Steven Spielberg's latest film, "Disclosure Day," explores extraterrestrial contact and has prompted film columnists to revisit the director's classic 1977 work "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Bethan Ackerley, writing for New Scientist, argues that "Close Encounters" remains the essential viewing before experiencing Spielberg's new release.
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" established Spielberg's signature approach to depicting first contact with alien life. The film follows Roy Neary, an ordinary utility worker whose life transforms after witnessing an unidentified flying object. Rather than depicting aliens as invaders or threats, Spielberg presented contact as a profound, almost spiritual experience rooted in wonder and curiosity about the unknown.
The 1977 film pioneered visual language for depicting UFOs that influenced decades of science fiction cinema. Its famous five-note musical motif, composed by John Williams, became iconic shorthand for alien communication. The film's climactic sequence at Devils Tower in Wyoming showcases Spielberg's ability to balance scientific inquiry with emotional resonance, showing humanity attempting peaceful dialogue with an incomprehensible intelligence.
Ackerley suggests that "Close Encounters" provides essential context for understanding how Spielberg approaches the contact narrative in "Disclosure Day." The earlier film established themes about humanity's place in the cosmos and our capacity for understanding the truly alien. Its optimistic vision of first contact contrasts sharply with more pessimistic science fiction contemporaries.
Watching "Close Encounters" before "Disclosure Day" allows audiences to trace Spielberg's evolution in depicting extraterrestrial themes across more than four decades. The original film's influence on UFO cinema remains substantial, making it relevant viewing for contemporary audiences encountering new takes on the contact scenario.
Both films share Spielberg's conviction that encounters with alien intelligence prov