Close Encounters of the Third Kind
"We didn't choose this place! We didn't choose these people! They were invited!" - Laughlin
release year: 1977
genre: drama/science fiction
viewing setting: home Bluray 2/12/23
synopsis: Various strange events cause a number of people converge for something amazing.
impressions: In the 1970s, UFO/alien sightings and speculation made a lot of people wonder what a first encounter would actually be like. Steven Spielberg was one of those people, and he brought his ideas to life in this movie. It's sometimes goofy (the way the families and people talked, acted, and interacted were often just flat-out odd) and sometimes unrealistic (the scientists, rather than the military, are completely in charge of the operation) but nevertheless it was revolutionary for both its ideas and special effects. There are flying saucers, strange encounters, unexplained visions drawing people to a remote location, people and vehicles that vanished decades ago...and, in the end, a grand finale with humans and aliens interacting. This movie takes the optimistic approach, where the aliens are assumed friendly and various governments work together to communicate with the aliens ahead of time and sort of arrange a rendezvous. Of note: some of the things that Roy's kids say in the background of some scenes are genuinely hilarous.
acting: Richard Dreyfuss is the average guy who starts acting crazy and doesn't know why. Teri Garr is his exasperated wife. Melinda Dillon is a lady whose small child is abducted, and then she starts having strange thoughts and visions too. Cary Guffey is that five-year-old boy, who tends to wander away whenever he sees a bright light. Bob Balaban and Francois Truffaut are two of the key scientists who help unravel the mysteries.
final word: Entertaining, and ahead of its time; definitely a revolutionary step in the progress of movies about UFOs and their inhabitants.
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