The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Spielberg's direction being singled out for praise. It later received an international theatrical release in an extended version featuring scenes shot after the film's original TV broadcast.
Produced by Universal Television, Duel originally aired as a part of the ABC Movie of the Week series on November 13, 1971.
The screenplay by Richard Matheson adapts his own short story of the same name, published in the April 1971 issue of Playboy, and based on an encounter on November 22, 1963, when a trucker dangerously cut him off on a California freeway. However, he finds himself chased and terrorized by the mostly unseen driver of a semi-truck.
It centers on a business commuter, played by Dennis Weaver, driving his car through rural California to meet a client. Duel is a 1971 American action-thriller television film directed by Steven Spielberg.
