Epic. Timeless. Elemental and Irreducible.
“You just never know. You go along figuring some things don't change, ever, like being able to drive on a public highway without someone trying to murder you. And then one stupid thing happens. Twenty, twenty-five minutes out of your whole life, and all the ropes that kept you hanging in there get cut loose, and it's like 'There you are, right back in the jungle again.' “
“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”, as Murrow so famously quoted, but I don't think he realized the true scope of that statement. It is the fundamental nature of our universe that, so long life evolves into homogeneous populations, predators will also evolve the natures and advantages to prey on those populations. Life and Aggression are utterly inseparable, and Duel treats this elemental concept superlatively. Those who speculate about the driver's sex or identity are missing the point; the driver isn't a "who". The driver isn't human, that's why you never see them. The driver is "Threat", the driver is "Danger", the driver is "Predator" as a basic concept.
Anyway, Duel is easily Spielberg's best, most powerful film, and absolutely impossible to improve upon. share