Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, excellent in fact, sci-fi at its best
Review: This movie is so entertaining and awe-inspiring that it's hard to believe it was released way back in '77 to such an unsuspecting audience... Spielberg's keen directorial eye and his involving and emotional script are just the backbone of the film though, the true power lies in Richard Dreyfuss' absolutely PERFECT (yes, I said PERFECT!) performance and the spectacular visuals that the movie offers. In spite of the flying saucers and the little green men, this is an incredibly human story that probably hits closer to home than any other movie of its kind. Our relation to Roy is as the everyman we all know and are... One review I read below suggested that Roy would never have left his family to pursue aliens... but who knows what an experience like a close encounter with a UFO could effect a man's perception... Spielberg stated himself that when he made this film, he was in a sense making a makeshift autobiography and living out a fantasy, because, like Roy, at the time he would have been willing to give everything up to go up in an alien spaceship... Anyway, this has to be probably the most intelligent science fiction story ever told on film. If you haven't seen it, you don't know what you're missing. Pop some popcorn, sit down with your sweetheart, and enjoy a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: A great film
Review: One of the first UFO films depicting aliens as kind, benevolent beings rather that monsters bent on human destruction. Beautifully directed by Spielberg with wonderful performances by Richard Dreyfus, Melinda Dillon, Francious Truffaut & Bob Balaban to name but a few. Merrill Connolly (Gov. John Connolly's brother), in only his second film role, is impressive as the team leader. Look for a walk-on by J. Alan Hynek (UFO researcher) in the big mothership scene (he's the bearded one with the pipe). Also of note is the ARP player, Phil Dodds, in his first and only film. He was originally there to setup and maintain the equipment during the shoot. Spielberg liked him and put him in the movie.Featuring spectacular special effects by Douglas Trumbull, creatures by Carlo Rambaldi and model work by Greg Jein. Of note with the mothership - as the ship rises over Devils Tower, watch for R2D2 hanging upside down. There is also a mailbox, a small shark (a nod to Jaws), and a WW2 airplane (1941 reference - in his early films, Spielberg would often hint at his next project in this way) located on the ship. Anyone visiting the Washington DC area can take a trip out to Silver Hill, Maryland to the Paul Garber Facility where they store the aircraft collection of the Air & Space Museum. The original mothership model is housed there awaiting restoration. It's a free tour but limited so you need to call ahead. Style-wise the film may look a bit dated but the themes of following your heart, hope for the future & the spirit of exploring the unknown are timeless. Using 'When you wish upon a star' as bookends for the film sets the tone perfectly. The first time I saw CE3K, I left the theater and just stared up at the sky for quite some time. Every time I have seen it since, I find myself doing the same thing. Entertaining, thought-provoking, humourous, sweet and awe-inspiring - this is one to keep and savor.
Rating: 
Summary: The original version was better/
Review: The editor that wrote about 'his string of stinkers'must have forgotten Richard Dreyfuss in 'American Graffitti,Jaws,Victory at Entebbe,Who's Life Is it Anyway,Nuts(with Barbara Striesand),Always,Stakeout,Mr Holland's Opus and Failsafe' which is quite a good collection of movies.At any rate,he adds to it with 'Close Encounters' although I think that the original version was lighter in spirit than that special directors cut which is more somber with different takes.Doug Trumbell was unlucky to miss out on a best special effects Oscar.A tip-when they first show the huge saucer,look closely for the Star Wars character Artoo Detoo hanging upside down,a little joke on Trumbell's part.
Rating: 
Summary: Give that man some sunscreen!
Review: Some films remain as fresh as the first viewing (caramel popcorn stained my dungarees for the life of the garment), though CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND rises above the forest of knock-off classics, hovering silently in place for several minutes. Describing the nuances of the film is so very difficult. Not because space is limited (it isn't, really), but because I depend on the memories implanted into a 7-year old's brain, one that was very actively scanning the cantina scene in Star Wars for this film's Gumby-esque and 'other-worldly' alien visitors. Then I realized that they were out of town visiting Earth and probably left the bar tab open like Dad used to do. A child's mind...ha! One problem with this film is that it is a bit dated. Twenty five years have passed. Still, one can't not forget the time he/she formed the bowl of mashed potatoes roughly in the form of Devil's Tower, then slugged brother/sister for plunging a fork into the creation before one could say "the aliens are coming and want to suck your blood!" Nostalgic alien visitations await in your viewing after viewing of this digitized video disk product.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie Ever Made
Review: Close Encounters is the best movie I have ever seen. It has a place in my heart that no other movie can have. I have always been interested in stories about UFO's and this was the firs movie I ever saw in the theaters that dealt with them. When viewing this film back in the late 70's, I was just mesmerized in a way that no other movie has been able to achieve again. The story, the music and the magic surrounding this movie are very powerful. The "hidden" subplot of the UFO's bringing out the artist in the people who saw them is very clever and an important part of the film. It is hard to go into details about this film because it is so good. I will point out the infamous last 1/4 of the film. Using music as a way of communication is simply brilliant. It is an illustration that music is indeed the universal language along with math. No other "UFO" movie with the exception of "Contact" has ever come close to the majesty of this movie. I am looking forward to showing this movie to my kids and my sister's kids when they are old enough. I think everyone needs to see this movie!
Rating:
Summary: SCI-FI AT ITS BEST
Review: Close Encounters of the Third Kind is Steven Spielberg at his best. This was the first and only time that he has written and directed at the same time. It is a great science fiction film about the very plausible possibility that there are aliens in the galaxy. This DVD edition will be great for anyone who loves the film. The great quality of DVD will surely enhance the whole movie, and make the spaceship sequences look more realistic.
Rating:
Summary: Its about time... BUT...
Review: it always amazes me how people can rate the DVD months before its release. Well done to you all, i am in your service. All i can say is i am a huge fan of this movie, it brings together everything that makes Steven Spielburg a GOD! From a beautiful and natural 'everyday guy' Drafus, to dazling special effects, charmingly mixed with a solution of classic John williams (music for Jaws, star wars etc.) If the DVD is loaded with features it will be spectacular if it isnt it will remain simply a masterpiece of cinema history. Buy it, especially if you are the one person alive yet to see it! I hope this is the start to a rush of spielburg releases. Bring on Indiana jones, schinderlers list and about 20 other classics! Any sign of the Goonies?
Rating:
Summary: Finally Coming To DVD! Preorder Now!
Review: This two-disc set features a THX-certified 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of Spielberg's (so far) favored cut of the film (the third!), dubbed the "Collector's Edition" after its 1998 release on VHS and laserdisc, and runs 137 minutes. The anamorphic transfer is minted from a hi-def transfer created at Sony's DVD center in Culver City, California and cleaned up for this release. The disc features both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, the 102-minute "The Making Of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" documentary by Laurent Bouzereau created for the 1998 laserdisc, a collection of additional deleted scenes, a featurette on the film's enduring place in the sci-fi film pantheon entitled "Watch The Skies" (which, coincidentally, was the original working title for Spielberg's opus), talent files, and two theatrical trailers. Note that the still gallery on the laserdisc will not be carried over to the DVD. The set also comes packaged in Columbia's new "book-like" special edition casing with extensive production notes.
Rating:
Summary: Long, Slow, but good
Review: This movie, released 3 years after 'Jaws', is longer than the other film, and also moves faster. However, I thought this film was great. It had good special effects, great acting, and a strong plot unlike a lot of science fiction movies around. It wasn't the same old, "Kill the aliens, save the world" idea. (ID4 creators, that one was signaled towards you.) This was how we come to be peaceful and to understand the outside world. It had a magnificent story, however, I don't think Roy (Richard Dreyfuss), would leave his family behind to persue aliens. Also, the ending was dragged on too long. The music is fantastic, and Spielberg is probably the greatest director of all time. Don't expect this to be the best film you will ever see, but if you pay attention and appreciate the great plot that may, in fact, be better than "E.T.", you should love every second of it. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Slow but pretty Satisfying
Review: Spielberg's alien masterpiece about aliens invading Earth was an instant classic in the seventies, and is still a great film, better than Star Wars. Why? Because we can identify more with a middle-aged electrician than we can with a moisture farmer on a desert planet. Richard Dreyfuss is the aforementioned electrician, who has an extraterrestrial experience and suddenly is obsessed with these aliens. This epic is an excellent early work of Stephen and truly delights the senses as well as the mind, and is still extremely watchable today. Now, for the faults. It starts slow and never really builds to a frantic pace, but it only increases the suspense. Although the aliens are a little disappointing (just the basic pointy-eyed, almond faced stereotypes), these faults are easily compensated in this amazing experience. One of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
-m-
|
