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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

  • 1977
  • PG
  • 2h 18m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
227K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,647
67
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Theatrical Re-Release Trailer for Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Play trailer2:32
18 Videos
99+ Photos
Alien InvasionSci-Fi EpicDramaSci-Fi

An Indiana electric lineman finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a mo... Read allAn Indiana electric lineman finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.An Indiana electric lineman finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.

  • Director
    • Steven Spielberg
  • Writers
    • Steven Spielberg
    • Hal Barwood
    • Jerry Belson
  • Stars
    • Richard Dreyfuss
    • François Truffaut
    • Teri Garr
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    227K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,647
    67
    • Director
      • Steven Spielberg
    • Writers
      • Steven Spielberg
      • Hal Barwood
      • Jerry Belson
    • Stars
      • Richard Dreyfuss
      • François Truffaut
      • Teri Garr
    • 570User reviews
    • 251Critic reviews
    • 90Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 16 wins & 40 nominations total

    Videos18

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    Trailer 2:32
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
    Trailer 1:34
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
    Trailer 1:34
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    Trailer 1:14
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    A Guide to the Films of Steven Spielberg
    Clip 2:31
    A Guide to the Films of Steven Spielberg
    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: This Is Nuts (Home Ent.)
    Clip 1:34
    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: This Is Nuts (Home Ent.)
    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Creating Unexplained Moments
    Clip 0:51
    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Creating Unexplained Moments

    Photos336

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    Top cast72

    Edit
    Richard Dreyfuss
    Richard Dreyfuss
    • Roy Neary
    François Truffaut
    François Truffaut
    • Claude Lacombe
    • (as Francois Truffaut)
    Teri Garr
    Teri Garr
    • Ronnie Neary
    Melinda Dillon
    Melinda Dillon
    • Jillian Guiler
    Bob Balaban
    Bob Balaban
    • David Laughlin
    J. Patrick McNamara
    J. Patrick McNamara
    • Project Leader
    Warren J. Kemmerling
    Warren J. Kemmerling
    • Wild Bill
    • (as Warren Kemmerling)
    Roberts Blossom
    Roberts Blossom
    • Farmer
    Philip Dodds
    Philip Dodds
    • Jean Claude
    Cary Guffey
    Cary Guffey
    • Barry Guiler
    Shawn Bishop
    • Brad Neary
    Adrienne Campbell
    Adrienne Campbell
    • Silvia Neary
    Justin Dreyfuss
    • Toby Neary
    Lance Henriksen
    Lance Henriksen
    • Robert
    Merrill Connally
    Merrill Connally
    • Team Leader
    George DiCenzo
    George DiCenzo
    • Major Benchley
    Amy Douglass
    • Implantee
    Alexander Lockwood
    • Implantee
    • Director
      • Steven Spielberg
    • Writers
      • Steven Spielberg
      • Hal Barwood
      • Jerry Belson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews570

    7.6226.9K
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    Featured reviews

    7midnitepantera

    Still remember the long line I waited in at 11 years old with my friends and big sister at theatre. ;D

    Was SOOOOOO excited to see this as a kid, with my friends and big sister (who got us in, since it was a PG movie) and it was AMAZING!!! We lived in New Mexico and would stay out late trying to spot UFO's . Ha hahaha Loved Crazy Richard Dreyfuss. That ship reveal was mind boggling to all us kids. ;D Ahhhhh Good Times!
    9planktonrules

    Its special effects, surprisingly, still look great

    I have seen "Close Encounters" twice...once when it was in theaters and again today. I am very glad I did, as I not only enjoyed the movie but STILL marvel at its special effects. Now this is a big surprise, as many great films of the 70s and 80s look very dated when it comes to special effects....mostly because CGI has been a huge game changer and older pre-computerized graphics often don't hold up when compared to it. But this is not the case here....it still looks lovely after many decades.

    Because there are so many reviews for this one and it's pretty much considered a classic, I don't think I need to say much more. What was an excellent film is still an excellent film.
    8sean-ramsden

    Spielberg's first sci-fi - A truly unique film of psychological admiration and fascination

    In Spielberg's first step into sci-fi we find a truly unique film of psychological admiration and fascination. John Williams made one of the most famous soundtracks ever with the tension filled 2 notes in Jaws, this time he adds 3 more notes to create a spectacular sound that mimics the ringing of a door bell between the humans and aliens struggling to communicate.

    'The Ten Commandments' plays on the TV early on, acknowledging the film's links to the Old Testament. The tower of Babel was formed to reach the heavens just as the Devil's Tower is marked as the place where humans and aliens can finally begin to understand each other. It is also the place where a struggle to understand each other takes place, it is a language unknown to us just like the creation of differing languages at the Tower of Babel. Roy (Richard Dreyfuss) almost displays a Moses like character of being a prophet, especially with his face burnt from the ship's lights just as Moses' face shined at the sight of God.

    The climax is a wonderful spectacle of brilliance. It is one of Spielberg's most gripping scenes in his career but all it displays is a spaceship and some humans playing music to each other. Literally. It is beautiful work formed from the collaboration of Spielberg (Director/Writer), John Williams (Composer), Vilmos Zsigmond (cinematographer), and Douglas Trumbull (Visual Effects) among other talented individuals.

    The use of family is very important in the first half of the movie. However, when Roy watches on as the aliens make contact in the film's mesmerising finale, I almost forget all about him and his family. All I want to see is this ship play music with these scientists. When we cut back a minute later to see Roy watching on it is just a reminder that this is still his story, but by now it almost feels like our story. We have been in just as much wonder as Roy as to what is going on in the sky and now all we want to do is find out. Spielberg understands this and allows us to do so whilst also wrapping up segments of the story without pulling us away from the beauty of the moment.

    It is a film that stays very real and does not allow itself to fall into fantasy, which sounds strange to say about a sci-fi film about aliens forcing a man to become obsessed with a strangely shaped natural tower. It is a psychological sci-fi. People call this film odd because it is kept so real, we are so used to alien's being associated with fantastical universal wars and ridiculous special effects. However, Spielberg's most prominent effect in Close Encounters is the use of lights. A common Spielberg trait, beams of light are not alien to us. He holds our hand and gradually walks us through the experience of the film to help us understand this phenomenon. We slowly learn each aspect of these extra-terrestrials along with Roy (Richard Dreyfuss), so, by the time the gigantic mother ship rises above devil's tower we are in the same disbelief and awe as Roy and everyone else watching on. It is as though we are also witnessing aliens coming down to earth along with everyone else, it is our first view of a real spaceship. Even at the end we only see the aliens from afar through a stunning glimmer of light.

    This is a film that must be watched in the cinema for the full effect! You will no doubt be in complete awe as the sound reverberates around the theatre and the lights beam through the screen. No, this is not my favourite of Spielberg's movies, but I believe that it is possibly his most genius motion picture. It is a story that grips you until the very end, not particularly because of its use of supporting characters but because of the way Spielberg presents the aliens as a genuine possibility of fact rather than fiction. In 5 years' time he'll eventually introduce us to a little extra-terrestrial but for now we live in wonder.
    hippybear

    Transforming Fear to Wonder

    An amazing film, one of my favorites. I watch this regularly, especially at times when the reality of life is overwhelming, just to refocus and regain some sense of perspective.

    Everything in this film works toward one end: to transform the adult sense of fear back into the childlike sense of wonder at the world. From the very opening moments of the film, designed to create confusion and startlement, this movie creates a sensation of dread and foreboding. The dissonance of the soundtrack, the juxtaposition of images, they all are working to build into the viewer a feeling that something just isn't right, that something out of the ordinary is taking place, and underscoring this all with a sense that this is something to resist, to pull away from, to not allow it to affect one's "ordinary life."

    But as the movie progresses, the tone begins to shift, and the true intent of the film begins to peek through. This isn't about being afraid of the unknown, but rather embracing it. Paying attention to the "subliminal images" in life, allowing them to lead you into something unknown and perhaps dangerous, only then can one be open to wonder and experience the world through the magical eyes of a child.

    Dreyfuss' character takes us on this journey, met with resistance all along the way. His wife, his neighbors, his job, his community, all are working against him, and it's only when he's reached his craziest that he truly gives in and begins to stop trying to understand and instead embraces the experiences in store for him. The scientific community is seeking to understand, but without having any personal calling to be involved. Only Barry is truly able to throw himself into the strangeness that is taking place, and his enthusiasm is greeted by both the characters and the audience as somehow alien and threatening.

    The ending of this film, when all the fear is finally stripped away and the sense of amazed wonder overtakes everyone on the screen and in the audience, brings about an amazing catharsis. Discarding all the "adult" sensibilities and being able to approach life once again with a sense of innocent amazement for the Strange hidden amongst the Ordinary, one can begin again to approach life from a fresh vantage point.

    Powerful, mystifying, and rejuvenating. I highly recommend this film for anyone jaded with life and seeking a sense of renewal.
    9artemida-41541

    Still amazing after nearly 50 years

    When I saw this movie for the first time I was barely six or seven years old in former Yugoslavia.

    It has left a huge impact on my childhood world , I was so consumed and mesmerized. That much I wanted to become an astronaut for a long time afterwards .

    Now , as a 50 year old I feel pretty much the same. And , I didn't become an astronaut unfortunately.

    I don't know what more to say . It is as realistic, as magical and feel good movie about benevolent aliens as it could be.

    I hope one day it will become true , so that we all know there is something beyond this world, but not something bad.

    For everyone who wants to dive into beauty with depth , I can only recommend it.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      During the Neary dinner scene, just before Roy piles on the mashed potatoes, the little girl Silvia (Adrienne Campbell) says: "There's a dead fly in my potatoes." This was unscripted and almost caused the rest of the cast to laugh. The scene was kept as-is.
    • Goofs
      The coordinates received by the scientists (40°36'10" N, 104°44'30" W) aren't very close to Devils Tower at all. The coordinates are actually in a farm paddock about 200 yards east of hwy 85, half way between the towns of Pierce and Ault, Colorado (17mi [27km] east of Ft. Collins, Colorado), 276 miles (444 km) due south from the Devils Tower monument (they got the north latitude wrong by 4 degrees, it SHOULD have been 44°35'25"N. In addition the longitude is incorrect, it should be 104°42'54"W)
    • Quotes

      Project Leader: If everything's ready here on the Dark Side of the Moon... play the five tones.

    • 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."
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Dream (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Chances Are
      Words and Music by Al Stillman and Robert Allen

      Performed by Johnny Mathis

      Published by International Korwin Corp.

      from the Columbia Records album "Johnny Mathis' All-Time Greatest Hits"

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    FAQ

    • How long is Close Encounters of the Third Kind?Powered by Alexa
    • Why & how didn't the bright lights of the spacecraft that Roy Nealy boarded hurt his eyes?
    • Why did the aliens keep the abductees for so many years before returning them but Barry Guiler was returned after only a few days?
    • What is 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 14, 1977 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Encuentros cercanos del tercer tipo
    • Filming locations
      • Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA(Devil's Rock)
    • Production companies
      • Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips Productions
      • EMI Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $135,189,114
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,767,758
      • Sep 3, 2017
    • Gross worldwide
      • $306,889,114
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • 4-Track Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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