I have no idea why or how I thought this movie was boring as a kid but I think it is because it actually takes its time with the story and characters to deliver one of the better alien movies I have seen in a long time! The lighting in this movie was phenomenal and I loved that we never really got a reason for the aliens (also I loved that they had a cool dance rave on the mountain ahah) Thanks for watching and have a great day!! :)

The film was nominated for 8 Oscars: Best Director Best Supporting Actress Best Visual Effects Best Sound Editing Best Sound Mixing Best Production Design Best Cinematography Best Original Score. It won for Best Cinematography and Best Sound Effects.

Francois Truffaut was a brilliant director and one of the French New Wave that was a significant influence on future film! Check out "400 Blows"; it's time to try foreign film!

Let's just remember this movie came out the same year Star Wars premiered, it was really the year of epic sci-fi. And this was Spielberg's take on the UFO craze from a more positive point of view, after generations of movies about alien invasion. It was truly revolutionary for its time.

During the filming of this movie, Spielberg wondered if he should have an alien left behind on Earth. He changed his mind and created ET.

I’ve watched many of your reaction videos, and you surprised me with this one. I was surprised by all your joking during the final scenes with the reveal at Devil’s Tower. It was one awe-inspiring, wide-eyed moment in American film. I never felt the levity…but everyone is different.

The part in the beginning with air traffic control was realistic. I've flown with and spoken privately with many pilots who have seen things but would NEVER file an actual report because there is a the fear of being grounded. A famous case involved Japan Airlines over Alaksa, very experience crew and captain (you can see a video on youtube), one of the better documented UFO sightings in history, he reported it, and was grounded for the rest of his career.

Aging Gen X'er hearing "Paper maps look painful to use," and smiling in spite of himself. Ah, such backward times...:) Will forever love this movie.

It has to be said that John Williams, the film's composer, was at the absolute top of his game at this time with one blockbuster hit after another from the mid seventies to the late eighties. From the opening note at the beginning to the soaring final song at the end he just grabs you and forces you to stay interested. Of course, everyone else was at the top of _THEIR_ games as well! From the director to the special effects guys, actors and everything in-between, this was a great time to go see a movie in the theater. It's interesting to think that there aren't any real "bad guys" in this movie. Not even the government, really. Their reasons for keeping it a secret were sound and they didn't hurt or punish anyone, and the aliens turned out to be good (as would Steven's later alien movie, "E.T.")

Absolutely my favorite movie. Wish you could have seen it on a big screen.

Fun Fact: The SS Cotopaxi, the ship in the desert, was found 15 years ago off the coast of St. Augustine, FL, but was only recently identified as being the Cotopaxi.

Good to see you loved this movie. Now imagine it was 1977/78, and you say this movie on the big screen. I did that, and this is still one of my favourite movies of all time. Definitely a masterpiece. I am hoping it will be back on the big screen again, maybe at an anniversary celebration. I am also reminded that I saw 2001, A Space Odyssey when it came out. If you have not seen it, That is a recommendation. Quite different from this one, and I went to the theatre and saw it a few years ago. "2001", like Close Encounters, really deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Spielberg was single when he made that movie…. Much later after he became a parent, he said that there’s no way that he would have made Neary abandon his kids. As far as the music is concerned, the composer John Williams is the same composer of Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones movies, Superman and many more!

Alien has no manners. Trash the refrigerator and didn't clean it up. Brilliant Spielberg masterpiece. Dreyfuss is great as we watch his obsession spiral into frustrated insanity.

One thing to point out is this version it's labeled as made 1977, but was redone several years later in 1980 and 1998. This "Director's Cut" in my opinion is less than the original. This DC version has that negative family violence shower scene added back, the now defunct Cotopaxi wreck scene in the desert added, and several humorous bits were deleted. The original version has a much more positive and slightly humorous vibe to it, and like Jaws the humorous bits were sprinkled in effectively considering the seriousness of the story. A little history on the movie... around 1980 Spielberg reworked the very successful original Close Encounters, added and removed scenes as described, released it in 1980 calling it "The Special Edition" with one BIG scene added at the end. That brief scene is what Roy sees inside the mothership. He had to hire Dreyfuss to shoot that scene and one can see Dreyfuss is 3 years older! I have all three versions on DVD and this Director's Cut looks to be pretty much The Special Edition without that mothership scene at the end. If you have the Special Edition you can fast-forward to when Roy walks up the ramp of the mothership where the new scene was added. The problem with adding the Cotopaxi wreck in the desert scene is that very recently the wreck of the Cotopaxi was found at the bottom of the Caribbean so the scene doesn't work in this DC and Special versions anymore, and it took away the believable aspect from the original in the first place. Though I've watched the original countless times and love it, I've watched the Special Edition and Director's Cut only once and that was enough for me! LOL! If you watch Close Encounters again someday Ollie get the original theatrical release to compare. It's always best to watch original releases of movies first before watching any other later versions, no matter who directed it or repackaged them to resell to the public. After all, it's the originals that won the awards, best remembered and suggested by movie enthusiasts. Still it was enjoyable watching your reaction and pleased you enjoyed the movie. @ 36:00 What you're describing there is the difference between a "cerebral" story like this one and "action-packed" like Star Wars. Note that the Close Encounters original was released the same year as the phenomenal original Star Wars, and yet Close Encounters held its own as it was like a battle between the two awesome directors, Spielberg and Lucas. But there was no battle really as both films were awesome and successful. That success brought the two together to collaborate on "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" in 1981. 1977 was an awesome year for scifi enthusiasts because we had two great films to see, Star Wars and Close Encounters where I and many of us saw them both many times while still running in the theaters! @ 36:28 Dude! Since you like mysteries you have to do "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968)!! Talk about mysterious endings! BUT, if you do it definitely do its sequel "2010: The Year We Made Contact" (1984) made a LONG 16 years later! Both good stories you'll enjoy. Jaws was in '75 and Close encounters 1977, both music scored by John Williams. ✌😎

The spaceship models were shot in a smoke-filled room with extremely long exposure times to give the atmospheric effect that you noted. No CGI, the only computers use were to control the effects cameras' movements. Best. Leo.

Regarding the kiss, it was the 70s, my dude. A goodbye kiss like that was nothing

There was the theatrical release version in 1977, then the re-release in 1980, if I recall, which was the special edition...and I'm guessing the "directors cut" was the network television version.

Francois Truffaut is pronounced Francois Trufo. It's a silent 't', quite common when the letter comes on the end in French. He was actually the biggest name in the film at the time. Sure you could argue that was Spielberg, who made Jaws two years before, but he was only known for Jaws. Francois Truffaut was a French New Wave filmmaker, actor and critic - one of the most well known, if not the most well known, filmmaker from France. The young guy playing the keyboard was from the company who provided the keyboard. He was only supposed to show them how to use it then return to work but Spielberg liked his look so much he kept him around to act in the film. He would be on the set for weeks and almost lost his job on account of his involvement. Bob Balaban (the translator) kept a diary which he would later publish as a book telling the making of Close Encounters (at least from his point of view). It is very informative and full of tidbits of lesser known information on the film so I would recommend it (if you can find it) for any fellow film anoraks keen to know more about how this amazing film was made.

This was the first Steven Spielberg movie I saw on VHS and ET The Extra Terrestrial. The first I saw in theaters was JURASSIC PARK.

It's worth visiting Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Almost a spiritual experience.

This is my favorite movie. Saw it when it premiered in my city on Christmas or New Years day, don't remember which. I don't call it the best movie ever made, just my favorite. I can't explain why, you either know or you don't. As far as the kiss, kisses spring from emotion and complete over the top emotional overload is a major theme in the movie. They didn't go for a quicky in one of the port a potties or anything, Just had to acknowledge their extreme emotional (for obvious reasons) connection.

Your insights as a young man are excellent. Concerning the score, it incorporates the song "When you wish upon a star," which is from the movie Roy wanted to take his kids to see... Pinocchio. And, Richard Dreyfuss (pronounced Dry-Fuss), who played Roy, also played a main character in Jaws. I was about the age of Roy's kids when this movie came out, and I would have preferred Goofy Golf as well 😂. But me and my son love this movie now.

9:02 The farmer/rustic fellow is whistling "she'll becoming round the mountain when she comes". Appropriate no? 😀

Another Fun Fact: At 30:13, as the mothership appears, the tiny figure attached underneath is R2D2, an homage to Star Wars by the model makers.

"It's beautiful." Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer. Best. Leo.

Richard Dreyfuss played Matt Hooper the marine biologist in Jaws ;-)

Anyone recognize the old man from the road and the press conference who told the big foot story? It's the guy from Home Alone who sits in the church with Kevin! 😉

Favorite line in the whole movie for me?? "There's a dead FLY in my potatoes!"

This is my favorite Spielberg movie. Loved your reaction.

Parts of the film is inspired by actual events where people had an experience with a UFO. J. Allen Hynek whom is a firm believer in UFO's was hired as a consultant, and explains when where and how aliens might come and visit us.

I would love to see them release an Ultimate Cut one day. All three versions fused together.

Part of the music at the end with the mothership was “When you wish upon a star” from “Pinoccio” which Spielberg had to dig deep on his pockets to get permission from Disney. You might think of the red light that always follows the ufo’s as Tinkerbell.

Dude, John Williams scored it AND jaws. Yes, it was a nod that wasn’t lost on people in 1977.

the amazing images are made by the magnificent cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who won the Oscar for this work.

I was working at the theater when this came out. We always got into the movies for free except for this one. It was shown one night after the theater closed for the employees and one family member. It was great. This is for more of an older audience. 8 was probably a little young.

1) About the "missing planes" found in the desert, that mystery has recently been solved with discovery of one of the planes and possibly two (there were pieces found). 2) Why the airline pilots would not report a UFO-even today it is bad for the career to report one.

Ice cream cones don't have flavors? what rock are you living under? Cone wafer materials come in vanilla banana lemon strawberry Orange chocolate, pecan and more.

No CGI ... all models. Neat, huh! The amount of painstaking work in assembling that mothership is mind-boggling. Look up Greg Jein.

Spielberg didn't pull punches in his early days. Roy was married, yes, but ALIENS! Roy had bigger things on his mind, patching up his marriage doesn't compare to that. I think Roy and Jillian kissed partly as a goodbye but also because they shared a unique experience and it bonded them. Ronnie was not a factor in it. Spielberg in his later years would have found a way to end it with things working out for everyone and the movie would have suffered for it. Watch War of the Worlds to see what I mean.

"These shots are beautiful, like pictures, paintings, you'd put on your wall". Yes kid, that's how movies used to be filmed.

Spiielbeg wisely passed up to direct Jaws 2 (though, a fair sequel in it's own right) to do this one and it was the start of growth for him in storytelling and subject matter.

Now you can appreciate "that scene" in Monsters Vs Aliens.....

Paper maps don't need batteries.

Truffaut is pronounced like "true foe" with accent on the "foe"

First reaction vid i've seen where the UFOs forming the Big Dipper was noticed.

Most precious and golden movie memories of out time, no doubt!

Devil's Tower,,is an actual place.

You have the enterprise & R2D2 ,in the same movie .the Enterprise is hanging in Roy living room.R2D2 is hanging upside down on the mother ship above Devils Tower. 🦅

it sounds like the Jaws thing.....cuz it's the same composer. John Williams does all of Spielberg's music

It was a box office and critical success, making $306 million dollars against a $20 million dollar budget.

Excellent movie My friend. Excellent reaction. Thanks.

Truffault: Troo - Foe. Rhymes with getting your burger "To Go."

On a family vacation as a kid we stopped at Devil’s Tower. It was right at dusk, so it was very cool & kind of scary at the same time.

I’m the same Gen as the kids in this movie and what freaks me out the most is personal to me alone. The wallpaper in the bathroom scenes (pink gingham with huge daisies) is the exact wallpaper from my childhood bedroom. I have only ever seen it on my wall and in this film. I know no one cares but me - but, well, there it is anyway.

Very good reaction and review! I can't believe you didn't get the kiss though! Roy and Ronnie bonded over a life changing experience that brought out strong emotions. Roy's wife clearly left him, so I feel it was fine for him to kiss Ronnie. It was just an amazing movie and I could tell you really appreciated the effects and lighting in the movie. When the mother ship slowly turns over it was the ultimate sequence in the movie for me. Just breathtaking! 🤩😍

Yea this movie was bigtime when I was a kid.

Love Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr and Melinda Dillon!!!

Regarding your complaints, Ollie... look again at the introduction of the family. The marriage was going to end anyway even if the UFOs hadn't come into the picture. Ronnie was interested in what the neighbors thought but not at all in what was going on with her husband. The UFOs just made this shallowness apparent. In effect, she's the 'bad guy' in the movie because the antagonist is closed-mindedness. The kiss with Jillian is because they shared the psychic connection and at the moment they parted, they likely sensed they would not see each other again. It served as a it of foreshadowing to the audience that Roy would go aboard the mothership.

I was 9 when this was released in 1977. It the scariest movie in my childhood memory. I saw it at the drive in movies. I didn’t watch again for 20yrs cause it scarred me so bad as a kid 😳💫🤣I adore your mature reactions and perspectives.⭐️

Close Encounters was inspired by a real event.

I love the Practical Effects in this movie. That's how moves should be made! CGI movies are video games with actors in them and I hate it.

Barry's Mom is the same mom from "A Christmas Story"! (Melinda Dillon) A totally different kind of performance! / "This guy is humanity's hope: Piano Man!" lol! I love that you said that you almost hoped you DIDN'T see the aliens, and keep the mystery. We end up seeing them, but we don't go on the ship. "The Special Edition" (that you wisely skipped) was put out in the 80s, putting in some deleted scenes, taking out some stuff.....and shooting a new stupid ending where you spend a minute and half on the ship itself. The director's cut removes this dopey ending (which the studio insisted on, Spielberg didn't want it), but it includes all the deleted scenes from both versions (although I think there is one scene still missing: early on, he sees the shape in a pillow, before or after the shaving cream scene. I think that's only in the theatrical version, I can't remember)/ The "Jaws" theme is definitely intentional: same composer (John Williams), same director, even same actor (Richard Dreyfuss). "Jaws" had been a huge hit, which led to this movie. Interestingly, when I saw this three times in the theater, people were so wrapped up in the movie and in awe of the visuals, that no one laughed or chuckled during that part, you could hear a pin drop!/ Close! It's pronounced "troo-foh", just leave off the "t". He's one of the most famous directors to come out of the very influential French "New Wave" movement of the 60s, and it was a great coup to get him in this movie!

Lol. There were no computer assisted effects in movies of the 1970's. It was all hand crafted models, actual lighting, and matte paintings for the effects. Also, this was after Jaws, and John William's again was hired to do the score, thus the nod to Jaws theme/notes...and if you missed it, he used "When you wish upon a star" from Disney's Pinocchio was also used.

1. I was in High School and working at three different movie theaters, including a drive-in. So I got to watch this on the big screen. Talk about AWESOME!🧐 2. Terri Garr played Helga in Young Frankenstein. 3. $2,500 globe in 1977. Imagine how much that sucker would be today. 4. Imagine how scary it would be to have that thing over your house and they take your baby. 5. We're gonna need a bigger mountain.😲 6. When Spidey raises his arms: "Sup Bitches"! 7. I went with my family when I was a kid and got to visit the Devils Tower before this was filmed.. 8. Love it. One of the top 10 movies to watch before you die. 9. A movie where they're NOT friendly, "Independence Day". Will Smith.

I wish you had shown the alien that he was giving the hand signs to....and how the alien did the sign back, and smiled at the people when they smiled. I loved it's face and I became very emotional at that scene. I saw it in the movie theater when it was released (I was 30 with 2 young sons and expecting my 3 rd child, so I was NOT a child when I saw this for the first time. The directors cut is supposed to show Roy after he goes inside the ship. I have SEEN that version TWICE. IF it was there, it should have been shown. It was not in the theatrical release back then. Anyway, THAT was a beautiful scene, inside the ship, Roy looks up and around and HE gets moved to tears. I LOVE this movie. I saw a reactor group of 3 people, do this movie, and they did not like at all. They thought it was boring, they questioned everything and couldn't make sense of any of it. I was really surprised because it was a huge hit, and each time I saw it in the theater (several times) it was packed. All the people I know who saw it, LOVED it. I have seen it so many times now, on TV, when it came back to the theaters, and I bought the DVD. GLAD you LIKED it. I will tell you that IF and WHEN aliens decide to contact us, I HOPE that THIS is how it would be. NOT ending in destruction and war. I can see why you were bored when you saw it as a child. It's not a good movie for a kid, they wouldn't be able to follow it at all.

Zoltan Kodaly, a Hungarian composer and teacher developed the hand signs to help students associate pitches with specific signs. They have nothing to do with aliens.

Thanks, Oliver! 🛸 I got to see this one on the big screen when the "Special Edition" was released in 1980. Of course, I'd seen the original version, on videotape, numerous times before.

Been looking forward to this one all week. Another Steven Spielberg classic! 😊

Now you must watch “Cocoon” (1985). This movie will enthrall you just as Close Encounters did. 😊

You forget to put it in a historical context. We're talking 1977. No cgi. Except for 2001, a space odyssey and Star Wars there was nothing around that looked so good.

Glad someone else picked up on Williams sticking in a wee 'Jaws' theme in at the end of the 'music communication' scene

The synthesizer operator was not an actor. He worked for SONY

Spielberg based the light pattern on the mothership while it is landed on how the San Fernando Valley looks from the hills at night.

The mothership miniature had hidden gags on it. Somewhere on it they added miniature X wing fighters and R2D2 from Star Wars which opened the previous year. Or in the UK, actually in 1978. I saw SW about 6 times at the cinema and Close Encounters about 3. You should check out Superman (1978) if not already. The late 70's was a great time to be in my teens, great epic movies to see on the big screen. BTW, Spielberg was apparently considered to direct Superman but was busy doing Close Encounters.

It was shot by two of the greatest cinematographers ever, Wilmos Szigmond and Lazslo Kovacs. The directors cut is great bit I prefer the theatrical as it’s more personal. There’s more stuff with Dreyfus at his job. Remember it’s a 70s picture it’s supposed to be a small story but it’s big. There was a special edition version released in 1980 where you went inside the mothership at the end and they did some SFX like the ship in the desert. Spielberg in the directors cut kept the added shots but lopped of the hated inside the ufo shots.

Could not tell by editing, but I can never tell if the reactors realize that Alien at the end is the Richard Dreyfuss character. That's probably because of the film, I can't remember if the Spielberg cut shows the transformation, there is a cut that does. And to this Reactor, no computers were used on this all ships are practical models.

Would be different watching it as a young adult now

I’ve read in a screenwriting book that the original cut of the movie preserves the first third as a close encounter of the first kind (sighting in the sky), second third is (physical evidence), and final third as the third kind (alien being sighted).

Jaws was what Spielberg did with a small budget. This was what Spielberg could do with a big budget.

I saw this as a 9 year old in ‘77. To this day it’s one of my all time favorites. Slow paced? Stop watching Marvel!😂

I have seen this movie over 10 times ....its a classic .

I saw this movie in the theaters. I was younger than 8 but still loved it so much. I do remember the abduction scene at the farm house scaring the hell out of me! This is one of my favorite movies of all time !

The missing planes is a real event, the 14 pilots and planes still have never been found.

It was Roy´s last kiss ever before he joined the aliens..............thats why. Plus, life ain´t about women only.

The kiss was fine. It was just to affirm their deep connection, it wasn't really sexual. Given the conclusion of the movie it would be very difficult to give Ronnie closure I guess.

Not worldwide. Universal.

35:20 - TRUE FOE - (Truffaut)

You spotted the Jaws reference, but did you spot the Pinocchio reference at the end?

"there is always a joker who doesnt believe" . Ya, the people that know the truth.

Did someone already say this,..... but,... I don't remember exactly who did this, but I think it was Steven Spielberg who dressed up in a gorilla suit and was acting (like a gorilla?) goofy to get Barry to smile as he did during the kitchen refrigerator scene. Fun bit of trivia. :D

I just discovered your channel, and this is the first reaction I've watched. Excellent job! I was 11 years old when I saw this in the theater, and I liked it, but I had just seen "Star Wars" and was expecting more of the same. When I watched it again a few years later, I realized how truly amazing this film is. You're very perceptive in everything you noticed, like the deep focus shots, and the musical reference to "Jaws." And by the way, Truffaut is pronounced "True-Foh." Again, an excellent and thoughtful reaction; I'm really looking forward to watching your other videos!

Read the book in one sitting and the movie the next day when it premiered.

The eight-year-old you would not have been able to follow the jumping around in the beginning between different seemingly unrelated scenes. The tension and mystery would have been completely lost that poor kid. This is a great classic science fiction film.The guy's name you're trying to pronounce is Francois Truffaut. Pronounced Tru-fo. One of the great French film directors in his own right.

the cars and things r referring to bermuda triangle in the beginning

The disappearance of the planes in 1945 was a real incident.

". . . honestly he could be in like *Jaws* or another Spielberg movie and I probably would just not, would just not understand if he was because I have a very bad memory . . ." Nailed that one. Dry-fuss

I suggest if you can find it, one of Spielbergs first movie Duel.

Feels like you just like to hear the sound of your own voice

I was12 years old when this movie came out; and saw it in the theater, and totally loved this movie. Between this and Star Wars; Spielberg and Lucas became my favorite people and movie creators. Funny enough; Richard Dreyfuss was in Jaws. He was the shark expert who comes to town to catch the shark. He was also in another of Spielberg's films; Always.