Rating: 
Summary: A Blast from the Past
Review: If you've got the time to spare (and who didn't back in 1977?) then re-watching this old timer with a good picture is probably worth it. No commentary, but everything you would need to know is in the making of featurette, including tiredy looking Steven Spielberg on a Private Ryan set. He's a family man now, so he says he can't make movies about faithless men who leave their wives for a bunch of baloney. Why not? I suspect he may, like Lucas, be being put out to pasture soon.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Spielberg's Best
Review: Spielberg's awesome vision has finally made it to DVD and it was well worth the wait. Nice nuggets in the "extras" category, to be sure. But what's really gratifying, aside from the spectacular picture and sound quality, is that Spielberg chose to restore the film's original ending (without the silly boarding of the mothership). Stunning filmaking throughout.
Rating: 
Summary: What's this movie about?
Review: Having heard a lot about this movie, after seeing it, I utterly fail to understand what people like about it. The story: guy has a hell of a row with his wife, leaves her and his nice kids, travels the country with another wife, and finally leaves the mess around him in a spaceship. If this is what happens when aliens come down, well, let them please stay where they belong.
Rating:
Summary: THX Blaster
Review: This is the absolutely best THX sound I've heard. With the right kind of amplifier and surround sound speakers, it will blast you out of your seat - as good (or better) than being in the theater. This reproduction is great and is worth watching (and listening) over and over. I enjoyed the DVD more than the original movie!
Rating:
Summary: Speilberg at his best
Review: Those who are looking for a comprehensive edition of Close Encounters need look no further than this wonderful 2 disc set. The first disc contains the newest Director's Cut of the movie, which includes the "Mongolian ship" scene -and- Neary's "breakdown in the shower" scene. Both of these add a dimension of reality to both the final discovery and Neary's mental state. The second disc is the real showpiece of this set, though. It contains all of the currently deleted scenes (including Roy's journey inside the UFO) and many other deleted scenes, as well as a making-of documentary, and theatrical trailers. Speilberg recently said that he could not make this movie today, and it's easy to see why in the psychological breakdown of Neary and what this does to his family (especialy his children). I first saw this movie on a Cinemascope screen, and the DVD loses almost -nothing- in the transfer to my Projection TV. As a long time Speilberg fan, I highly recommend this disc set.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Work On A Classic
Review: I was not disappointed in the quality of this DVD! It was great to listen to the movie through headphones and pick up a lot of the background and other ancillary sound that was lost in early VHS versions and broadcast TV viewings. Fans of "Close Encounters" will want to score this DVD for the holidays, if not before.
Rating:
Summary: Not nearly as good as it was when I was kid
Review: I was sorely disappointed with this movie. I loved it when I was a kid, but after watching it for the first time since it was in theatres, I just wasn't impressed at all. I saw the DVD and couldn't resist, but I wish I would have. This has got to be one of the slowest movies I've ever seen. Spielberg never has been too impressive in my opinion, but this is pathetic. At least Jaws and E.T. have some action throughout the entire movie. Here you get a small glimpse of the alien happenings at the beginning, 1.25 hours of boredom, and an ending that just wasn't nearly as good as it was when I was kid. My kids couldn't stand it, so it's obviously not a timeless classic, like the other space/alien movies of the late 70s early 80s.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner for my collection
Review: I saw this movie once and liked it. Then several years later, I thought about it and rented it from a video store who had to order it because they had deleated it from their list. I watched it a 2nd time and liked it more than the first time. Now that I have seen it many many times and own a copy, I still say that it is one of my favorites and I am not a science fiction fan. However, this is more than science fiction. The author thought of a way to solve many of the mysteries we have experienced in the world and never could explain. And also, inserted a lot of psychology. What is fantasy today could be our future! I rate my movies in the following manner: Believeability of the script and acting. Interesting subject matter. And how well each acter is introduced in a way we know the nature of the character. In many movies, I require at least one good nude scene of the female character to add to the introduction.(Of course this is not the case in all the movies I like) However it is always a plus point. When I have seen the movie, do I still think about it several days later with positive thoughts? Would I go to see it again? All the movies I have rated so far meet this criteria.
Rating: 
Summary: Most overrated Spielberg movie
Review: I LOVE Spielberg, please don't get me wrong. I even kinda liked this movie when I first saw it all those many years ago. But we watched it with our kids (13 & 8) in the year 2000 and they hated it, and frankly, I dozed off myself. Science fiction is the hardest genre to keep fresh for generations, for obvious reasons, but some core elements of film-making never go out of style. It feels so self-important and plodding. The pace is slow and the special effects no longer have the power to stun. And the movie doesn't really surprise. There is no ultimate mystery to the plot. Yes, one might wonder what the aliens are like, but we never doubt that they're there, that Dreyfuss will get to see them and that nothing bad will happen. The movie never builds up any truly engrossing tension. We feel safe throughout, and wouldn't you think that the world, getting ready to see aliens for the first time, would feel more frightened (and the viewer more frightened)? It's fun to hear the "alien theme" music again, and Richard Dreyfuss is very good. But Francois Truffaut?? Why did Speilberg cast him? He's usually so assured with his ununsual casting choices (Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams? Great idea! Roy Scheider in Jaws? Oprah Winfrey in Color Purple? He's so often gone with unknowns or unusual choices and we've usually been SO pleasantly surprised). I don't want to dwell on this too much, but CLOSE ENCOUNTERS is a piece of movie history, but sadly, not a living, breathing one.
Rating:
Summary: Still one of the best!
Review: I personally think this is one of Spielbergs greatest movies. Melding the wonder of the unknown with high adventure, it still gives me goose bumps 24 years later. Sure some of the effects look a little dated and the 70's hair do's are a distraction but look at the heart of the story and you see a classic.
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