A terrific sci-fi mystery in which an Everyman's search for its meaning climaxes thrillingly in first contact with extraterrestrials, Close Encounters experience. there are rescue, redemption, and affirmation of an incorporates themes that recur throughout director Steven Spielberg's work. There are his staple characters (the individual on a quest, the sympathetic mother, the lost boy, the untrustworthy authorities), and a tranfsormingindividuals worth. Take away the spectacular special effects sound-and-light show, and what remains is a compassionate human story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.
Richard Dreyfuss's appealing Roy Neary is Joe Six-Pack having an epiphany. When his UFO encounter is dismissed he becomes obsessed with discovering what his experience means, alienating his family in the process. The only person who understands is Melinda Dillon's Jillian Guiler, driven by her own search for her son (Cary Guffey), who was taken in a terrifying visitation at her home. Eventually it becomes clear that they are among the "implantees" privileged with a shared connection. Paralleled with these intimate experiences of frustration and fear of the unknown, of courage and joy in confronting it (and finding something wonderful in the childlike aliens), are the globe-trotting efforts of Fracois Truffaut's Claude Lacombe, head of the scientific project to investigate and respond to alien contact.
Close Encounters shows all the sensibilities of the suburban Baby Boomer nurtured on Disney and 1950s sci-fi, and was indeed an adult, professional rethink of Spielberg's adolescent, homemade epic, Firelight. While E.T. may be more revealing of his psyche, Close Encounters is a definitive Spielberg film both in style and substance. It is also one he can't leave alone, reediting it into 1980's Special Edition and 1997's Collector's Edition.
Released close to his friend George Lucas's Star Wars, Close Encounters was another instantly iconic event film. The five-tone greeting-language musical motif by John Williams and the mashed potato mountain both directly entered pop culture, and the collective gasp of awe at the mothership coming over the mountain serves as yet another testimonial to Spielberg's gift for wonder.
Quote of the Day - Roy Neary - "You can't fool us by agreeing with us."
Tomorrow: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
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