Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
89%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
15 wins & 39 nominations total
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is deeply humane sci-fi exploring male obsession, cosmic mysticism, and music
Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is out of this world! Spielberg’s sci-fi masterpiece is a magic act with dramatic interludes that will leave you feeling reassured and enlightened. Sure, it’s a big ol’ mess of a movie, but it’s an extremely lovable one. The film’s power and intensity will grip you from start to finish, and who’s to say it couldn’t all actually happen tomorrow? This underrated masterpiece should be ranked amongst Spielberg’s greatest works. So, if you’re looking for a film that will move you, challenge you, provoke you, and ultimately reassure you that your life matters, then “Close Encounters” is the film for you!
Production Company(ies)
Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1977
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 15m
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Language(s):English, French, Spanish, Hindi
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 16, 1977 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 27, 2002
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, sci-fi, male obsession, cosmic mysticism, music, PG, Steven Spielberg, Julia Phillips, Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Cary Guffey, Bob Balaban, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Columbia Pictures, $3.1M, 2h 15m, reviewed by Adam Kempenaar, Charles Champlin, Arthur Knight, Peter Bradshaw, David Jenkins, Tom Huddleston, Danielle Solzman, Richard Propes, Mike Massie, Kelechi Ehenulo, Donald McLean, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Steven Spielberg, produced by Julia Phillips
Worldwide gross: $306,889,114
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,627,233,746
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 39
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 177,451,881
US/Canada gross: $135,189,114
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $716,820,110
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 38
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,767,758
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $9,373,273
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 974
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $106,047,016
Production budget ranking: 377
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $57,106,318
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,464,080,411
ROI to date (est.): 897%
ROI ranking: 141
François Truffaut – Claude Lacombe
Teri Garr – Ronnie Neary
Melinda Dillon – Jillian Guiler
Cary Guffey – Barry Guiler
Bob Balaban – David Laughlin
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
Steven Spielberg
Producer(s)
Julia Phillips
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
15 wins & 39 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (4)
“This is important. This means something,” is everyman’s declaration, a reassuring cry to the cosmos that your life matters, you matter. But it’s also the artist’s creed…
May 30, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Adam Kempenaar
Filmspotting
TOP CRITIC
“Close Encounters” proves to be a magic act with dramatic interludes.
August 31, 2017
Charles Champlin
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
A film of incredible power and intensity. It is also, and ultimately, reassuring.
November 15, 2016
Arthur Knight
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Time for another encounter.
May 26, 2016 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
It’s a big ol’ mess of a movie, but an extremely lovable one.
May 25, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Spielberg’s greatest work.
May 24, 2016 | Rating: 5/5
Tom Huddleston
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is the type of sci-fi film that doesn’t get made anymore.
December 28, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
This film moved me, challenged me, provoked me and enlightened me.
September 5, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Little more than a generic sci-fi episode, constructed and designed with the enthusiasm and scope of something better suited for television.
August 27, 2020 | Rating: 5/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
While other Spielberg films get recognisable attention (and rightly so), Close Encounters should be ranked amongst his greatest and underrated masterpieces.
July 14, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Kelechi Ehenulo
Set the Tape
Despite these flaws, it’s a gripping film that touches a nerve because who’s to say it couldn’t all actually happen tomorrow.
May 6, 2020
Donald McLean
Bay Area Reporter
The person or persons responsible for the landing of the craft — it is considerably more than a flying saucer — on the Earth, the slow descent upon us of a city of gold, has made one of the most stunning shots in the history of movies.
November 1, 2019
Bernard Drew
Gannett News Service…
Plot
Two parallel stories are told. In the first, a group of research scientists from a variety of backgrounds are investigating the strange appearance of items in remote locations, primarily desert regions. In continuing their investigation, one of the lead scientists, a Frenchman named Claude Lacombe, incorporates the Kodály method of music education as a means of communication in their work. The response, in turn, at first baffles the researchers, until American cartographer David Laughlin deciphers the meaning of the response. In the second, electric company lineman and family man Roy Neary and single mother Jillian Guiler are among some individuals in Muncie, Indiana who experience some paranormal activity before some flashes of bright lights in the sky, which they believe to be a UFO. Roy becomes obsessed with what he saw, unlike some others, especially in some form of authority, who refuse to acknowledge their belief that it was a UFO in not wanting to appear crazy. That obsession both for Roy and Jillian is ratcheted up a notch when they begin to have a vision of a mound with vertical striations on its side as a key to what is going on. While the obsession negatively affects Roy’s life as he knows it in its entirety, Jillian knows she has to find the answer as to its meaning, especially as it relates to her only child, three year old Barry Guiler, who may be more attuned to what is happening than the adult figures around him. These two stories have the potential to intersect if Roy and Jillian can discover where they’ve seen that mound before, and if they can overcome what they believe to be the lies perpetrated by those in authority in covering up what is going on.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have anything goofy or funny or odd to say about Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but it does mention that François Truffaut is part of the cast.
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