Episode #1 – Duel (1971)
The year is 1971. It’s Saturday November the 13th and you’re watching ABC. “A man… a car… and ten tonnes of rolling death right behind them” We’re about to watch – Duel.
SHOW NOTES
HOW TO WATCH
The original television cut of Duel is a little difficult to track down. Although it was released as part of Universal Studio's 2023 4K home media release, the SD source used was subjected to a horrendously poor AI upscale that rendered the film basically unwatchable. As it stands, this is the only official modern release of the original cut. With a little detective work, however, various uploads of SD copies of this version can be found online. Despite the poor presentation of the original cut, the 2023 Universal release remains your best option for viewing the theatrical version. This cut is also available on numerous Blu-Ray releases, which are all much the same. For more information, visit HERE. For an in-depth look at the differences between the television and theatrical versions of Duel, visit Movie-Censorship.com
FURTHER READING
Duel (Richard Matheson, 1971) The short story upon which Spielberg's film is based can be found in this collection of Matheson short stories.
Trucks (Stephen King, 1973) The Stephen King short story that treads similar ground can be found in, Night Shift, a collection of his short tales.
FURTHER VIEWING The Car (d. Elliot Silverstein, 1977)
James Brolin stars in this supernatural yawn fest that sees Universal Studios try to do for coupes what Duel did for trucks.
Maximum Overdrive (d. Stephen King, 1986)
Stephen King proves that he’s not a jack of all trades and should really stick to the day (or is that night) job. It’s big and dumb and a bit of fun – but you’ve been warned.
Maximum Overdrive (Stephen King, 1986
McCloud (1970-1977, 1989)
Duel star Dennis Weaver plays a small-town sherif in the big city in this TV detective stablemate of Columbo.
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