Call from Outer Space
The year 2017 would mark the 40th anniversary of the release of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", which was made on a budget of 18 million dollars. It was a huge figure back then, even more costly than "Star Wars". It was the third-highest grossing film of 1977 (after "Star Wars" and "Smokey and the Bandit"). Those who have seen it would remember the five-tone musical phrase in a major scale, a brilliant idea of John Williams. The other memorable thing was Vilmos Zsigmond's photography. Devils Tower, a product of millions of years of magma movement, frequent changes in sea level, and weathering, turned into alien landscape. Who would have thought that a huge spacecraft could be found beneath it? The Hungarian cinematographer did a fine job with the colors and lighting, teasing and misleading moviegoers many times. (Zsigmond passed away on January 1. He was 85.) But this was a Steven Spielberg picture.
Don't be surprised if Spielberg wrote the script during his teenage years. This was the project he nurtured for many years, and Hollywood didn't trust him. Yet. (Many big names rewrote the script, with Paul Schrader being one of them.) And Spielberg's inspiration was "When You Wish Upon a Star", the Oscar-winning theme song from "Pinocchio" (1940).
"I hung my story on the mood the song created, the way it affected me personally," he said.
Spielberg could be Roy Neary, an electrical linesman who became obsessed with an unidentified flying object (UFO). A geek disguising as an everymanm, and viewers couldn't get enough of outer space. (B pictures lost its luster by this time.) "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" would remain attractive, even if the members of the American Film Institute (AFI) thought otherwise. (AFI released an updated list of the greatest films of the 20th century in 2007. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was omitted from the list.) Spielberg might be upset if he didn't have an Academy Award in his mantelpiece.
Here are five reasons why this science fiction film became a classic:
Richard Dreyfuss. The year 1977 was the high point in the actor's career, when he won the Best Actor Oscar for "The Goodbye Girl". (The win ended Richard Burton's chances of winning an Academy Award. "Equus" marked his sixth nomination.) But Dreyfuss wasn't the first choice for Roy Neary. Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino were considered for the role. "I launched myself into a campaign to get the part," he said. Neary shouldn't be too serious. He wasn't crazy either. Dreyfuss would fit like a glove.
François Truffaut. It was hard to imagine a filmmaker of Truffaut's caliber to collaborate with Hollywood. But France admired Spielberg. (The filmmaker became an officer of the French Legion of Honor in 2008.) Truffaut was Claude Lacombe, a French government scientist (!) on a global hunt for signs of extraterrestial life on Earth. Lacombe and Neary were polar opposites who have one thing in common.
Melinda Dillon. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role of a mother of an abducted boy. Film enthusiasts would get tired of watching a grieving mom on screen, but Dillon saw Jillian Guller differently.
John Williams. The New Yorker was a sure winner in the Best Original Score category at the 50th Academy Award. The Academy voters couldn't decide if it was his score in "Star Wars" or "Close Encounter of the Third Kind". The force swayed them.
Steven Spielberg. "Schindler's List" gave the native of Cincinnati his first Academy Award for Best Director. The recognition was long overdue, as his best works happened during the early phase of his career. Spielberg would always be a geek, even a kid at heart.
