a short respite from the chase and the hunt. This is interrupted suddenly and violently with the arrival of the train, then another encounter with the truck.
Jaws: After several encounters with the shark, Brody and the guys rest in the cabin and tell stories--of old girlfriends and dead sailors--and get drunk, a respite from the chase and the hunt. This is interrupted suddenly and violently with the arrival of the shark, and a new round of battle.
Duel: The protagonist lives despite the loss of his vessel, which was just strong enough mechanically to keep him alive until the end.
Jaws: The protagonists live despite the loss of their vessel, which was just strong enough mechanically to keep them alive until the end.
There are more, but it's pretty clear Spielberg still had 'Duel' in his head when he made 'JAWS.' He even used the twisting metal sound of the truck crashing down the cliff as the sound of the blown-up shark sinking into the deep after Brody killed it. He chose that sound effect on purpose as a salute back to this movie.
Well, for me, it's Jaws and Duel as far as his 2 best go. From a pure technical standpoint, obviously 'Duel' has more flaws than 'Jaws', which I think of as a technically perfect film. I don't feel any Spielberg film after these 2 are on the same level. The only one that comes to mind is Munich, but even that would probably be a distant 3rd for me. I enjoy Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as a fun, escapist movie, but of course I'd never put that film on the level of 'Jaws' or 'Duel'.
shareI think that this my favorite Spielberg movie that I've seen so far. It keeps me totally absorbed throughout, rather than waiting for the good bits when I'm watching some of his other movies.
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