Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a remarkable film that has managed to keep a sense of aura and mystery around it, even 40 years after its original release. Growing up, this was the one Spielberg film that seemed the most illusive to me - more grand and slightly stranger than his other films, with an undercurrent of sadness that, at the conclusion, becomes something life-affirming. I'll admit that this one did not get as regular rotation as the other Spielberg films I cherished. Now as an adult, I have greatly anticipated this re-release, lovingly restored in 4K and back on the big screen where it belongs. Finally, I have a chance to re-evaluate what is possibly Spielberg's masterpiece. This honestly feels like the first time I have watched this film.
Pretty much everyone knows the story of this film. Strange lights begin to appear in the sky over rural middle America. Some residents believe these lights are non other than alien life. This becomes an obsession for local repair man Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), who has a close encounter of his own one fatal night. As his obsession starts to interfere and, subsequently, ruin his family life, he becomes fixated on a mysterious object and begins to see it everywhere (including in a bowl of mashed potato). Could the alien life be trying to communicate with Roy? And how can he convince those around him to be believe his visions? This parallels with a couple of other stories, including mother of one Jillian's (Melinda Dillon) search for her missing child, who was possibly abducted by the aliens and a mysterious government scientist (played by French New Wave filmmaker Francois Truffaut), who is leading an international mission to decode exactly what the aliens are trying to communicate, whilst navigating government red-tape and cover ups.
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| Close Encounters still holds up after all these years, now lovingly restored in digital 4K |
Close Encounters is odder than any other Spielberg film. I think this is possibly the closest film he ever made to the works of the European art-house directors that inspired him as a young man (see the hiring of Francois Truffaut in one of the roles). Everything has a much slower pace and puts an emphasis on atmosphere and performance. The anchor of the film is Dreyfuss - he's instantly lovable as a bit of a screw-up and it becomes genuinely tragic as his life goes off the rails. My favourite scene with him is probably where he uproots his whole garden, throwing dirt and bricks through his kitchen window to construct the mysterious edifice he is seeing everywhere. It's a wonderful performance that makes up a huge part of this film's lasting appeal. If I have one slight gripe, it's that the other adult characters are not quite as well drawn as Roy, even if they are good performances. I find it shame that Dreyfuss wasn't in more note-worthy stuff, because his performance in Close Encounters is one for the ages.
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| The most famous scene in film involving mashed potato? Possibly. |
Close Encounters really shows off Spielberg's attention to the little details. His renderings of Roy's family life, shot almost like a Robert Altman film with overlapping dialogue, are really to the bone and realistic. It honestly does get quite hard to watch as his family watch him descend into a kind of madness. That one of shot of the little boy watching in confusion and sadness as his dad plays with his mashed potato and breaks down always, always gets me. Same for a similar shot when the same son stares out of his bedroom door as his parents argue. If you know anything about Spielberg, you know that his parents' divorce greatly affected him and these shots are possibly him communicating this. This could also possibly be the germ of E.T. - an alien encounter from the perspective of a child, whilst also dealing with major changes in his family life.
What surprises me most is the ambitious structure of the film and its international global trotting, along with the scientific 'process' of making contact. This highlights the film's interest in contrasting hard science with family life. If you want to know where Ronald Emmerich got the structure for Independence Day and all of his other films, look no further than Close Encounters. The scenes of Truffaut and the scientist discovering and interpretating the evidence left behind by the aliens are a wonderful exercise in providing exposition with very little dialogue. Spielberg litters each of these scenes with a central mystery that goes towards working out the grand tapestry of the narrative. Then there's the Watergate undercurrent to these scenes (as Spielberg explains in the new introduction to this presentation), as the US government try to find excuses for the mysterious lights in the sky and why a group of scientists are amassing in the middle of the desert. Possibly what a real government would do in this situation! Also, there are the scenes involving Jillian and her son, which again shows that contrast between grand science fiction and intimate family drama. The scene where the aliens abduct the child are truly spine-tinging and proof that Spielberg is a master of creating tension without providing an on-screen threat.
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| One of the film's many unforgettable shots |
All these plot lines sound a bit messy, intercutting back and forth, and they are to are to a degree but they are all tied together by this search for the truth. The truth behind what these alien encounters mean. This is visually and audibly tied together by the recurring motif of the edifice Roy is addicted to (the reveal of which I won't ruin if you haven't seen the film) and the simple music motif that can be heard replicated throughout the film. It is sung by huge choirs, played on a synthesiser and (my favourite) played on the xylophone by the little boy. That simple 5 note motif is one of the most recognisable in film history and serves as a key plot point. Suddenly, you realise that this is how communication can be made with the aliens. It also works on a bigger thematic level of how sound and vision manage can transcend language and culture. This quest for the truth brings hundreds of people together, irregardless of their background. That's still a pretty powerful message, especially in 2017.
The sadness of the film and multiple plot lines converge in the middle of the desert and gives way to a transcendent final act, which culminates with first contact with alien life. Most of the dialogue is stripped back to just images and John Williams' phenomenal soundtrack. The usual Williams bombast is saved only until the very end - the rest of the soundtrack has an eerie, almost 2001, vibe to it. Speaking of 2001, Douglas Trumpball's special effects still hold up beautifully. The limitations of the effects at the time mean that the ships and alien life don't appear on screen often at all, which just adds to their mysterious, untangible, feel. The best is saved for last, of course, as the gigantic mother ship looms over the landscape. This is still fresh science-fiction in a way - friendly alien life coming to Earth is still a rarity and I think this is possibly because Spielberg just hit the nail on the head with Close Encounters (and again with E.T.).
If you love Close Encounters of the Third Kind, this is pretty much the definitive presentation of the film. The 4K remaster is simply stunning and gives everything a new found sense of life. If you've never seen the film, this is the perfect chance to take in one of the most influential films of all time, back on the big screen. Or if you're like me and can only remember snippets from your childhood, it will be like watching the film for the very first time. I think Spielberg is unfairly judged in the 'serious' film world and Close Encounters is a perfect rebuttal to those naysayers - it's sensitive, grand, funny, sad and uplifting just in the right way. There's a reason this man has made some of the most successful films of all time - he's a master of entertaining a wide-audience without talking down to them and Close Encounters is a perfect example of this.
Side-Note
I like to give shout outs to the cinemas that I visit when I see films, in particular independent ones. I have recently moved to Manchester, more specifically to the Heatons area in the south of the city. The one place everyone told me I needed to go to was the recently refurbished Savoy Cinema, located in the center of Heaton Moor. My partner described the cinema as a flea-pit before it was eventually shut down in the 2000s. However, the cinema's doors have recently re-opened to much applause from the residents, in particular film fans and a massive refurbishment. And this is, without a doubt, the best cinema I have ever been to. I've been to more historically significant cinemas (Hyde Park Picture House) and to hipper ones (Ilkey's gorgeous picture house, for example) but no-where compares to the Savoy's overwhelmingly high-quality facilities and its unabashed love of film, which just emanates from the walls. Whilst you're waiting in the lobby you can read the latest issue of Empire or swat up on your film knowledge with their many books. All the usual niceties are here, including popcorn, an old-school ticket dispensing machine and, I'm not kidding, the nicest 'public' bathrooms I have ever been to (complete with photographs of films stars on the wall, including former Heaton Moor resident and Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan). Then there's the screen itself, with gorgeous red velvet curtains covering the screen and cushions on the 'luxury' seats, complete with film character names sewn into them. My partner was aghast at the transformation. I was just happy that a cinema somewhere remembers to retain that giddy and infectious love of film. Highly recommend.
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