No director has altered the course of film likeSteven Spielberg.
His big breakthrough,1975’sJaws, is still arguably his best and most famous work.
That came four years prior, with what should have been a simplenetwork TV movie-of-the-week calledDuel.
Image by Federico Napoli
That wouldn’t have happened if the no-name filmmaker didn’t have the courage to stick to his guns.
Everything changed for him in 1971 when he was hired to directDuel.
It wouldn’t have been if Spielberg had done what he was told.
Image via Universal Television
Universal Studios assigned a Unit Production Manager to Spielberg namedWalter Worsley.
Spielberg added, “I don’t want to shoot this if I have to go inside.
It’s going to look fake.”
That’s the last thing Spielberg wanted to do.
Spielberg agreed, and now this unproven director had to prove that he could stay on schedule.
We wound up shooting it in twelve."
Image via Universal Pictures
Duelmade on a sound stage would have looked so fake that it would have removed all tension.
Imagine David Mann in a car with a truck on a screen behind him.
The whole thing is about a truck chasing a car!
It’s about time for the Oscar-winner to return to his genre roots.
Steven Spielberg knew how crucial realism was for a monster movie likeDuel.
He used that same approach forJaws.
That same resolve could be found nearly two decades later withJurassic Park.
We had to feel the dinosaur impossibly being there for us to be scared.
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