Close Encounters of the Third Kind
30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
This edition includes:
1977 Original Theatrical Edition (135 mins)
1980 Theatrical Special Edition (132 mins)
1998 Director's Cut (137 mins)
After an unsettling incident on a lonely road, working man Roy Neary (Dreyfuss) becomes obsessed with strange visions, much to the dismay of his increasingly distraught wife (Garr). Meanwhile a series of bizarre and mysterious incidents baffle scientists across the world, led by French scientist Claude Lacombe (Truffaut). What is the meaning of the unusually-shaped mountain Neary keeps imagining and how will it become involved in a revelation that will change mankind’s future forever?
Member Reviews
As I... - themagicrat
remember. I have been on a bit of a nostalgia kick lately and Close Encounters was my latest return visit. Unlike some films that I recall being great as a kid only to find that they were a figment of my imagination - Close Encounters stands up to the damage that time can produce.
My only regret is that they really don't make many films like this anymore.
Rent it ~ Relive it ~ and if you havne't seen this film yet please don't tell anyone quickly zip it, watch it, and make like you have seen it back in the 80s.Excellent movie - Coconut_Willy
This review is for the director's cut edition as this was the one that I had not seen before. What an excellent film this is. My memories of it were that it was a bit on the boring side with not much action; not so. There is plenty of action or at least enough to sustain interest all the way through. The storyline is very good (even though a number of elements remain unexplained) and is well developed. This is a very optimistic movie which makes it an oddity in a genre where alien invasion stories are the norm. The cast is great doing a fine acting job with a well written dialogue and interesting characters. The sets and locations are very good, the soundtrack is excellent and the camera work is great. The special effects are very impressive for a '70s movie. It is quite surprising to see how much Spielberg knew about making a movie at such an early age. This movie certainly deserves to be revisited if you haven't seen it in a while.Favourite of Spielberg's Early Films - Gregg
According to the film and those that study UFO's "close encounters" are interactions with extra-terrestrials or UFO's, and a close encounter of the third kind is actual contact with them.
The story focuses on two people who have had encounters with UFO's Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfus) and Gillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon), in fact Gillian's son was abducted by the aliens. Both of these charaters and others would be strongly effected by what they witnessed on a sub-concious level and find themselves compelled to take actions they might not otherwise take.
I addition to the strong performances from Dreyfus and Dillon we also have good performances form Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and the french director Francois Truffaut
One of the strengths of this and several of Spielberg’s other pictures from this era is his evocative portrayal of growing up in suburbia.
The film featured a memorable score from John Williams of which the most memorable part is a five note sequence that would be integral to the story.
While some have praised the special effects I myself found them to be not outstanding but I did feel they served there purpose here fairly well.
The result for me was not only an intriguing science fiction plot but also a rather compelling mystery and suspense story which also had a message of a sort.
While Spielberg would go on to surpass himself later as a director with such great films as Saving Private Ryan and Schindlers List this remains my favorite of his earlier films of which there are several very good films.
The first re-release while adding some good additional material also made the unfortunate mistake of showing the inside of the mothership, something Spielberg himself later regretted. The director's cut is probably the best version of the film overall but I found very little amiss about the original theatrical release.
Member Reviews
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As I... - themagicrat
remember. I have been on a bit of a nostalgia kick lately and Close Encounters was my latest return visit. Unlike some films that I recall being great as a kid only to find that they were a figment of my imagination - Close Encounters stands up to the damage ...Excellent movie - Coconut_Willy
This review is for the director's cut edition as this was the one that I had not seen before. What an excellent film this is. My memories of it were that it was a bit on the boring side with not much action; not so. There is plenty of action or at least enough ...Favourite of Spielberg's Early Films - Gregg
According to the film and those that study UFO's "close encounters" are interactions with extra-terrestrials or UFO's, and a close encounter of the third kind is actual contact with them.
The story focuses on two people who have had encounters with ...