Every Steven Spielberg Movie Ranked From Worst To Best
15. Duel (1971)
Spielberg's feature-length directorial debut is a brilliantly simple, efficient piece of gonzo genre filmmaking, as a man (Dennis Weaver) is relentlessly pursued by the unseen driver of a tanker truck across the California desert.
It's still staggering almost 50 years later that Duel is the debut of, well, anyone. It exudes a rare confidence in every frame, with Spielberg delivering unexpectedly complex camera set-ups for what was initially a TV movie (before getting a later theatrical release).
With perfect pacing, a scintillating performance from Weaver and not a lick of the director's later knack for sentimental excess, Duel is tight genre filmmaking of a high order, and certainly one of the best TV movies ever made. Even were Duel merely an average film, it announcing Spielberg's arrival would make it well worth a viewing.