Science Fiction

Drama

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Julia/Michael Phillips Productions

Columbia Pictures

EMI Films

United Kingdom

United States of America

हिन्दी

English

Français

Español

Richard Dreyfuss

François Truffaut

Teri Garr

Melinda Dillon

Bob Balaban

J. Patrick McNamara

Warren J. Kemmerling

Roberts Blossom

Phil Dodds

Cary Guffey

Shawn Bishop

Adrienne Campbell

Justin Dreyfuss

Lance Henriksen

Merrill Connally

Amy Douglass

Gene Dynarski

Carl Weathers

Norman Bartold

F.J. O'Neil

Hal Barwood

Matthew Robbins

Gene Rader

Daniel Nunez

Chuy Franco

Luis Contreras

Galen Thompson

John Dennis Johnston

Robert Broyles

George DiCenzo

Alexander Lockwood

Josef Sommer

Bill Thurman

James Keane

Philip Dodds

Mary Gafrey

Michael J. Dyer

Roger Ernest

Randy Herman

David Anderson

Richard L. Hawkins

Craig Shreeve

Roy E. Richards

Eumenio Blanco

Dennis McMullen

Cy Young

Tom Howard

Richard Stuart

Bob Westmoreland

Matt Emery

John Ewing

Kirk Raymond

Keith Atkinson

Monty Jordan

Basil Hoffman

Stephen Powers

J. Allen Hynek

Howard K. Smith

Michael Phillips

Daniel A. Lomino

Juliet Taylor

Clark L. Paylow

Shari Rhodes

Michael Kahn

Joe Alves

Phil Abramson

Steven Spielberg

Julia Phillips

John Williams

Vilmos Zsigmond

Charles Myers

Bill Parks

Jack Schrader

Robert 'Buzz' Knudson

Sam Gordon

László Kovács

Jim Bloom

Edie Panda

Stephen Katz

Steven Poster

John A. Alonzo

Richard Yuricich

Carol Bidault de L'Isle

Robert Swarthe

Peggy Rosson

Joyce Goldberg

Gail Siemers

Harry Moreau

George Jenson

Don MacDougall

Buddy Joe Hooker

Kenneth Wannberg

Charlsie Bryant

Nick McLean

Earl Gilbert

Frank E. Warner

Peter Sorel

Murray Weissman

Joe O'Har

Al Ebner

Pete Turner

Jim Coe

Richard Oswald

Henry Kingi

Jeannie Epper

Craig R. Baxley

Denny Arnold

Jerry Brutsche

Bobby Bass

Melvin Jones

Dan Perri

Douglas Trumbull

Carlo Rambaldi

Ian Beale

**Do the mashed potato!**

Roy Neely is a gas repair man who has a close encounter with an alien craft and begins having strange visions of mashed potatoes, shaving cream and mud mountains. This all leads to Needy's marriage breaking up and he sets out to find the truth about his mashed potato visions. The climax at a mountain is breathtaking when Neely comes face to face with his destiny.

One of Spielberg's best with a nice cameo by French director Francois Truffaut.

CinemaSerf

I always remember as a child hoping/praying that if extra terrestrials ever did come to visit us, that they wouldn't arrive in America. Think "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) or most other sci-fi stories: the first things they would see when they opened their door would be guns, tanks, missiles, soldiers... This film takes a far more sophisticated approach to how we might engage with an alien species, and together with some super effects and a far more nuanced storyline leaves us with room for optimism that we might not just try to shoot first and ask questions afterwards - should anyone ever do arrive. Spielberg was still, in my view anyway, learning his craft when he wrote/directed this and that shows in the real paucity of pace for the first hour. Richard Dreyfuss is adequate, but the constantly amazed/perplexed looks on his face start to become annoying after a while. François Truffaut features now and again - largely as part of a parallel storyline - but really, this only begins to engage in the last thirty minutes when the threads all knit together giving us a clever denouement as the scientists discover an innovative, musical, way to communicate that doesn't involved threats and bullets. Oddly enough, even when I first saw this at the age of 9, I never got any sense of menace from our travellers and the absence of any substantial physical form for us to identify with seems to help keep the magic working. Not John Williams' finest work, I thought the score suffered from the slow rate of progress with the plot but the symbolism and curiosity of spirit this film engenders makes it still, just about, worth sticking though...

Fathom Events Spot

Steven Spielberg Discusses His Iconic Sci-Fi Film CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND | TCMFF 2024

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - Trailer HD 1080p

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Deleted Scenes

TCM Big Screen Classics Spot

'Property Brothers' Drew Scott talks 'Close Encounters' on TCM

Richard Dreyfuss Unboxing CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 40TH ANNIVERSARY Ltd. Edition

Official Trailer

This Means Something

Vilmos Zsigmond Wins Cinematography: 1978 Oscars

Mark Hamill, C-3PO and R2-D2 Present Special Sound Oscars for Close Encounters and Star Wars

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition 1980 TV trailer

Whoopi Goldberg On CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND

Steven Spielberg 1977 interview

Steven Spielberg Talks About the Special Effects For CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND

Steven Spielberg On Storyboarding (1978)

Steven Spielberg On Filming In Continuity (1978)

Steven Spielberg On Working With François Truffaut (1978)

Best Movies

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Richard Dreyfuss

François Truffaut

Teri Garr

Melinda Dillon

Bob Balaban

J. Patrick McNamara

Warren J. Kemmerling

Roberts Blossom

Phil Dodds

Cary Guffey

Box office

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