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.

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, J. Patrick McNamara, Warren J. Kemmerling, Roberts Blossom, Phil Dodds, Cary Guffey

Editor's note

Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind stands as a beacon of cinematic imagination, exploring the profound possibilities of extraterrestrial contact. This 1977 masterpiece weaves a tapestry of ordinary lives thrust into the extraordinary, marked by Spielberg's signature blend of human drama and awe-inspiring spectacle. The film's portrayal of first contact is both intimate and grandiose, inviting viewers to ponder the vastness of our universe and our place within it. Its enduring appeal lies not just in its visual effects or the haunting five-note musical phrase but in its optimistic vision of humanity's capacity to reach beyond the known. Spielberg crafts a narrative that is as much about the internal journeys of his characters as it is about their encounters with the unknown, making Close Encounters a transcendent experience that resonates with hope and the universal desire for connection.