perhaps, my favourite alien movie ever
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
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
Get This Movie
Reviews for Close Encounters of the Third Kind
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
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.
This is dopey Hollywood mysticism all right, but thanks to considerable craft and showmanship, it packs an undeniable punch.
A daring film concept which in its special and technical effects has been superbly realized.
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.
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.
What I could see of the special effects were wonderful, and they hold up over time, unlike many sci-fi movies. The landing scene at the end still fills you with wonder and amazement.
Latest News for Close Encounters of the Third Kind
January 03, 2008:
New Indy 4 Interviews, Pictures Online!
May 22 still feels awfully far away, but if the nearly six-month gap between your eyeballs and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has you feeling forlorn, fear... More...
December 13, 2007:
Jurassic Park T-Rex, Life-Sized Terminator, More Up For Auction
This Christmas, we're asking Santa for Sam Jackson's Star Wars: Episode III lightsaber, Neo's Matrix Reloaded coat, and a full scale T-800 Terminator 2 endoskeleton for that... More...
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Rotten Tomatoes
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


