--- title: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind" critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): what the critics said Critics' score 86 from 16 reviews: 15 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Spielberg’s science fiction drama, praising its optimism about extraterrestrial contact and its grounding of extraordinary events in recognisable domestic life. The special effects and John Williams’s score attract repeated praise for making the spectacle emotionally involving, while Richard Dreyfuss’s inquisitiveness gives the mystery a persuasive human centre. Across the reviews, wonder matters because the people experiencing it seem ordinary, and the possibility of communication carries more weight than the threat of attack. The reservations concern structure and the film’s increasingly spiritual tone, with a few critics finding the middle uneven or the whole untidy. Sight and Sound supplies the sole mixed assessment, admiring the invention but finding the quasi-religious uplift and borrowed plotting complacent. Polygon, by contrast, values the unbalanced structure and collisions of hope and terror as expressions of Spielberg’s personal investment. The consensus is strongly positive, though agreement on the storytelling is less complete. ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 5/5. This brilliantly realised suburban sci-fi saga reverses years of flying saucer attacks with the notion of friendly visitors from outer space. It praises Dreyfuss's childlike inquisitiveness, spectacular special effects, John Williams's emotionally charged score, and the protracted climax. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-cxyx8g/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 1 January 1980. The Special Edition improves on the original with a stronger ending inside the spaceship and tighter pacing overall. It captures awe and wonder at extraterrestrial life and stands as one of the great moviegoing experiences. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-1980) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 5 December 2007. The review praises the 30th-anniversary DVD's inclusion of all three cuts and highlights the director's cut as the best, noting its balance of domestic drama and awe-inspiring wonder at the unknown. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-30th-anniversary-ul-1798203490) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Close Encounters is a thrilling vision of first contact with extraterrestrials that strips away the sci-fi to reveal compassionate human drama about an ordinary man on an extraordinary quest. The critic singles out the awe-inspiring Mothership arrival as the ultimate testament to Spielberg's gift for wonder and cinema's power. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/close-encounters-third-kind-review/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2017. The digitally restored 40th-anniversary re-release of Spielberg’s sci-fi touchstone has lost none of its grand celestial magic. The film’s credible depiction of everyday Earth life makes the extraterrestrial leaps of faith entirely convincing. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/13/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-review-stephen-spielberg-francois-truffaut-richard-dreyfuss) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Arthur Knight Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2016. The critic calls it a terrific movie with spectacular special effects that could rival Star Wars, praising the visuals, John Williams score, and convincing portrayal of UFO phenomena as friendly rather than horrific. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/close-encounters-third-kind-1977-review-947485/) ## The Times — Kate Muir Rating ★★★★☆. 27 May 2016. Spielberg’s sci-fi epic has been reissued in a 35mm director’s cut as a grainy, gorgeous trip with the tantalising prospect of alien-human friendship at its end. In those pre-CGI days, the effects and powerful John Williams score turn the drama into a moving sound and light show. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/classic-film-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-1977-5zgfg579p) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/4/4. 25 May 2016. It is a big ol' mess of a movie but an extremely lovable one. The film espouses friendliness over aggression in alien contact, with Truffaut's gentle smile singled out as emblematic of honest connection transcending language. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-1977) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2017. The critic views it as a transitional masterpiece blending 1960s optimism with 1980s spectacle, praising its transcendent climax, trust in the unknown, and emotional duality around family and wonder. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 1977. Spielberg's film is the most elaborate 1950s-style science fiction movie ever made, borrowing from earlier films but enhancing them with advanced technology. The final sequence is breathtaking and suggests a religious experience, though some middle sections are uneven. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/17/archives/an-encounter-thats-out-of-this-world-stage-squat-abuses.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Charles Champlin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 1977. The film is a magic act with dazzling special effects that stays light, mystical yet not solemn, and positive and pleasurable overall. It ranks below 2001 or Star Wars in execution but offers a more popularly intriguing theme about visitors finding us. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-close-encounters-review-20170831-story.html) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2017. The film is a startlingly innovative blockbuster that approaches the best in science fiction literature by anchoring unimaginable events in ordinary settings and creating a sense of wonder. It later succumbs to quasi-religious uplift and a complacent plot borrowed from 1950s sci-fi. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/close-encounters-third-kind-archive-review-startlingly-innovative-blockbuster) ## Collider — Collier Jennings Rating A. 4 August 2022. The critic hails the film as an awe-inspiring sci-fi odyssey that perfectly captures Spielberg's filmmaking ethos through its blend of human drama and spectacle. It singles out the lead performances, themes of obsession, stunning visual effects, and John Williams' score for particular praise. [Read the review](https://collider.com/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-review-steven-spielberg-richard-dreyfuss/) ## Eye for Film — Scott Macdonald Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2005. The critic praises the film's humane fusion of communication and technology, highlighting its optimistic and passionate heart behind the special effects, and notes Spielberg's ability to touch hearts through sight and sound. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-film-review-by-scott-macdonald) ## Polygon — Oli Welsh Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 June 2026. The critic deems it Spielberg at his weirdest, most personal, and best, a film that mixes nightmarish and ecstatic elements in a uniquely unsettling way. It singles out the unbalanced structure, tonal clashes of hope and terror, and the director's personal identification with the protagonist's obsession. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-spielberg/) ## Den of Geek — Jim Knipfel Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 November 2012. The film has aged very well and remains relevant, effective, and at times awe-inspiring decades after its release. The critic singles out Douglas Trumbull’s practical special effects as still superior to modern CGI. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md