AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => Movie reviews => Topic started by: David Vaughn on June 15, 2026, 06:17:10 PM
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In writing my review of the Steven Spielberg: The Spotlight collection, I discovered that this review vanished on the site, so I'm reposting it now.
Plot
After an encounter with U.F.O.s, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
My Thoughts
Put me in the minority on this one, but I don’t think this film is all that. I don’t find the writing to be particularly good, the pacing is slow as molasses, and I have never connected with any of the characters. Sure, at the time the film came out, it was considered a technical masterpiece, but 40 years later its sort of ho-hum in this department and despite my advanced age, I still didn’t fall in love with it. What I find interesting, is that George Lucas and Spielberg exchanged “point” between each other on this and Star Wars—Spielberg got rich off his Star Wars point and George’s take from this pales in comparison. Maybe Spielberg should have worked on Wall Street!
The 4K restoration is quite good for a 40-year-old film and Sony has done a masterful job in this department. Grain is left intact and while the visuals are soft, it fits how movies looked in this era of Hollywood. The audio is the same that was on the 30-year anniversary Blu-ray and holds up decently well given its stereo roots.
4K UHD
Video 9/10 (HEVC)
Audio 8/10 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Special Features (Housed on Blu-ray disc)
- All Three Versions of the Film
- 1977 Theatrical
- 1980 Special Edition
- 1997 Director’s Cut
- “Three Kinds of Close Encounters” Featurette (new)
- Steven’s Home Movies & Outtakes (new)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind Making-of Documentary
- “Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters” Featurette
- Deleted Scenes
- 1977 Featurette “Watch the Skies”
- Storyboard to Scene Comparisons
- Extensive Photo Gallery
- “A View From Above”
- Theatrical Trailers
- Blu-ray + UV Digital Copy
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSpQ3G08k48 [/video][/size][/color]
Conclusion
Having not seen the film for 20 years, I thought I’d see if I would enjoy it more than I did as a kid and as an under-30 viewer. Sadly, that isn’t the case. I still find it boring and don’t get why people revere it so much. Fans will definitely enjoy the new 4K transfer though, so at least they’ll be happy.
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Cloaking device