Close Encounters of the Third Kind

"We are not alone."

1977 2h 17m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 4,870🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes●90Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 229,698

Science FictionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“We are not alone.”

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Cast

Richard Dreyfuss
Roy Neary
François Truffaut
Claude Lacombe
Teri Garr
Ronnie Neary
Melinda Dillon
Jillian Guiler
Bob Balaban
David Laughlin
J. Patrick McNamara
Project Leader
Warren J. Kemmerling
Wild Bill
Roberts Blossom
Farmer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Steven Spielberg
Languages: Hindi, English, French, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $307M — a 15.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Hindi, English, French, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Dreyfuss and François Truffaut and Teri Garr carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Spielberg directs. Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera. John Williams scores. Michael Kahn cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Hindi, English, French, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $307M — a 15.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
249 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Hindi, English, French, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Michael Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Richard Dreyfuss and François Truffaut and Teri Garr carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "We are not alone.".
10IMDB entry: tt0075860 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 36 themes, including "wyoming, usa", "indiana, usa", "flying saucer", "extraterrestrial technology".

The technical file

Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Michael Kahn
Production design: Joe Alves
Makeup / hair: Edie Panda
VFX supervisor: Douglas Trumbull
Sound: Robert 'Buzz' Knudson
Stunt coordinator: Buddy Joe Hooker
Runtime: 137 min · 2h 17m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $306,889,114
Return: 1534% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 90/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 229,698 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 16 wins & 40 nominations total

Saturn Award for Best Director
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Steven Spielberg

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Ian Beale2017-02-16
★ 8/10
Do the mashed potato! Roy Neely is a gas repair man who has a close encounter with an alien craft and begins having strange visions of mashed potatoes, shaving cream and mud mountains. This all leads to Needy's marriage breaking up and he sets out to find the truth about his mashed potato visions. The climax at a mountain is breathtaking when Neely comes face to face with his destiny. One of Spielberg's best with a nice cameo by French director Francois Truffaut.
CinemaSerf2023-06-04
★ 7/10
I always remember as a child hoping/praying that if extra terrestrials ever did come to visit us, that they wouldn't arrive in America. Think "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) or most other sci-fi stories: the first things they would see when they opened their door would be guns, tanks, missiles, soldiers... This film takes a far more sophisticated approach to how we might engage with an alien species, and together with some super effects and a far more nuanced storyline leaves us with room for optimism that we might not just try to shoot first and ask questions afterwards - should anyone ever do arrive. Spielberg was still, in my view anyway, learning his craft when he wrote/directed this and that shows in the real paucity of pace for the first hour. Richard Dreyfuss is adequate, but the constantly amazed/perplexed looks on his face start to become annoying after a while. François Truffaut features now and again - largely as part of a parallel storyline - but really, this only begins to engage in the last thirty minutes when the threads all knit together giving us a clever denouement as the scientists discover an innovative, musical, way to communicate that doesn't involved threats and bullets. Oddly enough, even when I first saw this at the age of 9, I never got any sense of menace from our travellers and the absence of any substantial physical form for us to identify with seems to help keep the magic working. Not John Williams' finest work, I thought the score suffered from the slow rate of progress with the plot but the symbolism and curiosity of spirit this film engenders makes it still, just about, worth sticking though...