Talk:Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Writing Credits - Julia Phillips book
Some mention should be made of Julia Phillips' claim in "You'll Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again" that Spielberg had her strong arm the other writers not to seek WGA-mandated credits on the film because he wanted sole credit. And to this day, he has never had a single credit on one of his films again. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.171.227.39 (talk) 01:54, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

References to use

 * Please add to the list references that can be used for the film article.



Music Section
I fixed the music section some. It seems to have been written by a person who does not know English very well. I certainly appreciate their good attempt! I also added some detail of a very slight musical technical nature to that section. I think it can be expanded on enormously!Gingermint (talk) 22:46, 29 October 2010 (UTC)
 * I haven't checked its writing style yet, but I do want to suggest that we move the section on the soundtrack to its own article, as its highly notable and is not the film. the material on the famous 5 notes could go in either or both articles, as its directly relevant to the film. I see this a lot, where a film article includes the album, book source, play source, etc, when those entities often are notable in their own right.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 17:19, 9 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The section has been rewritten in 2011 (since Gingermint wrote his/her message above) and so the "writing style" is no longer an issue. With regards to giving the music section its own article, I'm not sure that it warrants it because the section covers it fairly well without being too long. If people feel that it appears too long, then I would suggest using the hide/show functions for the track listings of the different album releases to make the section more compact. I think a soundtrack album for a film is different than a stage play or novel that later became a film because they are truly separate works (though a mere novelisation of a film would not warrant a separate article). I can understand a separate article for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack album (due to its cultural significance alone) but the Close Encounters soundtrack isn't quite as notable or prominent. 88.104.25.45 (talk) 09:22, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

It is strange that no-one has referred to the exact similarity between the five-note motif and the opening of the Scottish composer Alexander MacKenzie's 'Britannia, A Nautical Overture', written in 1894. This begins with the first four notes of the motif, and then repeats them just as in the film. When this piece is heard on Classic FM, I'm sure that half the audience will expect it to be 'Close Encounters'. I'm not saying that the theme was stolen from MacKenzie's work, just that it may be an example of accidental similarity which has a relevance in other claims that one piece of music was consciously or subconsciously copied from another. Robin Scagell (talk) 08:50, 7 July 2022 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robin Scagell (talk • contribs)

CE3K and UFO's in Society
I'm reading a great book that includes essays from 1977 to 1997, it was a column written for Skeptical Inquirer magazine called "Psychic Vibrations" by Robert Sheaffer. I'm fascinated at how much the influence the movie CE3K had on the UFO community and think it would be an interesting entry on this page. Wondering if anyone would care if I worked something up when I completely finish the book? Sgerbic (talk) 05:02, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

Co-ordinates
104 44 30 40 36 10 is between Ault and Pierce Colorado. No where near Devil's Tower, by about 275 miles. ??? 198.53.137.96 (talk) 06:57, 22 August 2015 (UTC)
 * True; I see this is documented on IMDb's "Goofs" page here. However, as it says at the top of our page, this is the talk page for discussing improvements to the article, not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. Cheers. Prhartcom (talk) 17:20, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

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Release date
I have read that Close Encounters of the Third Kind came out on Nov 16 for a limited release: "Released November 16, 1977"-"The Movie Lover's Devotional"; "Close Encounters finally opened at the Ziegfeld in New York on November 16"-Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History; "It was the success of this film, followed by Close Encounters of the Third Kind (premiered 16 November 1977)..."-Ashley, Michael (2007) Gateways to Forever Liverpool University Press pg 356-7; "R: November 16, 1977. L: 135 min. - (Working titles: Watch the Skies, Close Encounter of the Third Kind.)" Steven Spielberg: A Biography pg 204; "Wed Nov 16 Close Encounters of a Third Kind" - Cue 1977.

It is clear Ray Morton got his release date wrong as about everybody else says November 16, 1977.--BruceGrubb (talk) 12:21, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

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Unfaithful wife?
The plot synopsis describes Roy's wife as unfaithful, but I don't remember there ever being any reference to infedelity in the movie? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ftr2k7 (talk • contribs) 16:36, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Tinkerbell ball
There should be some mention of the character of the red "Tinkerbell" ball. The little red ball that followed the UFOs, and did mischief. In articles written after the film's original release Spielberg said he included it to lighten scenes that may have been too intense for children. One of a number of Disney references in the movie. Others are Neery being called "Jiminy Cricket" by his wife, The kids wanting to go to "Goofy" golf, the use of "When You Wish Upon A Star" in the original closing credits, etc. Spielberg said the internal logic of the "tinkerbell ball" character was that it did the mischief so that if humanity was deemed un ready for contact the witness reports would be confused by the mischief the "tinkerbell ball" did. 98.164.66.237 (talk) 10:53, 9 October 2019 (UTC)

1966 incident as inspiration
Various sources of varying reliability and varying information cite the April 17, 1966, UFO police chase in Ohio and Pennsylvania as a source for the similar scene in the movie, ranging from direct inspiration to one of the officers involved being a consultant. Here are three: Notable is that the last is already used as a reference on UFO sightings in the United States. Mapsax (talk) 00:31, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

Dreyfuss's 155 days' worth of Close Encounters

 * Spielberg explained that when filming Jaws, "Dreyfuss talked me into casting him. He listened to about 155 days' worth of Close Encounters. He even contributed ideas.

What exactly is the "155 days' worth of Close Encounters" referring to? -- Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:47, 27 March 2024 (UTC)