I once taught a high school writing class, and as part of a unit on story elements, I used to show the students Duel as an example of those elements in its simplest, but most effective, form. While the kids generally liked the movie and understood the importance of character, setting and plot, I remember one particular kid's comments after the movie was over:: "That was cool," he said. "But I must have missed something. Why was the truck driver trying to kill that guy?" "No reason is given," I replied. "That's what makes it such an effective story." "But who was he? The movie never showed us who he was." A few other students nodded in agreement. I paused while I search for the right words. " Duel isn't about the who or why. It simply puts one man in a situation that he must get out of. Who the driver is, and why he's going after David Mann isn't important." "That's stupid." "Why is it stupid? Do you always feel like everything has to be explained?" "Well, yeah." The kid rolled his eyes like I was an idiot. "Nobody's gonna try and kill a guy for no reason!" Again, more rumblings of agreement from surrounding students. "So you're saying showing what the driver looks like, and giving him a reason for trying to kill the main character would have made it a better movie." The kid nodded. "Sure. It would have made it more realistic." (sigh) ... This is probably why a movie like Duel couldn't be made today. Everyone's always gotta have everything spelled out for them. Maybe it's because I spend a lot of my time around young adults (seemingly the target audience of a lot of Hollywood movies), but it's sad a classic story like Duel seems lost on a lot of people, who've grown up being spoon-fed plot revelations at the ends of the thrillers they see. No one's willing to simply accept a simple scenario and go with it. I would imagine any attempt at a remake would offer some lame-ass explanation for the trucker's motives, in addition to showing what he looked like