Close Encounters of the Third Kind

"This is important. This means something."

There is an age old question of whether or not we are alone in the universe. This is something that has been explored time and time again in films, with the aliens usually taking the role of the villain. However, in 1977, Steven Spielberg took a different look at humankind's encounters with extra-terrestrials from a more realistic and hopeful point of view. The resulting film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, remains one of the best science fiction films and this year celebrates it's 40th anniversary with a brand new theatrical re-release. 

Across the country, certain missing items are starting to turn up in places they shouldn't be. Fighter planes that had been missing for thirty years turn up in near perfect condition on the other side of the world, pilots missing. The SS Cotopaxi, missing since 1925 during a voyage from the U.S to Cuba turns up in the middle of the Gobi desert, her crew also missing. Experts, including French scientist LaCombe (played by Francois Truffaut) and his translator (played by Bob Balaban), are baffled. People across the world are encountering space ships decorated with bright lights at night, including Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss) and Jillian (played by Melinda Dillon) and her young son Barry (played by Cary Guffey). Each of them find themselves with an image stuck in their heads of a shape as well as five repeating tones. This begins to become an obsession to Roy to understand what this shape he's seeing in his mind, as well as what he has seen over the last few days, eventually straining his relationship with his wife, Ronnie (played by Teri Garr), and children. Things escalate when the aliens return and take little Barry, leading Jillian on a desperate quest to get her son back as her and Roy's paths cross again leading them to the first meeting between humanity and extra-terrestrials at Devil's Tower in Wyoming. 

Director Steven Spielberg, who also wrote the film, crafts an epic journey into the world of UFOs documenting what likely would happen in a covert meeting between the U.S Government and beings from another planet, showing the lengths they would take to cover it up from public view. The interesting stroke Spielberg took with the film was that this was only a one sided decision on the side of Government. The image the people saw in their heads and the tones corresponded to the meeting place. However, the government is doing everything in their power to keep the average citizens out. LaCombe even calls the people in charge on it, stating plainly that "They were invited!" to no avail. He also keeps the focus away from the bureaucrats and instead on the regular folks, like Roy and Jillian. Even thought LaCombe may be working with the Government he is more in line with Roy in just wanting to seek the truth while also dreaming of the possibilities. 

The acting in the film is great, with Richard Dreyfuss leading the group as Roy Neary, giving such a sympathetic portrayal as a man slowly coming unglued as he becomes more and more obsessed with understanding what he's seen. Melinda Dillon was equally great as Jillian, who matches Roy's obsession and trumps it as well as she is pursuing the truth to try and get her son back. Francois Truffaut, a celebrated French filmmaker, makes a rare acting appearance as the scientist LaCombe and is great in the role as he helps investigate and understand what is going on. Bob Balaban also has a great turn as a cartographer who is recruited to translate for LaCombe when needed and the two make for an interesting pair.  

The special effects are fantastic in the film with some genuinely unique and captivating designs for the spaceships in the film, including three small ones and then the giant mothership we see at the end of the film (that's not a spoiler, it's on the damn poster!). Filled with all sorts of lights and antenna of sorts, it's an awe inspiring sight to see it as it comes up over the peaks of Devil's Tower, especially of the big screen and surround sound. For the first time in my life I really felt the size and scope of the ships on screen and it was nothing short of awe inspiring. 

The music in the film was composed by John Williams, who at the time was fresh off Star Wars and manages to bring a fantastic and dynamic score to this film as well, which includes some unique musical challenges of it's own, especially in a climactic scene in the film where the humans are trying to communicate with the aliens using musical notes built off the initial five notes they gave us. It's a fantastically unique and Williams pulled off composing it wonderfully. On top of that though, Williams created a wonderful score for the film filled with all the wonder, awe and at times suspense the film required. 

The film was one that Steven Spielberg revisited a couple times in his career. Not feeling the original theatrical version was as satisfying as it could be, he went back and got the studio to allow him to shoot new scenes for the film for a Special Edition of the film. The agreed, as long as he shot scenes of the inside of the mothership, which he agreed to. The newly re-edited film premiered in 1980 and for awhile that was the only version of the film available. He then revisited the film again in 1998, delivering his definitive director's cut of the film. That version removed the Mother Ship interiors, as he considered showing that to be a mistake as he could never compete with what the audience imagined the interior of the ship to look like. Once the film hit Blu-Ray though, a box set was released that contains all three cuts of the film so each audience member can now enjoy the cut they prefer (Ahem,George Lucas could learn a thing or two from his buddy Steven).  

Close Encounters of the Third Kind has been a favorite of mine ever since I was a kid and my love for it has only grown as I've gotten older. This was the first time I had ever seen it on the big screen and I have to say that somehow, I'm not sure how, but it was like seeing it for the first time. I knew what was going to happen, of course, but the awe and emotional impact of the film hit me full force for the first time in a long time. If you've seen it before, or especially if you haven't, I'd heartily recommend checking it out while it's still in theatres. Some films just need to be seen on the big screen and this is one of them.