Duel was Steven Spielberg’s second feature-length directing effort, after his
1971 The Name of the Game NBC-TV series episode "L.A. 2017". It was two
years after a well-received turn directing a segment of the pilot-movie for the
anthology television series Night Gallery and several other TV episodes. Duel
was initially shown on television as an ABC Movie of the Week on Saturday,
November 13, 1971. It was later released to cinemas in Europe and Australia,
with a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States. The film’s
success enabled Spielberg to establish himself as a film director. It is one of 
only two Spielberg-directed theatrical films for which John Williams did not 
create the score, the other being The Color Purple (1985).