Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Category
Science Fiction
Director
Steven Spielberg
Cast
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Bob Balaban
- François Truffaut
- Melinda Dillon
- Teri Garr
- Cary Guffey
Release Date
16 November 1977
Synopsis
A popular Spielberg sci-fi flick, "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" tells the tale of good-natured aliens visiting the earth by selecting and communicating to human ambassadors through a series of five distinct musical notes continuously played. This movie also contributed to the popularity of UFOs or Unidentified Flying Objects that started to capture the human imagination since the 50's. This flick also spearheaded the portrayal of alien creatures as harmless and good-natured beings, unlike other movies that depicted aliens as hideous, human-abducting monsters.
The story begins when several scientists and researchers perform an investigation about weird happenings all over the world. Meanwhile, Roy Neary, portrayed by Dreyfuss, encounters the aliens through some sort of physical or actual evidence that left him listless and engrossed with extraterrestrial beings. In another location, the son of a widow (Dillon) was kidnapped by aliens. All of these stories were seamlessly connected by an enigmatic mountain-like image (devil's tower) that continued to haunt the witnesses of a close encounter.
Because of the motion picture's critical success in the US and in other countries, it bagged several Oscars and earned more than $ 300 million through global ticket sales. The movie was also a monumental breakthrough due to its unique special effects. The extraterrestrial ship utilized as a prop was placed in a museum, serving as a glorious reminder of its sensational success as a sci-fi flick.
The movie's soundtrack that included the popular five-tone melody was used and spoofed in several TV shows, cartoon series, and films, solidifying Spielberg's influence as an effective box office director. Another lasting influence this Spielberg flick has made was the enigmatic and symbolic "devil's tower", a mountain-like sculpture that was also comically featured in several TV shows and movies.
Several years later, the movie producers and Spielberg decided to release numerous editions that included a director's cut, a special edition, a collector's edition, and an ultimate edition. Each of the versions included additional scenes, footages, and behind-the-scene materials like the storyboard used in the original version -- a sure catch for "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" fanatics.