Directed by:
Steven SpielbergCinematography:
Vilmos ZsigmondComposer:
John WilliamsCast:
Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, J. Patrick McNamara, Warren J. Kemmerling, Roberts Blossom, Philip Dodds (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Richard Dreyfuss stars as cable worker Roy Neary, who along with several other stunned bystanders experience a close encounter of the first kind - witnessing UFOs soaring across the sky. After this life-changing event, the inexplicable vision of a strange, mountain-like formation haunts him. He becomes obsessed with discovering what it represents, much to the dismay of his wife and family. Meanwhile, bizarre occurrences are happening around the world. Government agents have close encounters of the second kind - discovering physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitors in the form of a lost fighter aircraft from World War II and a stranded military ship that disappeared decades earlier only to suddenly reappear in unusual places. Roy continues to chase his vision to a remote area where he and the agents follow the clues that have drawn them to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind - contact. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (10)
One of the most breathtaking science fiction movies ever made. And it's all about one guy who gets a slight obsession and tries to sculpt a mountain that he has in his mind. That mountain probably exists somewhere. Excellent characters, excellent ending, and brilliantly shot scenes where you won't see a single flaw. Steven Spielberg is not my favorite director, but this is his best film.
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A cornerstone of the sci-fi genre. Steven Spielberg did not have an easy start with this film, he released it at a time when everyone was going crazy about Lucas's Star Wars (whose popularity grew into a kind of social phenomenon in the Western world), but thanks to its qualities it soon found a place in the hearts of film fans and professional critics. Together with Zemeckis's Contact, it is probably the best film on the subject of contact with alien civilizations, and the ending with the key notes of Willimas's soundtrack have entered film textbooks. The directorial legend Francois Truffaut (Spielberg's friend at the time) is also a delight in the pivotal role of the astronomer Lacombe. And that crowded summer cinema during the Bolshevik era can hardly be forgotten, too.
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I consider the biggest plus to be that we will not witness any hiding of extraterrestrials, and from the beginning, it is clear that what is happening around the main character will not be explained as a coincidence. Even without that, it has a tremendous power of exploring signals and pondering on what those strange mound visions mean. It's a pity that such a stimulating work has aged so much in its forty years. The long-lasting ending does bring joy, but it can no longer evoke the same magical feeling as it once did. SPOILER I am surprised that Spielberg was not afraid to overturn the cliché of happy reunions with families and let Roy go towards his destiny.
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The first half is fantastic, the second a bit muddled, but the ending is an audiovisual eye-candy orgasm. The script is clever and thought-provoking, and Steven comes up with so many famously staged moments that either beautifully reference classics of the genre (most notably A Space Odyssey) or became the inspiration for a heap of future followers – if I were to look for a revival and kick-start of science fiction to the heights of cinematic entertainment, I would find it in 1977. The pace does fluctuate at times and not every shot has its unshakable justification, but it's just damn inventive and I can guarantee that you might not get this kind of goosebumps even if you encount alien phenomena in real life (let alone in any other film). Still one of the highlights of the genre that can happily do without a single shot or word of potential violence. Instant classic. 85%
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Nowadays it's actually a beautiful fairy tale experience to see humanity cooperating and listening, how it’s humble, patient, and empathetic in the face of an encounter with something alien. It's actually a rare spectacle to watch professionals from all sorts of disciplines work together in the face of knowledge of the unknown, without being made into elitist upstarts above common sense. A film without a negative character, a film about fascination, indulgence, and knowledge. It must have been an amazing time, to be able to believe that.
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