Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Roy Neary, an electric lineman, watches how his quiet and ordinary daily life turns upside down after a close encounter with a UFO.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writer:

Steven Spielberg

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr

Won 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Roy Neary
François Truffaut	...	Claude Lacombe (as Francois Truffaut)
Teri Garr	...	Ronnie Neary
Melinda Dillon	...	Jillian Guiler
Bob Balaban	...	David Laughlin
J. Patrick McNamara	...	Project Leader
Warren J. Kemmerling	...	Wild Bill (as Warren Kemmerling)
Roberts Blossom	...	Farmer
Philip Dodds	...	Jean Claude
Cary Guffey	...	Barry Guiler
Shawn Bishop	...	Brad Neary
Adrienne Campbell	...	Silvia Neary
Justin Dreyfuss	...	Toby Neary
Lance Henriksen	...	Robert
Merrill Connally	...	Team Leader

Storyline

Two parallel stories are told. In the first, a group of research scientists from a variety of backgrounds are investigating the strange appearance of items in remote locations, primarily desert regions. In continuing their investigation, one of the lead scientists, a Frenchman named Claude Lacombe, incorporates the Kodály method of music education as a means of communication in their work. The response, in turn, at first baffles the researchers, until American cartographer David Laughlin deciphers the meaning of the response. In the second, electric company lineman and family man Roy Neary and single mother Jillian Guiler are among some individuals in Muncie, Indiana who experience some paranormal activity before some flashes of bright lights in the sky, which they believe to be a UFO. Roy becomes obsessed with what he saw, unlike some others, especially in some form of authority, who refuse to acknowledge their belief that it was a UFO in not wanting to appear crazy. That obsession ...

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Plot Keywords:

close encounter of the third kind | vision | alien | mothership | ufo | 

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Taglines:

We are not alone

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Hindi

Release Date:

14 December 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

CE3K

Filming Locations:

Mobile Civic Center, Civic Center Drive, Mobile, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$132,088,635

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$303,788,635

Company Credits

Production Co:

Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips Productions, EMI Films, EMI Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min (Special Edition) 135 min (Theatrical Original) 138 min (Director's Cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Dreyfuss's father was an extra in the film and spent six months on location; however, the scenes in which he appeared never made the final cut.

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Goofs

The solfege hand signals Lacombe and the alien use at the end of the film to "talk" to each other are in the wrong order. The first and second notes are switched and while it should be "re-mi-do-do-so", what is signaled is "mi-re-do-do-so".

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Quotes

Ronnie Neary: All right, everybody to bed!
Toby Neary: No, wait! Dad said we could watching The Ten Commandments!
Ronnie Neary: Roy, that movie is four hours long.
Roy Neary: I said they could watch the five commandments.

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Crazy Credits

Near the end of the credits it starts to reads as follows: "During the filming of all animal sequences, H.L. EDWARDS, Veterinarian of Gillette, Wyoming, was in attendance at all times to aid the filmmakers and the anesthetist in proper treatment of the animals used, and at no time were the animals harmed or mistreated in any way."

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Alternate Versions

A print of the film screened at the American Cinematheque (Los Angeles) several times features most of the Special Edition's edits, but also includes the Roy's tree-tossing sequence and his climb through the window. What's missing from this version is all of the footage from inside the spaceship.

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Connections

Referenced in Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)

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Soundtracks

She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain
(uncredited)
Traditional
Whistled by a UFO observer

User Reviews

Aliens in Muncie make for Spielberg's Best Film Ever

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.