Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977 film directed by Steven Spielberg

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is an 1977 American science fiction movie written and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey and François Truffaut. The movie tells the story about Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with an undentified flying object (UFO).

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Directed bySteven Spielberg
Screenplay bySteven Spielberg
Produced byJulia Phillips
Michael Phillips
StarringRichard Dreyfuss
Teri Garr
Melinda Dillon
François Truffaut
CinematographyVilmos Zsigmond
Edited byMichael Kahn
Music byJohn Williams
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
November 16, 1977
Running time
135 minutes (Theatrical Version)
132 minutes (Special Edition)
137 minutes (Director's Cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19.4 million
Box office$306.1 million

Made on a production budget of $19.4 million, Close Encounters was released in a limited number of cities on November 16, 1977 and November 23, 1977 before expanding into wide release the following month. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $300 million worldwide. The movie received numerous awards and nominations at the 50th Academy Awards, 32nd British Academy Film Awards, the 35th Golden Globe Awards and the 5th Saturn Awards and has been widely acclaimed at the American Film Institute.

In 2007, the Library of Congress selected Close Encounters of the Third Kind into the United States National Film Registry.