Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Melinda Dillon

Genre: Sci-fi

Year: 1977

Another Spielberg classic which focuses on extraterrestrial life, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (CEOTTK) takes a similar approach to the science fiction genre as did 'E.T. The Extraterrestrial' by exploring the more human element.


Returning from 'Jaws', Spielberg's 'claim-to-fame', Richard Dreyfuss stars as Roy Neary, a normal family man, who unintentionally encounters alien lifeforms. This is a UFO which leaves Roy both shook and fascinated by this. At the same time, Jillian Guller (Dillon) experiences a traumatic event when her innocent son, Barry, abducted by aliens. Both people begin to have visions of some kind which they are convinced is linked to these peculiar events of the alien appearances.

CEOTTK' has become one of the quintessential science fiction films, alongside films such as '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Alien'. It is famous for many things such as its widely recognised theme song- a combination of notes on a piano which slowly gain more significance as the film progresses. Also Barry's abduction is a well known scene and makes the film more thrilling and somewhat scary. This scene exploits the safety people feel they have at home because it shows how the alien lifeforms use every option to try and invade the household, terrifying the mother. What makes it even more tense is the child's willingness and Barry becomes somewhat hypnotised by the aliens, almost desperate to reach them.

The acting, as in many Spielberg films, is superb. Dreyfuss is exceptional as Roy who is obsessed with this new idea he has and goes slightly mad trying to find a way of understanding it. He is great in both the serious and comical moments, and feels like a really relatable protagonist. He isn't particularly well equipped to fight off the aliens (something that many sci-fi protagonists are; see 'Independence Day' for an example of this) and has a simple fascination about the situation and an urge to find out more.
Jillian has similar motives; however also wants to find out the answer to her son's horrific abduction. Their stories tend to run parallel to each other throughout the majority of the film, which portrays the role of somebody who has barley any information or knowledge about the aliens. However, there is a third narrative which slowly helps answer some questions. This is of Francois Truffaut and Bob Balaban's characters (Claude LaCombe and David Laughlin respectively) who are part of the government. LaCombe discovers the signal from the lifeforms and begins to research it and try to identify its meaning and significance. Their storyline is slightly more complex and ambiguous to the other characters; however, by the end all loose ends are tied. This is done is a skillful manner and doesn't feel rushed; rather it feels like it is done fluently. The ending of the film feels very satisfactory as everything makes sense but also it is a genuinely good ending.

Ultimately, this is an excellent science fiction film and a classic which cannot be missed. It is exceptionally directed by Spielberg with marvellous acting (ironically Dreyfuss won an Oscar that year, but for a completely different film) and has gone on to have many well known aspects.

Verdict: 9/10