This is Steven Spielberg’s first studio film. It was actually a made-for-TV-movie but turned out to be so well made and popular, that the studio called Spielberg back for a few more days of reshoots to pad the running time and then a longer cut was released into theaters.
I love how stripped down this film is. It’s entire focus is on one man vs. a killer truck driver. We never actually see the truck driver and I loved that about the film. Dennis Weaver plays the main character to perfection. Although I’ve heard Spielberg just calls this “High Noon on wheels” (and it’s great just as that), there is some subtext (whether meant or not) that is quite interesting as well, a man running from his fears (fear embodied by the truck itself) and finally facing them.
The cinematography is so much better than you’d expect for a TV movie. Even at this young age, Spielberg was showing his absolute command of the camera. If you’ve never seen this, it’s a real treat.