Why is Close Encounters of a Third Kind great?

[1srelluc]

Besides a young Teri Garr?

For me it was the opening scene:



Just too cool! Everything else was gravy.

 

[rampart]

Besides a young Teri Garr?

View attachment 1033188

For me it was the opening scene:



Just too cool! Everything else was gravy.

theme song any kid can play on a toy piano?

 

[shockedcanadian]

Besides a young Teri Garr?

View attachment 1033188

For me it was the opening scene:



Just too cool! Everything else was gravy.

I hadn't seen it for a very long time. Maybe as I was young it just went over my head. I do recall at the time thinking to myself "this movie sucks"

 

[odanny]

Amazingly, the remains of the 5 TBM Avengers from Flight 19 has never been found, even with all the advanced underwater mapping equipment we have today. And they were not far from Florida when they ditched.

 

[rightwinger]

I found Close Encounters to be too long and the ending was boring

 

[Zincwarrior]

Amazingly, the remains of the 5 TBM Avengers from Flight 19 has never been found, even with all the advanced underwater mapping equipment we have today. And they were not far from Florida when they ditched.

Its a big ocean out there.

I'd proffer while the ending et al is wondrous it has some real moments of terror in it. Spielberg is actually a great horror director.
Close Encounters, Jaws, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park were Spielberg at his best.

 

[ozro]

Not everyone agrees it's a great movie, or even good. Basically it's just a live action cartoon.

 

[odanny]

I found Close Encounters to be too long and the ending was boring

I think it came out the year after Jaws, if Jaws came out in 1976 (I remember the earliest movie I ever saw in a theater was The Sting, and then followed by Jaws, at least that I can remember)

I found it too long and boring as well, and first saw this movie on VHS in the early 80's. Spielberg is a brilliant enough director that it might warrant a second look.

The one scene I remember from that movie, for some reason, is Dreyfus and his wife lying in bed and he was rolling a joint.

 

[rightwinger]

I think it came out the year after Jaws, if Jaws came out in 1976 (I remember the earliest movie I ever saw in a theater was The Sting, and then followed by Jaws, at least that I can remember)

I found it too long and boring as well, and first saw this movie on VHS in the early 80's. Spielberg is a brilliant enough director that it might warrant a second look.

The one scene I remember from that movie, for some reason, is Dreyfus and his wife lying in bed and he was rolling a joint.

It was about 90 min of material stretched out for 2 1/2 hours

The famous scene with them playing those notes was just milked to death

 

[JoeMoma]

Besides a young Teri Garr?

View attachment 1033188

For me it was the opening scene:



Just too cool! Everything else was gravy.

For me it was the scene with the mashed potatoes

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

For me it was the scene with the mashed potatoes

I didnt know Joe Biden was in the movie....on the plate.....

 

[whitehall]

Dreyfuss was his usual frantic self and it kind of ruined it for me.

 

[Moonglow]

Why is Close Encounters of a Third Kind great?​

It is great, not to watch.

 

[petro]

Damn.
Tough crowd.

Well, I liked it.

 

[Flopper]

Besides a young Teri Garr?

View attachment 1033188

For me it was the opening scene:



Just too cool! Everything else was gravy.

In a word, Spielberg. The man knows how to make great movies. Most sci-fi movies in the 70's and before were pretty dark such as Alien. Aliens for most part have been pictured as evil monsters set on destroying the earth. However, third encounters was different. It was optimistic about our future in the universe picturing alien's as here to help not destroy. Spielberg mixes mystery, adventure, comedy, and great cinematography to make a very entertaining movie. It was nominated for 9 academy awards, listed in the American Film Institute's 100 best movies in a 100 years, the National Film Registry, and in the Smithsonian Achieves.

It is worth watching if you like this kind of movie. It's playing on TCM on Nov 16th.