Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.6/10· 230K votes

Rotten Tomatoes91%

Metacritic90%

TMDb7.35/10· 5K votes

With 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.6/10 on IMDb and 90/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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.

Cast of Close Encounters of the Third Kind

• 

  Richard Dreyfuss

  as Roy Neary

• 

  François Truffaut

  as Claude Lacombe

• 

  Teri Garr

  as Ronnie Neary

• 

  Melinda Dillon

  as Jillian Guiler

• 

  Bob Balaban

  as David Laughlin

• 

  J. Patrick McNamara

  as Project Leader

• 

  Warren J. Kemmerling

  as Wild Bill

• 

  Roberts Blossom

  as Farmer

• P

  Phil Dodds

  as ARP Musician

• 

  Cary Guffey

  as Barry Guiler

• S

  Shawn Bishop

  as Brad Neary

• A

  Adrienne Campbell

  as Sylvia Neary

Close Encounters of the Third Kind facts

Budget

$20M

Box office

$306.9M

Our take on Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Steven Spielberg's 1977 drama and science-fiction landmark follows an ordinary electricity lineman who, after an encounter with UFOs, feels an inexplicable pull toward a remote stretch of wilderness where something extraordinary is building. Rather than menace, Spielberg treats first contact as awe and yearning, tracking a man whose obsession strains his everyday life even as it draws him toward the unknown. Deliberate and wonder-struck, the film favors mystery and emotional build over spectacle for its own sake. It suits viewers who want science fiction rooted in curiosity and human longing rather than conflict, and who appreciate a patient, quietly transporting approach to the possibility of contact beyond our world.