by Ken Parker
When people think of Sci-Fi, many will
probably think of Steven Speilberg as being a huge contributor to the
genre. That may be true, but not on this list. You will see only
one movie from him here. Sure, he was involved in many excellent
Sci-Fi movies like A.I, Jurassic Park and Minority
Report and shows up as Executive Producer for Back To The
Future, but in my mind there is one film that is the definitive
Speilberg Sci-Fi film and NO, it is not E.T.
IMDB Story Summary
Roy
Neary sets out to investigate a power outage when his truck stalls
and he is bathed in light from above. After this, strange visions and
five musical notes keep running through his mind. Will he find the
meaning of the visions, and who - or what - placed them in his
mind?Written
by Colin
Tinto <cst@imdb.com>
The Speilberg magic that J.J. Abrams
attempted to emulate in his 2011 film, Super 8, is that sort
of magic that is related to a film that came out during your
childhood that you could relate to. It was realistic, almost
documentary like. You feel you are watching real life, except there
are aliens. The realism takes off further into the movie and your
mouth begins to open in amazement. Your eyes are wide and that open
mouth starts to turn into a smile. Perhaps a tear or two fall as you
experience the heartwarming triumph and realization that you have
just experienced a movie that you will love for the rest of your
life.
E.T.? uh, no. Sorry, I am
talking about E.T.’s older and better brother, Close Encounters
of the Third Kind. “OUCH!” Sorry E.T. you better phone
for a ride home because I am more interested in Roy Neary (Richard
Dreyfuss) and his encounters with the unknown. From the start we see
his futile struggle to try to understand what he is experiencing. He
learns to accept his vision that pushes him to build a mountain in
his living room and ultimately to travel to Devil’s Tower. There,
others struggle to understand why they were chosen to follow this
path.
Along for the ride is Jillian (Melinda
Dillon) who is forced into this quest to find her son, who was taken
by something in the night. Her emotional investment pushes her into
a chance re-union with Neary. Others are left in the dust as Neary’s
wife and kids struggle with the believe that Roy has gone crazy.
We, the audience know something is
going on. Planes and boats missing from way back in time are found
in the desert. Strange sounds and sightings are getting the
attention of the government. A secret plan is in the works, one that
ultimately cannot compete with the mysterious plan by the visitors.
We see determination and love beat out science.
In the end we see first contact with an
uplifting and exciting ending rivaling any other ending.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
is fun, exciting, scary and realistic and remains with me as one of
my favorite Sci-Fi movies of all time.
Beyond the performances, the special
effects sell the idea easily. We know they are effects but “How
did they do that?” You then put in a absurdly excellent soundtrack
by John Williams and perfect direction and you know why the film is
so great and shake your head when you realize that it only won 2 of
its nine Oscar nominations. Of course some of those losses came at
the hands of Star Wars. Still, why a director or picture
nomination would not yield a winner between these two films is
unbelievable and shows how ignorant and stuffy Hollywood voters were
back then.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
is a little bit of a horror film, mixed in with action, comedy and
sci-fi. It is certainly movie that appeals to the masses and has the
right formula for success and excellence.
First Time I watched it - summer of '77
How many times have I seen it - 15 - 20 times
I have it on DVD
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Close-Encounters-Third-Anniversary-Ultimate/dp/B000VECAD0/ref=pd_cp_mov_0
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