Categories & segments

Out for Justice poster
Out for Justice

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Out for Justice The Rewatchables

Unchecked movie-star control should return because singular stars can create unusually memorable movies.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:42:39Read transcript
  • Craig argues for restoring singular movie-star control because it can create memorable unintentional comedy. — Craig Horlbeck
  • He contrasts that approach with market-tested films whose failures feel polished and predictable. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The panel imagines giving Jason Momoa a blank-slate police movie with no notes or audience testing.
  • The opening beret, freeze frame, and hot dog are cited as choices that modern focus groups would likely remove.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Roger Ebert's review

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Ebert's four-star reviews of the original and 1980 cuts are quoted before his and Siskel's responses are revisited.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:12Read transcript
  • Roger Ebert is reported to have awarded four stars to both the original release and the 1980 revised cut.
  • The quoted revised review calls the new version better and asks why Spielberg did not make the original version this good.
  • Ebert and Siskel are recalled as admiring the film while saying its middle section drags.
  • The panel argues that this pacing complaint now feels minor beside the film's lasting meaning and visual achievement.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Most Rewatchable Scene

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Roy's railroad-crossing close encounter wins after an extensive field that includes air traffic control, Barry's bedroom, India, the abduction, the town hall, mashed potatoes, and the landing.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:53Read transcript
  • The air-traffic-control sequence builds suspense from radio dialogue, camera movement, and overlapping controller reactions.
  • Barry's bedroom encounter is praised as a major practical-effects achievement and a precursor to Poltergeist.
  • Roy's railroad-crossing encounter and the UFO highway chase are nominated as an escalating seven-minute sequence.
  • The Northern India crowd singing the five-note theme is praised for communicating the melody's importance before its meaning is known.
  • Barry's abduction through the dog door is nominated while prompting questions about the house.
  • The Air Force town hall is nominated for showing Roy resist what is happening to him.
  • The mashed-potato dinner is praised for combining an ordinary family setting with Roy's mounting obsession.
  • Roy throwing material into the house, the eavesdropped UFO communication, and the final landing sequence complete the nominee field.
  • The final answer selects Roy's close encounter at the truck and railroad crossing, and another participant agrees.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

The 1977 markers include World War II's recency, always-on television, rotary phones, neighborhood streets, and whole milk.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:32Read transcript
  • The story treating World War II as only thirty years earlier is proposed as a distinctly 1977 perspective.
  • Roy leaving broadcast television on for hours to receive news is identified as a vanished media habit.
  • A McDonald's sign advertising only twenty-four billion served is singled out as a period marker.
  • Rotary phones and neighbors gathering in the street are proposed as additional 1977 details.
  • A three-year-old child named Barry is treated as a name choice unlikely to recur now.
  • A pitcher of whole milk at the dinner table is the final period candidate.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

What’s Aged the Best?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

The direction, practical effects, Dreyfuss, Dillon, child performance, and suburban wonder have aged best.

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:25Read transcript
  • The film preserves wonder about UFOs while the panel debates whether extraterrestrial visits have occurred.
  • Recurring maps, crossroads, and shots of Roy moving against crowds are praised as visual expressions of his inner life.
  • Melinda Dillon's performance and the mission-control worker who solves the coordinate problem are separate Aged Best choices.
  • The film's combination of cynicism, wonder, spectacle, and family story is credited with influencing later event filmmakers.
  • Motion-control photography, Douglas Trumbull's effects, Bob Baker's marionette, and Spielberg's limited writing credits receive craft praise.
  • Gene Siskel's description of the film as a fairy tale for adults is praised as its best concise description.
  • Small-town suburban America is praised as a durable setting inherited by later adventure stories.
  • The film's refusal to explain the alien compulsion literally is said to keep it timeless.
  • Roy's half-face sunburn and Barry's performance are praised as memorable character details.
  • Spielberg is reported to have elicited Barry's reactions by slowly opening presents above the camera.
  • The giant globe, Devil's Tower plot, numbered youth shirts, and the family's domestic setting receive further period appreciation.
  • The long Spielberg-Michael Kahn editing partnership is reported to have begun on this film.
  • Melinda Dillon's 1977 work and her appearances in two famous mashed-potato scenes are praised.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Barry's abduction light, India, the crowd embrace, and the five-note board lead an unusually deep field.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:40Read transcript
  • The wide view of the house under the stars is nominated.
  • Barry's red-lit abduction doorway is nominated.
  • Roy and Jillian embracing while crowds stream around them is a leading choice.
  • The India sequence is nominated for its crowded composition.
  • The five-note communication board is selected as a chills-inducing image.
  • The wind-blown opening and Devil's Tower appearing on television beside Roy's sculpture are additional choices.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Slow Ride / Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness Award for Best Needle Drop

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

There is no conventional needle drop; When You Wish Upon a Star is discussed as a structural influence.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:57Read transcript
  • The film has no conventional needle drop beyond John Williams's score.
  • When You Wish Upon a Star is described as a structural influence and a removed closing cue after test audiences laughed.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Sean Penn “I Brought My Own Pack” Award for Excellence in On-Screen Smoking

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

The segment proposes that Ronnie or Jillian should have smoked to fit 1977 Indiana.

The panel proposes a new category here.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:46Read transcript
  • The flex proposal argues that Ronnie smoking constantly would make her more period-authentic and relatable.
  • Jillian is also proposed as a smoker because smoking would have been common in 1977 Indiana.
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