Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Theatrical Release Date: 1977 11 16 (USA)

UPC: 043396212688

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language]

Summary: 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 accept a "logical" explanation for what he saw and is prepared to give up his job, his home, and his family to pursue the "truth" about UFOs. Neary's obsession eventually puts him in contact with others who've had close encounters with alien spacecraft, including Jillian (Melinda Dillon), a single mother whose son disappeared during her UFO experience, and Claude Lacombe (celebrated French filmmaker Fran?ois Truffaut), a French researcher who believes that we can use a musical language to communicate with alien visitors. Lacombe's theory is put to the test when a band of government researchers and underground UFO enthusiasts (including Neary) join for an exchange with alien visitors near Devil's Tower, Wyoming. In 1980, a "Special Edition" was released. While its primary selling point was the addition of scenes inside the alien spaceship, Spielberg claimed that he also cleaned up some choppy editing in the second act. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Science Fiction

Awards: Best Art Direction – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Original Score – null Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Special Achievement – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters
Close Encounters of the Third Kind making of documentary
1977 featurette "Watch the Skies"
A View From Above: feature comparison poster

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/13/2007

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DTS Digital Theater Systems, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 135 Minutes

Sides: 3

Number of Discs: 3

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish,Portuguese

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Original Theatrical Version
1. Start [1:35]
2. Sonora Desert, Mexico [9:27]
3. Barry [3:36]
4. The Neary Family [4:40]
5. Close Encounter: First Kind [4:03]
6. In Pursuit [4:18]
7. First Signs [11:40]
8. Dharmsala, Northern India [2:01]
9. Breakthrough [1:42]
10. "I Used to Read Maps" [3:29]
11. Contacting the Guilers [12:38]
12. Noticing Something Strange [12:19]
13. Roy's Sculpture [3:55]
14. Moorcroft, Wyoming Reunion [3:45]
15. Cross-Country Detour [4:22]
16. "We Need Answers" [3:30]
17. Making the Escape [6:13]
18. Evading the Army [6:35]
19. Targets Approaching [3:06]
20. Making Contact [3:05]
21. Cloud & Light Show [4:44]
22. The Mothership Arrives [2:50]
23. The Ship Lands [1:12]
24. The Five Tones [3:25]
25. Returning Guests [4:57]
26. Close Encounter: Third Kind [3:13]
27. Pilgrims [2:11]
28. Farewells [5:51]
Disc #2 -- Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Special Edition
1. Start [1:35]
2. Sonora Desert, Mexico [9:28]
3. Barry [3:36]
4. The Neary Family [5:15]
5. Close Encounter: First Kind [4:09]
6. In Pursuit [4:09]
7. First Signs [9:06]
8. Dharmsala, Northern India [2:01]
9. Breakthrough [5:54]
10. "I Used to Read Maps" [3:29]
11. Contacting the Guilers [8:49]
12. Noticing Something Strange [9:48]
13. Roy's Sculpture [3:48]
14. Moorcroft, Wyoming Reunion [2:31]
15. Cross-Country Detour [4:22]
16. "We Need Answers" [3:30]
17. Making Their Escape [6:01]
18. Evading the Army [6:35]
19. Targets Approaching [3:06]
20. Making Contact [3:05]
21. Cloud & Light Show [4:15]
22. The Mothership Arrives [3:18]
23. The Ship Lands [1:12]
24. The Five Tones [3:25]
25. Returning Guests [4:50]
26. Close Encounter: Third Kind [3:20]
27. Pilgrims [5:13]
28. Farewells [6:18]
Disc #3 -- Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Director's Cut
1. Start [1:35]
2. Sonora Desert, Mexico [9:28]
3. Barry [3:36]
4. The Neary Family [5:15]
5. Close Encounter: First Kind [4:09]
6. In Pursuit [4:07]
7. First Signs [9:06]
8. Dharmsala, Northern India [2:01]
9. Breakthrough [5:44]
10. "I Used to Read Maps" [3:29]
11. Contacting the Guilers [12:38]
12. Noticing Something Strange [14:24]
13. Roy's Sculpture [3:48]
14. Moorcroft, Wyoming Reunion [2:30]
15. Cross-Country Detour [4:22]
16. "We Need Answers" [3:30]
17. Making Their Escape [6:01]
18. Evading the Army [6:35]
19. Targets Approaching [3:17]
20. Making Contact [2:54]
21. Cloud & Light Show [4:15]
22. The Mothership Arrives [3:18]
23. The Ship Lands [1:12]
24. The Five Tones [3:25]
25. Returning Guests [4:50]
26. Close Encounter: Third Kind [3:20]
27. Pilgrims [2:11]
28. Farewells [5:48]

Lucia Bozzola

Several years in the making and, like Jaws, millions over budget, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) became Steven Spielberg's second blockbuster, confirming his skills at creating visually spectacular popular entertainment. Blending his reverence for the power of movies with a science fiction UFO tale, Spielberg turns an average man's "close encounter" with an extra-terrestrial into an uplifting excursion into fantastic sights. Unlike in Cold War 1950s UFO stories that posit a threat from outside, Spielberg turns the unknown from an initially menacing force that imperils normality into a universal ambassador of transcendent goodwill, providing an escapist note of cinematic hope during the late '70s cultural malaise. Still, 2001 F/X master Douglas Trumbull's pre-digital age visual effects were an even stronger draw, as Close Encounters moves from initial appearances of space pod lights towards the climactic appearance of the enormous and stunningly rendered "mother ship." Praised for Spielberg and company's dazzling craft, amid reservations over the cardboard characters, Close Encounters became one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, helping financially teetering Columbia Pictures and strengthening the late '70s turn towards youth-oriented blockbusters. Beginning with a 1980 "Special Edition," Spielberg re-edited Close Encounters several times after 1977. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Alexander Lockwood  Actor 
Hal Barwood  Actor 
Gene Rader  Actor 
Lance Henriksen  Actor 
David Gilbert  Actor 
David Anderson  Actor 
Matt Emery  Actor 
James Keane  Actor 
Keith Atkinson  Actor 
Jon Ewing  Actor 
Robert Broyles  Actor 
Basil Hoffman  Actor 
Bill Thurman  Actor 
Josef Sommer  Actor 
Norman Bartold  Actor 
Dennis McMullen  Actor 
Galen Thompson  Actor 
Amy Douglass  Actor 
Randy Herman  Actor 
F.J. O'Neil  Actor 
Matthew Robbins  Actor 
Luis Contreras  Actor 
Chuy Franco  Actor 
Eumenio Blanco  Actor 
Gene Dynarski  Actor 
John Dennis Johnston  Actor 
Carl Weathers  Actor 
Bob Westmoreland  Actor 
Jerry Belson  Screenwriter 
Jim Bloom  Producer 
Michael Phillips  Producer 
Julia Phillips  Producer 
Steven Spielberg  Director 
Steven Spielberg  Screenwriter 
John Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard Dreyfuss  Actor 
François Truffaut  Actor 
Teri Garr  Actor 
Melinda Dillon  Actor 
Cary Guffey  Actor 
Bob Balaban  Actor 
J. Patrick McNamara  Actor 
Warren Kemmerling  Actor 
Roberts Blossom  Actor 
Philip Dodds  Actor 
Shawn Bishop  Actor 
Adrienne Campbell  Actor 
Justin Dreyfuss  Actor 
Merrill Connally  Actor 
George DiCenzo  Actor 

Country: USA