Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Anybody who has written him off because of his string of stinkers--or anybody who's too young to remember The Goodbye Girl--may be shocked at the accomplishment and nuance of Richard Dreyfuss's performance in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Here, he plays a man possessed; contacted by aliens, he (along with other members of the "chosen") is drawn toward the site of the incipient landing: Devil's Tower, in rural Wyoming. As in many Spielberg films, there are no personalized enemies; the struggle is between those who have been called and a scientific establishment that seeks to protect them by keeping them away from the arriving spacecraft. The ship, and the special effects in general, are every bit as jaw-dropping on the small screen as they were in the theater (well, almost). Released in 1977 as a cerebral alternative to the swashbuckling science fiction epics then in vogue, Close Encounters now seems almost wholesome in its representation of alien contact and interested less in philosophizing about extraterrestrials than it is in examining the nature of the inner "call." Ultimately a motion picture about the obsession of the driven artist or determined visionary, Close Encounters comes complete with the stock Spielberg wives and girlfriends who seek to tether the dreamy, possessed protagonists to the more mundane concerns of the everyday. So a spectacular, seminal motion picture indeed, but one with gender politics that are all too terrestrial. --Miles Bethany Amazon.com

 An Insipid Stupid Soporific Seventies Sci-Fi
Let me get this straight. I just spent two hours watching a bunch of people act like fools, either standing around and looking stupid or engaging in histrionics about critters I know do not exist, and then watching as a bunch of "nice" pint-sized mutant aliens "kindly" return a three year old child they had previously kidnapped. Any human who would have pulled such a stunt should have received life in prison. And these aliens are "nice"? If I'd been there, I'd have been tempted to pull out my shotgun on those aliens and let her rip!

Throughout much of the movie, and especially at the end, the humans engaged in inside "talk" amongst themselves and with the aliens. Much worse, the mother was the only person in the world who cared one iota about the three year old child. I asked myself, "Why did the aliens kidnap the three year old child? Did they want to give him a joy ride?" Does this cheap movie have a moral or a lesson of any kind at all? I doubt it.

The only "suspense" in the movie involved the questions of what the aliens would look like, what they might have to say, and whether they are "nice" enough to return the humans they had so ruthlessly kidnapped. The aliens looked pretty much as I had expected: they were disfigured, sawed-off, half-starved runts with huge heads. They said nothing, unless one wishes to include meaningless inside "talk." And they did eventually return the humans and even the kid. How sweet.

About the only decent scene in the movie was at the end when the aliens took the obnoxious loser away. I hope he never returns.

This movie is so boring that at the middle of the movie I had to take a break to do something a little funner--like memorizing words from my dictionary while standing on my head. April 28, 2008

 Can't get it to play
I've rented more than 30 movies from Unbox, and all of them played fine except this one. An email exchange with support recommended upgrading Windows Media Player - which I did - but it still wouldn't play. I really wanted to see this movie and I'm disappointed that whatever DRM Amazon is using in this movie doesn't seem compatible with the player. April 27, 2008

 A Classic
Purchased as a gift for a movie buff who had never seen this...He absolutely love it great addition to his already vast collection April 27, 2008

 good picture, awesome sound
Got the special edition blu-ray. I favor the extended version, my girlfriend favors the theatrical version.
I didn't have a regular DVD of this to compare to, but I gotta say, the sound from this is awesome, really gives your subwoofer a workout. The picture was fine, too, although not as dramatic as other blu-rays we've seen (only a few so far.)
As far as the movie, what can I say, it's a great Speilberg classic!
Definitely recommend for a [...] home theater experience. April 18, 2008

 Where are the menu items, special features, and languages icons?
If there's anyone out there in Amazonland who also owns this three-disc 30th Anniversary Edition, I'd appreciate knowing if you've experienced the same kind of trouble I've had trying to find the icons in the menus on any of the three discs. No matter whether it's the scene selections, languages, or special features, all I ever get when trying to access them are the colored retangular bars (obviously meant to match the giant colored tones console used at the end of the film to communicate with the "visitors"). In other words, how do you know what scene, special feature, or chosen language you are watching if there's never any indication of what's been selected on any of the three discs? Unless this was intentional (like attempting to drive a car with its windshield painted black, that just wouldn't make any sense!) this has to be a major flaw in the quality control of this boxed set. Anyone who HAS been able to see the titles of what's selected from the menu who could offer a tip, trick, or even a little sympathy for my bad fortune would be appreciated. I'm now on my third copy and all have been equally as bad, no matter which disc I try! Four stars for content with one deducted from a possible five for said menu troubles. April 18, 2008

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