Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977 · Directed by Steven Spielberg
Original language: English
- science fiction
- drama
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.
What it’s like
Warm, rain-washed light and wide, open skies give way to blinding white floodlight and deep, glowing darkness, with Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography built on soft backlight, lens flare, and rich, saturated colour. The camera drifts through ordinary suburban kitchens and dusty highways with a patient, wondering gaze, then pulls back to vast desert vistas where tiny figures stand dwarfed by the sky. John Williams's score is the emotional center, a swelling, luminous orchestral melody with five-note motifs that rise like a call. Pacing is unhurried and builds steadily toward long, awed sequences of light and sound, with stretches of quiet domestic life in between. The mood is wonder tinged with restless longing and family strain, a lonely man slowly pulled toward something beyond himself. Intensity is low: no gore, no real violence, and only brief moments of tension, though a few tense scenes of a child's disappearance and a government evacuation carry some unease. It suits a curious, sentimental viewing on a quiet evening, for people who love big-hearted, old-fashioned science fiction that values awe over action.
More films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Close Encounters of the Third Kindand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
