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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
16 November 1977 (USA) moreTagline:
Close Encounter of the First Kind - Sighting of a UFO. Close Encounter of the Second Kind - Physical Evidence. Close Encounter of the Third Kind - Contact. WE ARE NOT ALONE morePlot:
A line worker, after a encounter with UFO's, feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 30 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(26 articles)
Movies to Mark Your Life By (From Rope Of Silicon. 17 June 2009, 12:03 AM, PDT)
Q&A With Richard Dreyfuss
(From New York Post. 30 May 2009, 10:44 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Strong emotional core that avoids Rockwell-esque sentimentality moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Richard Dreyfuss | ... | Roy Neary | |
| François Truffaut | ... | Claude Lacombe | |
| Teri Garr | ... | Ronnie Neary | |
| Melinda Dillon | ... | Jillian Guiler | |
| Bob Balaban | ... | David Laughlin | |
| J. Patrick McNamara | ... | Project Leader | |
| Warren J. Kemmerling | ... | Wild Bill ('Major Walsh') (as Warren Kemmerling) | |
| Roberts Blossom | ... | Farmer | |
| Philip Dodds | ... | Jean Claude | |
| Cary Guffey | ... | Barry Guiler | |
| Shawn Bishop | ... | Brad Neary | |
| Adrienne Campbell | ... | Sylvia Neary | |
| Justin Dreyfuss | ... | Toby Neary | |
| Lance Henriksen | ... | Robert | |
| Merrill Connally | ... | Team Leader |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
CE3K (USA) (informal short title)Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition (USA) (reissue title)
The Close Encounter of the Third Kind (USA) (working title)
Watch the Skies (USA) (working title)
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
132 min (special edition) | 137 min (director's cut) | 135 min (original version)Color:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 moreCertification:
Spain:T | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | South Africa:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Iceland:L | Norway:12 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Ireland:PGFun Stuff
Trivia:
Steven Spielberg's dog can be seen during the release of the humans from the mother ship sliding down the ramp. The dog was also seen in Jaws (1975) as Brody's dog. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Roy is in his truck, the maps and papers get blown off of his dashboard and then he speeds away. When he stops his truck upon meeting Jillian and her son, everything is stacked very neatly on top of the dashboard. moreQuotes:
David Laughlin: We didn't choose this place! We didn't choose these people! They were invited!Claude Lacombe: They belong here more than we.
more
Soundtrack:
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR moreFAQ
Did Larry die after being gassed by the helicopter?more
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When the whole area suffers a full blackout, electrician Roy Neary is called out to service some poles suspected of being down. Sitting in his truck trying to find directions he is suddenly caught in a bright light and the electric's on his truck fail. Shortly it passes and he sees a craft pass overhead. At the same time nearby a woman pursues her young son who has wandered out in search of the lights that have been calling to him. Both adults are left wanting to know the truth and filled with half-ideas and images that haunt them when Gillian Guiler son is taken, this becomes even more important to them. Meanwhile the military, led by investigator Claude Lacombe uncover planes and ships that have been missing for decades and uncover hidden codes and signals in the mysterious crafts.
I am currently ploughing my way through Speilberg's Taken on BBC2 so I thought I'd give this classic another view just to remind myself how good Speilberg and aliens can be. The plot is perfect for any UFO nut the government are behind everything and know of everything. The story unfolds really well the three main stories complimenting each other and giving the film a sense of pace. The strand with Lacombe following events all round the globe is the least personal (and thus least involving) but it is enticing us for the climax of the film. Neary's soul searching maybe does go on a little too long but the emotion in the family situation is intense and his frustration and sense of confusion is very real. Although the thrid strand has less screen time the abduction of the child is a powerful scene and the emotion is well brought out.
The special effects are very good but the glue of the film is the emotional telling. This is Speilberg doing well he never really gives into his American Apple Pie style sentimentality and the film keeps moving along and has a real emotional heart to it. The climax of the movie always sort of messes me up and I find it best not to question it's logic on any level for fear of holes opening up all over it but it does have a sense of childlike wonder to it, which I guess Speilberg was trying to get across.
As usual Dreyfuss does well under Speilberg and he is mostly responsible for keeping the emotion in his character realistic without being all syrupy and sickly. Truffaut is OK but it's impossible to see him as anyone but Francis Truffaut and his character suffers as a result. Garr and Dillon are both strong female characters for different reasons and the support cast are generally very good (including a good handful of the Dreyfuss family).
Overall this film never gets me as one of the greatest sci-fi's of all time, but it is certainly a very good film that takes `real' people as it's driver and not flashy effect shots. That `Taken' seems to be slipping into Norman Rockwell type mawkishness is good enough reason to revisit CE3K.