Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
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.
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What critics compared Close Encounters of the Third Kind to
Although it’s a broad takeoff on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., it’s not in the superficial Scary Movie mode.
Tongue-in-cheek references to Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), James Cameron's "Aliens" (1986) and other classic sci-fi flicks are consistently witty.
"Paul," which he cowrote with Nick Frost, his costar of those two films, is less a parody than a buddy bromance mired in adolescent homophobia with a lot of direct references to "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," as if just the idea of those films, or the casting of "Aliens'" Sigourney Weaver, should be a crackup.
He bathes the entirety of Paul in a patina of cinematic recall, channeling everything from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to ET, while Pegg and Frost are busy throwing in everything else (big brownie points for the Mac and Me shout-out!).
He takes credit for The X Files ("Mulder was my idea!") and for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.
Whilst Nope nods to - and borrows from - other well-known ‘alien invasion’ films ( Signs , Close Encounters of the Third Kind , and War of the Worlds ), as well as pop-culture horror ( Tremors , Poltergeist ), it also manages to be its own unique film, with genuinely impressive twists and well-timed comedy.
Peele tackles ambitious Spielberg-ian themes which makes Nope feel like his Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) while paying homage to the origins of cinema as well as westerns and science fiction films that have come before it.
Obviously, the film’s sci-fi themes are incredibly similar to Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, only this time combined with Peele’s signature biting social satire.
It’s Jordan Peele’s homage to westerns and early-era Spielberg, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in particular being the most overt references.
While the calls to compare parts of Nope to Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind are valid and understandable; Nope ends up being more akin to the underappreciated Trollhunter, than anything else.
A UFO-focused story featuring echoes of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs, this is a film on some level about watching and waiting, with characters gazing at the clouds, starting or thrilling to the flickers of movement that they see.
Although they wear red jumpsuits, like the astronauts at the end of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), they are flying nowhere.
What happens is more like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the Steven Spielberg classic in which communication is the key.
Instead, Villeneuve's film asserts its place among far more nuanced interplanetary explorations such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Contact and the more ponderous (and far less humanistic) Interstellar, as well as in a venerable tradition of cerebral literary sci-fi.
In the realm of big screen science fiction, "Arrival" feels like a mix of "2001: A Space Odyssey" with a generous dose of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Yes, it's not the first alien-landing film to do that (cue those five-notes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind ).
There are elements of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in man's attempt to communicate with aliens (Jóhann Jóhannsson's ("Sicario") affecting score makes a subtle nod), "Gravity" in a skyward-looking grieving mother's bond to her child, and many films where global crisis causes conflict among nations, but "Arrival" is unique in its mind altering concept of communication and time travel.
Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Steven Spielberg's " Close Encounters of the Third Kind" dealt with similar themes in a much more simple, movie-friendly way.
Echoes of Spielberg ("E.T.," "The Sugarland Express," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind") and John Carpenter ("Starman") can be heard in the film, but Nichols is his own plain-spoken artist.
He wants to be Roy (or at least Claude Lacombe) in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Nichols is obviously aiming for Spielberg, not just E.T. but Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Mixing the paranormal premise of “Firestarter” with the conspiracy-fueled paranoia of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” the film has a cornucopia of good ideas and many shivery scenes, but never adds up to a completely convincing story.
Thematically, Arkansas-born writer-director Jeff Nichols’ fourth feature draws capably from the models of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T.” and “Starman,” as well as Nichols’ own affinity for spare widescreen compositions akin to Clint Eastwood movies of that filmmaking era.
Until then, however, “Midnight Special” is, despite its sometimes glacial pace, a tense, chilling ride that that also manages to be challenging and thought-provoking, with echoes of “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” turned on their head.
Nichols' storytelling relies on a mounting atmosphere of slow-burn intensity and an attention to people rather than plot points, his sensibilities lying next to, for example, Steven Spielberg's in 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
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Here is a film that provides plenty of 70mm action (cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot the whole thing on film with IMAX cameras he calls “the world’s heaviest Go-Pros”), as well as references both obvious and veiled to such influential sci-fi and/or science touchstones as 2001: A Space Odyssey , Close Encounters of the Third Kind , The Right Stuff and the best speculative fiction of to-the-stars maestro Robert A. Heinlein.
There is sincerity in the homage paid by its writer-director, Christopher Nolan, to two masterpieces of science-fiction cinema, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyssey and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Interstellar, which was originally a Steven Spielberg project (some of his markers, notably the ’70s-style farmhouse, remain), has an emotional core that recalls Spielberg’s critique of his own film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Richard Dreyfuss should have never left his family.
The rustic homestead, where Cooper and his father-in-law (John Lithgow) drink beer on the porch, recalls the Indiana home of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" — an early hint that "Interstellar" — moving and sentimental — will be more Spielberg (who was once attached to direct) than Kubrick.
No, Nolan's end result here will not and should not be mentioned in the same breath as "2001: A Space Odyssey" or "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Astronauts Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway journey to a distant galaxy on a desperate mission to save humanity in this brainy, heartfelt, gorgeous and flawlessly acted sci-fi epic — inspired by “2001: A Space Odyssey,’’ “Close Encounters of the Third Kind’’ and less likely sources such as “The Grapes of Wrath.’’
Like a conjurer who can technically copy his hero's trick but fails to find the "magic," Abrams objectively understands and gathers many of the narrative elements that make Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. memorable, but puts his heart more into the references to Dick Smith's Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-Up Handbook than into telling a story that, like those of Spielberg, feel real.
Sure, by technicality, the story is original, but when the entire picture is an homage to ’80s Spielberg and borrows heavily from Steven’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., and more than a share from Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me, it’s hard to really call it original.
"Super 8" not only pays homage to pictures like "E.T.," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and "The Goonies," it acts as a tribute to a time when all you needed to make a movie was passion and ingenuity, rather than $200 million and the rights to a hip comic book.
The effect of such a modus operandi is initial coziness quickly giving way to disheartening familiarity, with Abrams’s own preoccupations (if he had any to begin with) becoming subsumed beneath the root themes, dynamics, and imagery of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and, more fundamental still, E.T. Set in a small Ohio town in 1979, this is a trial-by-fire tale of middle school kids falling in love, strengthening relationships, and reconciling with distant parents that’s so clearly modeled after the work of its spiritual godfather (and producer) that, though Abrams’s comprehension of his chosen genre tropes is exhaustive and his technical skill is impressive enough to create stirring atmospheric déjà vu, there’s little genuine heart to his drama.
Though you could also detect echoes of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and even The Goonies in Super 8.
Produced by Spielberg and reminiscent of E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind and even War of the Worlds, it also has some of the coming-of-age quality of Rob Reiner's Stand By Me.
…we’re in Close Encounters of the Third Kind territory, as freaky power surges light up the night sky.
It’s the PG-rated ’80s movie that would land a PG-13 today — your “Jaws,” “Indiana Jones,” and, yes, “E.T.” and 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
It’s a bit that visually and emotionally pulls you toward the familiar—Poltergeist, the final scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind—but at the same time is so distinctly its own thing.
One sequence in particular - featuring Ryder’s Joyce, an empty house, and a bounty of Christmas fairy lights - is especially affecting, evoking a goose-bumping sense of splendour-from-normality powerful enough to stand side by side with anything in Close Encounters or Poltergeist, but without for a second paying homage.
…cómo disfrutamos con E.T., Los Goonies o Encuentros en la tercera fase…
You see the influences of Spielberg’s “E.T.” and “Close Encounters”…
Director
Steven Spielberg
Critics compare Close Encounters of the Third Kind to 11 of Spielberg’s own films.
…the hugely influential Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)…
Instead, his latest science-fiction epic finds him reaching for something stranger, knottier, and more elusive. Disclosure Day is not a tidy alien invasion spectacle or a clean return to the emotional clarity of E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The immediate mental leap that fires off is to try and drive home comparisons to Close Encounters, though that instinct detracts from the unique balancing act on display.
It is very much in conversation not only with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but with Lincoln and The Post as well.
Disclosure Day will instantly draw comparisons to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, more than E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial or A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
…there are times in the film when it taps into the heart of Close Encounters of the Third Kind…
Don’t come to The Fabelmans expecting to see how Spielberg created Jaws or what inspired Close Encounters of the Third Kind (although we kind of wish we had seen a little of Sammy making his/Spielberg’s 8mm UFO epic “Firelight,“ made when he was just 17 years old).
The first, when a storm rages in the quaint suburban neighborhood of Spielberg’s childhood, is a direct reference to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
Spielberg has made a wide variety of films, but many of his movies—especially the ones having to do with outer-space creatures, such as 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and 2005’s “War of the Worlds” remake—have a few themes in common, such as people dealing with fractured families and/or families in conflict because one person in the family is determined to pursue a particular goal against tremendous odds.
The very fact that Spielberg’s childhood has been a known subtext in so many of his works, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Catch Me If You Can, inspires us to make those comparisons.
The divorce of Spielberg's parents has been a theme in many of his movies, from the breakdown of the Close Encounters of the Third Kind family and the single mother in E.T., to Indiana Jones's daddy issues and the real-life Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can.
It makes reference to many elements of the 1950s, such as nuclear testing, Ike, Communists, rock 'n' roll and juvenile delinquents, and it even provides a kind of full circle for both Lucas (with the previously mentioned American Graffiti echo) and Spielberg (with a Close Encounters of the Third Kind echo), but doesn't do anything with these concepts other than simply present them.
Later Indy says "I have a bad feeling about this," echoing the "Star Wars" series, and the film's denouement heavy-handedly mimics "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
But the structure - resist, capture, escape, repeat - and the elaborate and escalating plot machinations (with nods to "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the Red Scare and the blacklist) confuse action for consequence.
Steven Spielberg directs ("Saving Private Ryan"/"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"/ "Schindler's List") it in an exhausting manner, trying at all costs to keep it old-fashioned, action-packed and cutesy charming.
Oh, there’s a nice hook at its core — all the reviews calling the film a sequel-of-sorts to Close Encounters of the Third Kind are too glib, but not far off — but the series of treasure hunts that ultimately leads them to it is basically random.
The climax, which brings all of the central players to the City of Gold and face to face with an alien creature right out of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," boasts solid showmanship and satisfyingly wraps things up.
All the visual Spielberg traits are apparent (including an obvious homage to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" during the resolution), and yet the essence of the atmosphere--in which the world feels empty despite the prescence of crowded sidewalks and busy streets--is definitely Kubrick-inspired.
Though many of the sets are reminiscent of the spaceships in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," thematically speaking, the Spielberg picture that "A.I." most closely resembles is "Schindler's List": both movies are infused with the terror of facing down a society that views you as less than human.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence belongs in the middle, completing the trilogy begun with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.; combining elements of searching and longing with elements of goopy, sappy sentimentalism.
From Close Encounters of the Third Kind, through the Indiana Jones series, The Color Purple, Schindler's List and Amistad he has, with varying degrees of success, meditated on issues like faith, life, and justice.
Working from Aldiss's short story and Ian Watson's screen story, Spielberg wrote and directed this film that marks just the second time he's ever assumed both roles (the first being in the far superior "Close Encounters of the Third Kind").
Speaking for myself, I’m going to go out on a limb here, but Spielberg’s already so far out on his that I feel it’s warranted, so here goes: As a work of cinematic art, A.I. Artificial Intelligence may deserve a place on the shelf between Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
But he might as well have been referring to the narrative itself, imbued with a humanist streak that links it with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and, especially, “E.T.,” and stresses exactly why Spielberg’s family movies remain every bit as essential as the films that earned him a new measure of artistic credibility.
Just some examples have been the boy in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the siblings in "Jurassic Park," young Christian Bale in "Empire of the Sun," the animated boy in "The Adventures of Tintin," the kids in "War of the Worlds" and, of course, young Drew Barrymore in "E.T."
Gone are the days of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," when Spielberg dared to render the kidnapping of a child in the dead of the night by otherworldly beings into the terrifying phenomenon one would expect.
Spielberg has long been renowned for his ability to work with child actors (something that the great French director François Truffaut recognized on the set of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which led him to encourage Spielberg to make a film about children), and we can see it again in his work with Ruby Barnhill.
When his movies are really soaring, as in “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” that’s exactly what he is.
The Spielberg who made Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind—and for that matter, E.T.—could still surprise and unnerve an audience, because he was still on the verge of realizing his destiny as a film-critical adjective.
The big-budget follow-up to the successful Jaws (1975), which became the number one box office hit of all-time, by Steven Spielberg ("Jurassic Park"/"War of the Worlds"/"E.T.
There is no doubt the man who mastered the philosophical with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the poetic with E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial wanted to make, in his words, a ?kick-ass alien movie?.
His pictures Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E. T. (1982) presented a different viewpoint by showing peaceful visitors from outer space.
In Steven Spielberg's unofficial trilogy Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and A.I. Artificial Intelligence , kindly, curious aliens visit earth and gently explore our mysterious ways.
After his ex drops the kids off for the weekend, towering, laser-firing tripod machines – which are powered by aliens who have traveled to Earth via lightening, and which emit moaning sounds that slyly recall the musical tones from Close Encounters of the Third Kind – begin rising from the ground.
In Spielberg's earlier "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," benevolent visitors from the far reaches of space brought everyone together.
Even Donovan’s wife (Amy Ryan) has no purpose in the movie aside from telling him that what he’s doing is wrong and resisting his goals every step of the way, making this view of domestic life one of Spielberg’s harshest—and that’s saying something considering the views of spouses and parents in pictures like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and A.I.
Donovan is basically Richard Dreyfuss in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” all over again: an obsessive whose family is there to be abandoned as he pursues his hairbrained dream.
Like Bradbury's thief, Spielberg is getting away with murder in most of his films post- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (particularly A.I. , Minority Report , Schindler's List, Empire of the Sun,and Saving Private Ryan) until self-doubt and paranoia consume him, seducing him to a fatal eleventh-hour appeal.
His 1970s films were largely set in the present, from Duel through Jaws to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but then he took off in time and has rarely returned.
Except for "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," he usually wraps production in a timely manner.
Spielberg, the visionary who gave us the rosy full-studio glow of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T." and the Indiana Jones trilogy, for his fourth film set during World War II was perfectly willing to experiment with handheld cameras, underwater shots, overexposures, blood-spattered lenses, skipped frames and other unconventional techniques.
In a recent interview, Spielberg told me that Truffaut, who acted in Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," had told him the very same thing, and that that challenge was very much on his mind during production.
After Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), he could afford to build any set, throw money at any creative problem.
As a neat companion piece to Bridge of Spies, The Post keeps Spielberg far outside the blockbuster cycle of his early days – the pure genre works of Indiana Jones, of Jaws and Jurassic Park and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Think of the unknown swimmer getting chomped to begin Jaws (and actress Susan Backlinie reprising that intro in 1941), the discovery of the World War II airplanes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the opening chase in E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial.
The big-budget follow-up to the successful Jaws (1975), which became the number one box office hit of all-time, by Steven Spielberg ("Jurassic Park"/"War of the Worlds"/"E.T.
There's also the deep curiosity that drives people to extremes, as he showed in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Think back to another ambitious special effects picture from Spielberg, " Close Encounters of the Third Kind " (1977).
But Spielberg has clearly outgrown this kind of basic chase material, and his boredom shows in shots, sequences and story points that have been recycled from "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Spielberg's career is littered with extremely well-managed child performances: from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Empire of the Sun to A.I. Artificial Intelligence .
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What do you get when you cross "When Worlds Collide," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and "Deep Impact?"
With Knowing, director Alex Proyas (The Crow; I, Robot; Dark City) has scooped up a little M. Night Shyamalan, tossed in a heaping helping of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and written most of the cheques on his rumoured $50 million budget for CGI trickery.
Blending doomsday mysticism, otherworldly phenomena, parental concern and quasi-spiritualism, Knowing blatantly references Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
It's unlikely that Knowing will become a classic YouTube howler like The Wicker Man (go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6i2WRreARo to enjoy the hilarity), but this latest dud starring Nicolas Cage does bring to mind the title of MAD magazine's Close Encounters of the Third Kind spoof.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Contact, and, most directly, Signs (and its heavy-handed spiritual overtones) all factor into John’s emergence from his crisis of faith, with the film suffering from a derivative and patchwork second half that doesn’t satisfyingly follow through on its initially intriguing setup.
…not just ‘80s suburbia, but the suburban ideal of Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
The End of Oak Street slams Jurassic Park into Close Encounters of the Third Kind…
Everyone remembers the eye-popping mother ship connection at the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Fewer people recall the disturbing “crybaby” sequence. The people behind this flashback do, however, and their tribute is filled with those kind of raw, emotional, rough-edged moments in between full-on dino carnage.
…the old-school frosted-yellow water glasses that look borrowed from the Neary family in Close Encounters of the Third Kind…