Close Encounters of the Third Kind is my favorite movie. I've seen it in the triple digits, so there's no way of gauging my initial reaction to watching the film unfold, other than the fond remembrances I documented upon seeing it the way I remember experiencing it so many years ago -- on network television. But there are over a dozen YouTube videos of people sitting down to watch it for the first time. The first one I ran across while doing my customary scouring of YT for CE3K uploads I hadn't previously seen was by Casual Nerd Reactions . I was somewhat transfixed by the concept and thought it would make a great blog. As I'd already seen his and the idea was to watch a couple for my reactions, I decided to forego that one, but I thank him for a subconscious impulse akin to the one that befell Roy Neary. Upon doing a cursory search for "first time watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind, " I ran across 15 more candidates. I've picked two for this ed...

I took some time out today to organize the ol' Close Encounters of the Third Kind collection and thought I'd start sharing some of the articles. First up: Anyone who was around in 1978 knows a debate sprung up over whether Star Wars or CE3K was the better film. Actually, it's not an argument those who love the latter film more expect to ever win, but there are many of us out there who prefer the adventure and/or the spiritual connotations of CE3K over lightsaber clashes.  It's not as though movie lovers can't appreciate both, I certainly do. And it was never a bone of contention between our writer/director Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on the other side. Of course, diehard fans know R2D2 makes an appearance in CE3K when the mothership appears on the horizon. And the master craftsmen and good friends even made a bet about whose film would perform better at the box office -- they both thought the other would rule the landscape. So Spielberg and Lucas gave each ot...

When movie studios release a motion picture as big as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, there's always an inevitable promotional campaign. In the case of our film, there were two -- for the original release in 1977 and for the Special Edition in 1980. Upcoming blogs will take a look at different press kits, merchandising and advertising manuals, programs and the like. This week, here are some variations of the glossy foldouts that came out, often before a preview of the film. If you've run across any not included here, please share on the Our Close Encounters of the Third Kind pages on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!~Paige 1977 release: 1980 release:

    It wound up being just shy of a four-year wait to get to see the 2016 documentary Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond. Basically, I had a movie poster for the Cannes selection long before I actually got to see it. But it was worth the wait. Filmmaker Pierre Filmon starts his narrative deferentially, consulting with his subject matter on the different options that could be used to film the interview. What's notable about Zsigmond's reaction is he's not looking to intimidate the director. Vilmos is a master craftsman and the raison d'être for everyone being there, but he offers opinions instead of setting parameters. Also, he doesn't mind sitting on a film canister if it makes for a better shot.    So before the title sequence even rolls, we get a good idea of what Vilmos was like as a person and an artist, and thusly why so many in the business trusted him to get their jobs done.    Said title sequence is stunning, culling Zsigmond's opening credit f...

  For better or worse, Close Encounters of the Third Kind has toiled in the shadow of Star Wars since both were originally released in 1977. Well, as much as a film that made $288 million worldwide and picked up two Academy Awards can be considered in the shadows. But today, I'm talking more along the lines of collectibles, specifically trading cards. There's the original Topps set of 66 cards and 11 stickers. (Just for comparison's sake, Star Wars had five series.) That collection probably was put together before Close Encounters' release, because the captions don't really match what occurred on the screen. (The best example of that is #6 with screaming Silvia Neary.) Also absent altogether, save an occasional profile, are stars Richard Dreyfuss (Roy Neary), Francois Truffaut (Claude Lacombe) and Bob Balaban (David Laughlin). My favorite is #24, which gives us a good look at Barry's kidnapper as Cary Guffey goes through the doggie door despite Melinda Dillo...