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Movies / On DVD / Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

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Reviews Counted:39

Fresh:37

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.7/10

Consensus: 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.

Runtime: 6 hrs 44 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND is Steven Spielberg's extraordinary film about a man named Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) who becomes obsessed with meeting extraterrestrials after encountering a... CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND is Steven Spielberg's extraordinary film about a man named Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) who becomes obsessed with meeting extraterrestrials after encountering a UFO on an abandoned road one night. Against the wishes of his wife (Teri Garr) and children, Neary, along with another witness to the sighting (Melinda Dillon), travels to a mysterious mountain where the government has built a landing strip hoping to attract the aliens. Director François Truffaut costars as Claude Lacombe, one of the organizers of the project. Spielberg hoped to follow up the huge success of JAWS with a low-budget film that would be an easy shoot, but, thanks in part to the complicated special effects, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS quickly snowballed into being an expensive endeavor but a commercial and artistic success. No one who has seen the film has ever looked at a plate of mashed potatotes the same way again. [More]

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, Pat McNamara, Warren Kemmerling, Roberts Blossom, Lance Henriksen, Carl Weathers

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Composer: John Williams

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 13, 2007

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Reviews for Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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Has just not held up.

comment 8 Comments
11/24/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment 2 Comments
01/12/03
Josh Ralske
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide

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.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
09/13/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a humanistic postmodern masterpiece.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out

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

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/05/07
A.D. Murphy
A.D. Murphy
Variety

Saturated with imagery that fascinates, terrifies, and utterly consumes the viewer with the desire to discover the secret that's eating away at the on-screen characters.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/27/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC

The film...lacks blockbuster detachment.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
05/21/01
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

By the end, we’re swept away by the wonder of discovery; it's enough to thrill even a sci-fi sceptic.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/25/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
12/05/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

[A] great movie, and one of the rare uplifting experiences in modern cinema.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

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

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
11/11/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Masterwork thriller about UFOs.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
09/01/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

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

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
07/11/02
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spielberg is nothing if not adept at punching our buttons and making us puppets in his hands.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/30/01
James Brundage
James Brundage
Filmcritic.com

Not even Spielberg makes them as they used to.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
12/05/03
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

Definitive cut of director Steven Spielberg's masterpiece isn't just great science fiction: It's great art.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

No review available.

comment Comment
04/04/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

...a masterful motion picture all around...where the interactions of its characters are equally important as the wizardry of the special effects.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
05/18/01
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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Latest News for Close Encounters of the Third Kind

January 03, 2008: New Indy 4 Interviews, Pictures Online!
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June 28, 2005: Critical Consensus: Aliens Invade, Critics Cheer
Steven Spielberg has made a couple movies -- Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. -- about benevolent aliens who come in peace and gently help us to reflect on our place... More...

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