3. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Unlike Star Wars of the same year, Steven Spielbergs first foray into sci-fi has managed to arrive in the present day with an air of mystery around it; there is iconography (in the form of the mashed potato and the harmonic communication), but it hasnt permeated the popular conscious in the way Lucas space opera vision, or Spielbergs later ET has. Which should make checking out this almost maligned classic on DVD a true joy. Except that the DVD cover doesnt just plop the ending right in front of your unsuspecting eyes, but also the answer to the films man mystery. The films central mystery and ultimately a key to what exactly is going on, is what is the vision that everyone has seen. From the moment Richard Dreyfuss starts to mould something like the mountain seen on the cover, the film becomes incredibly predictable the joyous communication with ships becomes a dull wait for the mothership to appear (as we know it will). The two next examples you can argue have permeated the popular consciousness to the point where the spoiler is as well known as Luke Skywalkers parentage (although that doesnt make them justified), but in the case of Close Encounters, the film is obscure enough, seen mostly by fans of sci-fi or nostalgia, that mystique should be kept in tact.
