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Steven Spielberg worked his way up to directing features by making short films and episodes of TV shows like Columbo and Night Gallery. His earliest movies were also made for television – and the first feature-length TV movie he made that wasn’t part of a series was the classic 1971 thriller Duel (watch it Here). Forty-two years after Duel first aired, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is now set to give the film a 4K release on November 14th!

Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay, Duel centers on a motorist terrorized by an evil truck. Dennis Weaver stars as the traveling salesman waging a desperate battle for survival after he is mysteriously singled out.

Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, and Gene Dynarski are also in the cast.

A press release on Blu-ray.com notes, “Praised for its deft use of relentlessly mounting psychological tension,...

Made-for-tv movies have developed from their Hallmark stereotype in recent years, thanks to the rise of companies such as HBO. Although these films feature lower budgets and smaller casts than larger productions, they offer directors and actors greater freedom – leading them toward more successful results.

Related: Top 10 Best TV Series of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

Despite this shift away from melodrama for sensationalism’s sake, made-for-tv movies remain a viable alternative to seeing stories on screen without spending too much cash or time in cinemas.

10 Highest-Ranked TV Movies on IMDb Duel (1971) – 7.6 You Don’t Know Jack (2010) – 7.6 Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007) – 7.6 Conspiracy (2001) – 7.6 61* (2001) – 7.7 A Christmas Carol (1984) – 7.8 The Normal Heart (2014) – 7.9 Prayers for Bobby (2009) – 8.0 Threads (1984) – 8.0 Temple Grandin (2010) – 8.2 10 ‘Duel’ (1971)

Genre: Action, Thriller

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell

IMDb: 7.6/10 74K | Popularity: 1,865 | Metascore: 81 | Awards: 3 (1 Primetime Emmy Award)

“Duel,” a 1971 suspense thriller from the mind of acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, follows...

Now it can be told! Or maybe, now it can’t be told? William Bradford Huie’s novel of creeping American ambition in Honolulu ends up as a tame vehicle for Jane Russell, who in one of her last big starring movies gives the Hawaiian scenery a run for its money. Raoul Walsh does well in the direction department, but the story has been cleaned up for Sunday School.

The Revolt of Mamie Stover

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1956 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date July 17, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, Jorja Curtright, Michael Pate, Richard Coogan, Alan Reed, Eddie Firestone, Jean Willes, Margia Dean, Sally Todd, Hugh Beaumont.

Cinematography: Leo Tover

Costumes: Travilla

Visual Effects: Ray Kellogg

Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer

Written by Sydney Boehm, from the novel by William Bradford Huie

Produced by Buddy Adler

Directed by Raoul Walsh...

Many of MGM’s productions were scraping bottom in 1958, yet the studio found one more acceptable western vehicle for their last big star still on contract. Only-slightly corrupt marshal Robert Taylor edges toward a showdown with the thoroughly corrupt Richard Widmark in an economy item given impressive locations and the sound direction of John Sturges.

The Law and Jake Wade

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1958 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, Patricia Owens, Robert Middleton, Henry Silva, DeForest Kelley, Henry Silva, Burt Douglas, Eddie Firestone.

Cinematography: Robert Surtees

Film Editor: Ferris Webster

Written by William Bowers from a novel by Marvin H. Albert

Produced by William B. Hawks

Directed by John Sturges

As the 1950s wore down, MGM was finding it more difficult to properly use its last remaining big-ticket stars on the steady payroll, Cyd Charisse and Robert Taylor. Cyd...

Martin Balsam: Oscar winner has ‘Summer Under the Stars’ Day on Turner Classic Movies Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Martin Balsam (A Thousand Clowns) is Turner Classic Movies’ unusual (and welcome) "Summer Under the Stars" featured player today, August 27, 2013. Right now, TCM is showing Sidney Lumet’s The Anderson Tapes (1971), a box-office flop starring Sean Connery in his (just about) post-James Bond, pre-movie legend days. (Photo: Martin Balsam ca. early ’60s.) Next, is Joseph Sargent’s thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). Written by Peter Stone (Father Goose, Arabesque) from John Godey’s novel, the film revolves around the hijacking of a subway car in New York City. Passengers are held for ransom while police lieutenant Walter Matthau tries to handle the situation. Now considered a classic (just about every pre-1999 movie is considered a "classic" these days), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was...

We kick off the marathon with a celebration of Spielberg’s directorial debut, the vehicular thriller Duel. Did Spielberg start off strong, or was his first film an embarrassing blemish on his impressive resume? Find out now in our first installment of Saturdays with Spielberg!

The Basics:

Businessman David Mann is traveling across a long and desolate road in the Western United States when he encounters the behemoth of a truck. At first, he thought nothing of it. He passes him once, and the truck only blares his long horn. But once he passes the truck again, Mann inadvertently causes a case of road rage upon the driver that can only end in one way…and with only one man left standing.

Cast: Dennis Weaver, Eddie Firestone, Gene Dynarski, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel

Written By: Richard Matheson

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

The Delivery:

Duel is certainly an interesting debut for director Steven Spielberg.