BTW @27:21 the gentleman with the glasses and pointy beard is the real life J. Allen Hynek, scientific advisor for Project Blue Book. Went from skeptic to believer after his investigations.
When my daughter was in the third grade she was learning clarinet and one Saturday afternoon, we watched this movie together. The next thing I realized, she is standing out in the yard and playing the five tones of the "contact" on her clarinet! I yelled to her, "There better not be aliens in my yard tonight!" We shared a good laugh at that one...
The "kid in the background" that was always doing something stupid, was none other than Richard Dreyfuss' son, Justin. What an opportunity to bug the crap out of your dad and get paid for it.
And we must all acknowledge the greatness of the music maestro, John Williams, who did some of his best work on this movie. Just outstanding. He was truly on fire around this time, no doubt.
Absolutely. Williams never produced a better score than this. Spielberg also has not made a more awesome film than this. A complete experience from beginning to end. Wonderful film.
He wrote the soundtrack for this and for Star Wars in the same year. I think he was the first composer to get an Oscar nomination for soundtracks for two different films in the same year.
I was in high school when this movie came out. My friends and I were totally obsessed. When my family planned a road trip from Illinois to Seattle in the summer of '78, I made the case for a quick detour to see Devil's Tower. Amazingly, my dad agreed and I was forever grateful. The whole experience was magical to me.
I love that story! Especially because as a PNW native I love that you were heading to Seattle. I’ve never been to Devils Tower but that’s on my long list of National Parks and other places of natural beauty I want to see in this amazing country
yeah, the first time I saw it at the theater was at the local drive-in. during the movie I kept looking at the night sky to see if I could see any UFO's flying around in our area!
@@kingscorpion7346 Yes, and don't forget, we were handed Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in the same year after the summer of Star Wars!! Mind blowing year for sci-fi. and next level movie making.
To see this in a theater in 1977 was freaking AWEsome!! All the early parts of the movie "announcing" the presence of something Not-Of-This-World sent shivers down your spine and made your heart race like Mad !!! Speilberg was doing it AGAIN !!!! Soooo exciting!!
Loved that movie when I was a kid. Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy were married for 52 years until her death and have a real chemistry. They started in a lot of films together like Cocoon 1&2, The World According to Garp, Foxfire, To Dance With the White Dog. It's interesting to see a couple not only stay together for so long but to work on so many projects together too. Best movie couple IMO.
There was a stigma tied to pilots reporting UFOs, being labeled crazy or non professional, being teased so pilots were hesitant to report sightings, having that on their record. I thought it was a good touch for them to include that hesitancy in the beginning tower/pilots conversation.
And Steven Spielberg used actual air traffic controllers in that scene. As Jen pointed out, it's rare to hear dialog where people talk all over each other but that's the way people talk sometimes, so it lends an element of realness to it. That's one of the things I really love about this movie is that the way people act in it seems realistic, which makes you forget it's science fiction.
Was? To this day pilots, air traffic controllers and anyone associated with certain industries are actively encouraged not to discuss certain things that occur on the job. This is one of them.
@@scottlette "After all...Isn't it more likely that your o2 system suffered a malfunction? And you know, of course, that one of the symptoms of anoxia is for the brain to hallucinate. I think we should all just be grateful that you managed to land safely."
A lot of air force pilots, and commercial airliner pilots around the world, have seen things they couldn't explain. Declassification started in the seventies, and then the brakes were put on that, for a while. Now there's plenty of official records in the public domain (still just a fraction though). Some countries declassified almost everything they had and in some countries it was never a secret that there's weird things in the sky. Still, after astronauts, scientists and pilots telling their stories for seventy years, anyone will hesitate telling theirs today.
If there's a "bad guy" in this movie, it's our own imaginations and the fear we have about the unknown. My other fave alien encounter movie is the 1951 classic The Day The Earth Stood Still. It has a similar vibe of human fear and stupidity contrasted with curiosity and benevolence.
If there was a bad guy in this movie, it was Roy for being a really, crappy husband and really crappy father for leaving his loving wife and kids FOREVER for a bunch of stupid aliens. And IF he was brainwashed into leaving his wife and kids, I would say that the fault lies with the demonic aliens that brainwashed him and who are kidnapers, who deserve to die, anyway. My Tiger Kungfu...is better than yours. I don't think you're good enough...to avenge your master.
@@richardstorm4603 I'm not sold on his wife being loving. As soon as he showed up with the sunburn his wife did everything to hide what happened to him because it made her uncomfortable. Telling him don't talk about something you don't know about and telling him to lie about things is pretty close to gaslighting. Is Roy a crappy husband and father sure.
@@Xoferif I had the same fear going into the og Star Trek, I knew it would be corny and the effects wouldn't hold up for the most part. However the discussion of issues and solutions to said issues is the true staying power of the entire ST series IMO, I started with TNG so I feel I had a good introduction but the themes and concepts it brought forward made me want more and helped me delve deeper into the Star Trek universe.
Hard same. Nine years old was probably a bit too young. I did not sleep well that night. Two years later, when I saw Alien in the theater, it barely phased me.
Scared the crap out of me too seeing it on the big screen. As an adult it scares me too cause we are supposed to prevent little ones flying out the doggie door.
They never told the actress playing the mother what was about to happen. The only told the child before the scene was filmed not to be scared. So her reaction to all the crazy stuff going on was her real reaction. Also the child laughing all the time and enjoying it made it even more bizarre.
The guy playing the keyboards was a contractor hired to set them up for the movie and leave. Spielberg noticed he had a pleasant demeanor and friendly so he hired him to play that part.
Near the end just before Roy enters the ship, John Williams gives us a little musical treat. The short cuts kind of disguise it, but in the music you can hear the tune “when you wish upon a star.”
The applause and the shouts were so loud at the theater where I watched this that the manager stopped the film and brought the lights up because he thought something happened in the audience!
My parents and I camped at Devil's Tower for an evening during our Yellowstone/Mt Rushmore vacation fourteen years ago. We stayed at a KOA at the exact spot where the "decontamination camp" was located in the film and hiked around the mountain twice. Besides it being thrilling to visit the site of one of our favorite films, the landmark and surrounding landscape is beautiful. Definitely worth a side trip if you love the movie and are ever out that way.
Yep - have done the same thing a few times as well, just love the Devil's Tower area. Also, during my visits there and camping have watched this movie when the campground would play it at night - neat experience watching this movie with Devil's Tower in the background.
I made it there last year for the first time ever. I had wanted to go since I saw this in the theaters back in late 1977. It really was an amazing feeling finally seeing that thing, not only because it's a big part of a favorite film but also the wonder of looking at something that's such an ancient geological weirdo.
Yeah, the town I grew up in had one movie theater with 2 screens (and a drive in) when this movie came out, and for a while there one screen showed Star Wars and the other showed Close Encounters. The lines were so long, and people would buy a ticket to see one and then a ticket to see the other for the next showing so they'd only have to go through the line once that day! :)
J. Allen Hynek, a big figure in UFO research, had been a consultant on this movie. He coined the term that’s used as the movie title. The disappearance of the planes in 1945 was a real event. I believe it’s the director’s cut which nicely divides the types of close encounters (1st, 2nd and 3rd) into the three acts. The French character questioning Roy is an homage to Jacques Vallee, another figure in UFO research.
J. Allen Hynek was the head of Project Bluebook, the government program tasked with compiling and investigating UFO sightings in America. Hynek makes a cameo in this movie as the scientist with the gray goatee in the film's climax.
Fun fact about Hynek: he went into Project Bluebook as a total non-believer, not even just a “skeptic”. After amassing so much info that he couldn’t logically explain, he became a believer.
J Allen Hynek was not only was the scientific consultant for Project Bluebook. He also became the Founder for CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies), it is one of the oldest UFO groups in America.
Jen, can you imagine seeing this for the very first time in a large movie theater having never seen any type of film like this? It truly baffles the mind that this came from the same director who made us afraid to go on the water after seeing "Jaws". I have no words to describe the music by John Williams. It's utterly amazing! Ten to the power of 1 million! This is a film that has to be seen on a large 4D HD screen at its highest quality possible. One of my favorite films of all time! I'm very glad that you got to experience it!
...only one way to describe, using terminology on the late 70's ..."WE WERE F'ing BLOWN AWAY, MAN!!!" =) I was in high school when me and my buddies saw this
I was about 9 years old. It was to this day, one of the coolest things I've ever seen, but it left me with a weird fear of water heaters bursting open.
Yep, John Williams was on fire in the mid seventies to late eighties, and this is one of his best examples. Not one misfire in the whole bunch. But yeah, I remember seeing this as a 10 year old kid in the theater and just sitting there with my jaw hanging open. Then I had to see the Special Edition when it came out where we actually get to see what Roy saw when he went inside (but I overall prefer the original version).
Luis Elizondo (former director of AATIP) was saying in an interview a week or two back that he's not really one for sci-fi movies, but his wife recently made him sit down and watch Close Encounters. He said he was blown away by how accurately the behaviour of UFOs is depicted in the movie - especially where they zip along and then suddenly stop or reverse course, and where they split into three and fly off in different directions.
“Music or math it’s all related “ very true , no coincidence Spielberg’s mother was a concert pianist his father an electrical engineer 😀 great reaction
I saw this and Star Wars theatrically when I was 10 years old. Star Wars is one of my favorite movies ever, but this one blew my mind, I didn’t understand everything, but it made me believe.
I have loved this film since seeing it the very first time back in 1980. It's just a beautiful experience. You're absolutely right with your first impression. There is no "worst" in this film. It's 100% positive masterful story telling. Visually it stands up to the passage of time. I watched it in theater about two years ago in a limited IMAX release and I wept. I've seen it maybe 50 times in my 50 years on earth and I feel the exact same joy as the first time as the mothership takes to the skies. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Xoxo
I know that it has been a year since you did this, but if you're still reading some of these comments... I always thought that one of the best and most relevant lines in the movie was when the aliens took over the music sequence and began transmitting boat loads of information. That was when the one guy said "Welcome to the first day of school." So perfect.
Love this movie. Takes me back to my childhood and the 70s, when the world seemed a much less complicated place. I've asked myself if that was me, would I go off in a spaceship leaving my kids behind? Hell yeah!
Yeah, back then my family would have understood why I left in a UFO one night. Even now, my wife understands why I would still do it if I had the chance!
Favorite fun fact about this movie - At the time Spielberg was making this movie he was going through a divorce. He has said in interviews that because of this, subconsciously, that is probably the reason why he had Roy leaving with the aliens. If he was making the movie a few years later when he was remarried and in a good relationship, he may have made a different choice for Roy. It may have made a completely different meaning to the ending of the movie.
Welcome to "E.T: The Prequel." You can see Spielberg's optimistic take on the idea of extra-terrestrial intelligent life in this movie. Of course, he went on to expand on that theme (along with the idea of the innate curiosity and positivity of children) in E.T., which came out a few years later. This idea that aliens would be friendly (and why not?) flipped the script on science fiction at that time. Also, this came out about the same time as Star Wars, helping to catapult sci-fi into blockbuster status. What a great time to be a kid!
In the '70s, I remember when I was a kid, it was hard to find movies that were suitable for kids or ones that we would like. Not after Star Wars and CE3K.
Fun fact: George Lucas' "Star Wars" and CETK were released at the roughly the same time. Speilberg saw Star Wars and bet Lucas that SW would do better at the box office. Lucas didn't believe it and bet Speilberg that CETK would do better. The bet was a percentage of the box office of the film that did better. Lucas says it was the most expensive bet he ever made, paying Speilberg some $60 million as CETK had a mediocre box office while SW became a phenomenon blockbuster.
This film remains rent free in my head, one reason is due to my mother's XTREME fascination/enthusiasm concerning the subject matter and second due to being the film that (unknown-to-me-at-the-time) introduced me to Lance Henrikson - very young and with an absolutely dreadful haircut, I never would have guessed his generic appearance at the end of the film would lead to his becoming one of my ALL-TIME favorite character actors (not bad for a human.)
A lot of people have hated Richard Dreyfuss's character because he abandoned his family to chase aliens, but i don't think it was his fault as he was clearly under some sort of influence, and as a result had to find out what was going on in order to resolve his obsession.
This was another one of those mind blowing movies back when it came out. Great seeing it effect you as well. As far as the name, not sure if it still applies but they use to classify UFO encounters as; the first level is a sighting, the second level is physical evidence (photos, landing proof and such), and the third is physical contact.
I've seen this movie dozens of times and it just dawned on me that the aliens responded because music is math!! Great reaction. It's awesome that you like the classics.
There are a lot of things in this movie that I think Spielberg was experimenting with: John Williams' sound score, horror elements that would appear later in "Poltergeist", the first prototype of "ET"... plus a lot of references to "Pinocchio" in the script and the music.
Jen in the scene ( 28:40 ) you asked a good question "why are they asking him medical questions?" (I know this is only a movie, however if a situation like what is depicted in the movie was to ever occur in real life) You have to bare in mind that whatever bacteria or viruses we have developed immunity to. It could have serious consequences for the Aliens, as they might not have the same immunity towards the same bacteria or viruses we have. However the reverse would also be true, whatever bacteria or viruses they are immune to. The human race may not be and it could have serious consequences for us.
I remember standing in line for over an hour to see this when it first came out. So worth it. The entire audience gasped when the mothership appeared on the big screen.
Extra MVP points to the kid who, according to the book from the guy who played the interpreter, that was all HE needed. That's how well he knew what was was needed for a scene. :) Great reaction to a fantastic film. Another thing to note about this film and how mind-blowing it was for the time, was that there hadn't really been a lot of "friendly alien" films up to this point. Most stuff tended to take a War of the Worlds sort of approach, but this didn't and that was something refreshing and new. So, yeah. :)
3:07 "people talking over each other" I love that about Spielberg, when those scenes feel more like eavesdropping than listening to "dialogue" in a "movie". Feels real instead of written, and I have no idea how you go from a script to that.
The aircraft that disappeared in 1945 is known as Flight 19. They went off radar off of Florida & were never traced. The subsequent rescue flight also disappeared never to be recovered.
Amazing a movie almost 50 years old still stands up so well, so you can imagine what is was like to see it on the big screen back then when there had been nothing like it before. People queued round the block to get in.
The only word that came to my mind to describe your reaction throughout is "spellbound"; and justifiably so. I was 14 when I saw this in the theaters. As I recall, Star Wars had just been released a month or so earlier and, despite it being about "aliens", the story and pace was so different, yet VERY appealing to my young mind. Through the years I have come to believe the art of tension building that Spielberg began with Duel, that he then ramped up by a factor of 11 in Jaws, he MASTERED in CEOT3K. Great reaction.
I always wondered if they integrated the Jaws theme into the musical interaction within this movie or if I'm just hearing things. If it was done on purpose, I think it was a nice move to use the threatening theme from an already well-known movie to add tension to the scene.
Nominated for 8 Oscars: Best Director Best Supporting Actress, Melinda Dillon Best Original Score Best Sound Best Production Design Best Cinematography Best Visual Effects Best Sound Editing It won Best Cinematography.
The warplanes at the start are "flight 19" they really did go into the triangle in 1945 and the rescue planes sent out to find them also disappeared forever. The ship is the "Cotopaxi" lost in the triangle in 1925.
Cotopaxi wreck was found in 1980 off the coast of St Augustine, FL. It wasn't positively indentified until 2020. One search plane was lost in searching for Flight 19 a Martin Mariner seaplane. However one of the searching ships reported it was tracking an aircraft on radar then it just disappeared and another ship reported seeing a explosion near the water at a distance and when arriving at the sight of the explosion only found an oil slick. It was it believed that the seaplane suffered a fuel vapor leak and an electrical spark triggered an explosion or the vapor could have been ignited by a careless crew member lighting up a cigarette.
There's some amazing interviews with the cast where they said they never knew if the aliens were friendly or hostile until the end of the shooting of the film. It made the performances more genuine.
The sound design in this movie is “dynamic.” It covers all the points in the range of volume, from very soft to very loud, like in real life. Spielberg and other “New Hollywood” directors were experimenting with new forms of realism, and this kind of dynamic sound is less “canned,” more open and intense than old-time foley work, and more realistic. The terrific irony is the gritty everydayness and rawness of a movie about space aliens! It’s a sublime mess that few today would have the courage to make.
Funny thing, I had mashed potatoes for dinner while watching this, but not enough to make a mountain! The little red orb trailing behind the other ships was a nod to Tinkerbell. Great reaction. I figured it would hit you especially well when the cartographer figured out that the numbers were map coordinates. It always gives me a shiver.
Whenever I see this movie, I think of two things: 1) how wonderful, creepy, and exciting this movie was seeing it in theaters for the first time in '77 and 2) how totally dysfunctional Roy's family was (they're terrible!).
That's an interesting point. 1.) The creepy aliens vs 2) dysfunctional family. With Roy choosing aliens over family in the end. Similar to the Buddha, who abandoned his own family. It could be said that even if his family was dysfunctional, his wife and children did not deserve to be abandoned, in order to become another statistic. Instead of the movie showing that one's family ought never to be abandoned, even in the light of visitation of beings from another world, it shows that family is ultimately not important.
Spielberg did an amazing job of leaving everything in this movie up to the imagination of the viewers, up until the big revel. This movie still terrifies me I love it but it still gives me chills every time
Jen You correct about blonde woman. Her name is Teri Garr. She did play Phoebe's mom on Friends. Teri forced to retire from acting in 2011 because of her health issues.
I remember coming out of the cinema in '77 and noticing how many people were looking up at the night sky, including me. An amazing film to see on the big screen then and now.
When this movie came out I was in college in NYC and I was taking a course called "Intelligent Life in the Universe". The professor assigned seeing the movie and doing a writeup on it as part of the class. I saw it at a matinee at the old Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan, just a quick ride uptown on the subway.
I saw it at the Ziegfeld Theater when it first came out too. That gigantic screen and amazing sound system made me feel as if the UFO's were right in front of me! The perfect place to see this film back then!
Just catching up on some of the movies I missed. I was 13 when this came out. Still an amazing movie. For me the funniest moment in the reaction was when Richard Dreyfus was first losing it. Right after the intense scenes where his family is falling apart, Roy is shaping the mountain out of clay. Jen’s: “That is a dysfunctional family” casually followed immediately by: “that looks like a pile of crap.” made me laugh out loud! 🤣
I saw this in NY's Ziegfeld Theatre and it was an event. Long lines to get inside, waiting in the gorgeous lobby until the previous show let out and the glorious, deafening sound of the mothership passing overhead going into the finale. I saw a different cut than what is considered the director's cut but still, it was a great time at the cinema. I'm so glad you got the opportunity to react to it.
This movie was released during my Senior year in High School. I distinctly remember that, after the movie had been out for awhile, I would see folks stopped along rural Texas roads, binoculars in hand, gazing toward the Heavens, on the off-hand chance that they might spot a UFO of their own!
I watched this movie as a kid in the 80s and it was the special edition with the inside of the mothership. This is, by far, my favourite movie ever. It beats time because the story is about a normal guy who goes through an extraordinary life changing event, so everyone can relate.
Ever since I saw this as a kid in, this is the first thing I think of when I see Richard Dreyfus. :D This kind of amazed me, and freaked me out seeing it as a kid.
Even better than a theater viewing, was my 1st time seeing this at our local drive-in in May of 1978 (Still in operation, glad to say) . Under the blanket of stars it was quite mesmerizing to look from the huge screen to the heavens above to see if there were any strange lights headed our way. An experience i will never forget!
@@TTM9691 There are 4 drive ins' left in my area and all rec'd a great renewal of interest during the pandemic as they where the only place where movies could be seen so they showed classics like Jaws and Star Wars. Can't wait for this season!
When I saw this film for the first time as a young man at the cinema I came out mentally staggered and was changed forever. I can't explain it. If you want more there's the making of close encounters located on the blu ray disc. It's excellent.
The end scene with the mother ship sails into deep space is beautifully companioned with John Williams’ score. It blew me away and sang into my heart, first seeing it in the theater.
I was fortunate enough to see this film at a cinema in the U.K. upon its original release, with my parents and older sister.( I was 6). It was one of the most memorable nights of my life and the wonder it generated has never left me. I don’t consider myself a lucky person but I was extremely fortunate to have had this experience. A wonderful movie.
I read a lot of UFO books in the 70s and Spielberg really captured the creepy weirdness of UFO sightings. Some of the details (based on witnesses' descriptions, such as it is) were done quite well though there were a few embellishments.
The (non-puppet) aliens at the end were portrayed by kids in rubber suits. According to Bob Balaban's (who played David the interpreter) on-set journal, Spielberg and the crew had trouble getting them to stop disco dancing during takes 🤣
I watched this maybe 4 or 5 times on a big screen in a theater when it was released, then again when the special edition came out later in the year with the added footage of inside the ship at the end. Although this is contemporary with the original Star Wars, I found this film more impactful with its positive tone that an alien species might be friendly and not just arrive on earth to invade or enslave humanity. Also, one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.
A close encounter of the third kind is specifically the type of encounter where the ET's are seen or met. There are close encounters of the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th kind, as well. This type in the movie could actually be classified as an encounter of the 4th kind.
The ending always gets me teary eyed. This movie NAILS the alien/UFO phenomenon and remains the GOAT. The 70's were HUGE for ufo sightings and alien encounters and this movie captures it 100%. Most modern alien movies are much more cynical in their approach but this one really captures the magical high strangeness of it all. Its also funny that you mention that the toys coming alive at the beginning reminds you of ghost activities instead of aliens. In more recent years there's been a growing theory that aliens, UFOs, poltergeists, faeries and even bigfoot are all apart of the same phenomenon that somehow presents itself to us in different ways as society changes throughout time. One big believer in this theory is Jacques Vallee, a French scientist who was actually the inspiration for the french scientist in this movie. If any of what I just said interests you in any way check out is seminal work, Passport To Magonia. It's a great and Highly Strange read!!
I loved this movie as a kid. I ran around everywhere singing that alien greeting song and making those hand gestures Lol. I bet my parents wished the ship took ME instead Lol🤣🤣
So much fun watching these movies with you, I don't know about everyone else, but my friends have no reactions to movies , they pause the movie for trip to the bathroom, phone calls, smoking, then at the end of the movie, it's all about something other than the movie, yeah I need better friends lol thanks for having a good since of humor and fun personality 🤗
Something I love about this movie visuals-wise is the stars visible in all the exterior night shots. Not something you see in movies usually cos it takes VFX to make them bright enough.
There is a suggestion that Spielberg was briefed on the UFO issue/reality before making this film. The French scientist is a depiction of a real world legend of Ufology Dr.Jaqueline Vallee.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
BTW @27:21 the gentleman with the glasses and pointy beard is the real life J. Allen Hynek, scientific advisor for Project Blue Book. Went from skeptic to believer after his investigations.
When my daughter was in the third grade she was learning clarinet and one Saturday afternoon, we watched this movie together. The next thing I realized, she is standing out in the yard and playing the five tones of the "contact" on her clarinet! I yelled to her, "There better not be aliens in my yard tonight!" We shared a good laugh at that one...
Lol! I played clarinet as a kid, I def would've been playing this if I'd seen it 😆
Lol, i used to play it loud as fcuk on my electric guitar 😂 Sounded amazing with a lot of distortion 🤟🏻🎸🛸
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 especially if you play the 5th as a 1-5 power chord
That is awesome! I watched this movie in the theaters when I was like 10 or 11 years old.
@robertlabaw2037 >>> If you suddenly discontinue posting on TH-cam, WE will know what really happened...🤭
I met richard dreyfuss at work and helped him to print off some papers. He was genuinely nice guy
The "kid in the background" that was always doing something stupid, was none other than Richard Dreyfuss' son, Justin. What an opportunity to bug the crap out of your dad and get paid for it.
And we must all acknowledge the greatness of the music maestro, John Williams, who did some of his best work on this movie. Just outstanding. He was truly on fire around this time, no doubt.
Absolutely. Williams never produced a better score than this. Spielberg also has not made a more awesome film than this. A complete experience from beginning to end. Wonderful film.
He wrote the soundtrack for this and for Star Wars in the same year. I think he was the first composer to get an Oscar nomination for soundtracks for two different films in the same year.
@@3dbadboy1 Yep, he was up against 4 other composers including himself! His Star Wars score took the top prize though.
Star Wars, Close Encounters, ET, Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.. all within 5 years. He was at his most powerful during this period.
@@nicknewman7848 You forgot Superman that is also brilliant.
The ending was even more stunning in 1977 - in a wide screen movie theater.
I was in high school when this movie came out. My friends and I were totally obsessed. When my family planned a road trip from Illinois to Seattle in the summer of '78, I made the case for a quick detour to see Devil's Tower. Amazingly, my dad agreed and I was forever grateful. The whole experience was magical to me.
I've always wanted to go there solely because of this movie! Lol. Glad you got to go! :)
I love that story! Especially because as a PNW native I love that you were heading to Seattle. I’ve never been to Devils Tower but that’s on my long list of National Parks and other places of natural beauty I want to see in this amazing country
Back in those pre-internet days, I, living in Florida, had never even HEARD OF _Devil's Tower._
The sight and sound of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in big movie theaters in 1977 was mind blowing.
yeah, the first time I saw it at the theater was at the local drive-in. during the movie I kept looking at the night sky to see if I could see any UFO's flying around in our area!
@@kingscorpion7346 Yes, and don't forget, we were handed Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in the same year after the summer of Star Wars!! Mind blowing year for sci-fi. and next level movie making.
To see this in a theater in 1977 was freaking AWEsome!! All the early parts of the movie "announcing" the presence of something Not-Of-This-World sent shivers down your spine and made your heart race like Mad !!! Speilberg was doing it AGAIN !!!! Soooo exciting!!
Thanks, Ms. Jen. That's my cousin, Carey Guffey, as the little boy. 🙂
Oh wow! What does he think of the movie I wonder?
One of those rare alien films where they don't come to earth seeking to destroy it.
From Twilight Zone, I think. All the townspeople but 1 head off to leave with friendly aliens. "The book! The book, "To serve man"! Its a *cookbook*!"
Note the main character isn't only not a hero, he's having minimal impact on the events! Nor a single villain!
I suggest "*batteries not included" from 1987! You will like it, I promise!
Loved that movie when I was a kid. Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy were married for 52 years until her death and have a real chemistry. They started in a lot of films together like Cocoon 1&2, The World According to Garp, Foxfire, To Dance With the White Dog. It's interesting to see a couple not only stay together for so long but to work on so many projects together too. Best movie couple IMO.
So sad when the baby dies.
@@happyapple4269 Spoil much?
Agreed.
@@John_Locke_108 😄 I've recommended it on other channels. And Short Circuit too!
There was a stigma tied to pilots reporting UFOs, being labeled crazy or non professional, being teased so pilots were hesitant to report sightings, having that on their record. I thought it was a good touch for them to include that hesitancy in the beginning tower/pilots conversation.
Not just teased...it could really wreck a pilot's credibility and thus their career to report seeing a 'fou fighter.'
And Steven Spielberg used actual air traffic controllers in that scene. As Jen pointed out, it's rare to hear dialog where people talk all over each other but that's the way people talk sometimes, so it lends an element of realness to it. That's one of the things I really love about this movie is that the way people act in it seems realistic, which makes you forget it's science fiction.
Was? To this day pilots, air traffic controllers and anyone associated with certain industries are actively encouraged not to discuss certain things that occur on the job. This is one of them.
@@scottlette "After all...Isn't it more likely that your o2 system suffered a malfunction? And you know, of course, that one of the symptoms of anoxia is for the brain to hallucinate. I think we should all just be grateful that you managed to land safely."
A lot of air force pilots, and commercial airliner pilots around the world, have seen things they couldn't explain. Declassification started in the seventies, and then the brakes were put on that, for a while. Now there's plenty of official records in the public domain (still just a fraction though). Some countries declassified almost everything they had and in some countries it was never a secret that there's weird things in the sky. Still, after astronauts, scientists and pilots telling their stories for seventy years, anyone will hesitate telling theirs today.
The Frenchman is the great director François Truffaut. His film The 400 Blows is on the top 10 list of greatest movies of all time.
One of the best movies, ever made. In a class and category by itself. So good, it probably couldn't be remade.
If there's a "bad guy" in this movie, it's our own imaginations and the fear we have about the unknown. My other fave alien encounter movie is the 1951 classic The Day The Earth Stood Still. It has a similar vibe of human fear and stupidity contrasted with curiosity and benevolence.
I think people dismiss it because it's a black 'n' white film, but it's just so gripping!
If there was a bad guy in this movie, it was Roy for being a really, crappy husband and really crappy father for leaving his loving wife and kids FOREVER for a bunch of stupid aliens. And IF he was brainwashed into leaving his wife and kids, I would say that the fault lies with the demonic aliens that brainwashed him and who are kidnapers, who deserve to die, anyway. My Tiger Kungfu...is better than yours. I don't think you're good enough...to avenge your master.
I love the original. They never should have remade it.
@@richardstorm4603 I'm not sold on his wife being loving.
As soon as he showed up with the sunburn his wife did everything to hide what happened to him because it made her uncomfortable.
Telling him don't talk about something you don't know about and telling him to lie about things is pretty close to gaslighting.
Is Roy a crappy husband and father sure.
@@Xoferif I had the same fear going into the og Star Trek, I knew it would be corny and the effects wouldn't hold up for the most part. However the discussion of issues and solutions to said issues is the true staying power of the entire ST series IMO, I started with TNG so I feel I had a good introduction but the themes and concepts it brought forward made me want more and helped me delve deeper into the Star Trek universe.
That "abduction" scene scared the absolute shit out of me as a kid. Still makes me super anxious watching it now.
Me too! I thought aliens were going to come down the chimney and get me!
Hard same. Nine years old was probably a bit too young. I did not sleep well that night. Two years later, when I saw Alien in the theater, it barely phased me.
Scared the crap out of me too seeing it on the big screen. As an adult it scares me too cause we are supposed to prevent little ones flying out the doggie door.
They never told the actress playing the mother what was about to happen. The only told the child before the scene was filmed not to be scared. So her reaction to all the crazy stuff going on was her real reaction. Also the child laughing all the time and enjoying it made it even more bizarre.
@@charliepotatoes001 Wow!!! Thanks for that great tidbit!
The guy playing the keyboards was a contractor hired to set them up for the movie and leave. Spielberg noticed he had a pleasant demeanor and friendly so he hired him to play that part.
Near the end just before Roy enters the ship, John Williams gives us a little musical treat. The short cuts kind of disguise it, but in the music you can hear the tune “when you wish upon a star.”
The Special Edition featured "When You Wish Upon a Star" in the end credits.
Phoebe's mom on Friends was played by the same actress: Teri Garr. She also starred in Young Frankenstein.
There is strong resemblance but as far as I can tell, there is no relation.
Terri Garr was in a Star Trek Episode...#55 'Assignment Earth'...=)
I saw this when it first came out. The only time I've been in cinema where the audience broke into spontaneous applause at the end of the movie.
The applause and the shouts were so loud at the theater where I watched this that the manager stopped the film and brought the lights up because he thought something happened in the audience!
My parents and I camped at Devil's Tower for an evening during our Yellowstone/Mt Rushmore vacation fourteen years ago. We stayed at a KOA at the exact spot where the "decontamination camp" was located in the film and hiked around the mountain twice. Besides it being thrilling to visit the site of one of our favorite films, the landmark and surrounding landscape is beautiful. Definitely worth a side trip if you love the movie and are ever out that way.
Yep - have done the same thing a few times as well, just love the Devil's Tower area. Also, during my visits there and camping have watched this movie when the campground would play it at night - neat experience watching this movie with Devil's Tower in the background.
@@jamesbednar8625 Yes. Same. I had to go shut off the DVD player after movie because I kept hearing the menu screen song replay over and over
I made it there last year for the first time ever. I had wanted to go since I saw this in the theaters back in late 1977. It really was an amazing feeling finally seeing that thing, not only because it's a big part of a favorite film but also the wonder of looking at something that's such an ancient geological weirdo.
We did the same. Had to leave the movie because a violent thunderstorm came up behind the mountain. It was awesome and terrifying at the same time.
Fantastic. Did you see any UFO's? 😄
This came out at the same time as Star Wars. My brother and I saw both as a double feature. The most mind-blowing evening of my teens.
Yeah, the town I grew up in had one movie theater with 2 screens (and a drive in) when this movie came out, and for a while there one screen showed Star Wars and the other showed Close Encounters. The lines were so long, and people would buy a ticket to see one and then a ticket to see the other for the next showing so they'd only have to go through the line once that day! :)
During the filming of this, Spielberg had a notion: what if one of the aliens became left behind. Thus came ET: The Extra Terrestrial.
J. Allen Hynek, a big figure in UFO research, had been a consultant on this movie. He coined the term that’s used as the movie title. The disappearance of the planes in 1945 was a real event. I believe it’s the director’s cut which nicely divides the types of close encounters (1st, 2nd and 3rd) into the three acts. The French character questioning Roy is an homage to Jacques Vallee, another figure in UFO research.
And the French character in the movie is acted by one of France's great movie directors of the "New Wave", Francois Truffaut.
J. Allen Hynek was the head of Project Bluebook, the government program tasked with compiling and investigating UFO sightings in America. Hynek makes a cameo in this movie as the scientist with the gray goatee in the film's climax.
Fun fact about Hynek: he went into Project Bluebook as a total non-believer, not even just a “skeptic”. After amassing so much info that he couldn’t logically explain, he became a believer.
J Allen Hynek was not only was the scientific consultant for Project Bluebook. He also became the Founder for CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies), it is one of the oldest UFO groups in America.
@@davidhabert He was also part of Projects Sign and Grudge before Blue Book.
Jen, can you imagine seeing this for the very first time in a large movie theater having never seen any type of film like this? It truly baffles the mind that this came from the same director who made us afraid to go on the water after seeing "Jaws". I have no words to describe the music by John Williams. It's utterly amazing! Ten to the power of 1 million! This is a film that has to be seen on a large 4D HD screen at its highest quality possible. One of my favorite films of all time! I'm very glad that you got to experience it!
...only one way to describe, using terminology on the late 70's ..."WE WERE F'ing BLOWN AWAY, MAN!!!" =) I was in high school when me and my buddies saw this
@@sabrecatsmiladon7380 I saw it with buddies too. We cut class to catch an early afternoon viewing! 😄
I was about 9 years old. It was to this day, one of the coolest things I've ever seen, but it left me with a weird fear of water heaters bursting open.
Yep, John Williams was on fire in the mid seventies to late eighties, and this is one of his best examples. Not one misfire in the whole bunch. But yeah, I remember seeing this as a 10 year old kid in the theater and just sitting there with my jaw hanging open. Then I had to see the Special Edition when it came out where we actually get to see what Roy saw when he went inside (but I overall prefer the original version).
I loved it so much! Would have been mind blowing to see on a big screen! 🤯
"She just leaves this kid wherever, huh?"
Yes, every day of our lives.
-Sincerely,
Gen X
Luis Elizondo (former director of AATIP) was saying in an interview a week or two back that he's not really one for sci-fi movies, but his wife recently made him sit down and watch Close Encounters. He said he was blown away by how accurately the behaviour of UFOs is depicted in the movie - especially where they zip along and then suddenly stop or reverse course, and where they split into three and fly off in different directions.
“Music or math it’s all related “ very true , no coincidence Spielberg’s mother was a concert pianist his father an electrical engineer 😀 great reaction
I didnt know that. The music in his films are always on point. I bet he appreciates music
Roy: Pending divorce, years of child support for ungrateful kids
Aliens: come with us
Roy: Heck yeah!
"She just leaves this kid wherever!"
Welcome to parenting in the 1970s. Now go out and play and be back before it gets dark!
🤣
I saw this and Star Wars theatrically when I was 10 years old. Star Wars is one of my favorite movies ever, but this one blew my mind, I didn’t understand everything, but it made me believe.
I have loved this film since seeing it the very first time back in 1980. It's just a beautiful experience. You're absolutely right with your first impression. There is no "worst" in this film. It's 100% positive masterful story telling. Visually it stands up to the passage of time. I watched it in theater about two years ago in a limited IMAX release and I wept. I've seen it maybe 50 times in my 50 years on earth and I feel the exact same joy as the first time as the mothership takes to the skies.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Xoxo
I know that it has been a year since you did this, but if you're still reading some of these comments... I always thought that one of the best and most relevant lines in the movie was when the aliens took over the music sequence and began transmitting boat loads of information. That was when the one guy said "Welcome to the first day of school." So perfect.
Thank you for reading and the love, Jen.
Of all the films Steven Spielberg has directed, this one is my personal favorite. Tears of joy...
Love this movie. Takes me back to my childhood and the 70s, when the world seemed a much less complicated place. I've asked myself if that was me, would I go off in a spaceship leaving my kids behind?
Hell yeah!
Yeah, back then my family would have understood why I left in a UFO one night. Even now, my wife understands why I would still do it if I had the chance!
Favorite fun fact about this movie - At the time Spielberg was making this movie he was going through a divorce. He has said in interviews that because of this, subconsciously, that is probably the reason why he had Roy leaving with the aliens. If he was making the movie a few years later when he was remarried and in a good relationship, he may have made a different choice for Roy. It may have made a completely different meaning to the ending of the movie.
Spielberg also said that after he had kids, he wouldn't have made Roy's character leave his family.
One of thee most amazing science fiction films is human history!
Welcome to "E.T: The Prequel." You can see Spielberg's optimistic take on the idea of extra-terrestrial intelligent life in this movie. Of course, he went on to expand on that theme (along with the idea of the innate curiosity and positivity of children) in E.T., which came out a few years later. This idea that aliens would be friendly (and why not?) flipped the script on science fiction at that time. Also, this came out about the same time as Star Wars, helping to catapult sci-fi into blockbuster status. What a great time to be a kid!
In the '70s, I remember when I was a kid, it was hard to find movies that were suitable for kids or ones that we would like. Not after Star Wars and CE3K.
Fun fact: George Lucas' "Star Wars" and CETK were released at the roughly the same time. Speilberg saw Star Wars and bet Lucas that SW would do better at the box office. Lucas didn't believe it and bet Speilberg that CETK would do better. The bet was a percentage of the box office of the film that did better. Lucas says it was the most expensive bet he ever made, paying Speilberg some $60 million as CETK had a mediocre box office while SW became a phenomenon blockbuster.
This film remains rent free in my head, one reason is due to my mother's XTREME fascination/enthusiasm concerning the subject matter and second due to being the film that (unknown-to-me-at-the-time) introduced me to Lance Henrikson - very young and with an absolutely dreadful haircut, I never would have guessed his generic appearance at the end of the film would lead to his becoming one of my ALL-TIME favorite character actors (not bad for a human.)
A lot of people have hated Richard Dreyfuss's character because he abandoned his family to chase aliens, but i don't think it was his fault as he was clearly under some sort of influence, and as a result had to find out what was going on in order to resolve his obsession.
Well to be fair, his family abandoned him. Wife deciding to drive away and he desperately tries to climb on to the car.
This was another one of those mind blowing movies back when it came out. Great seeing it effect you as well. As far as the name, not sure if it still applies but they use to classify UFO encounters as; the first level is a sighting, the second level is physical evidence (photos, landing proof and such), and the third is physical contact.
Then the 4th kind. Abduction. And a more crazier/scarier movie.
@@nocrot1 Apollo 18!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7:20 As a father of 3 young children I felt that in my soul 😂
omg, from 1977, my first year in university.....ok that settles it, I am friggin old!
I was 16.
You and me both...😊
It’s not age mate, it’s life experience👍👍🇬🇧
I’m the same age, but from a certain vantage point, it’s really only just a state of mind.
I've seen this movie dozens of times and it just dawned on me that the aliens responded because music is math!! Great reaction. It's awesome that you like the classics.
There are a lot of things in this movie that I think Spielberg was experimenting with: John Williams' sound score, horror elements that would appear later in "Poltergeist", the first prototype of "ET"... plus a lot of references to "Pinocchio" in the script and the music.
Jen in the scene ( 28:40 ) you asked a good question "why are they asking him medical questions?" (I know this is only a movie, however if a situation like what is depicted in the movie was to ever occur in real life) You have to bare in mind that whatever bacteria or viruses we have developed immunity to. It could have serious consequences for the Aliens, as they might not have the same immunity towards the same bacteria or viruses we have.
However the reverse would also be true, whatever bacteria or viruses they are immune to. The human race may not be and it could have serious consequences for us.
I read that when they were filming, it was so hot and humid inside the studio that it actually rained INSIDE.
I remember standing in line for over an hour to see this when it first came out. So worth it. The entire audience gasped when the mothership appeared on the big screen.
Worst award should go to the company that fired Roy by telling his wife lol
Extra MVP points to the kid who, according to the book from the guy who played the interpreter, that was all HE needed. That's how well he knew what was was needed for a scene. :) Great reaction to a fantastic film. Another thing to note about this film and how mind-blowing it was for the time, was that there hadn't really been a lot of "friendly alien" films up to this point. Most stuff tended to take a War of the Worlds sort of approach, but this didn't and that was something refreshing and new. So, yeah. :)
3:07 "people talking over each other" I love that about Spielberg, when those scenes feel more like eavesdropping than listening to "dialogue" in a "movie". Feels real instead of written, and I have no idea how you go from a script to that.
"Is that Phoebe's mom?"
Yes, Teri Garr
It was also Phoebe's dad - Bob Balaban
The aircraft that disappeared in 1945 is known as Flight 19. They went off radar off of Florida & were never traced. The subsequent rescue flight also disappeared never to be recovered.
Amazing a movie almost 50 years old still stands up so well, so you can imagine what is was like to see it on the big screen back then when there had been nothing like it before.
People queued round the block to get in.
The only word that came to my mind to describe your reaction throughout is "spellbound"; and justifiably so.
I was 14 when I saw this in the theaters. As I recall, Star Wars had just been released a month or so earlier and, despite it being about "aliens", the story and pace was so different, yet VERY appealing to my young mind.
Through the years I have come to believe the art of tension building that Spielberg began with Duel, that he then ramped up by a factor of 11 in Jaws, he MASTERED in CEOT3K.
Great reaction.
Yes that's the perfect word! 👌 I was stunned by this movie! This must have been awesome to see in theaters ☺👍
I always wondered if they integrated the Jaws theme into the musical interaction within this movie or if I'm just hearing things. If it was done on purpose, I think it was a nice move to use the threatening theme from an already well-known movie to add tension to the scene.
@@TTM9691 - Nice! Thanks for confirming!
I' ve watched this many times, and I cry every time....just magical.
Nominated for 8 Oscars:
Best Director
Best Supporting Actress, Melinda Dillon
Best Original Score
Best Sound
Best Production Design
Best Cinematography
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound Editing
It won Best Cinematography.
@@trhansen3244 Annie Hall, Star Wars, The Turning Point, The Goodbye Girl,and Julia were the only films nominated.
The warplanes at the start are "flight 19" they really did go into the triangle in 1945 and the rescue planes sent out to find them also disappeared forever. The ship is the "Cotopaxi" lost in the triangle in 1925.
Cotopaxi wreck was found in 1980 off the coast of St Augustine, FL. It wasn't positively indentified until 2020. One search plane was lost in searching for Flight 19 a Martin Mariner seaplane. However one of the searching ships reported it was tracking an aircraft on radar then it just disappeared and another ship reported seeing a explosion near the water at a distance and when arriving at the sight of the explosion only found an oil slick. It was it believed that the seaplane suffered a fuel vapor leak and an electrical spark triggered an explosion or the vapor could have been ignited by a careless crew member lighting up a cigarette.
There's some amazing interviews with the cast where they said they never knew if the aliens were friendly or hostile until the end of the shooting of the film.
It made the performances more genuine.
The guys in the red jumpsuits totally remind me of the aliens from V. 😂
I had a crush on Melinda Dillon and Teri Garr back in the day. Great movie, love it.
The sound design in this movie is “dynamic.” It covers all the points in the range of volume, from very soft to very loud, like in real life. Spielberg and other “New Hollywood” directors were experimenting with new forms of realism, and this kind of dynamic sound is less “canned,” more open and intense than old-time foley work, and more realistic. The terrific irony is the gritty everydayness and rawness of a movie about space aliens! It’s a sublime mess that few today would have the courage to make.
Funny thing, I had mashed potatoes for dinner while watching this, but not enough to make a mountain!
The little red orb trailing behind the other ships was a nod to Tinkerbell.
Great reaction. I figured it would hit you especially well when the cartographer figured out that the numbers were map coordinates. It always gives me a shiver.
“She keeps leaving this kid just wherever.”
That kid is Gen X. We had accumulated 2 months’ time unsupervised by our fifth birthday.
I was a kid when this came out and I have grown up absolutely loving this experience. The images and the music are just so unique.
Whenever I see this movie, I think of two things: 1) how wonderful, creepy, and exciting this movie was seeing it in theaters for the first time in '77 and 2) how totally dysfunctional Roy's family was (they're terrible!).
Unlike a lot of other movies I thought it actually depicted a real family. Not pristine and rough around the edges.
@@TTM9691 Roy's oldest son was played by Justin Dreyfuss, who is Richard Dreyfuss' real-life nephew.
That's an interesting point. 1.) The creepy aliens vs 2) dysfunctional family. With Roy choosing aliens over family in the end. Similar to the Buddha, who abandoned his own family.
It could be said that even if his family was dysfunctional, his wife and children did not deserve to be abandoned, in order to become another statistic. Instead of the movie showing that one's family ought never to be abandoned, even in the light of visitation of beings from another world, it shows that family is ultimately not important.
@@davidbeck7615yeah, it was during a time the TV networks asked, "It's 10pm. Do you know where your children are?" every night!
Spielberg did an amazing job of leaving everything in this movie up to the imagination of the viewers, up until the big revel. This movie still terrifies me I love it but it still gives me chills every time
Jen
You correct about blonde woman. Her name is Teri Garr. She did play Phoebe's mom on Friends. Teri forced to retire from acting in 2011 because of her health issues.
If I must confess, my favorite Spielberg movie is “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Classic movie.
Ya I loved that one too! Check out my reaction if you haven't seen
th-cam.com/video/h9SoGLtfyNQ/w-d-xo.html
@@jenmurrayxo I will!
I remember coming out of the cinema in '77 and noticing how many people were looking up at the night sky, including me. An amazing film to see on the big screen then and now.
That kidnapping scene is the best. Terrifying.
When this movie came out I was in college in NYC and I was taking a course called "Intelligent Life in the Universe". The professor assigned seeing the movie and doing a writeup on it as part of the class. I saw it at a matinee at the old Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan, just a quick ride uptown on the subway.
I saw it at the Ziegfeld Theater when it first came out too. That gigantic screen and amazing sound system made me feel as if the UFO's were right in front of me! The perfect place to see this film back then!
Your professor was right to do so. For anyone studying this subject, it should be required viewing.
Just catching up on some of the movies I missed. I was 13 when this came out. Still an amazing movie. For me the funniest moment in the reaction was when Richard Dreyfus was first losing it. Right after the intense scenes where his family is falling apart, Roy is shaping the mountain out of clay. Jen’s: “That is a dysfunctional family” casually followed immediately by: “that looks like a pile of crap.” made me laugh out loud! 🤣
I saw this in NY's Ziegfeld Theatre and it was an event. Long lines to get inside, waiting in the gorgeous lobby until the previous show let out and the glorious, deafening sound of the mothership passing overhead going into the finale. I saw a different cut than what is considered the director's cut but still, it was a great time at the cinema. I'm so glad you got the opportunity to react to it.
This movie was released during my Senior year in High School. I distinctly remember that, after the movie had been out for awhile, I would see folks stopped along rural Texas roads, binoculars in hand, gazing toward the Heavens, on the off-hand chance that they might spot a UFO of their own!
I watched this movie as a kid in the 80s and it was the special edition with the inside of the mothership.
This is, by far, my favourite movie ever. It beats time because the story is about a normal guy who goes through an extraordinary life changing event, so everyone can relate.
Still holds up today. Even after 40 years.
Pomeranians are the best!
There's a special edition that shows the inside of the ship at the end. It was added over Steven Spielberg's dead body.
Ever since I saw this as a kid in, this is the first thing I think of when I see Richard Dreyfus. :D
This kind of amazed me, and freaked me out seeing it as a kid.
This movie is my childhood, watched it often with my father. :) Looking forward to your reaction!
Even better than a theater viewing, was my 1st time seeing this at our local drive-in in May of 1978 (Still in operation, glad to say) . Under the blanket of stars it was quite mesmerizing to look from the huge screen to the heavens above to see if there were any strange lights headed our way. An experience i will never forget!
@@TTM9691 There are 4 drive ins' left in my area and all rec'd a great renewal of interest during the pandemic as they where the only place where movies could be seen so they showed classics like Jaws and Star Wars. Can't wait for this season!
When I saw this film for the first time as a young man at the cinema I came out mentally staggered and was changed forever. I can't explain it. If you want more there's the making of close encounters located on the blu ray disc. It's excellent.
I've just given this a rewatch for the benefit of your channel, Jen, I loved your reaction once again. 🙂
The end scene with the mother ship sails into deep space is beautifully companioned with John Williams’ score.
It blew me away and sang into my heart, first seeing it in the theater.
I was fortunate enough to see this film at a cinema in the U.K. upon its original release, with my parents and older sister.( I was 6). It was one of the most memorable nights of my life and the wonder it generated has never left me. I don’t consider myself a lucky person but I was extremely fortunate to have had this experience. A wonderful movie.
I read a lot of UFO books in the 70s and Spielberg really captured the creepy weirdness of UFO sightings. Some of the details (based on witnesses' descriptions, such as it is) were done quite well though there were a few embellishments.
The (non-puppet) aliens at the end were portrayed by kids in rubber suits. According to Bob Balaban's (who played David the interpreter) on-set journal, Spielberg and the crew had trouble getting them to stop disco dancing during takes 🤣
We were astonished by Star Wars and then amazed by Close Encounters, with Smokey and the Bandit driving us nuts too. It was quite a year!
I watched this maybe 4 or 5 times on a big screen in a theater when it was released, then again when the special edition came out later in the year with the added footage of inside the ship at the end. Although this is contemporary with the original Star Wars, I found this film more impactful with its positive tone that an alien species might be friendly and not just arrive on earth to invade or enslave humanity. Also, one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.
A close encounter of the third kind is specifically the type of encounter where the ET's are seen or met. There are close encounters of the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th kind, as well. This type in the movie could actually be classified as an encounter of the 4th kind.
The ending always gets me teary eyed. This movie NAILS the alien/UFO phenomenon and remains the GOAT. The 70's were HUGE for ufo sightings and alien encounters and this movie captures it 100%. Most modern alien movies are much more cynical in their approach but this one really captures the magical high strangeness of it all.
Its also funny that you mention that the toys coming alive at the beginning reminds you of ghost activities instead of aliens. In more recent years there's been a growing theory that aliens, UFOs, poltergeists, faeries and even bigfoot are all apart of the same phenomenon that somehow presents itself to us in different ways as society changes throughout time. One big believer in this theory is Jacques Vallee, a French scientist who was actually the inspiration for the french scientist in this movie. If any of what I just said interests you in any way check out is seminal work, Passport To Magonia. It's a great and Highly Strange read!!
I loved this movie as a kid. I ran around everywhere singing that alien greeting song and making those hand gestures Lol. I bet my parents wished the ship took ME instead Lol🤣🤣
45 years later, this is STILL an awesome film to watch..!
So much fun watching these movies with you, I don't know about everyone else, but my friends have no reactions to movies , they pause the movie for trip to the bathroom, phone calls, smoking, then at the end of the movie, it's all about something other than the movie, yeah I need better friends lol thanks for having a good since of humor and fun personality 🤗
One of my favs. I was 16 at the time. Just after Star Wars. A great time to be a kid and go to see movies!!
Something I love about this movie visuals-wise is the stars visible in all the exterior night shots. Not something you see in movies usually cos it takes VFX to make them bright enough.
There is a suggestion that Spielberg was briefed on the UFO issue/reality before making this film. The French scientist is a depiction of a real world legend of Ufology Dr.Jaqueline Vallee.