DVD REVIEW

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Collector's Edition

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr
Director: Steven Spielberg

Rating: PG

Studio: Columbia

Review Posted: 6.10.01

DVD Rating: 7/10

By Jon Bjorling

Close Encounter of the First Kind - Sighting
Close Encounter of the Second Kind - Physical Evidence
Close Encounter of the Third Kind - Contact

Close Encounter of the Third Kind is  Spielberg's tale of humankind's first real contact with an alien intelligence. Dreyfuss is Roy Neary, an everyday Joe who, after seeing a UFO, becomes obsessed with a certain shape. Soon, he is compelled to visit the place he keeps imagining... but why?

This is not how you treat a classic. Spielberg's science fiction classic deserves better than this. A two-disc set and there are hardly any features? What the hell is that?  Shame on everyone involved with this DVD. I won't say that Close Encounters is my favorite Spielberg film, but it's definitely one of his best. 

As I said, it deserves a better presentation than this.

9 out of 10

Okay, what's wrong with this "collector's edition"?

To begin with, the film itself. While the transfer is beautiful, the widescreen presentation actually ruins a part of the film. I had to squint my eyes to read the translations of Truffaut's lines. I eventually got used to it, but I found it annoying as hell.

7 out of 10

The other problem with the film is that there is no commentary track. I really want to know why Spielberg hasn't done one yet. This film is a perfect candidate for a director's discussion, why would he choose to ignore it?

8 out of 10

But here's where the real problem with this set lies - the "Special Features" disc.

What's the problem?

A lack of special features. The second disc has the following Special Features: 2 Trailers, The 1997 feature length Making of Close Encounters, a 1977 featurette, 11 deleted scenes, and a filmography. The making of documentary is very informative and (I guess) could take the place of the missing commentary track.

The 11 deleted scenes really don't add much to the film and it's clear why they were removed. In this set are also the scenes that took place inside the alien spaceship that -- thankfully -- were removed from the film.

7 out of 10

I will recommend this film, only because it is a great film. I only wish the presentation for it was better.

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