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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg Website

Approval Rate: 82%

82%Approval ratio

Reviews 20

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  • by

    irishgit

    Thu Jun 23 2011

    Tedious and often preachy, and simply not very interesting at all.

  • by

    oscargamblesfr_o

    Thu Jun 23 2011

    An influential but overrated film. A perfect ending would have had Quint come back from the dead and kick Dreyfuss in the ass.

  • by

    venacava

    Tue Aug 17 2010

    Dreyfuss must have family who own stuff and things because he wasn't very convincing. Besides, the movie really goes nowhere. If you are an alien race visiting a planet of retards like us, don't you think they simply would show up in force and broadcast their message on all frequencies? Whether it be to farm us to feed their dogs and cats or make us a member of the special club...if they wanted volunteers to study, hell, all they would need to do is ask that women wait a little longer on that abortion because they are more than happy to take it off her hands once it can survive outside the womb. All kinds of options other than inspiring a guy to build a clay replica of a mountain.

  • by

    spike65

    Tue May 06 2008

    Still an entertaining film. Not really a kids film at all. The musical note thing is a bit corny but impressive in the theater. One of the few films in which Richard Dreyfuss was just adequette. It is a bit slow to get moving for todays audiences but worth the wait. The last half of the film really rolls.

  • by

    lmorovan

    Thu Apr 17 2008

    One of the all times sci fi classics and a masterpiece of special effects for the time. Spielberg was becoming a living legend. What has puzzled me for decades now is why didn't he make a sequel as he clearly left the story unfinished.

  • by

    jeremy00081

    Wed Sep 13 2006

    Very good movie, but kinda borring. The feel-good ending is what it's all about.

  • by

    sundiszno

    Wed Nov 09 2005

    One of the most boring sci-fi movies I have ever sat and squirmed through. The encounter was just too close and stifling for me to repeat.

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    dwainb2c

    Fri Nov 04 2005

    In a way its cornball now. But I loved it, and think its a great classic.

  • by

    genghisthehun

    Wed Aug 10 2005

    There were good people in the cast: Dreyfuss, Dillon, Garr, etc. I have to admit to liking Dreyfuss in almost everything he does--he is a likeable actor. I have to say the same for Garr and Dillon. The use of the musical notes is very clever. All in all it is a great piece of entertainment.

  • by

    doobiesnhof

    Thu Apr 28 2005

    One of the top sci-fi movies of all time. Ranks right up there with ET, Jaws and Star Wars. Richard Dreyfuss is marvellous and Spielberg flexes his powerful directing muscles!!

  • by

    trpnstn1

    Sun Jul 11 2004

    first movie that showed aliens as kind, that alone is big. Good story, a little forced at times though.

  • by

    jimmyinatlanta

    Tue Jun 24 2003

    You'd have to be an adult, I think, to truly appreciate this film, but it's a great movie. Man, I miss movies from the 70s to early 80s - the directors really put their asses into them. I'm not a fan of Spielberg's work after this, but "Duel", "Jaws", and this one - all superb. I love Spielberg's story - it is very well-constructed. I love the wonder the movie incites. I love how Dreyfuss drops his wife (although Garr's a hottie) and hooks up w/ the lady he can better relate to. I really admire the message of leaving the planet, how Dreyfuss is so fearless about it - like his life wasn't so great on Earth in the first place. Now that I'm older, the reunion of the kid and the single mom gets me, as when he's first taken by the visitors and she runs out the house screaming for her son. I love Spielberg's use of color. After this, his sentimentality went into overdrive and he lost me (can't stand ET), but he was still making movies for adults here, and it shows.

  • by

    erik_hendriksen

    Mon May 26 2003

    this is a film for all ages. I remember when i saw it, not to long ago, and still to this day it is an impressive movie. Spielberg really knows what he is doing when he puts his magic into a movie. This is a true classic. You really feel for the charectors during the movie.

  • by

    v_the_final_battle

    Thu Nov 21 2002

    this film despit being a blockbuster movie was not as good for me as i thought it would be. in all honesty i have to admit that it scared me somwhat as a kid in late 70's probably because of the way spielberg bulit up the tension and suspense of not knowing what excatly the aliens intentions are. a combo of being scared yet curious at least for me at the time. also for som reason i still find the aliens themselves creepy looking even today. i've heard that spielberg intended to make a follow up movie to this called watch the skies that was much much darker,however, he made e.t. instead.

  • by

    lukskywlkr

    Wed Nov 06 2002

    A decent film, but not one I would go back and watch more than once. The ending where they all meet at Devil's Mountain or whatever it's called, and the aliens bring back all the people they've kidnapped over the last few decades was very good, but they took too long to get there. If you are a Spielberg fan you will probably like it a lot more than I did.

  • by

    cde1970

    Mon Oct 22 2001

    Spielbergs perfect science fiction film. Stunning special effects, sound and cinematography are uniformly excellent. THE best film of its genre of the 1970's!! Great story, fantastic music.

  • by

    atomicsox

    Sat May 12 2001

    This is a good movie as science fiction/fantasy goes.When the movie first came out, it was excellent, given the special effects pioneering that was just getting into process at the time. Movies with much better special effects are topping each other every month now, but are they good MOVIES, or do the special effects try to overshadow a poor story, and worse writing? Close Encounters must rate as one of the five 'original' science fiction/fantasy movies the brought us into the special effects age. A good Stephen Spielberg escapist movie.

  • by

    callmetootie

    Sat Apr 14 2001

    Close Encounters Of The Third Kind was a pretty cool sci-fi movie 5 years ago, but with all of these new big-budget films coming out, you can see that Close Encounters Of The Third Kind hasn't aged very well.

  • by

    pixel088

    Thu Nov 16 2000

    Close Encounters is one of Speilberg's greatest films. This is one of the films that really popularized the alien/government conspiracy phenomenon. These were bold, fresh ideas when this film came out. Even after multiple viewings this film is still compelling. It is exciting, funny, frightening, whimsical and exhilirating. The writing, acting, musical score and directing are all superb.

  • by

    spiralingmarce

    Wed Jun 21 2000

    This took too long (it was kinda fun), but the strange events have pentrated our culture. The Simpson's can make a mashed potato Devil's Tower and we recognize it. The comic strip Robotman can have a cat make Devil's Tower from cat litter and we know what they mean.