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In my experience, a cinematic masterpiece can evoke a sense of excitement in even the most uninterested moviegoers. This anticipation stems directly from how the film has been produced and the creative elements that have been utilized – sight and sound in tandem that grab people’s attention and surprise them while also emotionally resonating with them. A superb film – the type of film that without a second thought can be termed a classic – is one that can profoundly impact people decades post its release irrespective of the number of times they’ve watched it. Steven Spielberg’s 1977 masterpiece “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” which is marking 40 years since its original release and returns to theater for a week, is the epitome of a truly great film.
Since I had watched it for over four decades, I planned on seeing the film interested only in how the new 4K restoration looked. However, everything about the film acted upon was still as mesmerizing as when I saw it for the very first time.
I have chosen not to call it a science-fiction film. And of course, it is one of the best examples of a science-fiction film, but in the traditional sense, it is not one as Spielberg himself mentions in a short featurette before the movie is screened. Yes, it does revolve around the idea of humanity’s first contact with other life forms from another planet, but it is not really what the movie is about. Until the very end, the aliens are completely absent and only depicted via mysterious lights and abstract shapes of their spacecraft. The movie is a drama in the cloak of a conspiracy thriller that explores how us Earthlings might react if there is something out there by following two storylines that meet in the final act.
In one of these cases, an international group made of scientists headed by Claude Lacombe (the revered French film director Francois Truffaut) goes around the world studying some strange occurrences (like the claimed sighting of a squadron of planes that have been missing since 1945 over the Sonora desert), and they try to devise a means to communicate with possible visitors through melodic phrases. When they do attempt it, they receive a response which they later ascertain is a set of coordinates for a purported rendezvous at the majestic Devil’s Tower monument in Wyoming. While Lacombe and the other scientists are readying themselves for the rendezvous, the U.S. military has been attempting to conceal the story behind a massive fake nerve gas spill intended to frighten all civilians away from the vicinity, as they did make attempts to cover the region.
Next, we are introduced to two residents of Indiana who cross paths and whose lives are altered forever after what seems to be an encounter with a UFO. First, there is Roy Neary, played by Richard Dreyfuss, who is an ordinary family man and an electrical lineman that goes out to investigate power outages in the region. He also has a very close encounter on the way. Roy is a natural dreamer, so much so that he is far more enthusiastic about going to watch ‘Pinocchio’ than actually taking his kids to watch it. As a result of his experiences, he starts to become infuriated and continues to have visions of things that cannot be explained and is driven to distraction. At this point, his less-than-kind wife grabs his children and takes off while the neighbors gossip about the apparent madness he is exhibiting. The other is Jillian Guller (Melinda Dillon), a single mother of a three-year-old boy, Barry, whose encounters with aliens eventually result in him being abducted.
Even with government guarantees that flying saucers do not exist, Roy and Jillian remain undeterred, and with even Cavalier’s nerve gas spill announced, they make their way toward Devil’s Tower hoping to get answers to the many questions that bother them.
The filming of “Close Encounters” can be described as a disaster waiting to happen – there was chaos in assembling the screenplay and the budget as well as the time needed for production exceeded what was planned. In any case, the film is superb, and none of this production chaos makes it to the final cut. Despite being only his third feature film, it’s remarkable how confidently Spielberg directs the material akin to a seasoned director. The pacing of the film is impeccable as it never feels sluggish, like an arrow in flight it seems to glide through the narrative, capturing almost every genre emotion possible – whether it being heartwarming wonder, spine-chilling horror, side-splitting laughter, or deep sorrow. Almost all the characters are well crafted with depth and the actor’s performances bring them out in the best way possible, with the exception of Roy’s wife who tends to appear a bit too shrill.
(Casting Truffaut, one of the most humanist filmmakers, as the head scientist who is forever trying to make contact is particularly brilliant – you may prefer Jean-Luc Godard the way I do, as a filmmaker, but you certainly do not want him as the contact man for our first meeting with the out of the world creatures.) From a technical viewpoint, it is still breathtaking. The film has won an Oscar for best Vilmos Zsigmond’s snipers work And also many other big names from the period. Made it beautiful, John Williams’s score is equal to his other big movie for 1977 and the special effects are still some of the best in the world.
This movie has quite a few spectacular unforgettable scenes that viewers can view once more on the big screen. Everything seems unforgettable, including the Andrei planes and cargo ship that was discovered and buried in the Gobi Desert. The look of pure joy on Barry’s face that accompanies phenomena that we cannot comprehend. The image of a car coming behind Roy’s truck on a daytime street and it genuinely coming behind him. The UFO enthusiast standing by the road with a placard “Be Friendly and Stop”. The old man who tells about his sighting of Bigfoot. When Lacombe understands the connection between Roy and the rest who have come to Devil’s Tower, the realization, “They Were Invited.” His family’s love for him, combined with the great spectacular ensemble finale at the end, makes Roy’s complex attitude not off-putting, and surprisingly delightful at all that captures the essence of the movie.
In case you previously adored watching “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” it is worthwhile viewing again, especially in the cinema for the numerous special editions made, the best being the 1998 rendition that combines all elements of the original 1977 and the 1980 Special Edition except for the regrettable peek inside the spacecraft specifically made for the latter. It was, and still is, astonishing and reminds us of an era when blockbuster films were extremely ambitious. For those who have yet to watch such a masterpiece or have only viewed it on a small screen, there is a unique opportunity that this film can be appreciated for the way it was intended to be watched and does promise to be life-changing, especially for the weekend-addicted film watchers.
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