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Columbia Pictures
EMI Films
Not part of a collection.
We are not alone.
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
CinemaSerf
Jun 4, 2023 · via TMDB
I always remember as a child hoping/praying that if extra terrestrials ever did come to visit us, that they wouldn't arrive in America. Think "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) or most other sci-fi stories: the first things they would see when they opened their door would be guns, tanks, missiles, soldiers... This film takes a far more sophisticated approach to how we might engage with an alien species, and together with some super effects and a far more nuanced storyline leaves us with room for optimism that we might not just try to shoot first and ask questions afterwards - should anyone ever do arrive. Spielberg was still, in my view anyway, learning his craft when he wrote/directed this and that shows in the real paucity of pace for the first hour. Richard Dreyfuss is adequate, but the constantly amazed/perplexed looks on his face start to become annoying after a while. François Truffaut features now and again - largely as part of a parallel storyline - but really, this only begins to engage in the last thirty minutes when the threads all knit together giving us a clever denouement as the scientists discover an innovative, musical, way to communicate that doesn't involved threats and bullets. Oddly enough, even when I first saw this at the age of 9, I never got any sense of menace from our travellers and the absence of any substantial physical form for us to identify with seems to help keep the magic working. Not John Williams' finest work, I thought the score suffered from the slow rate of progress with the plot but the symbolism and curiosity of spirit this film engenders makes it still, just about, worth sticking though...
Ian Beale
Feb 16, 2017 · via TMDB
**Do the mashed potato!** Roy Neely is a gas repair man who has a close encounter with an alien craft and begins having strange visions of mashed potatoes, shaving cream and mud mountains. This all leads to Needy's marriage breaking up and he sets out to find the truth about his mashed potato visions. The climax at a mountain is breathtaking when Neely comes face to face with his destiny. One of Spielberg's best with a nice cameo by French director Francois Truffaut.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
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Richard Dreyfuss
Roy Neary
François Truffaut
Claude Lacombe
Teri Garr
Ronnie Neary
Melinda Dillon
Jillian Guiler
Bob Balaban
David Laughlin
J. Patrick McNamara
Project Leader
Warren J. Kemmerling
Wild Bill
Roberts Blossom
Farmer
Cary Guffey
Barry Guiler
Lance Henriksen
Robert
Amy Douglass
Implantee
Gene Dynarski
Ike
Carl Weathers
Military Policeman
Norman Bartold
Norman Bartold
F.J. O'Neil
ARP Project Member
Hal Barwood
Returnee #2 Flt. 19
Matthew Robbins
Returnee #3 Flt. 19
Luis Contreras
Federale
John Dennis Johnston
Special Forces
George DiCenzo
Major Benchley
Alexander Lockwood
Implantee
Josef Sommer
Larry Butler
Bill Thurman
Air Traffic
James Keane
Radio Telescope Team
Tom Howard
Radio Telescope Team
Basil Hoffman
Longly (uncredited)
J. Allen Hynek
Man Smoking Pipe at Landing Site (uncredited)
Howard K. Smith
Howard K. Smith (uncredited)
Joe Alves
Production Design
Dan Perri
Title Designer
John A. Alonzo
Additional Director of Photography
László Kovács
Additional Director of Photography
Douglas Slocombe
Director of Photography
Vilmos Zsigmond
Director of Photography
William A. Fraker
Director of Photography
Steven Poster
Second Unit Director of Photography
Buddy Joe Hooker
Stunt Coordinator
Craig R. Baxley
Stunt Driver
Henry Kingi
Stunt Driver
Jerry Brutsche
Stunt Driver
Jeannie Epper
Stunts
Steven Spielberg
Director
Jim Bloom
Second Assistant Director
Michael Kahn
Editor
Juliet Taylor
Casting
Shari Rhodes
Casting
Julia Phillips
Producer
Michael Phillips
Producer
J. Allen Hynek
Production Consultant
John Williams
Original Music Composer
Carlo Rambaldi
Creature Design
Douglas Trumbull
Visual Effects Supervisor
Steven Spielberg
Writer
Nov 15, 1977
New York, New York
Nov 18, 1977
Los Angeles, California
Dec 14, 1977
Nov 26, 1990
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Jan 1, 1993
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May 12, 1998
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Jul 14, 1998
The Collector's Edition LaserDisc
May 29, 2001
Two-Disc Collector's Edition DVD
Nov 13, 2007
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Sep 19, 2017
40th Anniversary Edition 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray
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1965
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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