Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Bing Bing Bing Bong Bing.

I went to see the movie in theaters for it’s 40th anniversary screening . What does that say about movies made today, that theaters are going nostalgia with these  anniversary screenings? Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was also in theaters celebrating 35 years of “Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” I would have saw that but I did not make it to the theater on time.

Not disappointed, I love Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I think the last time I saw this film was on it’s 30th anniversary, but this is the first time I saw it in the theaters, which was so cool. I saw Fast Times at Richmond High in theaters recently (As it was celebrating it’s 30th Anniversary). There is a certain look that movies around the time had and I like watching that on the big screen.

What’s interesting. Though Star Wars’ iconic popularity overshadows this, Close Encounters was just as popular when it came out (but I guess you can’t makes as much merchandise (Although, it could have had a Sequel or two)

Just in case you don’t know the title pretty much explains the movie. The term Close Encounters of the Third Kind actually refers to meeting aliens face to face, which the movie leads up to. Like literally the 1st act is a Close encounter of the 1st kind (Seeing a UFO) Which left a select few with burn marks and  a psychic connection and left the government with an musical message (That’s the second Kind) All leading up to the money shot of meeting the visitors in the 3rd act of the movie.

Richard Dreyfuss  plays Roy Neary, one of the people who gets a true 1st encounter which leads to a second and the drive to get the 3rd, despite not realizing what he’s doing. It was an obsession for the answers that made him stop at nothing to find them.

For me that was one of the best parts of the film, the obsession Roy and a few other had trying to get to the answers, like  Jillian Guiler played by Melinda Dillon. Dreyfuss as the lead was a great performance. Before Spielberg made movies with Tom Hanks like Bridge of Spies, it seems like the Spielberg /Dreyfuss era was doing some damage. First with Jaws now with this. They worked well together, and it shows.

Also really like the relationship between Dreyfuss and Dillon. It’s platonic, but Spielberg uses the male-female relationship to show the bond they two have over the alien encounters. I love how Spielberg  can slip in certain adult content in family films, cause it’s no doubt that Melinda Dillon was looking real nice in this film and that was not a coincidence  The chemistry between Deyfuss and  Teri Garr  as Ronnie Neary his wife was really good too, although his relationship between Roy and his children seemed odd from a Spielberg point of view. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone.

One of Spielberg’s best story telling moments, he does a great job in turning the mundane into something spectacular. A lot of the movie is about the process of encountering aliens. A lot of the movie is about the government trying to control the situation after noticing the message they sent. Under the hands of big Steve it was an exciting procedure to watch and never dull.

And that’s not forget the visual effects. Groundbreaking at the time, but 40 years later I must admit some of the visual don’t compare to what can be done now. Except for the ship. The amazing lights and sounds that make up the formation of the mother ship and the little star ships around them still have the needed grip on your imagination that takes you there.

40 years, and still one of the best stories told on Cinema.