A retrospective by Max Scheinin. Copyright, Max Scheinin, 1997
**** = perfection *** = good, not great ** = not good, not bad - merely acceptable * = not acceptable yet not horrid - merely very bad ZERO = horrid - avoid at all costs 1/2 = icing on the cake
Released 1977 A Steven Spielberg film, "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind". Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Francois Truffaut, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey. Rating: ****
Near the end of Steven Spielberg's awe-inspiring journey Close Encounters Of The Third Kind ( CEOTTK ) something wonderful for humanity is happening; we are coming into touch with aliens. They are benevolent creatures, interested only in helping us. The contact scene is truly thrilling. Rarely does a hollywood production come this close to perfection. CEOTTK is about watching out society grow into something different from the outside. It's most remarkable.
In the entire history of cinema there have been maybe four great films about contacting aliens, a suprisingly small amount, considering the subject matter and what you would excpect hollywood executives to do with it. when I say a great film I mean a film that accomplishes everything it wants to, and overcomes all the tasks it sets for itself. One standard a film of the 'contact' genre must set for itself is to inspire awe. And thus the four movies: Stanley Kubrick's remarkable not-so-much-film-as-excperience, 2001: A Space Odessey, Spielberg's CEOTTK, Spielberg's E.T. The Extraterrestrial, and most recently, Robert Zemeckis's Contact. Otherwise we see comedies such as Men In Black and Mars Attacks!, spoofs like Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie and dumb "entertainments" like The Fifth Element ( easily the worst film I have seen this year, thus far ).
CEOTTK is a study of our universe.It is a reflection of ourselves: we claim to be so immensly powerful and big, but if they ever do come will we be ready?
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