Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Movie, 1977, The '70s, Set in Five tones
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is #3 of 29 in release order and #3 of 29 in chronological order in the John Williams.
The story
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind recap
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) follows Roy Neary, an Indiana power company lineman who becomes obsessed with an image after seeing a UFO. Steven Spielberg writes and directs this science fiction drama. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is sent out during a blackout and is lightly sunburned by lights from a passing craft. Nearby, three-year-old Barry Guiler wakes to find his toys moving, and his mother Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) follows him outside. Roy starts sculpting a flat-topped mountain from shaving cream and mashed potatoes, then builds a huge model in his living room, and his wife Ronnie Neary (Teri Garr) leaves with their three children. Jillian draws the same shape, and Barry is taken from her house by the visitors. Meanwhile, French scientist Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) tracks strange events worldwide, including Navy planes lost in 1945 that turn up intact in the desert. Five tones, first heard from witnesses in India, become the musical language used to talk to the aliens; the film follows Star Wars in this list and precedes Superman.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind ending explained
Close Encounters of the Third Kind ends with Roy boarding the alien mothership and leaving Earth. Coordinates beamed back lead the government to Devils Tower in Wyoming, which it clears with a fake nerve gas story. Roy and Jillian recognise the mountain on television, slip past the army and reach the landing site. Scientists exchange the five tones with the mothership, which releases people missing for decades, including Barry. Lacombe answers an alien with hand signs for the tones before the ship rises. The Special Edition of 1980 shows the inside of the ship, later cut again.
Post-credits scenes
No. Close Encounters of the Third Kind has no mid- or post-credits scene, though Williams' orchestral version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" plays over the credits.
Where to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is streaming on Peacock, YouTube (free), and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 91%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Star Wars, before Superman.
- Chronological order: after Star Wars, before Superman.
Cast
- Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary
- François Truffaut as Claude Lacombe
- Teri Garr as Ronnie Neary
- Melinda Dillon as Jillian Guiler
- Bob Balaban as David Laughlin
- J. Patrick McNamara as Project Leader
- Warren J. Kemmerling as Wild Bill
- Roberts Blossom as Farmer
- Phil Dodds as ARP Musician
- Cary Guffey as Barry Guiler
- Shawn Bishop as Brad Neary
- Adrienne Campbell as Sylvia Neary
Directed by Steven Spielberg.