The most remarkable thing about Close Encounters of the Third Kind, perhaps, is the way in which it gave back credibility to a sub-genre that was thought to be done for; after aliens and extra terrestrials had been reduced to something of a joke throughout the '50s, (all bad costumes and silly voices), the world's most famous filmmaker set out to craft a motion picture that took intergalactic lifeforms seriously. The results were mesmerising, of course; to this day, Close Encounters still feels important in the way it chooses to deal with man/alien relations. Which is to say, Spielberg's insistence on building a movie around the mystery of a UFO sighting, only to reveal in the final moments that the aliens aren't here to harm, but to study and interact with us, gives the movie an everlasting appeal. As Roy Neary, Richard Dreyfuss gives one of his best performances as a man who literally becomes obsessed with his own close encounter after he's almost abducted. At the time of its release, Close Encounters was praised for its amazing special effects; today, it's still hard not to feel blown away by the thing.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
