Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
★★★½ — Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Steven Spielberg made Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977, the year after Jaws had already established him as Hollywood's most commercially reliable young director, and the film arrived into a cultural moment still shaped by post-Apollo restlessness and genuine public fascination with UFO sightings. Columbia Pictures and EMI Films backed the production at a then-substantial $20 million, a significant risk given the scale of the practical effects required, particularly the elaborate Wyoming finale built on a soundstage in Mobile, Alabama. Spielberg wrote the original screenplay himself (a rarity for him at that stage), drawing loosely on the real-life UFO research of J. Allen Hynek, who coined the titular classification system. The casting of French New Wave legend François Truffaut as a scientist was a deliberate gesture of cinematic credibility, signalling that Spielberg saw the project as something more than a genre picture.
There’s no question that Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a landmark in science fiction cinema. It's a film that helped redefine how we imagine contact with the unknown. Steven Spielberg trades horror and suspicion for awe and wonder, crafting a story not about invasion, but about connection, curiosity, and the human need to reach beyond the stars. The final act, with its towering mothership, radiant light show, and five-note musical greeting, is still deeply moving, a rare moment in film where the sublime feels almost sacred. It’s also a film everyone should experience at least once, if only to understand its influence. Richard Dreyfuss gives a committed, almost trance-like performance as Roy Neary, a man unravelling in pursuit of something he can’t explain, and the score by John Williams swells with the kind of cosmic grandeur that only Spielberg and Williams together could pull off. But time hasn’t been kind to all of it. The special effects, once revolutionary, now look REALLY dated, the glowing UFOs zipping across the sky with obvious wirework and optical compositing can’t help but feel quaint, even silly, by modern standards. And the middle section drags hard with long stretches of Roy obsessively shaping mashed potatoes into Devil’s Tower, or government agents silently collecting evidence, test the patience. It’s meant to build mystery, but too often it just feels slow. Still, for all its flaws, Close Encounters earns its place in the pantheon. It’s a film of ambition, emotion, and genuine wonder. A reminder of a time when the unknown didn’t just mean danger, but possibility. It may creak in places, but its heart still shines. See it once. Just maybe turn the brightness up.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1977 | Watched: 2025-08-01
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Steven Spielberg: Duel (1971) · E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) · The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) · Jurassic Park (1993)
More with Richard Dreyfuss: American Graffiti (1973) · Jaws (1975)
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 1970s: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Here and Elsewhere (1976) · Italianamerican (1974) · Punishment Park (1971)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
