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 air...

Big fans of Close Encounters of the Third Kind tend to have more than a passing interest in Devils Tower, the first U.S. national monument that plays an important role in the movie. Many of us have quests to visit Wyoming just to see it, to look upon it like Roy Neary and Jillian Guiler did in the film (probably without the visitors, though). Devils Tower Trading Post keeps a camera focused on DETO (if you're in the know in Wyoming, that's what you call it) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Here's the link so you can look for yourselves: https://www.devilstowertradingpost.com/webcam.php And here are some screen grabs snapped over the past few years of the beautiful view it affords us from anywhere we are in the world, as we plan our next visit to its friendly confines. ~Paige

Will be sharing lots of items on this blog, starting off with the "paperwork" from the press kit for the original release in 1977. No photos this time, that'll be coming in a later post. But there's lots of groovy information (they said "groovy" a lot back in the day) to be gleaned from the black and yellowed pages from the kit. Enjoy! ~Paige