On the DVD, the film ends with an MPAA logo displaying the film was rated PG. I'm a little confused. I know this movie started life as an ABC TV movie of the week. It was then expanded from 74 minutes to feature length 90 minutes for release in theaters in Europe.
So, did the European theatrical release also see a cinema run in the United States?
Hey there Dr Wily.
Well first ,IMDB shows this ---> USA : April 22nd,1983 (theatrical release)
I also got this from a site vcalled MOVIES UNLIMITED :
Duel was originally intended only to be one of ABC’s “Movie of the Week” presentations, keeping the 74-minute running time in line for TV movies.
However, once it aired, buzz was high and Universal (Pictures) decided to release it theatrically in overseas venues, which eventually led to some showings in the United States as well.
Knowing 74 minutes wasn’t long enough for a feature film release,
some new scenes were added stretching the film’s length to 90 minutes.
https://www.moviefanfare.com/movie-list/due/ <--- More to read on other things about the film.
So yes , in 1983 Americans were treated to this longer ,89 min. version.
Which may just be the version on the
DVD ....that is if the run time says 89 minutes.
I have it on VHS tape but never really looked at the run time. I will now.
Have a great day!
Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*
I first saw this on the VHS release about 10 years ago. I'm pretty sure the VHS is the theatrical release because my memory tells me there was some language that simply wouldn't have been on ABC TV in the 1970's. The DVD also has some of this same language so it was kind of throwing me off that this was a made for TV movie. When it was expanded, they probably added some of the language to it to get something other than a G rating. Like how one certain word was written into The Transformers: The Movie specifically so it would earn a PG rating.
shareAh ,ha! Found this on Amazon :
VHS Release Date: January 17, 1995
Run Time: 90 minutes <---Yep ,theatre version.
So the incredibly very good copy I juts found a few weeks ago is
actually 20 years and 8 months old. ...but it is the theatrical version.
I probably have seen the original ABC verson on local TV
sometime in the early 80s (before th '83 release to theaters.)
DVD release was August of 2004 ,which
not long after I posted a review here on IMDb.
Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*
That DVD must be a re-release or a new edition. My DVD's special features say they are copyright 2001.
shareIt is a colector's editon version DVD. Release Date: August 17, 2004.
On the extras ,are they interviews about the making of it? Because Weaver was last interviewed about Duel in 2001. (They may have also re-newed the original copyrights on some things.
(Check new thread for Dennis Weaver interview.)
Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*
My DVD has 2 interviews with Steven Spielberg. One is about 35 minutes on making Duel. The other is about his other TV directorial jobs. There's also a 9 minute interview with Richard Matheson on writing Duel. There's a theatrical trailer and a photo and posters gallery. Plus some cast and crew bios and a production notes menu.
shareI may have to buy that soon. Sounds very interesting.
Have a good day!
Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*
Maybe I read it wrong. Maybe it said copyright 2004 instead of 2001. I checked Amazon.com to see if there are 2 different versions. There's only 1 version, from 2004. Its list of special features appears to be the same as the DVD I saw. My local library got the DVD 5 years and I checked it out again last week. It's checked out again right now so I can't go back and check the copyright dates on the special features again to see if it said 2001 or 2004. It could be this 2004 release is just a re-release of a disc that came out originally in 2001. I don't know.
shareI checked my library's online catalog for the full display information of the DVD. It says it's from 2004. So, I must have misread the copyright date as 2001 instead of 2004 on the screen. Or the contents on the 2004 DVD were actually produced in 2001 and the DVD didn't make it to the market until 2004 for whatever reason.
shareIt was a movie release, at least here in Australia. I saw it in the cinema in around 1974.
shareYup, 74 minutes for a 90-minute ABC timeslot. So the FCC was allowing "only" seven minutes of commercials per hour, plus station IDs. Those were the days!
shareThe original TV version is fantastic, much more leaner and some amusing added inner dialogue. It's the version I usual watch these days.
share