Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Director: Steven Speilberg
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillion, Francois Truffaut, Terri Garr
Memorable Line: "Have you recently had a close encounter? Have you recently had a close encounter?"




At seventeen, when I first saw this film, I was completelty in awe. When the mothership drifts over Devil's Tower, it almost knocked me out of my seat. And for the most part, this movie holds up against the test of time.

The beginning of the movies starts by following a group of scientists as they are investigating something mysterious, treking from place-to-place around the world. The film transitions to Roy Neary (Dreyfuss), a blue collar, middle class guy who starts getting plagued by visions and dreams, even his waking life. So intense are these images that it nearly drives him to point of a breakdown. As we follow Neary, we stumble upon a whole group of people just like him who are battling the same sorts of visions. Driven by demands of their visions and overcoming schemes to prohibit them from finding out the truth behind their dreams, they end up at Devil's Tower which just happens to be a landing pad for an historical encounter.

A director of Speilberg's calibar knows how to elevate a film like this one past a simple flying saucer tale. We care deeply about the plight of the characters and experience their suffering and fear. Speilberg also overwhelms (in a good way) the viewer in the climatic moments of the film with a awe-inspiring visuals. Dreyfuss is completely believeable at the common man driven to the brink of insanity by his visions. Truffaut stands out at the scientist who cares as much about the people affected by the visions as he does about his quest to find out if we are not alone.

This is a movie best seen on a big screen to get its full effect. John Williams score is a classic --you'll have a hard time getting those five notes out of your head.

This is a good family film, but it does have some intense moments and a little language. After watching it nearly 30 years after its making, the general effect of the movie still holds up even though a few scenes aren't as effective as they were upon the original viewing.

If you're in the mood for a thrilling story and some bombastic visuals, this movie hold its own against the more technically sophisticated movies made today.