A review of the 1977 classic movie “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”
It is a great title but it is never explained. The first kind is a close visual sighting of a UFO, the second kind is a UFO event with a physical effect, and the eponymous third kind is a UFO encounter with an animated entity. The scale was devised by J. Allen Hynek who makes a cameo appearance near the end of the film.
Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, the engaging story starts with a series of bizarre discoveries such as World War Two aircraft and a cargo ship discovered in deserts (both disappearances based on fact), before following the experience of three UFO ‘believers’: blue collar worker Ray Neary (Richard Dreyfuss from Spielberg’s previous blockbuster “Jaws”), a single mother called Jillian whose son is abducted (Melinda Dillon), and French scientist Lacombe (filmmaker François Truffaut selected by Spielberg in homage to the Frenchman’s work). The pacing of the movie is excellent as there are more and more references to a shape which turns out to be Devils Tower butte in Wyoming and to a five-note tune that acts as a communications device between man and alien. The conclusion is a visual sensation as we encounter the mother ship.
There are so many elements to this wonderful film that became hallmarks of Spielberg’s canon: the inclusion of children and their toys, clips from old movies, the use of light and shadow, suspicion of the authorities, the music of John Williams and, of course, a lifelong fascination with aliens (“E.T.”in 1983 all the way to “Disclosure Day” in 2026).
In 1980, the film was reissued in a Special Edition which I actually preferred: the building of the replica mountain by Neary was cut back and, at the end, we were taken inside the mother ship. However, if you buy the 1997 Collector’s Edition or watch the movie on television, you’ll see the original version.
August 2nd, 2026 at 3:01 pm
The ‘aircraft and a cargo ship discovered in desserts’. Sweet! Px