Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, (more)
- Director(s):
- Steven Spielberg
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Category:
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy
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Steven Spielberg followed Jaws (1975), his first major box-office success, with this epic science fiction adventure about a disparate group of people who attempt to contact alien intelligence. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is an electrical lineman who, while sent out on emergency repairs, witnesses an unidentified flying object, and even has a "sunburn" from its bright lights to prove it. Neary's wife and children are at first skeptical, then concerned, and eventually fearful, as Roy refuses to accept a "logical" explanation for what he saw and is prepared to give up his job, his home, and his family to pursue the "truth" about UFOs. Neary's obsession eventually puts him in contact with others who've had close encounters with alien spacecraft, including Jillian (Melinda Dillon), a single mother whose son disappeared during her UFO experience, and Claude Lacombe (celebrated French filmmaker François Truffaut), a French researcher who believes that we can use a musical language to communicate with alien visitors. Lacombe's theory is put to the test when a band of government researchers and underground UFO enthusiasts (including Neary) join for an exchange with alien visitors near Devil's Tower, Wyoming. In 1980, a "Special Edition" was released. While its primary selling point was the addition of scenes inside the alien spaceship, Spielberg claimed that he also cleaned up some choppy editing in the second act. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 137 mins
Complete Cast:
- Richard Dreyfuss - Roy Neary
- Teri Garr - Ronnie Neary
- Cary Guffey - Barry Guiler
- J. Patrick McNamara - Project leader
- Roberts Blossom - Farmer
- Shawn Bishop - Brad Neary
- Justin Dreyfuss - Toby Neary
- George DiCenzo - Major Benchley
- F.J. O'Neil - ARP Project Member
- Matthew Robbins - Returnee #3 Flt. 19
- Randy Herman - Returnee #1 Flt. 19
- Chuy Franco - Federale
- Gene Dynarski - Ike
- David Anderson - Air Traffic Controller
- Gene Rader - Hawker
- Robert Broyles - Dirty Tricks #3
- James Keane - Radio Telescope Team
- Basil Hoffman
- Josef Sommer - Larry Butler
- Hal Barwood - Returnee #2 Flt. 19
- Bill Thurman - Air Traffic
- François Truffaut - Claude Lacombe
- Melinda Dillon - Jillian Guiler
- Bob Balaban - David Laughlin
- Warren Kemmerling - Wild Bill
- Philip Dodds - Jean Claude
- Adrienne Campbell - Silvia Neary
- Merrill Connally - Team Leader
- Alexander Lockwood - Implantee
- Carl Weathers - M.P.
- Eumenio Blanco - Federale
- Lance Henriksen - Robert
- Matt Emery - Special Leader
- Amy Douglass - Implantee
- Galen Thompson - Special Forces
- Luis Contreras - Federale
- Norman Bartold - Ohio Tolls
- John Dennis Johnston - Special Forces
- Jon Ewing - Dirty Tricks #1
- David Gilbert
- Keith Atkinson - Dirty Tricks #2
- Dennis McMullen - Radio Telescope Team
- Director(s):
- Steven Spielberg
- Writer(s):
- Steven Spielberg, Jerry Belson
- Producer(s):
- Jim Bloom, Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Mild Violence, Adult Language, Adult Situations)
- Categories:
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1998 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1978 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Art Direction
