Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) ****
While Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) does crack the top 10 of my ranked Spielberg films, and while I do greatly enjoy it, and have watched it numerous times, there's always been something about it that feels missing. Perhaps in that way, I feel the same as Richard Dreyfuss' character Roy Neary does—in the same way that he can't describe his emotions and his behavior, I can't quite describe what exactly it is that I feel Close Encounters is lacking.
What I can say that is that there are a great many things that I appreciate about this film—the simple yet iconic 5-note theme by John Williams, the somewhat dated but beautiful special f/x, the pacing, and the fact that it's a film about alien visitors that come in peace. There is still fear and trepidation by the human characters but there is no knee-jerk reaction by the government or armed forces to approach the beings with force. Merely a sense of wonder by scientists and laymen alike. Sadly, I can't say it's realistic in that regard, as we all know, particularly in current times, that it wouldn't go down that way. But one can hope...
You can find my Steven Spielberg Feature Films Ranked list here.
What I can say that is that there are a great many things that I appreciate about this film—the simple yet iconic 5-note theme by John Williams, the somewhat dated but beautiful special f/x, the pacing, and the fact that it's a film about alien visitors that come in peace. There is still fear and trepidation by the human characters but there is no knee-jerk reaction by the government or armed forces to approach the beings with force. Merely a sense of wonder by scientists and laymen alike. Sadly, I can't say it's realistic in that regard, as we all know, particularly in current times, that it wouldn't go down that way. But one can hope...
You can find my Steven Spielberg Feature Films Ranked list here.
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