8 Underrated Films From Famous Directors You Probably Missed

3. Duel - Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is such an iconic, prolific filmmaker that it's incredibly easy for his films that only qualify as "great" to be lost in the shuffle. This is especially true of films that came before he broke out in the biggest possible break-out possible with Jaws. And especially, especially true when we're dealing with a 60-minute TV movie that was only expanded to a full, theatrically-released feature for international release.

Those origins don't speak anything of Duel's quality though; it has all the signs of the industry-changing talent in a tight story. Dennis Weaver is chased by a manic truck driver trying to run him off the road in an intense, grimy, endlessly inventive game of cat-and-mouse on the roads. The ways the young director constantly changes up the approach to the action allow the film to run the full range of the idea and ensure (like Jaws) it remains engaging all these years later.

The best element is the evil truck itself. A striking Peterbilt 281 tanker covered in grime, oil and rust that roars (literally) along the highway with such relentlessness you begin to imagine it's indestructible, it's enough to make you want to take up a trucker's life.