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Close Encounters of the Third Kind
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For the concept from which this film derives its name, see Close encounter.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Produced by
Julia Phillips
Michael Phillips
Written by
Steven Spielberg
Starring
Richard Dreyfuss
François Truffaut
Melinda Dillon
Teri Garr
Music by
John Williams
Cinematography
Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by
Michael Kahn
Studio
EMI Films
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
Release dates
November 16, 1977

Running time
137 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$20 million
Box office
$337,700,000[1]
Close Encounters of the Third Kindis a 1977 Americanscience fictionfilm written and directed by Steven Spielbergand features actors Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue collar workerin Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with an unidentified flying object(UFO).
Close Encounterswas a long-cherished project for Spielberg. In late 1973, he developed a deal with Columbia Picturesfor a science fiction film. Though Spielberg received sole credit for the script, he was assisted by Paul Schrader, John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Jerry Belson, all of whom contributed to the screenplay in varying degrees. The title is derived from ufologist J. Allen Hynek's classification of close encounterswith aliens, in which the third kind denotes human observations of actual aliens or "animate beings". Douglas Trumbullserved as the visual effects supervisor, while Carlo Rambaldidesigned the aliens.
Made on a production budget of $20 million, Close Encounterswas released in November 1977 to critical and financial success, eventually grossing over $337,700,000 worldwide.
The film was reissuedin 1980 as Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition, which featured additional scenes. A third cut of the film was released to home video and laserdisc in 1998 (and later DVD and Blu-ray). The film received numerous awards and nominations at the 50th Academy Awards, 32nd British Academy Film Awards, the 35th Golden Globe Awards, the Saturn Awardsand has been widely acclaimed by the American Film Institute. In December 2007, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[2]


Contents [hide]
1Plot
2Cast
3Production3.1Development
3.2Filming
3.3Visual effects
3.4Post-production
4Soundtrack4.11977 original album
4.21998 Collector's Edition
5Themes
6Release6.1Reception
6.2Reissue and home video
6.3Legacy
7References7.1Notes
7.2Bibliography
7.3Further reading
8External links

Plot[edit]
In the Sonoran Desert, French scientist Claude Lacombe and his American interpreter, mapmaker David Laughlin, along with other government scientific researchers, discover Flight 19, a squadron of Grumman TBM Avengersthat went missing more than 30 years earlier. The planes are intact and operational, but there is no sign of the pilots. An old man who witnessed the event claimed "the sun came out at night, and sang to him." They also find a lost ship in the Gobi Desertnamed SS Cotopaxi. At an air traffic controlcenter in Indianapolis, a controller listens as two airline flights almost have a mid-air collision with an apparent unidentified flying object (UFO). In Muncie, Indiana, 3-year-old Barry Guiler is awakened in the night when his toys start operating on their own. Fascinated, he gets out of bed and discovers something or someone (off-screen) in the kitchen. He runs outside, forcing his mother, Jillian, to chase after him.
Investigating one of a series of large-scale power outages, Indiana electrical lineman Roy Neary experiences a close encounter with a UFO, when it flies over his truck and lightly burns the side of his face with its bright lights. The UFO, along with three others, are pursued by Neary and three police cars, but the spacecraft flies off into the night sky. Roy becomes fascinated by UFOs, much to the dismay of his wife, Ronnie. He also becomes increasingly obsessed with subliminal, mental images of a mountain-like shape and begins to make models of it. Jillian also becomes obsessed with sketching a unique-looking mountain. Soon after, she is terrorized in her home by a UFO encounter in which Barry is abducted by unseen beings.
Lacombe and Laughlin—along with a group of United Nations experts—continue to investigate increasing UFO activity and strange, related occurrences. Witnesses report that the UFOs make distinctive sounds: a five-tone musical phrase in a major scale. Scientists broadcast the phrase to outer space, but are mystified by the response: a seemingly meaningless series of numbers repeated over and over until Laughlin, with his background in cartography, recognizes it as a set of geographical coordinates. The coordinates point to Devils Towernear Moorcroft, Wyoming. Lacombe and the U.S. military converge on Wyoming. The United States Army evacuates the area, planting false reports in the media that a train wreck has spilled a toxic nerve gas, all the while preparing a secret landing zone for the UFOs and their occupants.
Meanwhile, Roy's increasingly erratic behavior causes Ronnie to leave him, taking their three children with her. When a despairing Roy inadvertently sees a television news program about the train wreck near Devils Tower, he realizes the mental image of a mountain plaguing him is real. Jillian sees the same broadcast, and she and Roy, as well as others with similar visions and experiences, travel to the site in spite of the false public warnings about nerve gas.
While most of the civilians who are drawn to the site are apprehended by the Army, Roy and Jillian persist and make it to the site just as dozens of UFOs appear in the night sky. The government specialists at the site begin to communicate with the UFOs by use of light and sound on a large electrical billboard. Following this, an enormous mother ship lands at the site, returning people who had been abducted over the past decades, including Barry, and the missing pilots from Flight 19 and sailors from the Cotopaxi, who have not aged since their abductions. The government officials decide to include Roy in a group of people whom they have selected to be potential visitors to the mothership, and hastily prepare him. As the aliens finally emerge from the mothership, they select Roy to join them on their travels. As Roy enters the mothership, one of the aliens pauses for a few moments with the humans. Lacombe uses Curwen hand signsthat correspond to the five note alien tonal phrase. The alien replies with the same gestures, smiles, and returns to its ship, which lifts off into the night sky.
Cast[edit]
Richard Dreyfussas Roy Neary, an electrical linemanin Indianawho encounters and forms an obsession with unidentified flying objects. Steve McQueenwas Spielberg's first choice. Although McQueen was impressed with the script, he felt he was not specifically right for the role as he was unable to cry on cue. Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacinoand Gene Hackmanturned down the part as well.[3]Jack Nicholsonturned it down because of scheduling conflicts. Spielberg explained when filming Jaws, "Dreyfuss talked me into casting him. He listened to about 155 days' worth of Close Encounters. He even contributed ideas."[4]Dreyfuss reflected, "I launched myself into a campaign to get the part. I would walk by Steve's office and say stuff like 'Al Pacino has no sense of humor' or 'Jack Nicholson is too crazy'. I eventually convinced him to cast me."[3]
François Truffautas Claude Lacombe, a French government scientist in charge of UFO-related activities in the United States. Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Jean-Louis Trintignantand Lino Venturawere considered for the role. During filming, Truffaut used his free time to write the script for The Man Who Loved Women. He also worked on a novel titled The Actor, a project he abandoned.[5]
Melinda Dillonas Jillian Guiler, Barry's single mother. She forms a similar obsession to Roy's, and the two become friends. Teri Garr wanted to portray Jillian, but was cast as Ronnie. Hal Ashby, who worked with Dillon on Bound for Glory, suggested her for the part to Spielberg. Dillon was cast three days before filming began.[3]
Teri Garras Veronica "Ronnie" Neary, Roy's wife. Amy Irvingauditioned for the role.[6]
Cary Guffeyas Barry Guiler, Jillian's young child abducted in the middle of the film. Spielberg conducted a series of method actingtechniques to help Guffey, who was cast when he was just three years old.[3]
Bob Balabanas David Laughlin, Lacombe's assistant and English-French interpreter. They meet for the first time in the Sonoran Desertat the beginning of the film. His former position as a cartographer allows him to interpret the alien signals as coordinates leading to the meeting at Devils Tower.
Josef Sommeras Larry Butler, a curious man who meets Roy and Jillian in Wyoming and attempts to scale Devils Tower with them.
Lance Henriksenas Robert, Lacombe's assistant
Roberts Blossomas Farmer, a radical who claims to have seen Sasquatch.
J. Allen Hynekand Stanton T. Friedmanmake cameo appearancesat the closing scene. Spielberg's friends Hal Barwoodand Matthew Robbinscameo as two World War IIpilots returning from the mother ship. Real-life ARPtechnician Phil Doddscameos as the operator of the ARP 2500 synthesizercommunicating with the alien ship. Musician Jerry Garciaalso makes an appearance in the crowd scene.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The film's origins can be traced to director Steven Spielberg's youth, when he and his father saw a meteor showerin New Jersey.[3]As a teenager, Spielberg completed the full-length science fiction film Firelight. Many scenes from Firelightwould be incorporated in Close Encounterson a shot-for-shotbasis.[7]In 1970 he wrote a short storycalled Experiencesabout a lovers' lane in a Midwestern United States farming community and the "light show" a group of teenagers see in the night sky.[8]In late 1973, during post-productionon The Sugarland Express, Spielberg developed a deal with Columbia Picturesfor a science fiction film. 20th Century Foxpreviously turned down the offer.[8]Juliaand Michael Phillipsinstantly signed on as producers.[9]
He first considered doing a documentary or a low-budget feature filmabout people who believed in UFOs. Spielberg decided "a film that depended on state of the arttechnology couldn't be made for $2.5 million."[8]Borrowing a phrase from the ending of The Thing from Another World, he retitled the film Watch the Skies, rewriting the premise concerning Project Blue Bookand pitchingthe concept to Willard Huyckand Gloria Katz. Katz remembered "It had flying saucers from outer space landing on Robertson Boulevard[in West Hollywood, California]. I go, 'Steve, that's the worst idea I ever heard."[8]Spielberg brought Paul Schraderto write the script in December 1973 with principal photographyto begin in late-1974. However, Spielberg started work on Jawsin 1974, pushing Watch the Skiesback.[8]
With the financial and critical success of Jaws, Spielberg earned a vast amount of creative control from Columbia, including the right to make the film any way he wanted.[10]Schrader turned in his script, which Spielberg called, "one of the most embarrassing screenplays ever professionally turned in to a major film studio or director. It was a terribly guilt-ridden story not about UFOs at all."[4]Titled Kingdom Come, the script's protagonistwas a 45-year-old Air Force Officer named Paul Van Owen who worked with Project Blue Book. "[His] job for the government is to ridicule and debunk flying saucers." Schrader continued. "One day he has an encounter. He goes to the government, threatening to blow the lid off to the public. Instead, he and the government spend 15 years trying to make contact."[4]Spielberg and Schrader experienced creative differences, hiring John Hillto rewrite.[4]At one point the main character was a police officer.[3]Spielberg "[found] it hard to identify with men in uniform. I wanted to have Mr. Everyday Regular Fella." Spielberg rejected the Schrader/Hill script during post-productionon Jaws.[4]He reflected, "they wanted to make it like a James Bondadventure."[11]
David Gilerperformed a rewrite; Hal Barwoodand Matthew Robbins,[3]friends of Spielberg, suggested the plot deviceof a kidnapped child. Spielberg then began to write the script. The song "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchioinfluenced Spielberg's writing style. "I hung my story on the mood the song created, the way it affected me personally."[4]Jerry Belsonand Spielberg wrote the shooting scripttogether. In the end, Spielberg was given solo writing credit.[4]During pre-production, the title was changed from Kingdom Cometo Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[10]J. Allen Hynek, who worked with the United States Air Forceon Project Blue Book, was hired as a scientific consultant. Hynek felt "even though the film is fiction, it's based for the most part on the known facts of the UFO mystery, and it certainly catches the flavor of the phenomenon. Spielberg was under enormous pressure to make another blockbusterafter Jaws, but he decided to make a UFO movie. He put his career on the line."[4]USAF and NASAdeclined to cooperate on the film.[10]
Filming[edit]




Devils Towerin Wyomingwas used as a filming location
Principal photographybegan on May 16, 1976. Spielberg did not want to do any location shootingbecause of his negative experience on Jawsand wanted to shoot Close Encountersentirely on sound stages, but eventually dropped the idea.[12]
Filming took place in Burbank, California, Devils Tower National Monumentin Wyoming, two abandoned World War II airship hangarsat the former Brookley Air Force Basein Mobile, Alabama, and the Louisville and Nashville Railroaddepot in Bay Minette. The home where Barry was abducted is located outside the town of Fairhope, Alabama. Roy Neary's home is at Carlisle Drive East, Mobile. The UFOs fly through the toll booth at the Vincent Thomas Bridge, San Pedro, California. The Gobi Desert sequence was photographed at the Dumont Dunes, California, and the Dharmsala-India exteriors were actually filmed at the small village of Hal near Khalapur35 miles (56 km) outside Mumbai, India.[12]The hangars in Alabama were six times larger than the biggest sound stage in the world.[10][13]Various technical and budgetary problems occurred during filming. Spielberg called Close Encounters"twice as bad and twice as expensive [as Jaws]".[4]
Matters worsened when Columbia Pictures experienced financial difficulties. Spielberg estimated the film would cost $2.7 million to make in his original 1973 pitch to Columbia, but the final budget came to $19.4 million.[10]Columbia studio executive John Veich remembered, "If we knew it was going to cost that much, we wouldn't have greenlightedit because we didn't have the money."[10]Spielberg hired Joe Alves, his collaborator on Jaws, as production designer.[5]In addition the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season brought tropical storms to Alabama. A large portion of the sound stage in Alabama was damaged because of a lightning strike.[3]Columbia raised $7 million from three sources: Time Inc., EMIand German tax shelters.[14]
CinematographerVilmos Zsigmondsaid that, during the time of shooting for the film, Spielberg got more ideas by watching movies every night which in turn extended the production schedule because he was continually adding new scenes to be filmed.[4]Zsigmond previously turned down the chance to work on Jaws. In her 1991 book You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, producer Julia Phillips wrote highly profane remarks about Spielberg, Zsigmond and Truffaut, because she was fired during post-production due to a cocaine addiction. Phillips blamed it on Spielberg being a perfectionist.[10]
Visual effects[edit]
Douglas Trumbullwas the visual effects supervisor, while Carlo Rambaldidesigned the aliens. Trumbull joked that the visual effects budget, at $3.3 million, could have been used to produce another film [in addition to this one]. His work helped lead to advances in motion control photography. The mother ship was designed by Ralph McQuarrieand built by Greg Jein. The look of the ship was inspired by an oil refinery Spielberg saw at night in India.[4]Instead of the metallic hardware look used in Star Wars, the emphasis was on a more luminescent look for the UFOs. One of the UFO models was actually an oxygen mask with lights attached to it, used because of its irregular shape. As a subtle in-joke, Dennis Muren(who had just finished working on Star Wars) put a small R2-D2model onto the underside of the mothership.[3]The model of the mothership is now on display in the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Annex at Washington Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.[3]
Since Close Encounterswas filmed anamorphically, the visual effects sequences were shot in 70 mm filmto better conform with the 35 mm filmused for the rest of the movie. A test reel using computer-generated imagerywas used for the UFOs, but Spielberg found it would be too expensive and ineffective since CGI was new technology in the mid-1970s.[3]
The small aliens in the final scenes were played by local girls in Mobile, Alabama. That decision was requested by Spielberg because he felt "girls move more gracefully than boys."[3]Puppetry was attempted for the aliens, but the idea failed. However, Rambaldi successfully used puppetry to depict two of the aliens, the first being a marionette(for the tall alien that is the first to be seen emerging from the mothership) and an articulated puppet for the alien that communicates via hand signals with Lacombe near the end of the film.[3]
Post-production[edit]
Close Encountersis the first collaboration between film editor Michael Kahnand Spielberg. Their working relationship continued for the rest of Spielberg's films. Spielberg stated that no film he has ever made since has been as hard to edit as the last 25 minutes of Close Encountersand he and Kahn would go through thousands of feet of footage just to find the right shots for the end sequence. When Kahn and Spielberg completed the first cut of the film, Spielberg was dissatisfied, feeling "there wasn't enough wow-ness".[3]
Pick-upswere commissioned but cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond could not participate due to other commitments.[10]John A. Alonzo, László Kovács, William A. Frakerand Douglas Slocombeworked on the pick-ups.[10]
Lacombe was originally to find Flight 19hidden in the Amazon Rainforest, but the idea was changed to the Sonoran Desert. Composer John Williamswrote over 300 examples of the iconic five-tone motifbefore Spielberg chose the right one. Spielberg called Williams' work "When You Wish upon a Starmeets science fiction".[3]Spielberg wanted to have "When You Wish upon a Star" in the closing credits, but was denied permission (though the song's signature melody can be heard briefly just before Roy Neary turns to board the mothership). He also took 7.5 minutes out from the preview.[5]
Post-production was completed by June 1977[citation needed], too late for the film to be released as a 'summer blockbuster' which might have been just as well, as Star Warsopened that summer.
Soundtrack[edit]

Soundtrack album


Original 1977 soundtrack album

Soundtrack albumby John Williams

Released
1977 / 1998 (Collector's Edition)
Length
41 mins (Original album and cassette)
44 mins (re-issued cassette)
77 mins (Collector's Edition CD)
Label
Arista
Producer
John Williams
John Williamschronology

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Close Encounters of the Third Kind Jaws 2


Alternative cover

1998 Collector's Edition soundtrack

The scorewas composed, conducted and produced by John Williams, who had previously won an Academy Awardfor his work on Spielberg's Jaws. Much like his two-note Jawstheme, the "five-tone" motif for Close Encountershas since become ingrained in popular culture (the five tones are used by scientists to communicate with the visiting spaceship as a mathematical languageas well as being incorporated into the film's signature theme). The score was recorded at Warner Bros. Scoring studios in Burbank, California.
Williams was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1978, one for his score to Star Warsand one for his score to Close Encounters. He won for Star Wars, though he later won two Grammy Awardsin 1979 for his Close Encountersscore (one for Best Original Film Score and one for Best Instrumental Composition for "Theme from Close Encounters").[15]
The soundtrack album was released on vinyl album(with a gatefold sleeve), 8-track tapeand audio cassetteby Arista Recordsin 1977, with a total running time of 41 minutes (it was later released on compact discin 1990). The soundtrack album was a commercial success, peaking at #17 on the US Billboard album chartin February 1978 and was certified Gold by the RIAAfor 500,000 copies shipped.[16]It also peaked at #40 in the UK album charts.[17]
Although not included on the original soundtrack album, a 7" single, "Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind", was included with the album as a free bonus item. Despite being a giveaway, Billboard chartrules at that time allowed the single itself to chart, and it peaked at #13 on the US Billboard Hot 100in March 1978. The single was later added as a bonus track to the cassette.
Following the release of the "Collector's Edition" of the film in 1998, a new expanded soundtrack was released on compact discby Arista. The "Collectors Edition Soundtrack" was made using 20-bit digital remasteringfrom the original tapes, and contained 26 tracks totalling 77 minutes of music. The CD also came with extensive liner notes including an interview with Williams. Cues were given new titles, and it also contained previously unreleased material, as well as material that was recorded but never used in the film.
1977 original album[edit]

Side A

No.
Title
Length

1. "Main Title and Mountain Visions"    
2. "Nocturnal Pursuit"    
3. "The Abduction of Barry"    
4. "I can't Believe It's Real"    
5. "Climbing Devil's Tower"    
6. "The Arrival of Sky Harbor"    

Side B

No.
Title
Length

1. "Night Siege"    
2. "The Conversation"    
3. "The Appearance of the Visitors"    
4. "Resolution and End Titles"    
5. "Theme from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"†"    
† 1978 reissue - bonus track (cassette), free bonus 7" single (vinyl album).
1998 Collector's Edition[edit]

No.
Title
Length

1. "Opening: Let There Be Light"   0:49
2. "Navy Planes"   2:06
3. "Lost Squadron"   2:23
4. "Roy's First Encounter"   2:41
5. "Encounter at Crescendo Summit"   1:21
6. "Chasing UFOs"   1:18
7. "False Alarm"   1:42
8. "Barry's Kidnapping"   6:19
9. "The Cover-Up"   2:25
10. "Stars and Trucks"   0:44
11. "Forming The Mountain"   1:49
12. "TV Reveals"   1:49
13. "Roy and Gillian on the Road"   1:10
14. "The Mountain"   3:31
15. "Who Are You People?"   1:35
16. "The Escape"   2:18
17. "The Escape (Alternate Cue)"   2:40
18. "Trucking"   2:01
19. "Climbing The Mountain"   2:32
20. "Outstretch Hands"   2:47
21. "Lightshow"   3:43
22. "Barnstorming"   4:25
23. "The Mothership"   4:33
24. "Wild Signals"   4:12
25. "The Returnees"   3:45
26. "The Visitors / "Bye" / End Titles: The Special Edition"   12:32
Themes[edit]
Film critic Charlene Engel observed Close Encounters"suggests that humankind has reached the point where it is ready to enter the community of the cosmos. While it is a computer interface which makes the final musical conversation with the alien guests possible, the characteristics bringing Neary to make his way to Devils Tower have little to do with technical expertise or computer literacy. These are virtues taught in schools that will be evolved in the 21st century."[18]The film also evokes typical science fictionarchetypesand motifs. The film portrays new technologies as a natural and expected outcome of human development and indication of health and growth.[18]
Other critics found a variety of Judeo-Christian analogies. Devils Tower parallels Mount Sinai, the aliens as God and Roy Neary as Moses. Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandmentsis seen on television at the Neary household. Some found close relations between Elijahand Roy; Elijah was taken into a "chariot of fire", akin to Roy going in the UFO. Climbing Devils Tower behind Jillian and faltering, Neary exhorts Jillian to keep moving and not to look back, similar to Lot's wife who looked back at Sodomand turned into a pillar of salt.[18]Spielberg explained, "I wanted to make Close Encountersa very accessible story about the everyday individual who has a sighting that overturns his life, and throws it into complete upheaval as he starts to become more and more obsessed with this experience."[13]
Roy's wife Ronnie attempts to hide the sunburn caused by Roy's exposure to the UFOs and wants him to forget his encounter with them. She is embarrassed and bewildered by what has happened to him and desperately wants her ordinary life back. The expression of his lost life is seen when he is sculpting a huge model of Devils Tower in his living room, with his family deserting him.[18]Roy's obsession with an idea implanted by an alien intelligence, his construction of the model, and his gradual loss of contact with his wife, mimic the events in the short story "Dulcie and Decorum" (1955) by Damon Knight.
Close Encountersalso studies the form of "youth spiritual yearning". Barry Guiler, the unfearing child who refers to the UFOs and their paraphernalia as "toys", serves as a motif for childlike innocence and openness in the face of the unknown.[18]Spielberg also compared the theme of communication as highlighting that of tolerance. "If we can talk to aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind," he said, "why not with the Redsin the Cold War?"[19]Sleeping is the final obstacle to overcome in the ascent of Devils Tower. Roy, Jillian Guiler and a third invitee climb the mountain pursued by government helicopters spraying sleeping gas. The third person stops to rest, is gassed, and falls into a deep sleep.[18]
In his interview with Spielberg on Inside the Actors Studio, James Liptonsuggested Close Encountershad another, more personal theme for Spielberg: "Your father was a computer engineer; your mother was a concert pianist, and when the spaceship lands, they make music together on the computer", suggesting that Roy Neary's boarding the spaceship is Spielberg's wish to be reunited with his parents. In a 2005 interview, Spielberg stated that he made Close Encounterswhen he did not have children, and if he were making it today, he would never have had Neary leave his family and go on the mother ship.[20]
Release[edit]
Reception[edit]
The film was originally to be released in summer 1977, but was pushed back to November because of the various problems during production. [5]Upon its release, Close Encountersbecame a box officesuccess, grossing $116.39 million in North America and $171.7 million in foreign countries, totaling $288 million.[21]It became Columbia Pictures' most successful film at that time.[13]Jonathan Rosenbaumrefers to the film as "the best expression of Spielberg's benign, dreamy-eyed vision."[22]A.D. Murphy of Varietygave a positive review but felt "Close Encounterslacks the warmth and humanity of George Lucas's Star Wars". Murphy found most of the film slow-paced, but praised the film's climax.[23]Pauline Kaelcalled it "a kid's film in the best sense."[7]Jean Renoircompared Spielberg's storytelling to Jules Verneand Georges Méliès.[6]Ray Bradburydeclared it the greatest science fiction film ever made.[24]Based on 40 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 95% ("Certified Fresh") of the reviewers have enjoyed the film and the site's consensus states "Close Encounters' most iconic bits (the theme, the mashed-potato sculpture, etc.) have been so thoroughly absorbed into the culture that it's easy to forget that its treatment of aliens as peaceful beings rather than warmongering monsters was somewhat groundbreaking in 1977."[25]
Reissue and home video[edit]
On the final cut privilege, Spielberg was dissatisfied with the film. "Columbia Pictures was experiencing financial problems, and they were depending on this film to save their company. "I wanted to have another six months to finish off this film, and release it in summer 1978. They told me they needed this film out immediately," Spielberg explained. "Anyway, Close Encounterswas a huge financial success and I told them I wanted to make my own director's cut. They agreed on the condition that I show the inside of the mother shipso they could have something to hang a [reissue marketing] campaign on. I never should have shown the inside of the mother ship."[3]In 1979, Columbia gave Spielberg $1.5 million to produce what became the "Special Edition" of the film. Spielberg added seven minutes of new footage, but also deleted or shortened various existing scenesby a total of ten minutes, so that the Special Edition was three minutes shorter than the original 1977 release.[6]The 1980 revision was the version officially available on video for years, until The Criterion Collectionoffered both versions on LaserDisc in 1990.[26]
The Special Edition featured several new character development scenes, the discovery of the SS Cotopaxiin the Gobi Desert, and a view of the inside of the mothership. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Editionwas released in August 1980, making a further $15.7 million, accumulating a final $303.7 million box office gross.[6][21]Roger Ebert"thought the original film was an astonishing achievement, capturing the feeling of awe and wonder we have when considering the likelihood of life beyond the Earth. ... This new version ... is, quite simply, a better film ... Why didn't Spielberg make it this good the first time?"[27]
In 1998, Spielberg recut Close Encountersagain for what would become the "Collector's Edition," to be released on home video and laserdisc. This version of the film is something of a re-edit of the original 1977 release with some elements of the 1980 Special Edition, but omits the mothership interior scenes which Spielberg felt should have remained a mystery. The laserdisc edition also includes a new 101-minute documentary, The Making of Close Encounters, which was produced in 1997 and features interviews with Spielberg, the main cast and notable crew members. There have also been many other alternate versions of the film for network and syndicated television, as well as a previous LaserDisc version. Some of these even combined all released material from the 1977 and 1980 versions, but none of these versions were edited by Spielberg, who regards the "Collector's Edition" as his definitive version of Close Encounters. The Collector's Edition was given a limited release as part of a roadshowfeaturing select films to celebrate Columbia Pictures' 75th anniversary in 1999. It was the first and only time this version of the film has been shown theatrically.
The film was released on DVD in June 2001 as a two-disc set that contained the "Collector's Edition".[28]The second disc contained a wealth of extra features including the 101-minute "Making Of" documentary from 1997, a featurette from 1977, trailers and deleted scenes that included, among other things, the mothership interiors from the 1980 Special Edition. James Berardinellifelt "Close Encountersis still unquestionably a great movie. Its universal appeal gave movie-goers something to be excited about during 1977–78 as the first in a wave of post-Star Warsscience fiction films broke. Today, the movie stands up remarkably well. The story is fresh and compelling, the special effects are as remarkable as anything that CGI can do, and the music represents some of John Williams' best work."[29]Emanuel Levyalso gave a highly-positive review. "Spielberg's greatest achievement is to make a warm, likable sci-fi feature, deviating in spirit, tone and ideology from the dark, noirishsci-fi films that dominated the 1950sand Cold Warmentality. He ultimately succeeded."[30]
Close Encounterswas given a second DVD release and a Blu-ray Discrelease in November 2007. Released for the film's 30th anniversary, the set contained all three official versions of the film from 1977, 1980 and 1998, and a new interview with Spielberg, who talks about the film's impact 30 years after its release. The set also includes the 1977 featurette, various trailers and the 1997 "Making Of" documentary – though this is now split over three discs rather than as a single feature as with the 2001 DVD release. In addition to these features, the 2-disc Blu-ray set also included storyboard-to-scene comparisons, an extensive photo gallery, and a "View from Above: Editor's Fact Track" highlighting the different scenes in each version of the movie.
Legacy[edit]
See also: Night Skies
Shortly after the film's release in late 1977, Spielberg desired to do either a sequelor prequel, before deciding against it. He explained, "The army's knowledge and ensuing cover-upis so subterranean that it would take a creative screen story, perhaps someone else making the picture and giving it the equal time it deserves."[11]
The film was nominated for eight Oscars at the 50th Academy Awards, including Direction, Supporting Actress(Melinda Dillon), Visual Effects, Art Direction(Joe Alves, Daniel A. Lomino, Phil Abramson), Original Music Score, Film Editing, and Sound(Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougalland Gene Cantamessa).[31]The film's only win was for Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography, although the Academy honored the film's sound effectsediting with a Special Achievement Award.[32]At the 32nd British Academy Film Awards, Close Encounterswon Best Production Design, and was nominated for Best Film, Direction, Screenplay, Actor in a Supporting Role(François Truffaut), Music, Cinematography, Editing, and Sound.[33]
Close Encounterslost the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentationto Star Wars,[34]but was successful at the Saturn Awards. There, the film tied with Star Warsfor Directionand Music, but won Best Writing. Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon and the visual effects department received nominations. Close Encounterswas nominated for Best Science Fiction Film.[35]The film received four more nominations at the 35th Golden Globe Awards.[36]
When asked in 1990 to select a single "master image" that summed up his film career, Spielberg chose the shot of Barry opening his living room door to see the blazing orange light from the UFO. "That was beautiful but awful light, just like fire coming through the doorway. [Barry's] very small, and it's a very large door, and there's a lot of promise or danger outside that door."[7]In 2007, Close Encounterswas deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and was added to the National Film Registryfor preservation.[37]In American Film Institutepolls, Close Encountershas been voted the 64th greatest film of all time,[38]31st most heart-pounding,[39]and 58th most inspiring.[40]Additionally, the film was nominated for the top 10 science fiction films in AFI's 10 Top 10[41]and the tenth anniversary edition of the 100 Movies list.[42]The score by John Williams was nominated for AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.[43]
Alongside Star Warsand Superman, Close Encountersled to the reemergence of science fiction films.[44][45]In 1985 Spielberg donated $100,000 to the Planetary Societyfor Megachannel ExtraTerrestrial Assay.[4]In the 1979 James Bond film Moonrakerthe five-note sequence is heard when a scientist punches the combination into an electronic door lock. In the South Parkepisode "Imaginationland", a government scientist uses the five-note sequence to try to open a portal.[46]In "Over Logging", a government scientist uses the five-note sequence to try to get the central Internet routerworking.[47]The "mashed potato" sculpture was parodied in the film UHF,[48]the film Canadian Bacon, an episode of Spaced, an episode of The X-Files, an episode of That '70s Show, and an episode of The Simpsons.[49]It was satirized in the 200th issue of Mad Magazine, July 1978, by Stan Hartand Mort Druckeras Clod Encounters of the Absurd Kind.[50]
The 1980 short Closet Cases of the Nerd Kindspoofs the entire film (in condensed form).
In 2007, Muse have used one of the communications melodies to open their most popular live track, titled "Knights Of Cydonia"
In 2011, ABCaired a primetime special, Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Timethat counted down the best movies chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and People. Close Encounters of the Third Kindwas selected as the #5 Best Sci-Fi Film.[citation needed]
In the 2012 Deadmau5album Album Title Goes Here, track no. 9, titled "Closer," features the five-note sequence as the basis for the song's opening and main melodic motif.[51]
American Film InstituteLists
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies- #64
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills- #31
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores- Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers- #58
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)- Nominated
AFI's 10 Top 10- Nominated Science Fiction Film
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^"Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
2.Jump up ^"Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007"(Press release). Library of Congress. December 27, 2007.
3.^ Jump up to: abcdefghijklmnopSteven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Joe Alves, Melinda Dillon, Douglas Trumbull, The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1997, Columbia Pictures
4.^ Jump up to: abcdefghijklMcBride, p.260–269
5.^ Jump up to: abcdMcBride, p.280–289
6.^ Jump up to: abcdMcBride, p.290–294
7.^ Jump up to: abcMcBride, p.14–68
8.^ Jump up to: abcdeMcBride, p.227–229
9.Jump up ^David Helpern (March 1974). "At Sea with Steven Spielberg". Take One. pp. 47–53.
10.^ Jump up to: abcdefghiMcBride, p.270–279
11.^ Jump up to: abSteve Poster (January 1978). "The Mind Behind Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Film Comment. pp. 23–29.
12.^ Jump up to: abClose Encounters of the Third Kind: The Making of Steven Spielberg's Classic Film, Ray Morton, 2007, Applause Books.
13.^ Jump up to: abcDVD production notes
14.Jump up ^McClintick, David (1982, 2002). Indecent Exposure, p. 162. New York: HarperCollins.
15.Jump up ^Grammy Award Winners 1979
16.Jump up ^RIAA - Gold & Platinum Certifications (searchable database)
17.Jump up ^UK Charts Stats (Close Encounters soundtrack)
18.^ Jump up to: abcdefCharlene Engel (2002). "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The Films of Steven Spielberg. Scarecrow Press. pp. 45–56. ISBN 0-8108-4182-7.
19.Jump up ^Richard Schickel(interviewer) (2007-07-09). Spielberg on Spielberg. Turner Classic Movies.
20.Jump up ^"Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg on "War of the Worlds"". Cinema Confidential. 2005-06-28. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
21.^ Jump up to: ab"Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
22.Jump up ^Jonathan Rosenbaum. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
23.Jump up ^A.D. Murphy (1977-11-08). "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
24.Jump up ^"A Viewers' Guide To Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits". Entertainment Weekly. 1994-12-02. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
25.Jump up ^"Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
26.Jump up ^Shay, Don (November 12, 1990). Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Criterion.com
27.Jump up ^Roger Ebert(1980-01-01). "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
28.Jump up ^ASIN B00003CX9G, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (1977)
29.Jump up ^James Berardinelli. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". ReelViews. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
30.Jump up ^Emanuel Levy. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Emanuel Levy. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
31.Jump up ^"The 50th Academy Awards (1978) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
32.Jump up ^Thackrey Jr, Ted (1978-04-04). "Top Oscars Go to Dreyfuss, Diane Keaton, Annie Hall". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
33.Jump up ^"32nd British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2008-09-12.[dead link]
34.Jump up ^"1978 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
35.Jump up ^"Past Saturn Awards". Saturn Awards. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
36.Jump up ^"Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
37.Jump up ^"National Film Registry: 1989–2007". National Film Registry. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
38.Jump up ^"AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies". American Film Institute. Archived from the originalon April 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
39.Jump up ^"America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies"(PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
40.Jump up ^"America's Most Uplifting Movies"(PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
41.Jump up ^AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot
42.Jump up ^AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Ballot
43.Jump up ^AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Ballot
44.Jump up ^Ilya Salkind, Pierre Spengler, SupermanDVD audio commentary, 2006, Warner Home Video
45.Jump up ^John Culhane (1982-07-04). "Special Effects Are Revolutionizing Film". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
46.Jump up ^Trey Parker, Matt Stone(2007-10-17). "Imaginationland". South Park. Season 11. Episode 1110. Comedy Central.
47.Jump up ^Trey Parker, Matt Stone(2008-04-16). "Over Logging". South Park. Season 12. Episode 1206. Comedy Central.
48.Jump up ^"Weird Al" Yankovic, UHFDVD audio commentary, 2002, MGM Home Entertainment
49.Jump up ^John Swartzwelder(writer), David Silverman(director) (1995-02-12). "Homie the Clown". The Simpsons. Season 6. Episode 118. Fox Broadcasting Company.
50.Jump up ^Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site - Issue #200
51.Jump up ^Lauren Lipsay (2012-09-25). "deadmau5′s album title goes here brings attention back where it belongs: the music". elektrodaily.com. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
Bibliography[edit]
Joseph McBride(1997). Steven Spielberg: A Biography. New York City: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-19177-0.
Further reading[edit]
Ray Morton (1 November 2007). Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Making of Steven Spielberg's Classic Film. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1-55783-710-3.
Bob Balaban(2002). Spielberg, Truffaut & Me: Close Encounters of the Third Kind - An Actor's Diary. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-84023-430-5.
Leslie Waller(1977). Close Encounters of the Third Kind. novelizationof the film. Del Pub. ISBN 978-0-440-11433-8.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
CE3KONLINE
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat the Internet Movie Database
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat the TCM Movie Database
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat allmovie
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat Box Office Mojo
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat Rotten Tomatoes
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat The Numbers
Close Encounters of the Third Kindat Filmsite.org


[hide]
v·
t·
e

Steven Spielberg


Filmography·
Awards and nominations


Directorial
works
Firelight(1964)·
Slipstream(1967)·
Amblin'(1968)·
"L.A. 2017" (1971)·
Duel(1971)·
Something Evil(1972)·
The Sugarland Express(1974, also wrote)·
Jaws(1975)·
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977, also wrote)·
1941(1979)·
Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981)·
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1982)·
Twilight Zone: The Movie("Kick the Can" segment, 1983)·
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(1984)·
The Color Purple(1985)·
Empire of the Sun(1987)·
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade(1989)·
Always(1989)·
Hook(1991)·
Jurassic Park(1993)·
Schindler's List(1993)·
The Lost World: Jurassic Park(1997)·
Amistad(1997)·
Saving Private Ryan(1998)·
A.I. Artificial Intelligence(2001, also wrote)·
Minority Report(2002)·
Catch Me If You Can(2002)·
The Terminal(2004)·
War of the Worlds(2005)·
Munich(2005)·
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008)·
The Adventures of Tintin(2011)·
War Horse(2011)·
Lincoln(2012)


Written only
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies(1973)·
Poltergeist(1982, also produced)·
The Goonies(1985)


Produced only
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West(1991)·
Memoirs of a Geisha(2005)·
Flags of Our Fathers(2006)·
Letters from Iwo Jima(2006)·
Super 8(2011)


Created for TV
Amazing Stories(1985–1987)·
High Incident(1996–1997)·
Invasion America(1998)


See also
Amblin Entertainment(Amblimation)
·
DreamWorks·
USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education


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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
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This article is about the film. For other uses, see ET.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E t the extra terrestrial ver3.jpg
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin[1]

Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Produced by
Steven Spielberg
Kathleen Kennedy
Written by
Melissa Mathison
Starring
Dee Wallace
Peter Coyote
Henry Thomas
Drew Barrymore
Music by
John Williams
Cinematography
Allen Daviau
Editing by
Carol Littleton
Studio
Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by
Universal Pictures
Release dates
June 11, 1982

Running time
114 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$10.5 million
Box office
$792,910,554[2]
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. It tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.
The concept for E.T. was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents' divorce in 1960. In 1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled science fiction/horror film project Night Skies. The film was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$10.5 million. Unlike most motion pictures, the film was shot in roughly chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast.
Released by Universal Pictures, E.T. was a blockbuster, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time —a record it held for ten years until Jurassic Park, another Spielberg-directed film, surpassed it in 1993. Critics acclaimed it as a timeless story of friendship, and it ranks as the greatest science fiction film ever made in a Rotten Tomatoes survey. The film was re-released in 1985, and then again in 2002 to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, with altered shots and additional scenes.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Development
3.2 Filming
3.3 Allegations of plagiarism
4 Themes
5 Reception 5.1 Release and sales
5.2 Critical response
5.3 Awards and honors
6 20th anniversary version
7 Other portrayals
8 See also
9 References
10 Bibliography
11 External links

Plot[edit]
In a California forest, a group of alien botanists collect flora samples. When government agents appear on the scene, the aliens flee in their spaceship, mistakenly leaving one of their own behind. The scene shifts to a suburban home, where a 10-year-old boy named Elliott is trying to hang out with his 16-year-old brother Michael and his friends. As he returns from picking up a pizza, Elliott discovers that something is hiding in their tool shed. The creature promptly flees upon being discovered. Despite his family's disbelief, Elliott lures the alien from the forest to his bedroom using a trail of Reese's Pieces. Before he goes to sleep, Elliott realizes the alien is imitating his movements. Elliott feigns illness the next morning to stay home from school and play with the alien. Later that day, Michael and their five-year-old sister Gertie meet the alien. They decide to keep him hidden from their mother. When they ask it about its origin, the alien levitates several balls to represent its solar system and then demonstrates its powers by reviving a dead plant.
At school the next day, Elliott begins to experience a psychic connection with the alien, including exhibiting signs of intoxication due to the alien drinking beer, and he begins freeing all the frogs in a biology class. As the alien watches John Wayne kiss Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man, Elliott kisses a girl he likes.



 Makeshift communicator used by E.T. to phone home. Among its parts is a Speak & Spell, an umbrella lined with tinfoil, and a coffee can filled with other electronics.
The alien learns to speak English by repeating what Gertie says as she watches Sesame Street and, at Elliott's urging, dubs itself "E.T." E.T. reads a comic strip where Buck Rogers, stranded, calls for help by building a makeshift communication device, and is inspired to try it himself. He gets Elliott's help in building a device to "phone home" by using a Speak & Spell toy. Michael notices that E.T.'s health is declining and that Elliott is referring to himself as "we".
On Halloween, Michael and Elliott dress E.T. as a ghost so they can sneak him out of the house. Elliott and E.T. ride a bicycle to the forest, where E.T. makes a successful call home. The next morning, Elliott wakes up in the field, only to find E.T. gone, so he returns home to his distressed family. Michael searches for and finds E.T. dying in a ditch and takes him to Elliott, who is also dying. Mary becomes frightened when she discovers her son's illness and the dying alien, just as government agents invade the house. Scientists set up a medical facility there, quarantining Elliott and E.T. Their link disappears and E.T. then appears to die while Elliott recovers. A grief-stricken Elliott is left alone with the motionless alien when he notices a dead flower, the plant E.T. had previously revived, coming back to life. E.T. reanimates and reveals that his people are returning. Elliott and Michael steal a van that E.T. had been loaded into and a chase ensues, with Michael's friends joining them as they attempt to evade the authorities by bicycle. Suddenly facing a dead end, they escape as E.T. uses telekinesis to lift them into the air and toward the forest.
Standing near the spaceship, E.T.'s heart glows as he prepares to return home. Mary, Gertie, and "Keys", a government agent, show up. E.T. says goodbye to Michael and Gertie, as Gertie presents E.T. with the flower that he had revived. Before entering the spaceship, E.T. tells Elliott "I'll be right here", pointing his glowing finger to Elliott's forehead. He then picks up the flower Gertie gave him, walks into the spaceship, and takes off, leaving a rainbow in the sky as Elliott (and the rest of them) watches the ship leave.
Cast[edit]
Henry Thomas as Elliott, a lonely 10-year-old boy. Elliott longs for a good friend, whom he finds in E.T., who was left behind on Earth. Elliott adopts the stranded alien and they form a mental, physical, and emotional bond.
Robert MacNaughton as Michael, Elliott's football-playing 16-year-old brother who often makes fun of him.
Drew Barrymore as Gertie, Elliott's mischievous 5-year-old sister. She is sarcastic and initially terrified of E.T., but grows to love the alien.
Dee Wallace as Mary, the children's mother, recently separated from her husband. She is mostly oblivious to the alien's presence in her house.
Peter Coyote as "Keys", a government agent. His face is not shown until the film's second half, his name is never mentioned, and he is identified by the key rings that prominently hang from his belt. He tells Elliott that he has waited to see an alien since the age of 10.
K. C. Martel, Sean Frye and C. Thomas Howell as Greg, Steve and Tyler, Michael's friends. They help Elliott and E.T. evade the authorities during the film's climax.
Erika Eleniak as the young girl Elliott kisses in class.
Having worked with Cary Guffey on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg felt confident in working with a cast composed mostly of child actors.[3] For the role of Elliott, he auditioned hundreds of boys[4] before Robert Fisk suggested Henry Thomas for the role.[5] Thomas, who auditioned in an Indiana Jones costume, did not perform well in the formal testing, but got the filmmakers' attention in an improvised scene.[3] Thoughts of his dead dog inspired his convincing tears.[6] Robert MacNaughton auditioned eight times to play Michael, sometimes with boys auditioning for Elliott. Spielberg felt Drew Barrymore had the right imagination for mischievous young Gertie after she impressed him with a story that she led a punk rock band.[5] Spielberg enjoyed working with the children, and he later said that the experience made him feel ready to be a father.[7]
The major voice work for E.T. was performed by Pat Welsh, an elderly woman who lived in Marin County, California. Welsh smoked two packets of cigarettes a day, which gave her voice a quality that sound effects creator Ben Burtt liked. She spent nine-and-a-half hours recording her part, and was paid $380 by Burtt for her services.[8] Burtt also recorded 16 other people and various animals to create E.T.'s "voice". These included Spielberg; Debra Winger; Burtt's sleeping wife, who had a cold; a burp from his USC film professor; and raccoons, sea otters, and horses.[9][10]
Doctors working at the USC Medical Center were recruited to play the doctors who try to save E.T. after government agents take over Elliott's home. Spielberg felt that actors in the roles, performing lines of technical medical dialogue, would come across as unnatural.[7] During post-production, Spielberg decided to cut a scene featuring Harrison Ford as the headmaster at Elliott's school. The scene featured Ford's character reprimanding Elliott for his behavior in science class and warning of the dangers of underage drinking; he is then taken aback as Elliott's chair rises from the floor, while E.T. is levitating his "phone" equipment up the staircase with Gertie.[5]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
After his parents' divorce in 1960, Spielberg filled the void with an imaginary alien companion. Spielberg said that E.T. was "a friend who could be the brother I never had and a father that I didn't feel I had anymore."[11] During 1978, Spielberg announced he would shoot a film entitled Growing Up, which he would film in 28 days. The project was set aside because of delays on 1941, but the concept of making a small autobiographical film about childhood would stay with Spielberg.[8] He also thought about a follow-up to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and began to develop a darker project he had planned with John Sayles called Night Skies in which malevolent aliens terrorize a family.[8]
Filming Raiders of the Lost Ark in Tunisia left Spielberg bored, and memories of his childhood creation resurfaced.[12] He told screenwriter Melissa Mathison about Night Skies, and developed a subplot from the failed project, in which Buddy, the only friendly alien, befriends an autistic child. Buddy's abandonment on Earth in the script's final scene inspired the E.T. concept.[12] Mathison wrote a first draft titled E.T. and Me in eight weeks,[12] which Spielberg considered perfect.[5] The script went through two more drafts, which deleted an "Eddie Haskell"-esque friend of Elliott. The chase sequence was also created, and Spielberg also suggested having the scene where E.T. got drunk.[8] Columbia Pictures, which had been producing Night Skies, met Spielberg to discuss the script. The studio passed on it, calling it "a wimpy Walt Disney movie", so Spielberg approached the more receptive Sid Sheinberg, president of MCA.[13]
Ed Verreaux created a $700,000 prototype for E.T., which Spielberg deemed useless.[8] Carlo Rambaldi, who designed the aliens for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was hired to design the animatronics of E.T. Rambaldi's own painting Women of Delta led him to give the creature a unique, extendable neck.[5] The creature's face was inspired by the faces of Carl Sandburg, Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway.[14] Producer Kathleen Kennedy visited the Jules Stein Eye Institute to study real and glass eyeballs. She hired Institute staffers to create E.T.'s eyes, which she felt were particularly important in engaging the audience.[3] Four E.T. heads were created for filming, one as the main animatronic and the others for facial expressions, as well as a costume.[14] Two dwarfs, Tamara De Treaux and Pat Bilon,[8] as well as 12-year-old Matthew DeMeritt, who was born without legs,[15] took turns wearing the costume, depending on what scene was being filmed. DeMeritt actually walked on his hands and played all scenes where E.T. walked awkwardly or fell over. The head of the E.T. puppet was placed above the head of the actors, and the actors could see through slits in the puppet's chest.[5] Caprice Roth, a professional mime, filled prosthetics to play E.T.'s hands.[3] The puppet was created in three months at the cost of $1.5 million.[16] Spielberg declared it was "something that only a mother could love."[5] Mars, Incorporated found E.T. so ugly that the company refused to allow M&M's to be used in the film, believing the creature would frighten children. This allowed The Hershey Company the opportunity to market Reese's Pieces.[17] Science and technology educator Henry Feinberg created E.T.'s communicator device.[18][19]
Filming[edit]
E.T. began shooting in September 1981.[20] The project was filmed under the cover name A Boy's Life, as Spielberg did not want anyone to discover and plagiarize the plot. The actors had to read the script behind closed doors, and everyone on set had to wear an ID card.[3] The shoot began with two days at a high school in Culver City, and the crew spent the next 11 days moving between locations at Northridge and Tujunga.[8] The next 42 days were spent at Culver City's Laird International Studios, for the interiors of Elliott's home. The crew shot at a redwood forest near Crescent City for the production's last six days.[8][12] Spielberg shot the film in roughly chronological order to achieve convincingly emotional performances from his cast. In the scene in which Michael first encounters the alien, the creature's appearance caused MacNaughton to jump back and knock down the shelves behind him. The chronological shoot gave the young actors an emotional experience as they bonded with E.T., making the hospital sequences more moving.[7] Spielberg ensured the puppeteers kept away from the set to maintain the illusion of a real alien. For the first time in his career, he did not storyboard most of the film, in order to facilitate spontaneity in the performances.[20] The film was shot so adults, except for Dee Wallace, are never seen from the waist up in the film's first half, as a tribute to Tex Avery's cartoons.[5] The shoot was completed in 61 days, four days ahead of schedule.[12] According to Spielberg, the memorable scene where E.T. disguises himself as a stuffed animal in Elliott's closet was suggested by colleague Robert Zemeckis, after he read a draft of the screenplay that Spielberg had sent him.[21]
Longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams, who composed the film's musical score, described the challenge of creating a score that would generate sympathy for such an odd-looking creature. As with their previous collaborations, Spielberg liked every theme Williams composed and had it included. Spielberg loved the music for the final chase so much that he edited the sequence to suit it.[22] Williams took a modernist approach, especially with his use of polytonality, which refers to the sound of two different keys played simultaneously. The Lydian mode can also be used in a polytonal way. Williams combined polytonality and the Lydian mode to express a mystic, dreamlike and heroic quality. His theme—emphasizing coloristic instruments such as the harp, piano, celesta, and other keyboards, as well as percussion—suggests E.T.'s childlike nature and his "machine."[23]
Allegations of plagiarism[edit]
There were allegations that the film was plagiarized from a 1967 script, The Alien, by Indian Bengali director Satyajit Ray. Ray stated, "E.T. would not have been possible without my script of The Alien being available throughout the United States in mimeographed copies." Spielberg denied this claim, stating, "I was a kid in high school when his script was circulating in Hollywood."[24] Star Weekend Magazine disputes Spielberg's claim, pointing out that he had graduated from high school in 1965 and began his career as a director in Hollywood in 1969.[25] Besides E.T., some believe that an earlier Spielberg film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was also inspired by The Alien.[26][27]
Veteran filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Richard Attenborough too pointed out Spielberg's influences from Ray's script.[28]
Themes[edit]



 Spielberg admitted this scene triggered speculation as to whether the film was a spiritual parable.[29]
Spielberg drew the story of E.T. from his parents' divorce;[30] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called the film "essentially a spiritual autobiography, a portrait of the filmmaker as a typical suburban kid set apart by an uncommonly fervent, mystical imagination".[31] References to Spielberg's childhood occur throughout: Elliott feigns illness by holding his thermometer to a light bulb while covering his face with a heating pad, a trick frequently employed by the young Spielberg.[32] Michael's picking on Elliott echoes Spielberg's teasing of his younger sisters,[5] and Michael's evolution from tormentor to protector reflects how Spielberg had to take care of his sisters after their father left.[7]
Critics have focused on the parallels between E.T.'s life and Elliott, who is "alienated" by the loss of his father.[33][34] A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that while E.T. "is the more obvious and desperate foundling", Elliott "suffers in his own way from the want of a home."[35] E.T. is the first and last letter of Elliott's name.[36] At the film's heart is the theme of growing up. Critic Henry Sheehan described the film as a retelling of Peter Pan from the perspective of a Lost Boy (Elliott): E.T. cannot survive physically on Earth, as Pan could not survive emotionally in Neverland; government scientists take the place of Neverland's pirates.[37] Vincent Canby of The New York Times similarly observed that the film "freely recycles elements from [...] Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz".[38] Some critics have suggested that Spielberg's portrayal of suburbia is very dark, contrary to popular belief. According to A.O. Scott, "The suburban milieu, with its unsupervised children and unhappy parents, its broken toys and brand-name junk food, could have come out of a Raymond Carver story."[35] Charles Taylor of Salon.com wrote, "Spielberg's movies, despite the way they're often characterized, are not Hollywood idealizations of families and the suburbs. The homes here bear what the cultural critic Karal Ann Marling called 'the marks of hard use'."[30]
Other critics found religious parallels between E.T. and Jesus.[39][40] Andrew Nigels described E.T.'s story as "crucifixion by military science" and "resurrection by love and faith".[41] According to Spielberg biographer Joseph McBride, Universal Pictures appealed directly to the Christian market, with a poster reminiscent of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam and a logo reading "Peace".[12] Spielberg answered that he did not intend the film to be a religious parable, joking, "If I ever went to my mother and said, 'Mom, I've made this movie that's a Christian parable,' what do you think she'd say? She has a kosher restaurant on Pico and Doheny in Los Angeles."[29]
As a substantial body of film criticism has built up around E.T., numerous writers have analyzed the film in other ways as well. E.T. has been interpreted as a modern fairy tale[42] and in psychoanalytic terms.[34][42] Producer Kathleen Kennedy noted that an important theme of E.T. is tolerance, which would be central to future Spielberg films such as Schindler's List.[5] Having been a loner as a teenager, Spielberg described the film as "a minority story".[43] Spielberg's characteristic theme of communication is partnered with the ideal of mutual understanding: he has suggested that the story's central alien-human friendship is an analogy for how real-world adversaries can learn to overcome their differences.[44]
Reception[edit]



 Spielberg with President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan, fans of the film, in 1986.
Release and sales[edit]
E.T. was previewed in Houston, Texas, where it received high marks from viewers.[12] The film premiered at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival's closing gala,[45][46] and was released in the United States on June 11, 1982. It opened at number one with a gross of $11 million, and stayed at the top of the box office for six weeks; it then fluctuated between the first and second positions until October, before returning to the top spot for the final time in December.[47]
In 1983, the film superseded Star Wars as the highest-grossing film of all-time,[48] and by the end of its theatrical run it had grossed $359 million in North America and $619 million worldwide.[2][49] Spielberg earned $500,000 a day from his share of the profits,[50][51] while The Hershey Company's profits rose 65% due to the film's prominent use of Reese's Pieces.[17]
The film was re-released in 1985 and 2002, earning another $60 million and $68 million respectively,[52][53] for a worldwide total of $792 million with North America accounting for $435 million.[2] E.T. held the global record until it was usurped by Jurassic Park—another Spielberg-directed film—in 1993,[54] although it managed to hold on to the domestic record for a further four years, where a Star Wars reissue saw that film reclaim the record.[55] It was eventually released on VHS and laserdisc on October 27, 1988; to combat piracy, the tapeguards on the videocassettes were colored green, and encoded with macrovision.[6] In North America alone, VHS sales came to $75 million.[56]
E.T. was the first major film to have been seriously affected by video piracy. The usual account is that the public in some areas were becoming impatient at long delays getting E.T. to their cinemas; an illegal group realized this, got hold of a copy of the film for a night by bribing a projectionist, and made it into a video by projecting the film with a sound and video recording device. The resulting video was used as a master to run off very many copies, which were widely sold illegally.[57]
Critical response[edit]



Empire called Elliott and E.T.'s flight to the forest the most magical moment in cinema.[58] The image of Elliott and E.T. encircled by the moon is now the symbol for Spielberg's film and television company Amblin Entertainment.
Critics acclaimed E.T. as a classic. Roger Ebert wrote, "This is not simply a good movie. It is one of those movies that brush away our cautions and win our hearts."[45] Michael Sragow of Rolling Stone called Spielberg "a space age Jean Renoir.... [F]or the first time, [he] has put his breathtaking technical skills at the service of his deepest feelings".[59] Leonard Maltin would include it in his list of "100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century" as one of only two movies from the 1980s.[60] George Will was one of the few to pan the film, feeling it spread subversive notions about childhood and science.[61]
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[62] It has a Metacritic score of 94.[63] In addition to the many impressed critics, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan were moved by the film after a screening at the White House on June 27, 1982.[51] Princess Diana of Wales was even in tears after watching the film.[5] On September 17, 1982, the film was screened at the United Nations, and Spielberg received the U.N. Peace Medal.[64]
Awards and honors[edit]
The film was nominated for nine Oscars at the 55th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Gandhi won that award, but its director, Richard Attenborough, declared, "I was certain that not only would E.T. win, but that it should win. It was inventive, powerful, [and] wonderful. I make more mundane movies."[65] It won four Academy Awards: Best Original Score, Best Sound (Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don Digirolamo, Gene Cantamessa), Best Sound Effects Editing (Charles L. Campbell and Ben Burtt), and Best Visual Effects.[66]
At the 40th Golden Globe Awards, the film won Best Picture in the Drama category and Best Score; it was also nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best New Male Star for Henry Thomas. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded the film Best Picture, Best Director, and a "New Generation Award" for Melissa Mathison.[67]
The film won Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Writing, Best Special Effects, Best Music, and Best Poster Art, while Henry Thomas, Robert McNaughton, and Drew Barrymore won Young Artist Awards. In addition to his Golden Globe and Saturn, composer John Williams won 2 Grammy Awards and a BAFTA for the score. E.T. was also honored abroad: the film won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Blue Ribbon Awards in Japan, Cinema Writers Circle Awards in Spain, César Awards in France, and David di Donatello in Italy.[68]
In American Film Institute polls, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial has been voted the 24th greatest film of all time,[69] the 44th most heart-pounding,[70] and the sixth most inspiring.[71] Other AFI polls rated it as having the 14th greatest music score[72] and as the third greatest science-fiction film.[73] The line "E.T. phone home" was ranked 15th on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list,[74] and 48th on Premiere's top movie quote list.[75] The character of Elliott was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains as one of the 50 greatest heroes.[76] In 2005, the film topped a Channel 4 poll of the 100 greatest family films,[77] and was also listed by Time as one of the 100 best films ever made.[78]
In 2003, Entertainment Weekly called the film the eighth most "tear-jerking";[79] in 2007, in a survey of both films and television series, the magazine declared E.T. the seventh greatest work of science-fiction media in the past 25 years.[80] The Times also named E.T. as their ninth favorite alien in a film, calling it "one of the best-loved non-humans in popular culture".[81] The film is among the top ten in the BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14. In 1994, E.T. was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.[82]
In 2011, ABC aired Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, revealing the results of a poll of fans conducted by ABC and People magazine: E.T. was selected as the fifth best film of all time and the second best science fiction film.
On October 22, 2012, Madame Tussauds unveiled wax likenesses of E.T. at six of its international locations.[83]
20th anniversary version[edit]



 The 20th anniversary version of the film replaces the guns, used by the police, with walkie-talkies.
An extended version of the film, including altered special effects, was released on March 22, 2002. Certain shots of E.T. had bothered Spielberg since 1982, as he did not have enough time to perfect the animatronics. Computer-generated imagery (CGI), provided by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), was used to modify several shots, including ones of E.T. running in the opening sequence and being spotted in the cornfield. The spaceship's design was also altered to include more lights. Scenes shot for but not included in the original version were introduced. These included E.T. taking a bath, and Gertie telling Mary that Elliott went to the forest on Halloween night. Spielberg did not add the scene featuring Harrison Ford, feeling that would reshape the film too drastically. Spielberg became more sensitive about the scene where gun-wielding federal agents threaten Elliott and his escaping friends and had the guns digitally replaced with walkie-talkies.[5]
At the premiere, John Williams conducted a live performance of the score.[84] The new release grossed $68 million in total, with $35 million coming from Canada and the United States.[53] The changes to the film, particularly the escape scene, were criticized as political correctness. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wondered, "Remember those guns the feds carried? Thanks to the miracle of digital, they're now brandishing walkie-talkies.... Is this what two decades have done to free speech?"[85] Chris Hewitt of Empire wrote, "The changes are surprisingly low-key...while ILM's CGI E.T. is used sparingly as a complement to Carlo Rambaldi's extraordinary puppet."[86] South Park ridiculed many of the changes in the 2002 episode "Free Hat".[87]
The two-disc DVD release which followed in October 22, 2002 contained the original theatrical and 20th Anniversary extended versions of the film. Spielberg personally demanded the release to feature both versions.[88] The two-disc edition, as well as a three-disc collector's edition containing a "making of" book and special features that were unavailable on the two-disc edition,[89] were placed in moratorium on December 31, 2002. Later, E.T. was re-released on DVD as a single-disc re-issue in 2005, featuring only the 20th Anniversary version.
In a June 2011 interview, Spielberg said that in the future

There's going to be no more digital enhancements or digital additions to anything based on any film I direct.... When people ask me which E.T. they should look at, I always tell them to look at the original 1982 E.T. If you notice, when we did put out E.T. we put out two E.T.s. We put out the digitally enhanced version with the additional scenes and for no extra money, in the same package, we put out the original '82 version. I always tell people to go back to the '82 version.[90]
A 30th Anniversary edition was released on October 9, 2012 for Blu-ray and DVD, which included a fully restored version of the original film, re-instating the original animatronic close-ups and the shotguns.[91]
Other portrayals[edit]
In July 1982, during the film's first theatrical run, Spielberg and Mathison wrote a treatment for a sequel to be titled E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears. It would have seen Elliott and his friends kidnapped by evil aliens and follow their attempts to contact E.T. for help. Spielberg decided against pursuing the sequel, feeling it "would do nothing but rob the original of its virginity".[92]
Atari, Inc. made a video game based on the film for the Atari 2600. Released in 1982, it was widely considered to be one of the worst video games ever made.
William Kotzwinkle, author of the film's novelization, wrote a sequel, E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet, which was published in 1985. In the novel, E.T. returns home to the planet Brodo Asogi, but is subsequently demoted and sent into exile. E.T. then attempts to return to Earth by effectively breaking all of Brodo Asogi's laws.[93] E.T. Adventure, a theme park ride, debuted at Universal Studios Florida in 1990. The $40 million attraction features the title character saying goodbye to visitors by name.[12]
In 1998, E.T. was licensed to appear in television public service announcements produced by the Progressive Corporation. The announcements featured E.T.'s voice reminding drivers to "buckle up" their safety belts. Traffic signs depicting a stylized E.T. wearing a safety belt were installed on selected roads around the United States.[94] The following year, British Telecommunications launched the "Stay in Touch" campaign, with E.T. as the star of various advertisements. The campaign's slogan was "B.T. has E.T.", with "E.T." also taken to mean "extra technology".[95] At Spielberg's suggestion, George Lucas included members of E.T.'s species as background characters in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999).[96]
See also[edit]


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Worsley, Sue Dwiggins (1997). From Oz to E.T.: Wally Worsley's Half-Century in Hollywood. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3277-1.
External links[edit]
Find more about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at Wikipedia's sister projects
 Media from Commons
 Quotations from Wikiquote
 Textbooks from Wikibooks
Official homepage for the 20th anniversary edition
Nocturnal Fears[dead link] Sequel treatment by Spielberg and Melissa Mathison
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at the Internet Movie Database
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at allmovie
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at Rotten Tomatoes
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at Box Office Mojo
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at Metacritic
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Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Films directed by Steven Spielberg
Films produced by Steven Spielberg
Films set in the San Fernando Valley
Films shot in Los Angeles, California
Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
United States National Film Registry films
Universal Pictures films
Film scores by John Williams











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