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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 8.6/10
Reviews Counted: 40
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 2

Close Encounters' most iconic bits (the theme, the mashed-potato sculpture, etc.) have been so thoroughly absorbed into the culture that it's easy to forget that its treatment of aliens as peaceful beings rather than warmongering monsters was somewhat groundbreaking in 1977.

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Average Rating: 9/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 118,186

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Movie Info

Steven Spielberg followed Jaws (1975), his first major box-office success, with this epic science fiction adventure about a disparate group of people who attempt to contact alien intelligence. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is an electrical lineman who, while sent out on emergency repairs, witnesses an unidentified flying object, and even has a "sunburn" from its bright lights to prove it. Neary's wife and children are at first skeptical, then concerned, and eventually fearful, as Roy refuses to

PG, 2 hr. 15 min.

Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Steven Spielberg

In Theaters: Nov 15, 1977 Wide

On DVD: Nov 13, 2007

Sony Pictures Releasing

Close Encounters of the Third Kind Trailer & Photos

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss
Roy Neary
Fran�ois Truffaut
Claude Lacombe
Teri Garr
Ronnie Neary
Melinda Dillon
Jillian Guiler
Cary Guffey
Barry Guiler
Bob Balaban
David Laughlin
J. Patrick McNamara
Project leader
Warren Kemmerling
Wild Bill
Roberts Blossom
Farmer
Philip Dodds
Jean Claude
Shawn Bishop
Brad Neary
Adrienne Campbell
Silvia Neary
Justin Dreyfuss
Toby Neary
Merrill Connally
Team Leader
George DiCenzo
Major Benchley
Norman Bartold
Ohio Tolls
Robert Broyles
Dirty Tricks #3
Luis Contreras
Federale
Amy Douglass
Implantee
Gene Dynarski
Ike
Matt Emery
Special Leader
Chuy Franco
Federale
Lance Henriksen
Robert
Randy Herman
Returnee #1 Flt. 19
Basil Hoffman
John Dennis Johnston
Special Forces
James Keane
Radio Telescope Team
Alexander Lockwood
Implantee
Dennis McMullen
Radio Telescope Team
F.J. O'Neil
ARP Project Member
Bill Thurman
Air Traffic
Carl Weathers
M.P.
Keith Atkinson
Dirty Tricks #2
Hal Barwood
Returnee #2 Flt. 19
David Gilbert
Matthew Robbins
Returnee #3 Flt. 19
Josef Sommer
Larry Butler
Jon Ewing
Dirty Tricks #1
Eumenio Blanco
Federale
Gene Rader
Hawker
Galen Thompson
Special Forces
David Anderson
Air Traffic Controller
Bob Westmoreland

Critic Reviews for Close Encounters of the Third Kind

All Critics (40) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (3) | DVD (41)

One of the great moviegoing experiences.

September 8, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comments (2)

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

This is dopey Hollywood mysticism all right, but thanks to considerable craft and showmanship, it packs an undeniable punch.

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

A daring film concept which in its special and technical effects has been superbly realized.

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

A.D. Murphy

Variety

Top Critic

The best -- the most elaborate -- 1950's science fiction movie ever made, a work that borrows its narrative shape and its concerns from those earlier films, but enhances them with what looks like the latest developments in movie and space technology.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Top Critic

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is unquestionably a great movie.

July 11, 2002 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

A film of visual awe, but it's not much of a human story. Close Encounters is a terrific bit of imagineering, but ultimately is a minor work in the Spielberg filmography.

August 22, 2011 Full Review Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune

| Comments (2)

Christopher Lloyd

Sarasota Herald-Tribune Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Suspenseful, thoughtful alien-encounter classic.

July 26, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

perhaps, my favourite alien movie ever

July 5, 2008 Comment

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

sbs.is

the three disc set is worth getting your hands on to get the full experience

March 12, 2008 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

| Comment

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

Spielberg's screenwriting sounds a bit tinny in parts today, but the film is just as gripping and mesmerizing, thanks to his command as a director and the benevolence of his vision.

November 30, 2007 Full Review Source: MSN.com

| Comment

Sean Axmaker

MSN.com

The new Blu-ray presentations--crafted with input from Spielberg himself--make the film look better than it ever has.

November 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Though made the same year, Spielberg's awe-inspiring sci-fi fable has held much better than Star Wars due to his sublime crafstmanship, which benefits from sharp imagery and F/X, and engaging story and charcaters, well-acted by Richard Dreyfuss and others

November 11, 2007 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

It plays out as a film buff's idea of what a UFO sighting would be like if it could be a cross between a Disney theme park and a 1970s light show at a disco.

September 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comments (2)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Steven Spielberg's awesome (in the literal sense), lyrical film about the first contact between humans and extraterrestrials is the kind of movie that gives you goosebumps.

September 1, 2006 Comment

Betsy Bozdech

Reel.com

The first film in years to give its audiences a tingle of shocked emotion that is not entirely based either on fear or on suspense.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Time Out

Spielberg answers the "Are we alone?" question in fine form.

April 17, 2005 Comment

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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I think this film is more known for introducing us to what would become Spielberg's style: foggy lighting and space-age stories. I found it to be rather disjointed, and that the climax was less exciting than I had hoped, but it's a movie full of dream-like sequences - many of them classics, now - that you can lose

May 9, 2007

Daniel Perry

Super Reviewer

Close Encounters is a completely backwards film in the science fiction genre. It is a groundbreaking achievment because of it's strong character development in which we see a normal person become the alien on his own world as he grows obsessed. The music isn't that bad either and the aliens have become iconic in the

November 2, 2011

Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

Close Encounters of the Third Kind Quotes

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1. Roy Neary: Who are you people?
– Submitted by Javis C (8 months ago)
1. Roy Neary: I guess you've noticed something a little strange with Dad. It's okay though. I'm still Dad.
– Submitted by Jimmy S (10 months ago)

Submit a Quote from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.

Example:

Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.