Close Encounters of the Third Kind
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Year:
Duration:
132 min (special edition) | 137 min (director's cut) | 135 min (original version)
Genres:
Drama | Sci-Fi
IMDB rate:
7.7
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 16 wins & 33 nominations
Details
Country: USA
Release Date: 1977-12-25
Filming Locations: Mobile Civic Center, Civic Center Drive, Mobile, Alabama, USA
Earnings
Budget: $19,400,870
Gross: $15,693,175 (USA) ( 1980)
Cast
Actor
Character
Gene Dynarski
Gene Dynarski
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Richard Dreyfuss
Roy Neary
François Truffaut
Claude Lacombe
Teri Garr
Ronnie Neary
Melinda Dillon
Jillian Guiler
Bob Balaban
David Laughlin
J. Patrick McNamara
Project Leader
Warren J. Kemmerling
Wild Bill
Roberts Blossom
Farmer
Philip Dodds
Jean Claude
Cary Guffey
Barry Guiler
Shawn Bishop
Brad Neary
Adrienne Campbell
Silvia Neary
Justin Dreyfuss
Toby Neary
Lance Henriksen
Robert
Merrill Connally
Team Leader
George DiCenzo
Major Benchley
Amy Douglass
Implantee
Alexander Lockwood
Implantee
Mary Gafrey
Mrs. Harris
Norman Bartold
Ohio Tolls
Josef Sommer
Larry Butler
Michael J. Dyer
Himself (as Rev. Michael J. Dyer)
Roger Ernest
Highway Patrolman
F.J. O'Neil
ARP Project Member (as F. J. O'Neil)
Phil Dodds
ARP Musician
Randy Hermann
Returnee #1 Flt. 19
Hal Barwood
Returnee #2 Flt. 19
Matthew Robbins
Returnee #3 Flt. 19
David Anderson
Air Traffic Controller
Richard L. Hawkins
Air Traffic Controller
Craig Shreeve
Air Traffic
Bill Thurman
Air Traffic
Roy E. Richards
Air East Pilot
Gene Rader
Hawker
Eumenio Blanco
Federale
Daniel Núñez
Federale (as Daniel Nunez)
Chuy Franco
Federale
Luis Contreras
Federale
James Keane
Radio Telescope Team
Dennis McMullen
Radio Telescope Team
Cy Young
Radio Telescope Team
Tom Howard
Radio Telescope Team
Richard Stuart
Truck Dispatcher
Bob Westmoreland
Load Dispatcher
Matt Emery
Support Leader
Galen Thompson
Special Forces
John Dennis Johnston
Special Forces
John Ewing
Dirty Tricks #1
Keith Atkinson
Dirty Tricks #2
Robert Broyles
Dirty Tricks #3
Kirk Raymond
Dirty Tricks #4
Bennett Wayne Dean Sr.
Scientist (uncredited)
Basil Hoffman
Longly (uncredited)
J. Allen Hynek
Himself - Smoking Pipe at Landing Site (uncredited)
Monty Jordan
Special Forces Commander / Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
Shay McLean
Speaking Child Extra (uncredited)
Stephen Powers
UN Observer (uncredited)
Howard K. Smith
Howard K. Smith (uncredited)
Did you know?
Trivia
The situation on U.S. Navy Flight 19, from which the airplanes that appear in the Mexican desert came from, disappeared off Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in December 1945. No trace has ever been found of "the Lost Flight 19" which left the Naval Air Station near there in 1945.
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The final alien with whom Mr. Lacombe communicates by sign language was initially a child in a rubber costume. However, when doing the hand gestures, the folding rubber simply looked fake, so the scene had to be re-shot with an animatronic puppet.
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Melinda Dillon was cast largely at the suggestion of director Hal Ashby. He had heard that Spielberg was having difficulty casting the part of Jillian, and Ashby had just completed his movie Bound for Glory (1976) with her in the cast - and liked her work. So Ashby sent Spielberg a couple of film reels containing her acting. Upon seeing those, Speilberg hired Dillon immediately.
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Goofs
The Huey that the "contactees" are to be flown out of the Devils Tower area on is a single engine version from the rear but a twin engine version from the front and on take off.
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In the scenes at the air traffic control center, the aircraft encountering the UFO are under control of Indianapolis Center, but the controllers check for activity in restricted area 2508. Restricted area 2508 is in the Mohave Desert and includes Edwards Air Force Base, and is nowhere near the area under control of Indianapolis Center, a thousand miles to the east.
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The plate on Roy's station wagon in Wyoming displays a 44 on the left of the bucking bronco logo. This is not a real plate. The numbers to the left of the logo on a Wyoming plate indicate the county in which it was issued. Wyoming only has 23 counties. The local county number for Devil's Tower (Crook County) would be 18. The most likely place he rented the car (Roy is from Indiana, The car has Wyoming plates) would be Gilette in Campbell County, which is 17.
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Quotes
Ronnie Neary: Roy, what did it look like?
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Claude Lacombe: Major Walsh, it is an event sociologique.
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Roy Neary: I wanna speak to the man in charge.
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Faq
Q
Is 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' based on a book?
A
The movie is based on a screenplay credited to director Steven Spielberg with contributions by American screenwriters Jerry Belson, John Hill, Matthew Robbins, and Paul Schrader and game designer Hal Barwood. Spielberg claims that the idea for the film originates from his childhood when he and father saw a meteor shower in New Jersey. Pieces of that experience were featured in his 1964 film Firelight and in a short story titled 'Experiences' about a light show in the night sky experienced by a group of teenagers on a rural lovers' lane. A novelisation of the film was released in 1977.
Q
Any recommendations for other movies that feature positive encounters with aliens?
A
Most movies with alien encounters have featured hostile aliens, e.g., The War of the Worlds (1953), Invaders from Mars (1953), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), Fire in the Sky (1993), and Independence Day (1996). However, there are a handful of alien encounter films in which the aliens are friendly. Examples include The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Starman (1984), Cocoon (1985) and The Abyss (1989).
Q
Is the mountain in the movie a real place?
A
Yes, the Devil's Tower, Wyoming is a National Monument established in 1906 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Most geologists agree that Devil's Tower was formed by a intrusion of igneous magma which cooled underground and was later exposed by erosion, but some believe that it is a volcanic plug or the remains of what was once a large volcano. It is considered a sacred place by the various Indian tribes in the area, and Native American folklore says that it was created when some girls tried to escape several giant bears by climbing on it. The vertical cracks that form the sides of the tower are said to be the claw marks left by the bears as they tried unsuccessfully to reach them.
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Photos from cast
Carl Weathers Gene Dynarski
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