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I have seen "Close Encounters" twice...once when it was in theaters and again today. I am very glad I did, as I not only enjoyed the movie but STILL marvel at its special effects. Now this is a big surprise, as many great films of the 70s and 80s look very dated when it comes to special effects....mostly because CGI has been a huge game changer and older pre-computerized graphics often don't hold up when compared to it. But this is not the case here....it still looks lovely after many decades.

Because there are so many reviews for this one and it's pretty much considered a classic, I don't think I need to say much more. What was an excellent film is still an excellent film.

Was SOOOOOO excited to see this as a kid, with my friends and big sister (who got us in, since it was a PG movie) and it was AMAZING!!! We lived in New Mexico and would stay out late trying to spot UFO's . Ha hahaha Loved Crazy Richard Dreyfuss. That ship reveal was mind boggling to all us kids. ;D Ahhhhh Good Times!

Aged forty, and there are many films I should have watched, and haven't, I will be rectifying that as soon as I can.

First up, Close encounters of the third kind, I can only imagine what it would have been like for someone seeing this at a cinema in 1977, I imagine it was epic. Watching this on a big screen in the dark, if is a spectacle lights.

Yes it's dated somewhat, of course it has, but the special effects are decent, but the story remains wonderful.

This showcases the art of storytelling, a movie that relies on the narrative, script and journey, as opposed to just special effects. It's an exciting, uplifting, wondrous affair, one I totally enjoyed.

Someone dismissing this out of hand, clearly has no concept of movies of any kind. When I'm bored with a film (Wonderwoman 1984) I twiddle on my phone, I didn't pick it up.

A wonderful movie. 8/10.

An amazing film, one of my favorites. I watch this regularly, especially at times when the reality of life is overwhelming, just to refocus and regain some sense of perspective.

Everything in this film works toward one end: to transform the adult sense of fear back into the childlike sense of wonder at the world. From the very opening moments of the film, designed to create confusion and startlement, this movie creates a sensation of dread and foreboding. The dissonance of the soundtrack, the juxtaposition of images, they all are working to build into the viewer a feeling that something just isn't right, that something out of the ordinary is taking place, and underscoring this all with a sense that this is something to resist, to pull away from, to not allow it to affect one's "ordinary life."

But as the movie progresses, the tone begins to shift, and the true intent of the film begins to peek through. This isn't about being afraid of the unknown, but rather embracing it. Paying attention to the "subliminal images" in life, allowing them to lead you into something unknown and perhaps dangerous, only then can one be open to wonder and experience the world through the magical eyes of a child.

Dreyfuss' character takes us on this journey, met with resistance all along the way. His wife, his neighbors, his job, his community, all are working against him, and it's only when he's reached his craziest that he truly gives in and begins to stop trying to understand and instead embraces the experiences in store for him. The scientific community is seeking to understand, but without having any personal calling to be involved. Only Barry is truly able to throw himself into the strangeness that is taking place, and his enthusiasm is greeted by both the characters and the audience as somehow alien and threatening.

The ending of this film, when all the fear is finally stripped away and the sense of amazed wonder overtakes everyone on the screen and in the audience, brings about an amazing catharsis. Discarding all the "adult" sensibilities and being able to approach life once again with a sense of innocent amazement for the Strange hidden amongst the Ordinary, one can begin again to approach life from a fresh vantage point.

Powerful, mystifying, and rejuvenating. I highly recommend this film for anyone jaded with life and seeking a sense of renewal.

Steven Spielberg has made huge popcorn blockbusters that gross more money at the box office (i.e. "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," or "Jurassic Park") and are more exciting on a visceral level. As he as aged and matured as a director, he has also made movies that are more important and will hold a more solid place in the chronicles of film as an artistic document of history (i.e. "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Munich"). For my money, his best film will still always be "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." This film is Spielberg's humanistic and heartfelt answer to Kubrick's intellectual and cerebral look at man's first contact with life from elsewhere in the universe in his 1968 opus "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"Close Encounters" came early on in Spielberg's career, made in 1977, and has all the hallmarks of his later films played just right before he became so self-referential. Here we have his typical bag of tricks long before they became so typical: familial strife, coming to terms with something bigger than oneself that challenges the male protagonist's view of the world around him, little kids in jeopardy, superb build up of suspense, fantastic visual effects, and a memorable score from John Williams. From the first UFO sightings in Muncie, Indiana to the fantastic finale at Devil's Tower in Wyoming, this is grand entertainment. Lots of films have emulated this movie to varying degrees of success, from Robert Zemeckis' earnest "Contact," to the shameful scam that was M. Night Shymalan's "Signs," and even Spielberg himself recently did the dark natured flip-side to benevolent alien encounters with his remake of "War of the Worlds" (which makes a fantastic double-feature with this). However, nothing compares to this true original. No other film has made me want to believe in aliens more, and I'll never look at a plate of mashed potatoes the same again.

Strange phenomena, have caught science attention, all the things that they believed now in suspension, certain craft are turning up, in places they should not be put, it defies all known belief and comprehension. Roy Neary, catches sight, of strange night flights, it overwhelms, engulfs and leaves his face in stripe, causes family concern, an obsession starts to churn, as creative conjurings, are set alight. It consumes him every minute, every hour, until he links the creations, to Devils Tower, then he makes a bee line for, along with others just in awe, summoned by an unknown source, with unknown power.

Original and innovative for its time, and not too shabby when revisited many years later.

When I saw this movie for the first time I was barely six or seven years old in former Yugoslavia.

It has left a huge impact on my childhood world , I was so consumed and mesmerized. That much I wanted to become an astronaut for a long time afterwards .

Now , as a 50 year old I feel pretty much the same. And , I didn't become an astronaut unfortunately.

I don't know what more to say . It is as realistic, as magical and feel good movie about benevolent aliens as it could be.

I hope one day it will become true , so that we all know there is something beyond this world, but not something bad.

For everyone who wants to dive into beauty with depth , I can only recommend it.

After "Jaws" launched him toward eternal fame in 1975, Steven Spielberg's follow-up film would tackle a bigger cultural phenomenon: UFOs. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was only the beginning of the director/producer's love affair with the possibility of life on other planets and the first to capture the magnitude of what first contact would be like with aliens in the era of emerging special effects.

But let's take a look at a film released just before it, in the same year (1977) in fact. A little film called "Star Wars." More than 30 years later it might not be fair to compare to the two, but the truth is that one film was about producing a big-budget cash-eating spectacle while the other was fulfilling the dream of a filmmaker to tell an amazing story in a world never before imagined. "Star Wars" has heart and "Close Encounters" has nothing but our attention.

It's hard to knock a film made before I was born in an era where I can't appreciate it for what it was at the time, but there are a lot of fundamental storytelling principles simply left out of this story that one cannot overlook. Visual effects, cinematography and Spielberg's knack for crafting great cinematic moments aren't enough to cover up barely existent character motivation.

I've read that Spielberg has regrets about the ending of this film, that his main character, Roy (Richard Dreyfuss), wouldn't make the choice he makes in the end. I have to agree -- and it's symptomatic of his entire film. Roy is a normal suburban Indiana family man who we don't know much about. Then his truck stalls and he has a close encounter with some kind of UFO. Suddenly he's a madman, being haunted by images of a mesa, ruining his familial relationships. He's driven as if by some other force to go all the way to Wyoming to figure out what it's all about.

Spielberg has us at that last bit of figuring out what it's all about. Roy, on the other hand, and the mother of a child who was "abducted" (Melinda Dillon) are just inexplicably possessed and driven to madness by a vision of a mesa. Roy going crazy and throwing dirt into his kitchen window or randomly sitting in the tub with the shower on for hours keeps our attention, but there's little sympathy going on because we really have no idea who he is. The ending scene of the film is much the same way. It's this drawn out scene of VFX spectacle and flashing lights and John Williams music but it's only a climax in that awing sense and in finally delivering what the film has been hiding from us the whole time. It is not a climax of great character realization (or at least epiphany that makes sense). It can be completely basic, like Luke Skywalker trusting the force, believing in his destiny and then becoming victorious, but it still has to be there and resonate with us in some way.

I certainly recognize some of the brilliant scene work Spielberg does throughout parts of the beginning and the latter half of the film, but there's a reason this is not a classic for all generations: great movies, especially sci-fi films, tell stories that transcend bad special effects or any other inhibitors and "Close Encounters" is about making a suspenseful film, not telling a deeply human story.

~Steven C

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Watch the skies, you may see the stars move. Is it your imagination, or did it really happen. Answer to that could go both ways. Three UFOs fly past you while you are on the highway, one bright blue, the other red and blue, and the third bright orange, followed by a small red orbit tailgating it. Was this real, or just your imagination: Either it was real, or you must be seeing things...

Thus is among th many questions asked in the Steven Spielberg UFO classic, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" a film that explores not just the possibility that we are not alone in the universe, but a film that compels us to look inside ourselves and try to find the real meaning in our lives. The story starts when lost pilots planes are being found, except that they have been lost for over thirty years! And in another part of this world, a married man, working for a cable company, experiences a "close encounter" of the first kind - sighting a UFO. Then, he experiences physical experiences regarding a shape and place he has never comprehending before. With a scientific expedition in pursuit, Roy Neary( Richard Dreyfuss) and a fellow "close encountering" Jillian Guiler(Melinda Dillon) try to find out the answer to their questions of why these strange occurrences are happening.

As realistic as it could be, this film transcends the usual alien picture because it portrays the unbelievable as totally realistic and what one wouldn't expect - intelligent life is just that - intelligent, and accepting, of our world and universe. The images in this film light up the screen and make you feel like you are living a dream, with flurry images of light, making one feel warm and gentle. The locations are great too, as they go from Mongolian deserts, to farmlands, to the famous "Devil's Tower" in Wyoming, where the main magic happens.

The characters are what really grab you. Roy Neary, the main focus, is as normal as he can be, what with working for a power company. A perfect fit in the puzzle this movie weaves. Francois Truffaut makes an almost rare appearance in a much bigger role than usual, as an astronaut that is just as fascinated with these happenings as the rest of the civilians. All characters are credible and you just learn to love 'em. The story lines (including family values, what is more important in one's life, and what the ultimate experience in heaven is) are as empathetic as it can get.

John Williams scores a masterpiece with a score that touches all the senses in our subconscious and takes us on a journey with the characters, but on a journey within ourselves, as does the movie, and in the end, you feel refreshed and ready to take on your troubles and strife.

The matter of which version is which is a real conversation piece. As the original theatrical version is VERY rarely seen, one suspects, based on many reviews, that the 1980 re - release is a much better film. But this should not hinder any viewings of this spectacular film.

Spielberg, get back to these kinds of films!

I first watched this movie movie at some point in the early 90s when I was around 6 or 7 and because of my young underdeveloped brain I didn't really have a clue what was going on so my mom took it out of the VCR (good old days) and threw in E. T instead, which again I really didn't understand but who doesn't love that goofy short legged little creature. I don't know why it's taken me so long to try this movie again, but it's finally done now.

I totally respect that this movie was groundbreaking for it's time, and truth be told considering it's age now, it actually holds up pretty well. And to be honest even with it's digital limitations it impressed me a lot more than some of the garbage out today. So I do understand why it is considered a classic and I respect that. It's clear to see that certain themes and ideas generated from this movie have inspired countless works wether it's comic books or movies today. I will never argue against that.

But, and I meen this as credit to the wonder Spielberg, i do not at all personally consider this his best work. It does have its great iconic moments, especially in the last third of the picture which is quite amazing but theirs aspects to the script which didn't really grip me as a viewer. And I imagine controversially to some, but I just really wasn't the biggest fan of Richard Dreyfuss in this movie. That's nothing against the man himself, but as a character I wasn't feeling it, I found Roy to be pretty unlikeable throughout. And since the movie is set around him, not liking the main star caused a bit of a problem to me, I needed to relate in someway to him, but I didn't.

While I still praise the overall movie for it's themes, relevance and effects, even for a early 1977 movie, I felt the dialogue hasn't aged as well as everything else has. I found Spielberg's earlier pictures especially Jaws and Duel to be better written from a screenplay point of view.

But look, I can't always agree with everyone else on everything, I will never shoot this movie down for it's relevance. And due to the inspiration and legacy it's created the odds are some of my favourite movies wouldn't be what they are if it wasn't for this picture, but I just can't agree that this is either Spielberg's best work, nor do I agree that it's one of the greatest movies of all time. But that's just my opinion.

I know this is a dissenting view, but this is a film that just never resonated with me. It feels too procedural, the obsession scenes seem overblown, and the 'close encounter' is unsatisfying. I admired how it was a peaceful meeting of civilizations trying to communicate given how these things are usually depicted, but I'm not sure it jived with the terrorizing assault at the home earlier, and the lack of any astonishment or fear didn't feel authentic. Humans coming back to the Earth after thirty years, ah yes, to be expected, right this way for your debriefing. Meanwhile the idea of a man leaving without a single thought about his wife and small children was bound to make viewers wonder, and you could just see the wheels turning in Spielberg's mind when he had the guy kiss the other woman on their hike up the mountain, a ridiculous moment probably in there to create stepping stones to what he does next. The story is just not that good here, character motivations are often suspect, and with its padded runtime dominated by tedious terrestrial subplots and other little annoyances like product placement, it felt more hokey than spiritual. Watch Arrival (2016) instead.

On one level, Close Encounters is an archetypal Spielberg film; breathless, thrilling and awe-inspiring. On another level, it carries a profundity and depth which is unparallelled even by some of his biggest cinematic wonders. One thing's for sure; its brilliant storytelling and a dazzling piece of film-making. The superb Richard Dreyfuss is the down-at-heel electrician who becomes obsessed with the UFOs that one night pop up all over his home town, embarking on a journey which takes him literally towards the unknown. Spielberg's childhood fascination with alien life keenly explains why a third-time director handles this epic with such bruava yet the director's own neuroses over his parents' divorce lends an understated but nonetheless effective layer to Dreyfuss' character. All this is tied into an old-fashioned mythical adventure plot line with many implications. Like Kubrick a decade earlier, Spielberg uses the liberty of science-fiction to deliver a visually stunning and three-dimensional piece of cinema.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind is a film about aliens landing on earth, but instead of descending into the usual laser-gun confrontations between humans and aliens, this one dares to remain "peaceful". It is a film about contact, not conflict. It is also a wonderfully thoughtful film and a prime example of compelling story-telling. If there is a weakness with Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, it is that the director Steven Spielberg occasionally allows sentimentality to enter into the proceedings, but in truth it is a very minor weakness and it doesn't significantly spoil this tremendous movie experience.

Several missing aircraft turn up over 30 years after they were reported lost. More baffling still is the fact that they vanished over Florida but have turned up, in pristine condition and without pilots, in the middle of Mexico. Other weird things happen: an aeroplane pilot reports a near collision with a brightly lit spacecraft; a Navy warship missing for decades is found in the desert; thousands of Indians report a light in the sky which "sang" to them; and across America there are scores of inexplicable UFO sightings. Electrician Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is a normal family man who sees one of the UFOs. Soon after, he is tormented by a vision apparently implanted in his mind by the aliens. His torment becomes obsession as he tries to figure out the meaning of a hill-like shape that has become embedded in his mind. As his marriage collapses, he desperately tries to find answers and is finally gratified when he discovers that the picture in his head is trying to tell him where to go in order to witness an extra terrestrial landing.

The fact that Roy Neary is just an everyday guy cast into the most incredible of circumstances gives this film a real human dimension. Roy could represent any one of us - you, me, your next door neighbour, your father, whoever. Spielberg tells his story very carefully, adding clues and more layers of mystery before actually revealing where the story is heading. It is probably the most controlled and skillfully paced of Spielberg's '70s films. The ending, featuring the alien arrival, is a technical tour-de-force, but it works well on an emotional level too because the viewer has grown to know Roy and has been drawn into his quest for answers. John Williams provides yet another legendary music score - including an iconic five-note tune which the aliens and humans use to communicate with each other. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind is a classic sci-fi film, as fresh and absorbing now as it was back in 1977.

In Spielberg's first step into sci-fi we find a truly unique film of psychological admiration and fascination. John Williams made one of the most famous soundtracks ever with the tension filled 2 notes in Jaws, this time he adds 3 more notes to create a spectacular sound that mimics the ringing of a door bell between the humans and aliens struggling to communicate.

'The Ten Commandments' plays on the TV early on, acknowledging the film's links to the Old Testament. The tower of Babel was formed to reach the heavens just as the Devil's Tower is marked as the place where humans and aliens can finally begin to understand each other. It is also the place where a struggle to understand each other takes place, it is a language unknown to us just like the creation of differing languages at the Tower of Babel. Roy (Richard Dreyfuss) almost displays a Moses like character of being a prophet, especially with his face burnt from the ship's lights just as Moses' face shined at the sight of God.

The climax is a wonderful spectacle of brilliance. It is one of Spielberg's most gripping scenes in his career but all it displays is a spaceship and some humans playing music to each other. Literally. It is beautiful work formed from the collaboration of Spielberg (Director/Writer), John Williams (Composer), Vilmos Zsigmond (cinematographer), and Douglas Trumbull (Visual Effects) among other talented individuals.

The use of family is very important in the first half of the movie. However, when Roy watches on as the aliens make contact in the film's mesmerising finale, I almost forget all about him and his family. All I want to see is this ship play music with these scientists. When we cut back a minute later to see Roy watching on it is just a reminder that this is still his story, but by now it almost feels like our story. We have been in just as much wonder as Roy as to what is going on in the sky and now all we want to do is find out. Spielberg understands this and allows us to do so whilst also wrapping up segments of the story without pulling us away from the beauty of the moment.

It is a film that stays very real and does not allow itself to fall into fantasy, which sounds strange to say about a sci-fi film about aliens forcing a man to become obsessed with a strangely shaped natural tower. It is a psychological sci-fi. People call this film odd because it is kept so real, we are so used to alien's being associated with fantastical universal wars and ridiculous special effects. However, Spielberg's most prominent effect in Close Encounters is the use of lights. A common Spielberg trait, beams of light are not alien to us. He holds our hand and gradually walks us through the experience of the film to help us understand this phenomenon. We slowly learn each aspect of these extra-terrestrials along with Roy (Richard Dreyfuss), so, by the time the gigantic mother ship rises above devil's tower we are in the same disbelief and awe as Roy and everyone else watching on. It is as though we are also witnessing aliens coming down to earth along with everyone else, it is our first view of a real spaceship. Even at the end we only see the aliens from afar through a stunning glimmer of light.

This is a film that must be watched in the cinema for the full effect! You will no doubt be in complete awe as the sound reverberates around the theatre and the lights beam through the screen. No, this is not my favourite of Spielberg's movies, but I believe that it is possibly his most genius motion picture. It is a story that grips you until the very end, not particularly because of its use of supporting characters but because of the way Spielberg presents the aliens as a genuine possibility of fact rather than fiction. In 5 years' time he'll eventually introduce us to a little extra-terrestrial but for now we live in wonder.

Close Encounters has been a film I've been meaning to see for years and years - finally I've seen what all the fuss is about.

Having heard about this film for ages as one of the best sci-fi films of all time, my expectations were appropriately sky high.

And it was fine. Amazing for the time, no doubt. The spectacle on display particularly for 1977 is incredibly impressive. The film is marvelous at building suspense, and Spielberg once more shows his expertise at moving the camera.

But, I was a bit disappointed by the character writing here. Roy Neary is an obvious analogue for Spielberg and his obsession with filmmaking. That's certainly a nice personal connection to the film. But Roy (and especially his wife) are quite frankly unlikable. It felt like the plot was too focused on this analogue; the ending did not make much sense to me (not so much the events themselves, but the reasoning behind decisions of the characters and aliens). His children are also presented in a negative light. But their acting out is within reason.

I also felt that the aliens themselves were rather uninteresting, besides their unique form of communication that fortunately puts John Williams on a pedestal. I get that the film's emotional core isn't really about them so much, but still, it would have been nice.

But that's enough negatives. The film was well acted, and there are some great sequences with practical effects all through the story. I did enjoy it overall and can see how influential it was, even if Star Wars did release in the same year. Overall, I'm glad I finally took the time to watch it.

In 1977 George Lucas and Steven Spielberg proved to Hollywood that there was a vast audience for science fiction films if they were made as A, not B-movies and given a large enough budget to look realistic. Spielberg had quickly moved from a director of popular TV movies for Universal ("Duel"), to a shockingly huge hit with "Jaws" which made over twenty times its budget. That was the kind of thing Hollywood noticed. There was great pressure on him, with the question being "Could he do it again or was "Jaws"a fluke?" For a young director that was a question on which his future career depended. He came through spectacularly with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

Spielberg was at this time a young, mostly self-taught director who worked intuitively. On both films he ran wildly over schedule due to his propensity to think up new scenes at home which often required testing out new effects to see how they worked. A perfectionist by nature, he also went considerably over budget, his original estimate of 2.7 million ballooning to 19 million. Ordinarily studios would have written him off, but the popularity of the films was so gigantic that instead, it heralded a new era of filmmaking. He began working on ideas for his new film while working on "The Sugarland Express" and when offered "Jaws II," he said no. He went very counterintuitively and decided (in a sense) to remake "Firelight", a movie he made when he was seventeen and still in high school. That film was about scientists investigating UFOs and their effect on a community, played by students from his Phoenix high school. It actually got a one-night showing in 1964 at a local theater and was attended by over 500 people. He was also inspired by the time his father woke him in the middle of the night to drive to the country to watch a meteor shower, an event which instilled in him the wonder of the night sky. He actually includes a scene like this in "Close Encounters" though with a less wondrous result.

Over time the idea grew and he went through several screenwriters and scripts until he decided to write it himself with the idea of an abducted child and the mood of the song, "When You Wish Upon a Star". Because of his success with "Jaws", Columbia gave him a lot of artistic control. It was produced by Julia and Michael Phillips, who had produced "The Sting" and "Taxi Driver". While developing it he asked the Air Force and NASA for technical and anecdotal help and not only did both turn him down but NASA sent him a twenty-page letter telling him not to make it. This only served to convince him that he should make it and may account for the portrait of government forces in the film. He did receive help from talking with scientists including J. Allen Hynek, once a member of Project Bluebook, who created the "Encounters" index years before and who appears briefly in a blue suit at Devil's Tower. He also talked with astronomer, engineer and author Jacques Vallee, the basis of the character Claude Lacombe. In addition to his technical and scientific books, he also wrote books about "the UFO mystery" and had actually moved away from the extraterrestrial hypothesis to a more esoteric, multi dimensional universe theory. Spielberg grew up in the 1950s and 60s, the heyday of UFOs - a subject that just wouldn't go away no matter how much the government dismissed it. He told Vallee he was probably right, but his theory was vague and complex and he wanted to give people what they were expecting and that was extraterrestrials. His film neatly sums up the history of the UFO phenomenon up to that time.

The resulting film is full of Spielberg's fertile imagination and everything he had learned by watching hundreds of movies over time. From the start you know you are in for something different. Right away he throws you into the total confusion of a sandstorm, howling wind, dialogue in Spanish and the sudden arrival of a dusty Dodge from which come French scientific investigator Lacombe (Francois Truffaut) and his translator, David Laughlin ( a barely recognizable Bob Balaban with a heavy beard). There are planes in the Sonoran Desert, still operable planes from Flight 19 that disappeared in late 1945. We begin to catch on. From there it's a quick jump to a chaotic air traffic control center in Indianapolis where pilots are reporting seeing something amazing but will not make that an official report because they'd probably never be allowed to fly again. Another jump to an old white farmhouse surrounded by flat fields and a vast, starry sky (the skies here, if you watch them closely, often have lights moving in them). Here we meet Jillian Guiler and her four-year-old son, Barry, who are having a night like no other with toys self-activating and the refrigerator dumping out its contents while Barry's record player plays "The Square Song".

A fast jump takes us to the suburban home of Roy and Ronnie Neary and their three children where we find Roy to be a father willing to take time out to help his son with homework and who has a kids sense of humor himself. He's suddenly called away for the night of his life that will change his whole world. In eighteen minutes, Spielberg has introduced all the main characters, given enough exposition to give the audience a sense of what is happening and set the film off on its course to places unknown. The Sonoran Desert opening was an afterthought that Spielberg added as a pickup along with several more that gave what he called a "wow factor" beyond its Indiana setting. There's the famous scene in India with mountains in the distance and a thousand extras chanting and the brief trip to the Gobi Desert that added a world-event scope. In each case we get something unexpected.

Spielberg intuitively knows the basic setups of film scenes and he uses this to surprise or confound the audience. At one point a new visitation by UFOs is set up and the flow of the scene as well as the score leads the audience to expect something wondrous, only to have it turn out otherwise. A simple overhead shot of Roy's lineman's truck speeding down a country road would usually be used just to establish the general sense of where he is, becoming so much more dramatic when a large, saucer shaped shadow passes over it (in the director's cut). In a joking scene, Roy twice waves a car behind him to pass, with a surprise the second time. This kind of playing with the expectations of the audience goes on throughout the film. Then there's the abduction of Barry, one of the most famous episodes in the film. Here, the director showed that he could make light itself a form of terror, whether bright white lights from above or the orange phantasmagoria that appears when Barry opens the door. Spielberg was a wizard at lighting. The original pace of the film dragged somewhat in the middle, but the director's cut fixed that with new editing. Columbia had to borrow money from EMI and Time Inc. Just to complete the film. Originally scheduled for summer 1977 release, Spielberg wanted six more months to work on it in fall and then release it in summer, 1978. But Columbia was out of money and needed to release it "as is" for the holidays in November/December.

Of course he didn't do this alone. The actors all came through, with Richard Dreyfus a perfect everyman partly because the audience didn't know him as well as the bigger names Spielberg had considered, notably Steve McQueen. Melinda Dillon is wonderful as a caring mother driven by a search for her son. Their reunion is an emotional high point in the film. Her son, Barry, played by four-year-old Cary Guffey, was helped in his performance by the director on a ladder getting him to look up and smile by holding boxes of toys. His response in one scene is unscripted. Spielberg asked esteemed French New Wave director FrancoisTruffault if he would consider acting in it and to his surprise he said yes after reading the script. Lacombe adds a lot of humanity to the film as the person who best understands what is going on. Terry Garr is totally sympathetic as Ronnie, a wife tragically watching her husband and family life crumble before her eyes.

He was also assisted by a stellar group of assistants including cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond ("The Deer Hunter"), film editor Michael Kahn who has edited most of Spielberg's films, special effects master Douglas Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey"), model maker Ralph McQuarrie ("Star Wars") and others. Of course this was the third collaboration of Spielberg and composer John Williams. Here Williams did a dual score with parts that are traditional symphonic melodies and other, more abstract sections that enhance what is going on without melodic development. It's a powerful score that matches this powerful film.

One of the most persistent Spielberg themes began here, which is that magical or extraordinary events can occur even in a mundane setting like twentieth century suburban America. He also made a rare, optimistic film of an alien visitation to earth, which they usually come to conquer. It has become fashionable for some critics to be dismissive of Spielberg. They dislike his warm, family friendly sensibility and think of it as sentimentalism. From the late 60s on it became fashionable to be cynical and to prefer the trope of the tortured artist, the anti-hero and the outsider. Spielberg felt ordinary people could be heroic too, but touches on subjects like artistic obsession with Roy's dilemma. With this film, Spielberg showed that he was a master filmmaker with few peers. "Close Encounters" leaves a few questions, but is a marvel of a film with a final half hour that is still spectacular and with Spielberg, spectacle still included a deep emotional resonance.

The stage curtains open ...

"I can't describe it. What I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. This means something. This is important."

1977 brought us two game-changers in Sci-Fi movies with "Star Wars" and this Steven Spielberg gem, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Despite the obvious explosion of the "Star Wars" phenomenon, many back in the day argued that "Close Encounters" was the better of the two films. And, to be honest, they were absolutely correct. Technically speaking, "Close Encounters" was the better "made" movie of the two that was dripping with substance as well as style. Does that mean I personally liked "Close Encounters" more than "Star Wars"? LOL - Let's not get so hasty. That is another story for another review - BUT, this is one of Spielberg's best films in my opinion, and has more than stood the test of time.

Unexplained happenings around the globe have a French scientist named Lacombe and his interpreter, a cartographer named Laughlin, hopping continents researching these events. Events such as a whole fleet of American WWII bombers appearing years after they disappeared in the 1940's, in perfect condition, but with the pilots missing. Meanwhile, in Muncie, Indiana, a little boy named Barry receives a visit inside his home from unknown entities when all of his toys seemingly come to life on their own, to the great distress of his mother, Jillian. Then we join family man, Roy Neary (played brilliantly by Richard Dreyfuss), a local electrician, a lineman who experiences a close encounter with an UFO of his own. Roy becomes obsessed to finding out the truth behind what he experienced and saw, it takes over every facet of his life. As the story unfolds and we learn more, everyone involved are driven to one place where their questions will be answered, one way or another in one of the best moments in cinematic history.

"Close Encounters" is movie magic. Spielberg has given us one of the very best films that places you right into the situation - a perfect combination of paranoia and curiosity. Are we alone, or are we being observed by others from the outer reaches of space? What would we do if we had our own close encounter such as this? Finally, the film gives way to paranoia and becomes 100% fascination and wonder. This movie was perfectly cast and executed. It is impossible not to be sucked in and lose yourself for a couple of hours. There is so much about this one that is memorable and special. The payoff at the end, is more than worth the journey to get there.

There are a few versions of this movie out there, and I've seen them all. My personal favorite is the 137 minute Director's Cut edition released in 1998, and is the one I own. I highly recommend this one at a perfect 10 stars out of 10. This movie has seemed to have lost some of its traction over the years, but I feel it holds up extremely well, even by today's standards. The story is valid, the acting inspired, and the special effects effective. You cannot go wrong with this one.

Steven Spielberg's 1977 sci-fi drama Close Encounters of the Third Kind recounts two tales: one of an Indiana family-man who leaves it all behind, searching for truth after encountering a UFO, and the other of a team of researchers racing to communicate with an alien life form they have not ever seen themselves. It is easy to tell that many more modern science fiction works including Arrival, Interstellar, and Contact pay homage to this film through set design, a focus on communication, and a calling to unite as a people to solve the mysteries of the universe.

Despite being released in the late 70's, the work is undeniably beautiful and features special effects that appear far more advanced than any other films from the same time period. As impressive as the practical effects are Richard Dreyfuss and François Truffaut's chops as they portray the protagonists in the two timelines that converge near the film's end. The film also uses music dynamically throughout. Rather than simply adding a score that highlights the emotion in each scene, John Williams crafted music that interacts with the scene and exists in the film's world. From the alien's leitmotif "re mi do do so" to the emerging soundscape caused by each encounter, Close Encounters is spellbinding.

Close Encounters is a very personal film for its director Steven Spielberg. It is one of the few that he both wrote and directed. It features themes like the pain of being an artist and the great calling to something greater than one's self. Because of Spielberg's connection to the subject material, the movie can feel a little self-serving. Regrettably, it is also a little longwinded at times, but at no point will you wish you had not pressed play.