Duel:

This is one of Steven Spielberg's first films as a director. Just watching this film, and knowing how young and inexperienced he must have been to create a masterpiece just depicts how talented he is, laying the path towards other blockbusters such as Jaws and E.T. (I will do a section on these later.)
This film honestly portrays David Mann's (Dennis Weaver) complete and utter panic, as he is being chased to his death by a malevolent driver in a huge lorry through the rocky, two lane interstate. Spielberg's camera angles and movement are terrific such as the low angle shots of the dominating lorry and then the high angle shots of David's small, vulnerable car.

Yes, it may sound like quite a simple and obvious film to some, yet I assure you it is not. So many films have been influenced by this creation, a good example would be Jeepers Creepers.

It is clever how you never see the face of the driver of the truck, giving him a supernatural quality. I bet that if we saw his face, it would completely ruin the element of suspense and tension built up in this film. Such as in The Strangers, which don't get me wrong is fantastic, but when they reveal their faces at the end, it weakens the element of terror for the viewer.

Another aspect I love is the use of narrative. It delves the viewer into his panic stricken mind, such as the scene in the cafe when he is trying to deduce who the lorry driver may be.

Here is a really good section in building up tension through the use of sharp editing cuts and climaxing music.

>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jx-h45TTko&feature=related

I love the anti-climax when you can hear the vague sound of the lorry approaching when it is in fact a train. It sounds simple yet is very effective for a first time viewer.

So I would highly recommend this film to anyone, especially is you are a fan of Spielberg, as its a classic :)