Review of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) by Patrick M — 18 May 2011

(This review is on the Director's Cut).

Written and directed by Steven Spielberg is Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a story about a series of UFO sightings and a man, Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), whom after an encounter at a train crossing, experiences visions along with a musical melody that play looped over and again in his head. Most notably is a vision of a standing mountainesque construct in which plagues his mind, disturbing his personal life, his family. As he sets to investigate this phenomenon he acquaints himself along the way with one other, Jillian (Melinda Dillon), who too shares traits of undeniable semblance.

Spielberg's direction and script take the viewer on a gripping journey of frightening suspense all up until the film's final, iconic scene where one loses all sense of anxiety and meets unexpectedly awe and understanding. The film itself is paced expertly albeit the film's middle half which experiences what could be believed as a necessary pause. Not soon after, however, does it catch up with itself and, ultimately, in the end feel justified to every extent.

What one first heeds here is the film's atmospheric visual effects. Even at times when a ranging field of reds, yellows, and blues are on display, the film still maintains a sense of macabre. These captivating special effects bring to life a great number of unforgettable moments and even greater still, a sense of how great Hollywood truly can be in not only what it can due visually, but how, by way of visual storytelling, it is able to resonate through the human heart in a way no other medium can achieve.

It is not only the effects that are so spectacular, but too is Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography. His use of wide angles and depth of field are true to the film's nature, adding to a high degree the sense and completion of absolute immersion.

John Williams' masterful score creates an inescapable enigma that casts itself around the film. Its weave is of the tightest hold and scene upon scene does it create a series of episodic moods so profound that one can quite easily forget the feature film itself is a work of fiction entirely.

Richard Dreyfuss' performance as Roy, the everyman who discovers his destiny is remarkably crafted and performed. Teri Garr as his wife too does an excellent job as the nervous, protecting mother who certainly has a set of lugs on her. François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, and a young Cary Guffey all make for believable characters and performances. There simply is not one bad performance in this film; that is unless you feel to pick upon a scientist or two for simply standing around incorrectly... which would be naive really.

Even if reproduced today or in future cinema, the product would fail in comparison to the past enchantments of Spielberg's both aesthetically pleasing and driven Close Encounters. The score is marvelous, the visuals are everlasting and the performances are terrific. Close Encounters is again, visual, emotional storytelling told in a way which develops hope in future filmmakers, acolytes and common spectators alike.

Spielberg has a message to deliver and it is one that once opened cannot be forgotten or tossed aside.