We were all woundering if the fuel tanker was going to get him even at 75 mph the fuel tinker was right there.the coolest part was you could not evere see the guys face driveing the tanker
I agree wholeheartedly, people complaining about the lack of a massive fireball (which I love in films, don’t get me wrong it’s always a joy to watch) in the comments here fail to realise just how much it grounds the scene and how it also subtly adds to the psychotic unseen character of the the truck driver. We get the infamous roar, as it breaks up over the cliff, but then there’s no huge explosion. Why? The tanker was empty this whole time, that’s how the truck was able to keep up with Mann so easily throughout the film, the driver doesn’t even have any kind of job, they just stalk the roads looking for more victims, and as the various number plates indicate, Mann was far from the first. Of course, we realise all this way beforehand, but it’s a nice way to confirm it. It really adds to the eerie quasi-supernatural nature of the truck, where as a big fireball would have made the scene a spectacle, but I imagine would have taken away from the overall impression. It’s a brilliant finale!
The entire movie ends with a crescendo, and then all of that kinetic energy fading away as the truck tire stops rotating! Great acting from Dennis Weaver.
You can see the door open at 0:52 because the stuntman had to jump out of the truck aint no cgi back then. Spielberg made it clear the madman driver died with the blood at the end
For me , the secret of the film's appeal is that yu never get to see what the truck driver looks like - its just human nature to want to get a glimpse of a crazy pyscho like this
Carey loftin is the truck driver.. he's shown as the man mysteriously looking at Dennis Weaver in the restaurant scene. Although his face is not shown at the wheel in the whole movie
Without a single beheading, stabbing or otherwise gory exposition, one of the scariest damn movies I've ever seen. Spielberg always said the unseen villain/monster is the most terrifying. He never explained anything about the driver's motivations because he thought that would lessen the tension he created. I was in college the first time I saw it on the midnight movie. I nearly rolled over and died of a heart attack before the end. LOLOL.
Carey Loftin, who drove the truck but never appeared onscreen, was said to have been the best stunt driver of all time. He is also well known for directing the chase in Bullitt.
Steven Spielberg always imagined the truck to be like a T-Rex chasing the car. The roar was taken from Creature from the Black Lagoon and used in Duel. Steven Spielberg used the exact same sound effect at the end of Jaws, after Chief Brody kills the shark and we see all of the remains of the dead shark floating down to the seabed, because Steven Spielberg thought there were many similarities between Duel and Jaws.
Iconic scene to be remembered in cinematography. If someone saw this for the first time as a child, they will want to review it many times later as an adult.
The truck is portrayed as an evil demonic truck. The person driving it (stuntman Carey Lofton) jumped out before the truck plummeted to its demise. I watched this when i was 6 (1976), and it scared the shit outta me. Someone owns the Duel truck in Southern California. They made 2 of them. 😊
Saw this movie on a hot summer day in '73 cinema in Ostend Belgium, the little cinema was empty and abandoned, this film made a imprecision on me!!, never heard of Spielberg before, till that day!!!!, the rest is history.
An often uncommented on mark of Spielberg's genius is that he used several cameras for this scene, but for the crash he took only the best footage from one camera. No cuts, no edits, just one continuous shot of the truck crashing down the cliff. Other directors would have tried to boggle our minds by making rapid cuts to different angles. With this, Spielberg let us watch as if we were there, making the scene far more effective.
Superb film. One of my absolute favourites. I can understand how Dennis Weaver felt when the truck was behind him as I had one about a week ago dogging me on the dark twisty roads in the fog but I wasn't aware that it was an artic until I got to a overtaking spot and it came past me
Love that final scene where Dennis Weaver’s henpecked character becomes somber, almost like he’s mourning the loss of the adrenaline & simplicity his duel with the roadkiller gave him. You just know that this nightmarish endurance test changed his life & he no longer tolerated people trying to take things from him.
@@Kgio-2112 Mmmmm, those important papers that you wanted to sign.... Would you believe they were burned up in a gully after a Semi crashed into my car?
Great movie 👍 The end scene is fantastic! After the truck and the car go over the cliff, they show everything, oil dripping, tire spinning, the fan still works, lol Dennis Weaver is looking at the wreckage like he's waiting for the truck driver to magically appear!
@@johnioannidis9862 Yes, considering he's probably killed several other Car drives from other states. He was probably a wanted fugitive which may explain why he kept hiding his face.
Absolutely great movie! Hardly any talking its all based on fear. I rember watching this movie as a kid and have watched it probably 10 times. Weve all dealt with road rage but not on this level.
"this shit is the most unrealistic cliff dive ever. The truck should have exploded into a big mushroom cloud based on how big that tanker was. This guy Esteban Spielberg definitely aint gonna make it in the movie industry. " -some movie critic back then probably
I believe they had a mechanism in the truck that was supposed to close the door after the stunt driver bailed out. It clearly failed but makes for an interesting theory that the driver did bail out and went into hiding, probably so he could continue terrifying unsuspecting drivers elsewhere.
@@Traderjoe Actually everybody notices the open door. It's very clear from the brief shots inside the cab that the story being told is that the driver was at the controls right up to the end, and because of that, it's obvious that the open door (which wasn't closed again after the stunt driver jumped out) was simply a mistake. Surely they would have shot this scene again to correct that mistake if they could have, but scenes like this can only be shot once.
Thinking on a movie plot level….the driver went down with…and died inside his truck. He didn’t bail out. Reasons being… *The truck was traveling at a high rate of speed just prior to it colliding with the car. *Once the collision took place, you clearly see the truck driver downshift, hit the gas, then you hear the motor increase in RPMs. The truck is not slowing down as it pushes the burning car. *Driver’s vision is obscured because of the smoke and fire coming from the car, thus he does not see the cliff edge dead ahead. He realizes this error just as his vehicle reaches the drop off. He applies the breaks both by using the air pressure and foot pedal, but by this time the forward momentum would have already sent the car and the truck cab airborne as by the time he reacted, it would be too late. Even traveling at 25mph…there would be no time to fully stop. *As the truck becomes fully airborne and is beginning to arc downward…yes the cab door is open, but the air horn is sounding clearly after the truck has crossed over the cliff edge. Someone has to be in there pulling the cord. *Milliseconds after the horn was silenced, the truck cab makes its first impact with the cliff side and immediately is violently turned onto its passenger side. You clearly see right exhaust and fender parts being torn off. On the left side, the door is slamming around. Any escape at this point would be impossible as the driver…who may have been able to pull the door handle but also had a hand in and was pulling the horn cord….would have been violently thrown over to the passenger side of the cab and ultimately onto the floor where he would finally become entangled…and most likely severely injured, making any escape from the violently moving cab impossible. *The final impact at the bottom of the cliff no doubt would have been a big hit. The driver if still alive no doubt would be killed by the blunt force of the impact. You see what appears to be blood dripping down the steering wheel…the cab being upside down, this reiterates the theory that the driver was entangled within the pedals, gearshift, wiring under the console and what was down now being up…he is dripping blood down over the wheel. Close scrutiny of the cab wreckage…one can see the driver side window has a star impact crack in the center. The crash itself may have caused that, but it appears to be from the inside over the wheel, so it’s not impossible to think his head hit the windshield during the first impact with the cliff. So in long terms….the truck driver went down with his ship.
The roar used was the same roar Spielberg used at the ending of Jaws when Bruce was sinking after getting blown up. And the Peterbuilt & trailer are still alive today.😊
4:06 well you may have lost your car, but at least you're alive and that's all that matters, now how are you gonna get home? guess you'll just have to hitch a ride home, boy will you have a story to tell your wife
The screenplay was by Richard Matheson, who was and is a legend among Hollywood writers. His list of accomplishments is right up there with the director of this movie, Steven Spielberg. There are several movies out there (especially from the 70s for some reason) about machines going crazy* but the one interesting thing that is different in this case is that we actually see the arm of the driver here and there, showing us that there is actually a person driving it. * Such as "The Car", "Maximum Overdrive" and "Killdozer".
I read somewhere in a behind the scenes interview, Carey Loftin who was the truck driver mentioned that Dennis weaver was one of his favourite actors and that he said it was an honour and a privilege to work with Dennis weaver in this movie.
@@eternalsoul220maybe he opened the door and tried to escape but he failed, this also might be a possibility 🤔 in addition. We can see blood in the wheel, that means he's more likely dead.
