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...