Diary of a TV rewatch

Truth be told, I don't remember the first time I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind. What I do recall is watching it every time it was broadcast on ABC. I could tell you when the commercial breaks happen. And the TV version is the only one which pumps up the audio on the original finding of planes in the desert. I've listened for that on every reissue that has come out since -- in theaters and at home. And none of them give the excited extras examining the pristine planes their moment in the spotlight, their dialogue is buried under John Williams' brilliant score.

So when my friend Adam Long of Movie Geeks United said he'd send me a copy of CE3K from an original ABC broadcast -- with commercials! -- I obviously couldn't wait for it to arrive. I couldn't wait to settle in with some popcorn and some pop and watch my favorite film of all time the way I did when I received the implanted visions.

My copy of the film was from when it was the Sunday night movie airing on Dec. 30, 1984. I'm sure I watched it back then, my affection for CE3K was cemented by this time. What follows is a stream-of-consciousness diary of the rewatch...

Which version is it going to be? The original 1977 release? The 1980 special edition? Steven Spielberg's director's cut wouldn't surface until 1997.

Ah, the four opening credits. Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Vilmos Zsigmond -- who rightfully nabbed the Oscar for cinematography -- and Steven Spielberg.

"Edited for television." Any deviation from either of the releases and I'm pretty sure I'll pick up on it right away.

It looks so narrow on the small screen. We start in Mexico. Claude Lacombe (Truffaut) meets his interpreter, cartographer David Laughlin (Bob Balaban) World War II planes that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle have reappeared 30 years later in the Sonora Desert.

"It's General Motors, that makes them TBMs." That is up in the mix. I was expecting as much. But you know what's also in there? Bits of dialogue I don't remember at all. Like Laughlin -- serving as the audience by inquiring about what's going on at the plane site. I remember him calling out "Hey!" What I don't recall is him yelling, "Hey you! Listen to me, will you?"

The scene cuts to an Indianapolis air traffic control tower. I believe it was the first scene filmed for the movie, long before the production really got underway. With actual air traffic control personnel uttering the dialogue, it's easy to buy into the scenario. A UFO whizzes by one of the planes. The controller asks the pilots if they want to report it. How telling that these professionals didn't want to say anything about it for fear they lose face ... respect ... their jobs.

Now we're in a little boy's bedroom. His toy monkey with cymbals comes to life. And it's not as abrasive as it sounds in the ensuing releases. There's the Blushing Frankenstein dropping his drawers as he powers on. Always wanted one of those.

Barry Guiler (Cary Guffey) comes downstairs to investigate. What kind of cockamamie shirt is "BOSTON UNIV." anyway? That's not a real Boston University shirt. Well, at least it wasn't until CE3K fan Marcelo Burlon immortalized it in his high-fashion line several years ago.

The episode of Police Woman on the television when Barry's mother, Jillian, wakes up to find her son wandering off into the woods sounds a lot clearer than usual. It's "The Chasers," by the way, the fifth episode of the second season.

And we're definitely in the original movie. I can tell by the fact that Roy Neary (Dreyfuss) is trying to teach his son, Brad (Shawn Bishop), math with the use of his train set. That was cut out of the Special Edition.

Roy doesn't seem to listen to his wife, Ronnie (Teri Garr), a heckuva lot. He ignores all her complaints and responds more to his boys -- Brad and Toby Neary (Justin Dreyfuss, Richard's nephew).

My favorite joke in the movie comes when Roy does talk with Ronnie about letting the kids watch The Ten Commandments. Ronnie moans that the movie is four hours long, Roy counters with "I told them they could only watch five." Meaning five commandments.

The power goes out at the Neary's ... and all around town. The guy yelling, "Hey, lights," is about as helpful as the dude in Jaws who repeatedly asks if anyone has a gun (to shoot the shark).

If there was a moment at which my love for the movie was cemented, it's probably when Roy gets lost in his truck. He's already had one irate person drive by and complain about him being in the middle of the road. So the second time we think another ticket-off motorist might be approaching. Looking down at his map, Neary waves the vehicle on. But it doesn't go around him ... it's actually a UFO and it goes straight up instead.

Roy has his encounter and the UFOs take off. Neary puts the pedal to the medal and gives chase ... along with various law enforcement officers. One of the cops mentions the ships seem to be "glued to the road," and that's when they leave that path and the police car follows, crashing on the road below. A stuntman was injured during the filming of that scene, and I always think of that when seeing it.

Obviously, the UFOs "get away" and power is restored to the town. (So why does Roy get fired? The power's fixed! Does it matter if he couldn't be raised on the car radio or not?)

It's a great time for a commercial break, so of course, there is one. Oh boy, a new episode of Hardcastle and McCormick on a new night? I can't wait to not watch that. ... And, "the wait is over ... it's the year of the Street Hawk." Umm, not so much. The Rex Smith vehicle only lasted 13 episodes. But I love hearing that ABC movie fanfare. It's part of the whole experience for me.

Wait, the Gobi Desert scene?!? That's from the Special Edition. One of my favorites too, the vanished steamer Cotopaxi shows up out of nowhere. This scene shows the power of camera perspective. A miniature model was used in the filming with live action going on in the background. There are snippets of shots of extras that aren't in either the 1977 or 1980 releases. This is like a treasure trove! Like finding a ship in the desert!!

Another Special Edition scene comes along, the pillow scene in which Roy stares at the askew bedding saying "that's not right" prior to another commercial. The action comes back in Northern India with Lacombe and his team. And after the helicopters scare off Roy, Jillian and the curiosity seekers, Claude and company are trying to make sense of the India sounds in the context of sets of numbers they've been getting. Good thing Laughlin has experience with maps, 'cause he's the one who realizes that the first number is a longitude and they're dealing with Earth coordinates. But sheesh, it's the '70s, did a politician really pay $2,500 for the globe that's commandeered out of his office? And why am I even asking when I'm quite sure I know the answer.

After another quick break, it's time for Barry's abduction. And things aren't going well at the Neary homestead either. He's kicked out of his bedroom and falls asleep next to the mini-sculpture ... still not quite right ... but I could have done without another commercial since that night shot is supposed to morph into day. It's a pretty cool image (going back to Jaws for a second, I also have a problem with network TV cutting off after Hooper's suggestion that he go after the shark because it ruins the Brody reaction shot that turns into the boys putting together the cage). Same principle here.

Roy drives off his family (and rightfully so) ... grabbing the garbage can back before the trash collector can dump it in the truck seems a wee bit excessive and starts building the most awesome Devils Tower this side of the actual thing. He's got Days of Our Lives on -- there also was a Soap Opera Digest with Bill and Susan Hayes on the cover (the same characters who appear on Neary's TV as Doug and Julie) on Jillian's night table, by the way.

We're off to Moorcroft, Wyoming ... after a much better-placed commercial break. That specific shot means even more to me now. Mark and I attempted a recreation of Zsigmond's POV when we were at Devils Tower a couple of years ago, and believe us, it wasn't easy.

The scene with Carl Weathers as the military policeman was removed. And, although it's always great to see him when I am watching the original, that scene doesn't add a heck of a lot to the story. (I don't understand how he can say they got everyone out of the zone if there are people walking right past him as he says it. Not to mention the hundreds at the train station.)

Then there's another scene I recreated when I went to DETO (that's the lingo if you're in Wyoming.) Jillian utters "I don't believe it's real" upon seeing the monument for the first time. I gotta tell you, that hill Roy and Jillian ascend for their first real view at the Tower is a lot closer than I imagined it to be. It's literally around the corner.

There's evidence of that editing for television ... Neary's not allowed to say "farting around."

After Roy and Claude finally meet and Lacombe questions Neary about why he came all that way, the Frenchman and his interpreter try to reason with the military. Laughlin translating Lacombe's "Because this means something" when Claude said it in English always elicits a chuckle. Roy's put on a helicopter. What we don't see too well in the usual releases is that Neary is listening to the Frenchman from his perch behind the pilot inside the helicopter. Roy knows there's going to be a five-minute delay, thus enabling him to escape. Never noticed that before.

Poor Larry Butler (Josef Sommer), the only other one "invited" by the aliens who makes it onto the grounds of DETO. He comes and goes within one segment, he doesn't even get to reappear after a commercial.

There's another break after Roy and Jillian survive the chase and the call comes to take the lights in the arena down for the arrival. The public address announcer's edict to "Watch the Skies" -- the original title of the movie -- brings us back into the action.

I actually remembered one thing incorrectly. I always thought the three UFOs that initially come to the runway and play the five tones then return to herald the approach of the mothership. But watching this time, there was just one there. When I saw that on the director's cut, I thought it was revisionist history.

Right before the mothership's arrival, there's a break. When the movie came back from commercial, it was past the Easter egg in which R2D2 can be spotted on the underside of the ship. (I think I thusly missed the announcement saying, "And now the conclusion of Close Encounters of the Third Kind" that always let me know the rest of the film was going to be shown without interruption.)

The abductees return. Those World War II guys must be pretty freaked by the modern technology that must be assaulting all their senses. And we're back to the Special Edition at the end with Roy boarding the ship. We get lots of extra reaction shots that aren't in either version of the movie. Just seeing those little bits at this moment makes it like watching the climactic scene for the first time.

It strangely goes to commercial after Barry's tender "good-bye" to his alien buddies. There's not much left ... no other lines in the film actually. None of the cast members were shown again, basically it's just the departure of the ship to a rising score and the credits. But that doesn't put a damper on it, I just found it rather curious.

Having the movie in this format is a priceless gift. It brings me back to the origin of my lifelong affection (and obsession) for the film ... back to the time when I was doodling Devils Tower on every notebook I owned. It's glorious to be able to experience it that way again. I thank Adam from the bottom of my heart for that.

--Paige