Rating: 
Summary: When You Wish Upon a Star........
Review: This Review refers to the newly released (Aug 2002) Single Disc Collectors Edition of this film (columbia)......
So you have either seen this film and you love it, or by some chance have never seen it and want to see what all the fuss was about.In either case you are trying to decide which edition to buy. I'm not here to make up your mind for you (it was a tough enough decision for me) just to let you know that this DVD was one of the most enjoyable I've watched lately...First a little about the story though.
This Sci-Fi tale of UFO's is more like a fairy tale.Roy Neary(Richard Dreyfuss) is a regular guy, living an ordinary maybe not so happy life with his wife(Teri Garr)and kids. On a routine run in his Utility truck one night, something extrordinary happens to him. He is witness to bright lights which turn out to be UFO's. He becomes obsessed with the visitors,as do others who have witnessed the same. He befreinds Jillian(Melinda Dillon), who's little boy was abducted by the ship. They are drawn to the site that the Ufo's have communicated to scientists, through musical tones,where they will meet. There is a hugh gathering of all these men of science,as they wait for something, anything to happen. Roy looks on, just thrilled to be a part of it all.. Without giving away too much (for those who have not seen it), I will tell you that we are treated to the most wonderful and touching scenes of the "encounter".John Williams score, and "When you wish upon a star" being played throughout really adds to the viewing and listening pleasure.
Steven Spielberg has presented us with a gift of a tale that can be enjoyed by families for many years to come. You will never tire of this story.
Okay Okay! so the DVD.....As I said before it was one of the most enjoyable DVD's I've watched. It's Digitally mastered. As far as audio there is set ups for dolby digital 5.1 as well as 5.1 DTS, also one for 2 channel surround, so whatever system you have you should be real happy with the sound. I felt like I was in the theatre. The picture is the sharpest I've ever seen it. It's in widescreen (anamorphic) and remastered in high defination. There are several languages for subtitles if needed.
There are no other extra features(Behind the scenes, or interviews), Just a Class-A treatment for a Class-A movie.
"We are not alone".................Laurie
Rating: 
Summary: Still fascinating despite some Spielbergian excesses
Review: This is a real "guilty pleasure" with me, one of my favorite movies that, at the same time, is seriously flawed in many ways. While it was a high water mark in Spielberg's career, it also marked the beginning of some of the indulgences that make him a second-rate filmmaker today. (Save me your flame mail, I won't retract that.)There are some moments in Close Encounters that look good on film, but are seriously illogical or just plain silly: hauling a giant globe into a cramped radio telescope booth when it could be dealt with more easily where it was already standing; going all the way to India and asking one inane question; organizing a "top secret" operation by meeting in an ENORMOUS hall when there are all of about 50 people involved; allowing a woman to leave the state and otherwise go about her life without police surveillance when she claims her son has disappeared because aliens stole him; camouflaging trucks full of scientific gear with mock food signs, when they would be perfectly unobtrusive as simply unmarked trucks carrying perfectly legitimate research gear; chartering a bus (!!!) to take the red-suited astronauts to Wyoming when an unmarked military transport helicopter would have been a far better way to keep the mission secret; teaching a group of men and women hand-signals that aliens may not understand, or, worse, may misconstrue--that sideways bending of the wrist could mean "Your momma wears army boots" in the alien language. Not to mention the silliest scene I've ever seen in a movie that is not a comedy: in the Gobi desert, jeeps are *followed* by *low-flying helicopters.* These helicopters should be scouting ahead, but they just fly near the ground and kick up sand. And someone has to tell Spielberg the locals there use horses for transportation, not camels. But there are so many grand scenes that I can overlook these flaws. The magnificent moment where Roy and Jillian first see, and rush up to, the mountain. The genuine awe and sweetness of the ending, totally devoid of any cynicism or negativity, yet not sappy either. The soulful, understated performance by Melinda Dillon. The incredible, spontaneous scenes with the little boy. (My favorite moment in this whole film is when she is on the rock madly snapping pictures of the Mothership and he is next to her, just silently staring at the amazing ship from which he had just come.) The way the aliens are more hinted at than shown. (There's one wonderful longshot of them just standing there looking at us, and then we look back at them. What more is there to say?) The effects were visionary in their time and have held up extremely well since 1977. Were it not for the cars and the haircuts and the suburban furnishings, you'd think this movie were made today. And Spielberg does such a good job of taking two worlds--two movies, really--and crashing them together head-on and making it work. You have the middle-class ordinary family existence, told conventionally, even blandly, and you have the grand, supernatural world of the UFOs. Spielberg joins them seamlessly, makes one believable in the realm of the other. Not many sci-fi movies have attempted this; they generally are very "futuristic" and "spacy" to begin with. Spielberg's triumph is that he melded his aliens into routine Indiana suburbia, brought them down to the Dairy Queen, and we don't laugh at the incongruity. It's credible. It's more of a directing job than Spielberg is often given credit for. Fortunately, most of the scenes cut from the 1980 reissue are restored here. While often underwrittten (the whole film is underwritten), they give the film the weight in the real world it needs to be truly credible. Spielberg was unwise to scissor them at all. The DVD picture is okay overall, but it seems grainier to me now than it ever has before; perhaps with the restoration I'm just seeing all the bad along with all the good. The sound is very fine and a lot of additional surround material has been added (more bass, more stereophonic wind effects and chatter in the air traffic control scene) that is not overdone and gives the film more presence without being obtrusive. The second disc of the documentary, deleted scenes and other goodies is fascinating. You'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about the making of CE3K in the 100+ minute supplement, and you can see a lot of early expositional material that was eventually cut from the movie (most of it wisely so, though there's a great scene with a young Carl Weathers that I wish they'd have kept). The only thing that mars the documentary is Spielberg's silly PC comment that he created three different types of aliens because he wanted to show cosmic diversity and multiculturalism. If you read Bob Balaban's book about the making of the film, written before there was such a thing as PC, you'd know the aliens aren't consistent-looking (neither are some of the saucer shots) because he was trying different techniques as he went along, hoping something would work. Or, if he's so concerned with diversity, why are almost all the scientist-earthlings white males? The trailers are interesting primarily for illustrating how poorly trailers were made back then. Overall a great release. This is one superb DVD of a young, fearless Spielberg, only 30 when he made this ambitious film. Too bad he never (at least in my opinion) fulfilled his promise to become the wunderkind director everyone was already calling him. After his disastrous next film, 1941, he started playing it safe, and never again attempted something like CE3K. For the next 20 years he was content to make formulaic flicks that made him rich, but little else. And yes, I'm including ET on that list.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful movie!
Review: I remember watching this movie in great amazement when I was a child. It is such a great movie. When I'd heard that it would be on DVD I had to rush out and get it. I watched it with my ten year old stepson and he watched it with the same enthusiasm that I remember in myself. Close Encounter's is truly one on the classics. A wonderful movie to watch with your family. If you've not seen it, you need to.
Rating: 
Summary: Havnt seen....
Review: I havnt seen the movie but it REALLY sounds like stephan kings tommyknocker like the sound of it made me think of that book right away. Its a movie I've only seen once to.
Rating:
Summary: a misunderstood classic
Review: Well I havn't seen this movie in quite sometime, perhaps a few years. I just happened to finish watching it and let me just say that it still has the power of leaving un unforgettable and lasting impression!!! I'm not really going to go into what the movie is about since if your reading this you most likely already know but just about how I think it was philosophically perceived back in the late 70's and how people look upon it today. To be quite honest it really saddens me to hear some of the reviews that people have given this film. But I can sort of understand why someone would give it a poor review. In this particular case, and as with some of the films that came out of the 70's, I think it boils down to the rejection of the deeper meaning that the film is trying to project as opposed to simply focusing on the simple facts of the story plot itself. What makes this film so beautiful and entertaining at the same time is that it allows us to maintain a sense of wonderment into the reasons why these aliens came down in the first place, what their intentions are and where this all will go. The film is simply in my opinion an introduction into the beauty and wonder of the universe. Sort of how we humans view ourselves here on earth and in relationship to the universe. We don't really have to know or might not even want to know what the intentions of the aliens really are. Close Encounters is at heart a religous experience and if we did know the answers to these question the wonder and beauty of it all would simply be taken away only to make the film less powerful and highly rational. You can also look at movies from the same era like The Exorcist and Taxi Driver and say the same thing. What was really going on in Travis Bickle's mind that allowed the social decay and degredation of his world to drive him to the film's violent climax? Just why exactly was Regan McNeil choosen by Satan? Allowing these questions to go unanswered allows us the viewer to step inside the character's world and make our own individual answers. Thats why these movies were so great and have really stood the test of time. In today's world we're used to knowing the reasons for why things happen which of couse in itself isn't a bad thing. But in certain cases, and certainly in the case of close encounters, sometimes the mystery is in itself the driving force.
Rating:
Summary: A mystical, religious film
Review: After rewatching this film recently on DVD, I have reconfirmed my belief that this is one of the most mystical, awe inspiring films ever made. With the possible exception of ET, this is the closest Steven Spielberg has come to making a religious film. Set in a small town in Illinois (aka Spielbergville), it tells the story of Roy Neary and his encounter with a UFO. Roy is trapped in a meaningless job in an unhappy marriage with his unimaginative kids. Roy and others like him will embark on a quest that will lead them to first contact with aliens (hence the title). As in many Spielberg films, certain themes and events re-occur, eg. reluctant fathers, abduction of children by supernatural forces, references to world war two and old movies, and a sense of fear and wonder of the unknown. Adding to the wonderful story, Spielberg has at his disposal terrific special effects and a wonderful John Williams score. Who will ever forget the final incredible half hour when the UFOs dance overhead bathing us with beautiful colours and light while communicating with us via music. You simply sit back and let the sights and sounds envelop you. Along with 2001, this is one of the greatest of all sci-fi movies.
Rating:
Summary: My Second Favorite Spielberg FIlm!
Review: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind is the most intriguing films I have ever seen. It's filled with mystery, suspense, color and imagination Let me discuss the DVD extra's first. There are many. It has two versions of the film. Several "Making Of" documentaries and the interviews with the original cast and crew. Including the then 5-year-old Drew Barrymore. The model making, lighting, location scouting and even the actual shooting of the scenes can be found here. Listening to Spielberg discuss almost every aspect of the making of this film is fascinating. And you get two versions of the movie. The one he originally cut and the theatrical release. For Sci-Fi fans the original version Steven cut is far more superior. This is a must DVD to have. The Collectors Edition is great and is worth watching over and over again. The story is simple but the action and mystery are almost magical. The ships, lights and colors are mesmerizing to the eye. All originally shot in an aircraft hanger. Wow! If you have forgotten the CLOSE ENCOUNTERS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Close Encounter of the 1st kind: Sighting
Close Encounter of the 2nd kind: Evidence
Close Encounter of the 3rd kind: Contact
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent movie - deleted scenes must be added back in
Review: I would really rate this as 3.5 stars but not 4, so I'm forced to give it a 3. First off, the movie overall is excellent. Heck, I was 11 years old when this came out and I LIVED in Muncie, Indiana when it was released. The theater went nuts when the subtitle came on, saying "Muncie, IN", and then seeing Roy wearing a Ball State University shirt, well that just got the crowd in the theatre all worked up. We loved it! I saw the "Special Edition" on VHS when it came out. I was a little diasppointed at the time when the scene with Roy tearing up his lawn was removed from that edition. However, I wasn't as disappointed with that version as I am with this. Many of the scenes from the 1st SE have been moved off to the second DVD as deleted scenes. A bad choice in my opinion. However, those scenes that were missing in the SE from the original release are back in with some other new scenes plonked in as well. Still, it's a disappointment with the other scenes missing. But, the other features on the second DVD are great. But, I wish Columbia/TriStar would take notice of how James Cameron released T2 - The Ultimate Edition. In that release, you have the choice of 3 versions of the movie on the same DVD: The original theatrical release, the Special Edition which came out a few years later on VHS, and then a third version with more deleted scenes in addition to the SE version. I don't know why Columbia/TriStar/Spielberg couldn't have done the same for Close Encounters. The picture itself is great and the sound is excellent. Much better than the original release back in 1977, but of course, technology for sound has improved vastly since then, so it's not a surprise. Still, it's amazing how the sound can make a difference in how a movie is presented. To have this on DVD is a must. Now, if Spielberg would release the Indiana Jones movies and Lucas would release the 2nd trilogy of Star Wars as well on DVD, my sci-fi/action DVD collection would be almost complete.
Rating:
Summary: a classic from steven spielberg
Review: For anyone who loves X-files or anything dealing with the arrival of aliens on this planet, this is the film for you! The special effects are awesome and the story is brilliantly written and acted. and while there are government conspiracies, they are not as evil as in X-files. Close Encounters is a beautiful film that asks us to think about many questions dealing with life beyond earth.
Rating:
Summary: RICHARD DREYFUSS RULES
Review: This movie, along with Goodbye Girl and the fantastic JAWS, are all excellent showcases of Richard Dreyfuss's amazing talent. The movies he's been in lately have been so disappointing in comparison. If you haven't seen this movie you are probably much younger than I am, since it was right up there with the Star Wars trilogies as the THE movie of the time, and I have to highly recommend it. Beautifully done, and the ending is a good surprise. I would have done the same thing he did! Rent it first. If you love it, buy it!
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