Talk:Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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The Helvetica font mistake may be the best bit of movie gaff spotting ever. Well done whoever first noted it. Yankoz.

What is the meaning of close encounters of the first, second and third kind?

In UFO lore, a close encounter of the first kind means sighting a UFO. A close encounter of the second kind means a sighting that leaves physical evidence. A close encounter of the third kind means meeting an alien or aliens. More recently, some people seem to refer to alien abductions as close encounters of the fourth kind... Rlandmann 11:38, 24 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to include this in the actual article. --Modemac 11:43, 24 Oct 2003 (UTC)

QUESTION ON PLOT OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: is it true that the story is about a man, Richard Dreyfuss, who was left on Earth by his alien colleagues only to be picked back up in the final scene of the film? The last alien who comes out of the ship to basically wave goodbye, is that Dreyfuss? As in, did he revert back to alien form in the sequence just before when all the light falls down on him?

• Interesting interpretation, but I believe Roy (Richard Dreyfuss) was never abducted by the aliens, until that final scene (in which his "abduction" is voluntary). It seems to me that the aliens in the story are moving into a "new phase" of their encounters with humans: in the past they abducted humans (presumably for scientific study), but now that phase of their experimentation is complete. For the next phase of study, the aliens "invite" (at the beginning of the film) many humans (aka contactees) to join them voluntarily and Roy is the only one who makes it all the way to the rendevouz. Of course, that's just at the level of pure "plot," and there is a deeper subtext to Roy's quest. :-) Drhundertwasser 07:20, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

IT IS NOT TRUE that Art Bell made a cameo appearance in this film. At the time it was made, he was a small-time DJ I believe in California. In the 90's after he became popular, Bell made appearances in other UFO films.Cord 17:01, Aug 29, 2004 (UTC)

• Perhaps the contributor who mentioned Art Bell was confusing him with Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the noted UFO Researcher who created the category that is the film's title. The bearded Dr. Hynek appears in the final sequence, admiring the mothership. Drhundertwasser 07:20, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] R2-D2?

Is it true that near the end of the movie, when the gigantic UFO flies overhead, you can see R2-D2's silhouette hanging upside-down from the UFO? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.108.208.177 (talk) 19:42, 20 February 2007 (UTC).

Yes. In a documentary about the making of the film I heard one of the special effects crew say that they put it in there for fun, but hadn't realized how huge the little toy would look in the film. R2 isn't so huge that the average viewer notices it, but if you look, especially as the ship is leaving at the end, you can definitely see him. Drhundertwasser 19:01, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Solresol

Does the 5-note motif have some meaning in Solresol? 19:35, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

• I believe it's derived from the common melody played by the carillons of church bells or clock towers, the most familiar example being the chimes of Big Ben, which you can hear on the BBC website. Thus, in the story, the five note theme is broadcast by the Extraterrestrials to summon the contactees to the "meeting" at Devil's Tower. Or, you might say, given the religious or spiritual undertones of the story, it's also like a "call to prayer." In the final act, the theme becomes the starting point for a larger "conversation" between the aliens and humans, as the scientist standing by the keyboard says, "It's the first day of school, fellas." Drhundertwasser 17:49, 22 March 2007 (UTC)