Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977/2017)

[scrb]

It's being released as a 40th anniversary cut.  There had also been some kind of Director's Cut a few years after the original theatrical release.

I'm not sure which version I saw back in the day.

I was skeptical of this and Spielberg in general before I viewed it.

Spielberg seemed to jump into topics which were in the zeitgeist of the trashy culture.  Shark fears and UFOs, yokels in some remote town being probed by aliens were all in the air.

Of course there's nothing tabloid-y about this film.  Indeed, it's won lavish praise over the years:

https://drnorth.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/the-spielberg-hundred-002-a-letter-from-jean-renoir/

 

Spielberg polarized the early Internet cognoscenti.  Or at least people who posted about movies, on newsgroups, in the early to mid '90s.  Because of or maybe in spite of his commercial success, he attracted strong opinion.

In one post, a (presumably) female poster acknowledged how masterfully Spielberg knew how to tug at heartstrings with his technique, the score and the editing.  She said it was easy to get caught up in the moment, even though you knew how emotionally manipulative his films could be.  She finally compared it to doing a one night stand -- she enjoyed the night but despised herself in the morning for falling prey.

Spielberg went on to make more successful films in the next decade after Close Encounters, though perhaps none so acclaimed, other than ET.  Then later in his career, he seemed to "shop" for projects which would get him real Oscars, not the lifetime achievement Oscar.

Was it the naked careerism that put some people off?

Anyways, it must mean something that his films elicit commentary about him and his career as much as the films themselves.

[Anela]

I like Steven Spielberg, and I'm always surprised to hear a movie called "emotionally manipulative". I loved E.T. I was in floods of tears when I saw it at the age of seven, but I love movies about real friendships/strong friendships. I loved Jaws, too. 

I haven't seen all of his movies, but the only one I recall disliking, was Jurassic Park. Because they changed certain things from the book (one of the scarier parts of the book, to me, was cut from the movie). The dinosaurs were great, they were scary, but it still bugged. Whenever I've  said that before, it's been treated as blasphemy. One other thing that bugged, that was changed from the book, was

 

the grandfather/creator of the park, didn't have a change of heart - he was a greedy git. The scarier part I was referring to, was when the kids were on a raft, with the main character. He also wasn't in love with his student - Laura dern's character was in love with someone else, I think. It's been too long since I read the book

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Edited September 17, 2017 by Anela

[WritinMan]

A fantastic science fiction film and one my favorite of Spielberg's. I saw it way back when it was re-released in 1980 (I was a kid) and it made quite an impression on me. I immediately wanted to visit Devil's Tower!

[VCRTracking]

Spielberg has admitted in the past 20 years that when he made CE3K  he was young and single but after he became a father and had kids of his own he would not have had Roy Neary leave Earth with the aliens and abandon his family.

Here's a trailer for the upcoming HBO Documentary about Spielberg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSdSYmXCPXU

[blueray]

This thread scared me and cause me to think that they were remaking it. A new cut could be a good thing.

Edited September 27, 2017 by blueray