Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Encounters in the third phase in Spain and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in Latin America) is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and Cary Guffey.

Tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana power line repairman whose life is changed after experiencing an encounter with an unidentified flying object, the existence of which is known to the United States government, which collaborates with UFOs into a kind of international team of research scientists.

The film was released in November 1977 to great financial success and critical acclaim. In 2007, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The film was remastered in 4K and was re-released on September 1, 2017, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the release.

Plot

The Devil Tower served as a stage for the film.

Musical phrase used in the film for communication with aliens.

In the Sonoran desert, French scientist, UFO researcher and Principal Guest at the Montsoreau conference, Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) and his American translator David Laughlin (Bob Balaban), among other government investigative scientists, they discover the planes that made up Flight 19, an air squadron lost shortly after World War II. The planes are intact and operational, but there is no trace of the pilots.

A freighter, the Cotopaxi, missing in the Bermuda Triangle, appears in the middle of the Gobi desert. A plane is chased by a shiny object that the pilot doesn't know how to describe.

Meanwhile, power company employee Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is investigating a power outage when his truck comes to a stop and is flooded with strong light from the sky. He experiences a close encounter with a U.V.N.I. Roy immediately finds himself in the middle of a police chase that is hunting four UFOs. Following this experience, Roy becomes fascinated by UFOs, much to the dismay of his wife, Ronnie (Teri Garr). Roy becomes increasingly obsessed with five strange musical notes and mountain-shaped mental images and begins to model them. Jillian (Melinda Dillon) also becomes obsessed with creating sketches of that unique mountain. Shortly thereafter, she is terrorized in her home by a UFO encounter, in which her young son Barry is abducted by indistinguishable beings despite her efforts to protect her home..

Meanwhile, Roy's increased erratic behavior causes Ronnie to leave him, taking their three children with her.

In desperation, Roy catches a glimpse of a TV news program about a train derailment near Devil's Tower in Wyoming, USA. There he realizes that the mental image that was bothering him is real.. Jillian sees the same broadcast, so she and Roy, as well as many others with the same experience, head over to the site.

Cast

• Richard Dreyfuss like Roy Neary.
• François Truffaut as Claude Lacombe.
• Melinda Dillon like Jillian Guiler, Barry's mother.
• Teri Garr as Veronica "Ronnie" Neary, Roy's wife.
• Bob Balaban like David Laughlin, Lacombe's assistant.
• Cary Guffey like Barry Guiler.
• Josef Sommer like Larry Butler.
• Lance Henriksen as Robert, Lacombe's assistant.

Production

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a project that Spielberg had been pursuing for a long time. By the end of 1973, he had already agreed with Columbia Pictures to shoot a science fiction film. Spielberg received script credit, assisted in creating the script by Paul Schrader, John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Jerry Belson.

Filming began in 1976. Douglas Trumbull was the visual effects supervisor and Carlo Rambaldi designed the aliens.

The film has a personalist approach, from the point of view of three characters affected by the subject in different ways (the common man who has an encounter, the mother who suffers from the abduction of a child and the scientist who is passionate about the subject).

Different versions

Three years after the 1977 film release with a 132-minute version it was reissued as Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition ( Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition), which contained additional scenes including the extended ending when the protagonist sees the interior of the ship, lasting 137 minutes. A third edition was released in 1998 for domestic format, the Director's Cut, which has some adjustments and where the extended ending is removed. This version lasts for 135 minutes.

Reception and box office

The film was well received by audiences and critics alike, as most of them praised the film with their comments. It wasn't your typical alien invasion movie, as they came in peace. Finally, worldwide it raised 430 million dollars. This must-have title in the science fiction genre was Spielberg's second big hit during his career.

Awards

The film garnered eight Oscar nominations: Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Melinda Dillon), Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Visual Effects. Of these nominations, he won one: the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Oscars