Matt Connarton Unleashed: Erich Pilcher reviews Close Encounters of the Third Kind

More and more seven one more night Jack, tell me something. What the hell it's happening here? It's flight number nineteen nineteen. Watch it's that training mission from the day of the last station at Fort Waterdale. They were doing target punts on at all Hall. Both flights breaks like these anymore? No one. These planes were reported missing in nineteen forty five, but it looks brand new. Where's the pilot? I don't understand we're in the crow hang? How the hell didn't get hair? Aliens, extraterrestrials, pod people, martians, space invaders, no matter what they have been called, beings from other planets or even other galaxies, have enthralled, captivated, and even caused fear in film audiences since the beginning of film One film made audience feel all of these emotions and even added one of the most important feelings we can have, That is hope. Released in nineteen seventy seven, directed by Steven Spielberg, coming off his successful third film, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind introduces us to Roy Neary played by Cher Dreyfus, a line worker in Indiana that, while on a job, encounters an alien spacecraft that changes him from everyday working stiff to a man obsessed with beings from other worlds. Rounding out the starring cast is Terry Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, and declaimed French director Francois Trufeaux. The introductory clip sets up the arrival of the beings with the mysterious reappearance of planes in the Sonoran Desert that has long been thought to be lost flying over the Bermuda Triangle. Our next clip builds the tension when air traffic controllers have to prevent two aircrafts from colliding in the air with a UFO. What makes this scene important is it beautifully builds tension that is noticeable throughout the film, and notice at the end of the scene the unwillingness by multiple parties to acknowledge a possible UFO that could be interpreted as disbelief that is constantly present throughout this film. Four seventy one nine one three four point four four four Ward here Erry, even now, I point out I gave you's on one point two point five. I'll be running one and then after kind of you're having a traffic for every thirty one one, Avery's thirty one negative. The owner traffic. I have is a t WA L ten eleven in your six o'clock position range fifteen miles ended out of gaining DC nine in your twelve o'clock position fifty miles. It's done by one. I'll take a look at raw to endemy very thirty one has transfict two o'clock slightly about the descending every thirty one, Roger, I have a primary target about that position. Now I have no known high altitude of traffic stand by one. I'll check low over, Derek, what your check low altitude? And you've been oho. This is thirty one. The tomic's not lower than us one o'clock. Now e'll aprop me into destending. Every is thirty one can use the aircraft type negative center distinct outline. Try to true the time that is rather brigan as brightest to any quisition lights I think I've ever seen all any white to red colors are a little striking center w way bind nadine traffic now looks like extra bright landing light. I thought airy any landing my bomb could be a satellite. Every is thirty one, now you have that primary time. Get now in your ten o'clock position five I've never had the traffic is proceedings, find no order to a great out rugger a problem now in tend about fifteen nine longly on waita a by one. Okay, every even ninety one the trafficker can he had anyway from my way hill, we can anyway and made a street fight here now every thirty one to sign and maintained flight level three ones they're on great got again and triple corn turn right three agree, get on the art of the forty five Hell get me a piston up there, and every just sent the base Monnapolis at a test operations restricted area two finals ear eight are thirty one. Rocker traffick here white Loman intended to gibling some nombolistic motion of them. Roger every is thirty one, continue to sign a Jody's question of okay, don a pilot discussion. It's approved. The traffick is approaching head on alt right and really moving right by it right now about that one really close as thirty one. It's out a free poder on the traffic past him. If they want to report officially five seventeen do you want to report a ufover e w A five seventeen do you want to report a UFO over negative? We don't want to report are is thirty one? Do you wish to report a UFO over and we wanted for one of those data? Are is thirty one? Do you wish to find a report of any kind of him? How I would kind of report a file twer? Are he's thirty one? Me neither. I'll try to track traffic a destination of him. That disbelief and unwillingness to acknowledge eventually turns into panic in fear. Our next scene takes place at a radio telescope center where a group of individuals are trying to decipher the signal being sent from the beings. Their inability to do so leads to them comedically rolling a twenty five hundred dollars giant globe down the hallway to pin down the coordinates that the beings are sending them. The conclusion of this scene also briefly introduces us to TRORO foes famed role of Claude land Comb. There are the padals. We just received two fifteen minute broadcasts of these non random sycle one hundred and four rapid pulses after a five second innival forty pulses, another five second break and thirty pulses, sixty seconds of silence, and then an entirely new set of numbers forty break five, thirty, six, break five, ten, one hundred and four rapid pulses, a hard wait, sixty seconds, and the whole dog one thing repeats. These signals coming from right in the neighborhood light travel. I'm probably seven seconds. It's well within the plane of the eclipsance mission. He's non random. To check your care ten response to that, No, they should be. We've been sending out this musical combination for weeks, but all we're getting back a number that could mean the endy. It sounds reached to dandy that helped mean the things so much that we don't know how about where the signals originally the drink. Excuse me? What letters? Excuse me? Before I got paid to speak French, I U, I used to read maps. This first number is a longitude. Yeah, two sets of three numbers degrees, minutes, and seconds, And the first number has three digits and the last two were below sixty. Obviously it's not in the right ascension and declination on the sky. We have to be with coordinates, truly, somebody else. There's a globe in the County Supervisor's office we need, but there's a release that's a twenty five. What are you guys doing? I mean, then, okay, everybody a dollar? It's not right after the antenna? How numb? Which way is the antenna pointing northeast? Proper? Continuing, We're going to need a geodetic survey map of Wyoming. I want this down to the square. I don't thank you da. There are quite a few memorable performances in this film, the aforementioned Trufau in Balaband, Melinda Dylon, you may know her as the mother from the film A Christmas Story. But there is one that does stand out, and that is the performance of Dryfus as Neari. There were many considered for this role, as mentioned on Wednesday's episode of Matt Connerton Unleashed, including Gene Hackman, and one of the biggest film debates is how this role would have been with Gene Hackman as Neari. Despite this, Dryfus does this role justice and encapsulating the essence of Nearing. Our last two scenes show this. First we hear Neari as an everyday family man, trying to teach his son about fractions. Then, at the peak of his obsession in broad daylight, NERII begins digging up dirt tree and throwing it through the windows of his house and even trash. His neighbors are watching this crazed behavior, and this eventually leads to his family leaving him. This clip also showcases Terry gars amazing understated performance as his wife Ronnie, I don't have to do for you. You do your problems for you. That's why I graduated, so I don't have to do problems. I don't understand these fractions, all right? What's one third of sixty That's a fraction I don't understanding. All right. Look, let's say that this box car is sixty feet long, okay, and one third of it is across this switch here, all right? Okay, and now another train is coming. Now, how far do you have to move this fox car off the track so that the other train doesn't smash it? Quickly? Brad? If there are thousands of lives at stake, Brad, any answer, and now Roy's breakdown, that's what I am you gonna say? Oh right, come on, man, do this? Can weake a good in the window. Stop sound funny. If I don't do this, that's what I'm gonna need a doctor. What what are you doing? I got it? What are you doing? Well? I'm figuring it out, that's all. We could. Just listen. No, Ronnie, look, you ever look at something when it's crazy and then you look at it in another way and it's not crazy? Come on, Ronnie, just listen. I don't know if you just close your eyes to finness, because close your eyes and hold your breath. No, it'll be really pretty right. I'm scared at us now, don't be scared. Just don't be scared. I feel really good. Thing he's gonna be all right. I haven't felt this good in years. Do you know what else? What else? What else? Right again? Chicken wire? Whatever you're doing is against the law. He's putting it back, missus Harris, I'll pay you for it. Take it, take it. I'll pit you fine. You look for this fits right now? You come with me. Do you want me to hit you? You leot doing at this shoe? Listen to me, Listen to me. Please, come on, right now, we're going come on, come on, who here, let's go with the fix. Come onever, Hey, say, are we going? Where are we going? There we going in the car? There we go. We quickly get Arey's going, get in there? Toby Chuckly, Ye, lock the doors, Lonny, what just lock the doors right out? Money? Where are you gonna? What are you gonna taking kids to? My sisters? Crazy? Not even dressed? What he said? What what? Monny one. This film was wrought with production problems that led to the film's release being delayed from a summer blockbuster to a limited release in November of nineteen seventy seven and a national release December fourteenth of nineteen seventy seven. It started slow, grossing over a tad over ten million dollars its opening weekend. More theaters were added the week before Christmas, and the film made over twenty four million by the end of the second week. Overall, it made two hundred and eighty eight million dollars worldwide. It was the most successful Columbia Pictures film at that point and saved the Fledglings studio from ruin. Critics have heralded the films since, and it is one of the most highly regarded science fiction films. The Academy Awards took notice, giving the film nine nominations, including Best Director for Spielberg and Best Supporting Actress for Melinda Dillon. It won two for Best Cinematography and Special Achievement. This film is breathtaking with its music, lighting, special effects, and its gripping, compelling story was one not seen in science fiction to that point. When this review started, I spoke of hope. The hope this film conveys is that we should not fear those beings, humans or otherwise that we do not know. We should seek them, to find answers and make the unknown known. That is the message of hope that this film conveys to me, in a message we should all view and carry with us in ernest. I hope you joined me next week, when we will look at the film that gave Quentin Tarantino his start in Hollywood. This film is written by Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. We will look at the crime romance Caper True Romance for WMNH and Matt Connerton Unleashed. This has been a classic film review with Eric Pilcher. The