Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film directed and written by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and Cary Guffey. Close Encounters tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrical lineman, and his encounter and obsessions with unidentified flying objects. The plot further develops due to the presence of the United States government and their scientific researchers.

Close Encounters was a long-cherished project for Spielberg. In late-1973, he developed a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science fiction film. Paul Schrader, John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins and Jerry Belson contributed with script writing work, alongside Spielberg. In the end Spielberg was given solo writing credit.

Filming began in May 1976, where problems occurred such as the film's production budget, tropical cyclones and the shooting schedule. Douglas Trumbull served as the visual effects supervisor, while Carlo Rambaldi designed the aliens. Close Encounters was released with financial and critical success. The film was reissued in 1980 as Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition. The film received numerous awards and nominations at the 50th Academy Awards, 32nd British Academy Film Awards, the Saturn Awards and has been widely acclaimed by the American Film Institute. Close Encounters has also led to the development of the unproduced film Night Skies.

Plot

In the Sonoran Desert, Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) and David Laughlin (Bob Balaban), along with other government scientific researchers discover a lost squadron of World War II aircraft. The aircraft are still intact and perfectly operational, but the pilots have disappeared. In Air Traffic Control Indianapolis, Indiana, two flights have a near miss with a UFO. In Muncie, Indiana, three year-old Barry Guiler (Cary Guffey) is led out of his house when his toys start operating automatically, forcing his mother Gillian (Melinda Dillon) to chase after him. During a large-scale power outage, Indiana electrical lineman Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) experiences a close encounter of the second kind, and is soon caught in a motorized pursuit of four UFOs. He becomes obsessed with UFOs, much to the dismay of his wife, Veronica "Ronnie" Neary (Teri Garr).

Roy begins seeing the image and soon begins making scale models of a distinctive butte, a place he has never seen and is unfamiliar with. Gillian also becomes obsessed with the mental picture of a unique-looking mountain. Soon after, Gillian witnesses a UFO landing, in which Barry is abducted by unseen beings. After Roy's increasingly eccentric behavior causes Ronnie to abandon him, taking their three children with her, he sees the feature he has been modeling on a television news show: Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Guiler also sees the same news broadcast, and both Roy and Gillian, as well as others with similar experiences, obsessively head toward the site. Elsewhere in the world, the pace of UFO activity is increasing; Lacombe and Laughlin investigate a host of occurrences along with other United Nations experts. Eyewitnesses report the UFOs to make distinctive sounds: a five-tone motif.

After Laughlin recognizes a signal from outer space as a set of geographical coordinates pointing to Devils Tower, all parties begin to converge on Wyoming. The United States Army evacuates the area, using false reports that a train wreck has spilled highly dangerous nerve gas, all the while preparing a landing zone for the first human contact with the UFOs and their occupants. While the other humans drawn to the site are unable to reach Devils Tower, Roy and Gillian persist and make it to the site as dozens of UFOs appear. The enormous mother ship lands, returning people who had been abducted over the years, including Barry. With an understanding of peace between the two civilizations, Roy is taken onboard the ship as an ambassador from Earth, and one of the UFO occupants comes out to greet the humans. Lacombe communicates with it by using the hand signs that are used to create the five tones in the human contact. The UFO occupant does the same and smiles before it boards back on the ship, which then lifts off.

Cast

• Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary: A Indiana electrical lineman who encounters and forms an obsession with unidentified flying objects. Steve McQueen was Spielberg's first choice. Although McQueen was impressed with the script, he felt was not specifically right for the role. Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Gene Hackman turned down the part as well.^[1] Jack Nicholson turned it down because of scheduling conflicts. Spielberg explained when filming Jaws "Dreyfuss talked me into casting him. He listened to about 155-days worth of Close Encounters. He even contributed ideas."^[2] Dreyfuss reflected, "I launched myself into a campaign to get the part. I would walk by Steve's office and say stuff like 'Al Pacino has no sense of humor' or 'Jack Nicholson is too crazy'. I eventually convinced him to cast me."^[1]
• François Truffaut as Claude Lacombe: A French government scientist in charge of UFO-related activities in the United States. Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Lino Ventura were considered for the role. During filming, Truffaut used his leisure to write the script for The Man Who Loved Women. He also worked on a novel titled The Actor, a project he abandoned.^[3]
• Melinda Dillon as Gillian Guiler: Barry's single mother. She also forms a similar obsession with Roy, and the two become friends. Teri Garr wanted to portray Gillian, but ended being cast as Ronnie. Hal Ashby, who worked with Dillon on Bound for Glory, suggested her for the part to Spielberg. Dillon was cast three days before filming began.^[1]
• Cary Guffey as Barry Guiler: Gillian's young child abducted in the middle of the film. Spielberg conducted a series of method acting techniques to help Guffey, who was three years old.^[1]
• Teri Garr as Veronica "Ronnie" Neary: Roy's wife. She attempts to hide the sunburn caused by Roy's exposure to the UFOs and wants him to forget his encounter with them. Amy Irving auditioned for the role.^[4]
• Bob Balaban as David Laughlin: Lacombe's assistant and English-French translator. They meet for the first time in the Sonoran Desert at the beginning of the film.

J. Allen Hynek makes a cameo appearance at the closing scene. Spielberg's friends Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins cameo as two World War II pilots returning from the mother ship.

Production

Development

The genesis of Close Encounters of the Third Kind started when Steven Spielberg, as a young boy, and his father saw a meteor shower in New Jersey.^[1] As a teenager, Spielberg completed the full-length science fiction film Firelight. Many scenes from Firelight would be incorporated in Close Encounters on a shot-for-shot basis.^[5] In 1970 he wrote a short story called Experiences about a lover's lane Midwestern United States farming community and a "light show" a group of teenagers see in the night sky.^[6] In late-1973, during post-production on The Sugarland Express, Spielberg developed a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science fiction film. 20th Century Fox previously turned down the offer.^[6] Julia and Michael Phillips instantly signed on as producers.^[7]

He first considered doing a documentary about people who believed in UFO's, or a low-budget feature film. Spielberg decided "a film that depended on state of the art technology couldn't be made for $2.5 million."^[6] Borrowing a phrase from the ending of The Thing from Another World, he retitled the film Watch the Skies, rewriting the premise concerning Project Blue Book and pitching the concept to Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz. Katz remembered "It had flying saucers from outer space landing on Robertson Boulevard [in West Hollywood, California]. I go, 'Steve, that's the worst idea I ever heard."^[6] Spielberg brought Paul Schrader to write the script in December 1973 with principal photography to begin in late-1974. Spielberg went to work on Jaws, pushing Watch the Skies back.^[6]

With the financial and critical success of Jaws, Spielberg earned a vast amount of creative control from Columbia, declaring the right to make the film any way he wanted.^[8] Schrader turned in his script, which Spielberg called, "one of the most embarrassing screenplays ever professionally turned in to a major film studio or director. It was a terribly guilt-ridden story not about UFOs at all."^[2] Titled Kingdom Come, the script's protagonist was a 45-year-old Air Force Officer named Paul Van Owen who worked with Project Blue Book. "[His] job for the government is to ridicule and debunk flying saucers." Schrader continued. "One day he has an encounter. He goes to the government, threatening to blow the lid off to the public. Instead, he and the government spend 15-years trying to make contact."^[2] Spielberg and Schrader experienced creative differences, hiring John Hill to rewrite.^[2] At one point the main character was a police officer.^[1] Spielberg "[found] it hard to identify with men in uniform. I wanted to have Mr. Everyday Regular Fella." Spielberg rejected the Schrader/Hill script during post-production on Jaws.^[2] He reflected, "they wanted to make it like a James Bond adventure."^[9]

David Giler performed a rewrite. Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins, friends of Spielberg, suggested the plot device of a kidnapped child. Spielberg then began to write the script. The song "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio highly influenced Spielberg's writing style. "I hung my story on the mood the song created, the way it affected me personally."^[2] Jerry Belson and Spielberg wrote the shooting script together. In the end, Spielberg was given solo writing credit.^[2] During pre-production, the title was changed from Kingdom Come to Close Encounters of the Third Kind.^[8] J. Allen Hynek, who worked with the United States Air Force on Project Blue Book, was hired as a scientific consultant. Hynek feels "even though the film is fiction, it's based for the most part on the known facts of the UFO mystery, and it certainly catches the flavor of the phenomenon. Spielberg was under enormous pressure to make another blockbuster after Jaws, but he decided to make a UFO movie. He put his career on the line."^[2] The US Air Force and NASA declined to cooperate on the film.^[8]

Filming

Principal photography began on May 16, 1976. Spielberg did not want to do any location shooting because of his negative experience on Jaws and wanted to shoot Close Encounters entirely on sound stages. He dropped the idea. Stages 15 and 16 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, Devils Tower National Monument, Mumbai an abandoned World War II airship hangar in Mobile, Alabama, and the railroad depot in Bay Minette, Alabama, were used for locations. The hangar in Alabama was six times larger than the largest sound stage in the world.^[8][10] Various technical and budgetary problems came during filming. Spielberg called Close Encounters "twice as bad and twice as expensive [as Jaws]".^[2] Matters worsened when Columbia Pictures was experiencing financial difficulties. Spielberg estimated the film would cost $2.7 million to make in his original 1973 pitch to Columbia, but the final budget came to $19.4 million.^[8]

Columbia studio executive John Veich remembered, "If we knew it was going to cost that much, we wouldn't have greenlighted it because we didn't have the money."^[8] Truffaut said it was producer Julia Phillips's fault as to why the budget escalated. Spielberg hired Joe Alves, his collaborator on Jaws, as production designer.^[3] In addition the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season caused tropical cyclones in Alabama. A large portion of the sound stage in Alabama was damaged because of a lightning strike.^[1] During filming, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond remembered, "Every night Steve watched movies and got more more ideas. He added more shots to the shooting schedule, pushing it back. One crew member said, 'Steven, if you would stop watching those fucking movies every night we would be on schedule.'"^[2] Zsigmond previously turned down the chance to work on Jaws. In her book You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again (ISBN 0-394-57574-1), producer Julia Phillips wrote highly profaning remarks about Spielberg, Zsigmond and Truffant. She was fired during post-production because of cocaine dependence. Phillips tried to blame it on Spielberg as being a perfectionist.^[8]

Visual effects

Mothership model at the Udvar-Hazy Center

Douglas Trumbull was the visual effects supervisor, while Carlo Rambaldi designed the aliens. Trumbull joked that the visual effects budget, at $3.3 million, could have been made to produce another film. His work helped lead to advances in motion control photography. The mother ship was designed by Ralph McQuarrie and built by Greg Jein.^[2] Many of the model makers attempted comical objects in the UFOs. One was an oxygen mask with lights, while Dennis Muren put an in-joke from his work on Star Wars, using an R2-D2 toy.^[1] Since Close Encounters was filmed anamorphically, the visual effects sequences were shot in 70 mm film to better accommodate with the 35 mm film. A test reel using computer-generated imagery was used for the UFOs, but Spielberg found it would be too expensive since CGI was new technology in the 1970s.^[1] The small aliens in the final scenes were played by local girls in Mobile, Alabama. That decision was requested by Spielberg because he felt "girls move more gracefully than boys". Puppetry was attempted for the aliens, but the idea failed. However, Rambaldi successfully used puppetry to depict the alien that communicates with Lacombe near the end of the film.^[1]

Post-production

Close Encounters is the first collaboration between Michael Kahn and Spielberg. Their relationship continued for the rest of Spielberg's films. When Kahn and Spielberg delivered the first cut of the film, Spielberg was dissatisfied, feeling "there wasn't enough wow-ness".^[1] Pick-ups were commissioned but cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond could not participate.^[8] John A. Alonzo, László Kovács, William A. Fraker and Douglas Slocombe worked on the pick-ups.^[8] Lacombe was originally to find Flight 19 hidden in the Amazon Rainforest, but the idea was changed to the Sonoran Desert. This was an important scene added in the re-shoots. Composer John Williams wrote over 300 examples of the iconic five-tone motif before Spielberg choose the right one. Spielberg called Williams' work as "When You Wish upon a Star meets science fiction".^[1] Spielberg wanted to have "When You Wish upon a Star" in the closing credits, but was denied permission. He also took 7.5 minutes out from the preview.^[3]

Themes

Film critic Charlene Engel observed Close Encounters "suggests that humankind has reached the point where it is ready to enter the community of the cosmos. While it is a computer interface which makes the final musical conversation with the alien guests possible, the characteristics bringing Neary to make his way to Devil's Tower have little to do with technical expertise or computer literacy. These are virtues taught in schools that will be evolved in the 21st century."^[11] The film also evokes typical science fiction archetypes and motifs. The film portrays new technologies as a natural and expected outcome of human development and indication of health and growth.^[11]

Other critics found a variety of Christian analogies. Devil's Tower parallels Mount Sinai, the aliens as Gods and Roy Neary as Moses. Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments is seen on television at the Neary household. Some found close relations between Elijah and Roy; Elijah was taken into a "chariot of fire", akin to Roy going in the UFO. Climbing Devil's Tower behind Jillian and faltering, Neary exhorts Jillian to keep moving and not to look back, similar to Lot's wife who looked back at Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt.^[11] Spielberg explained, "I wanted to make Close Encounters a very accessible story about the everyday individual who has a sighting that overturns his life, and throws it in to complete upheaval as he starts to become more and more obsessed with this experience."^[10]

Roy's wife Ronnie attempts to hide the sunburn caused by Roy's exposure to the UFOs and wants him to forget his encounter with them. She is embarrassed and bewildered by what has happened to him and desperately wants her ordinary life back. The expression of his lost life is seen when he is sculpting a huge model of Devil's Tower in his living room, with his family deserting him.^[11] Close Encounters also studies the form of "youth spiritual yearning". Barry Guiler, the unfearing child who refers to the UFOs and their paraphernalia as "Toys", serves as a motif for childlike innocence and openness in the face of the unknown.^[11] Spielberg also compared the theme of communication as highlighting that of tolerance. "If we can talk to aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind," he said, "why not with the Reds in the Cold War?"^[12] Sleeping is the final obstacle to overcome in the ascent of Devil's Tower. Roy, Jillian Guiler and a third invitee climb the mountain pursued by government helicopters spraying sleeping gas. The third person stops to rest, is gassed, and falls into a deep sleep.^[11]

Reaction

Release

The film was originally to be released in early 1977, but was pushed to November because of the various problems during filming.^[3] Close Encounters was a box office financial success, grossing $116.39 million in North America and $171.7 million in foreign countries, totaling $288 million.^[13] It was Columbia Pictures' most successful film at the time of release.^[10] Jonathan Rosenbaum refers to the film as "the best expression of Spielberg's benign, dreamy-eyed vision."^[14] A.D. Murphy of Variety gave a positive review but felt "Close Encounters lacks the warmth and humanity of George Lucas's Star Wars". Murphy believed most of the film had a slow-pacing, but was highly impressed with the climax.^[15] Pauline Kael called it "a kid's film in the best sense".^[5] Jean Renoir compared Spielberg's storytelling to Jules Verne and Georges Méliès.^[4] Ray Bradbury declared it the greatest film ever made.^[16]

Reissue and home video

On the final cut privilege, Spielberg was dissatisfied with Close Encounters. "Columbia Pictures was experiencing financial problems, and they were depending on this film to save their company. I wanted to have another six months to finish off this film, and release it in summer 1978. They told me they needed this film out immediately," Spielberg explained. "Anyway, Close Encounters was a huge financial success and I told them I wanted to make my own director's cut. They agreed on the condition that I show the inside of the mother ship so they could have something to "campaign" on. I never should have shown the inside of the mother ship."^[1] In 1979, Columbia Pictures gave Spielberg $2.5 million to start reissueing the film. Spielberg added seven minutes of new footage, but the reissue was still three minutes shorter than the theatrical release.^[4]

It featured several new character development scenes, the discovery of the SS Cotopaxi in the Gobi Desert, and a view of the inside of the mother ship. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition was released on January 1, 1980, making a further $15.7 million, accumulating a final $303.79 million box office gross.^[13][4] Roger Ebert "thought the original film was an astonishing achievement, capturing the feeling of awe and wonder we have when considering the likelihood of life beyond the Earth. This new version is quite simply a better film. Why didn't Spielberg make it this good the first time?"^[17]

Close Encounters was given a 2-disc DVD release in August 2002, which contained the "Collector's Edition".^[18] James Berardinelli felt "Close Encounters is still unquestionably a great movie. Its universal appeal gave movie-goers something to be excited about during 1977-78 as the first in a wave of post-Star Wars science fiction films broke. Today, the movie stands up remarkably well. The story is fresh and compelling, the special effects are as remarkable as anything that CGI can do, and the music represents some of John Williams' best work."^[19] Emanuel Levy also gave a highly-positive review. "Spielberg's greatest achievement is to make a warm, likable sci-fi feature, deviating in spirit, tone and ideology from the dark, noirish sci-fi films that dominated the 1950s and Cold War mentality. He ultimately succeeded."^[20] Close Encounters was given a Blu-ray Disc release in November 2007. This contained the three major theatrical releases, from 1977, 1980, and 1998. This same box set was also issued on standard DVD.^[21] Based on 39 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of the reviewers have enjoyed the film.^[22]

Legacy

See also: Night Skies

Shortly after the release in late-1977, Spielberg desired to do either a sequel or prequel. He explained, "The Army's knowledge and ensuing cover-up is so subterranean that it would take a creative screen story, perhaps someone else making the picture and giving it the equal time it deserves."^[9]

The film was nominated nine times at the 50th Academy Awards, but only Vilmos Zsigmond won the award for Best Cinematography. Other categories included Direction, Supporting Actress (Melinda Dillon), Visual Effects, Art Direction, Original Music Score, Film Editing and Sound. An Academy Special Achievement Award was given though for sound effects editing.^[23] At the 32nd British Academy Film Awards, Close Encounters won Best Production Design, and was nominated for Best Film, Direction, Screenplay, Actor in a Supporting Role (François Truffaut), Music, Cinematography, Editing and Sound.^[24]

Close Encounters lost the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation to Star Wars,^[25] but was successful at the Saturn Awards. There, the film tied with Star Wars for Direction and Music, but won Best Writing. Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon and the visual effects department received nominations. Close Encounters was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film.^[26] The film received four more nominations at the 35th Golden Globe Awards.^[27]

When asked in 1991 to select a single "master image" that summed up his film career, Spielberg chose the shot of Barry opening his living room door to see the blazing orange light from the UFO. "That was beautiful but awful light, just like fire coming through the doorway." Spielberg continued. "He's very small, and it a very large door, and there's a lot of promise or danger outside that door."^[5] In 2007, Close Encounters was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and was added to the National Film Registry for preservation.^[28] In American Film Institute polls, Close Encounters has been voted the sixty-fourth greatest film of all time,^[29] thirty-first most thrilling^[30] and fifty-eighth most uplifting.^[31]

Alongside Star Wars and Superman, Close Encounters led to the reemergence of science fiction films.^[32][33] In 1985 Spielberg donated $100,000 to the Planetary Society for Megachannel ExtraTerrestrial Assay.^[2] In the South Park episode "Imaginationland", a government scientist uses the five-note sequence to try and open a portal.^[34] In "Over Logging", a government scientist uses the five-note sequence to try to get the central Internet router working.^[35] The "mashed potato" sculpture was parodied in the film UHF^[36] and an episode of The Simpsons.^[37]

References

• Joseph McBride (1997). Steven Spielberg: A Biography. New York City: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-19177-0. 

Further reading

• Ray Morton (1 November 2007). Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Making of Steven Spielberg's Classic Film. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1557837103. 
• Bob Balaban (2002). Spielberg, Truffaut & Me: Close Encounters of the Third Kind - An Actor's Diary. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1840234305. 
• Leslie Waller (ghostwriter) (1977). Close Encounters of the Third Kind. novelization of the film. Del Pub. ISBN 978-0440114338. 

External links

• Official website
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the Internet Movie Database
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Allmovie
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Box Office Mojo
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Rotten Tomatoes
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Filmsite.org