Spielberg's Duel and Sugarland Express come to DVD

Duel and Sugarland Express: Before such blockbusters as "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," "Jurassic Park," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" made him the world's best-loved director, Steven Spielberg directed two critically hailed films that foretold the greatness to come. Now Universal Studios Home Video is proud to announce the release of "Duel" and "The Sugarland Express" on DVD. "Duel," originally made for television in 1971 and later released theatrically, is a superbly executed study in terror focusing on a mild-mannered motorist (Dennis Weaver) who is menaced by the deranged driver of an 18-wheeler. Spielberg's first theatrical feature, 1974's "The Sugarland Express" stars Oscar®-winner Goldie Hawn in an alternately hilarious and harrowing road film based on the true story of young parents who kidnap a state trooper in a desperate effort to reunite their fractured family. "Duel" and "Sugarland Express" are each priced at $19.98 SRP.

Duel

Nominated for two Emmys® and a Golden Globe®, this high-velocity thriller about an innocent driver terrorized by an evil truck is Spielberg's first full-length movie. "Duel," which helped jumpstart the director's big-screen career, stars Dennis Weaver as a traveling salesman waging a desperate battle for survival after he is mysteriously singled out for destruction. Praised for its deft use of relentlessly mounting psychological tension, "Duel" features one of the most unforgettably terrifying "characters" in movie history: a massive, roaring 40-ton truck with more sheer menace than most flesh-and-blood villains. A few years later, Spielberg's blockbuster "Jaws" would echo "Duel's" tale of a lone hero in a heart-stopping fight to the finish against a monstrous and inhuman foe. Bonus features include A Conversation with Director Steven Spielberg, Steven Spielberg and the Small Screen, Richard Matheson: The Writing of "Duel," Photograph Gallery, Trailer, Cast and Filmmakers and Production Notes

CAST & FILMMAKERS

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenwriter: Richard Matheson

Producer: George Eckstein

Original Music: Billy Goldenberg

Director of Photography: Jack A. Marta

Art Direction: Martin S. Smith

Editor: Frank Morriss

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

Gene Dynarski, Lucille Benson, Tim Herbert

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Street Date: August 17, 2004

Price: $19.98 SRP

Selection Number: 21976

Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Rating: PG

Aspect Ratio: Full Frame (1.33:1)

Number of Layers: Dual (Single-sided)

Technical Info: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround/ Dolby Digital 2.0

Mono/ DTS 5.1 Surround/captions; French and Spanish subtitles.

The Sugarland Express

Based on a true story, "The Sugarland Express" stars Goldie Hawn as Lou Jean Poplin, who together with her escaped convict husband Clovis (William Atherton) kidnaps a Texas State Trooper and leads the police on a wild chase across the state in an effort to save their son from adoption. This rich and complex role was enough to lure superstar Hawn back to the screen after a one-year hiatus following her Oscar-winning performance in "Cactus Flower." The film won the Best Screenplay award at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. DVD includes the original theatrical trailer.

CAST & FILMMAKERS

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenwriter: Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins

Story by: Steven Spielberg, Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins

Producers: David Brown, Richard D. Zanuck

Director of Photography: Vilmos Zsigmond

Original Music: John Williams

Art Direction: Joseph Alves Jr.

Editors: Edward M. Abroms, Verna Fields

Cast: Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, William Atherton, Gregory

Walcott, Steven Kanaly, Louise Latham, Harrison Zanuck

TECHNICAL INFORMATION