Categories & segments

Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Larry Butler and Roy's failures as a husband and father are the main weak links.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:50Read transcript
  • Larry Butler is criticized as under-realized in an otherwise carefully cast film.
  • Roy is attacked as a husband and father for abandoning three children and his wife.
  • The panel also considers whether alien contact creates an obsession that makes Roy's decision unavoidable.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

What’s Aged the Worst?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Some alien effects, too little period-appropriate smoking, the lack of PTSD awareness, stealth observation, and endless recutting have aged worst.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:39Read transcript
  • The child-performed alien suits are criticized while the marionette and final alien are defended.
  • The lack of cigarette smoking is selected as an element that does not match the film's 1977 setting.
  • The family's failure to recognize Roy's trauma and half-face burn as evidence of PTSD is judged to have aged badly.
  • The possibility of keeping UFO observation secret in a camera-phone era is rejected.
  • The forgotten television series Soap and its abduction plot are proposed as a dated reference.
  • The mothership interior in the 1980 cut and repeated recutting are criticized as revisions that aged poorly.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Andy and Red – Zihuatanejo Award for What Happens the Next Day?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

The segment imagines the consequences for Roy's family and Roy aboard the ship.

Flex pick · Sean Fennessey

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:25Read transcript
  • Sean selects the Next Day category as his flex choice. — Sean Fennessey
  • Roy's time aboard the ship is imagined as decades of invasive experimentation.
  • Ronnie is imagined rapidly rebuilding her life with a new partner after leaving Roy.
  • Roy's oldest son is predicted to become delinquent after the family's collapse.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Roy's decision to leave may be defensible, and the movie may be the best ever with a six-word title.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:00Read transcript
  • The panel argues that first contact with extraterrestrial life could justify Roy leaving his family.
  • Close Encounters is proposed as the best movie with a title of six or more words.
  • The Fellowship of the Ring and Everything Everywhere All at Once are considered as long-title alternatives, with Close Encounters preferred to Fellowship.
  • Dr. Strangelove, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford are proposed as further long-title contenders.
  • Borat is conceded to be funnier, but the panel still does not rank it above Close Encounters overall.
  • A hypothetical 2025 remake is criticized as likely to turn Roy into an online obsessive, medicate the children, provoke protests, and scare away the aliens with phones.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Casting What-Ifs

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Steve McQueen, James Caan, Pacino, Hoffman, Hackman, Nicholson, Streep, Irving, and others are reviewed.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:53Read transcript
  • Steve McQueen is reported to have declined because he could not cry on cue despite admiring the script.
  • James Caan, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Gene Hackman are reported to have declined the lead, while Jack Nicholson had conflicts.
  • Richard Dreyfuss is reported to have lobbied Spielberg persistently before salary demands briefly stalled the deal.
  • Hackman's troubled marriage and reluctance to leave Los Angeles, along with Caan's price, are given as reasons the alternatives failed.
  • Teri Garr wanted Jillian but was cast as Ronnie; Meryl Streep and Amy Irving also auditioned for Ronnie.
  • Hal Ashby is reported to have recommended Melinda Dillon, who was cast only days before filming.
  • Carrie Guffey reportedly lost the chance to play Danny Torrance because he was committed to other films.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Recasting Couch

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

The hosts keep the director but consider John Cazale, James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Richard Gere, Bruce Willis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Chadwick Boseman.

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:12Read transcript
  • The panel initially finds no director replacement and briefly proposes John Cazale, James Brolin, or O.J. Simpson for Larry Butler.
  • Tom Hanks is proposed as Roy in a 1987 version.
  • Will Smith is proposed for a 1997 version and questioned as too handsome or heroic.
  • Nicolas Cage is proposed as another 1997 Roy.
  • Richard Gere is considered and rejected as too attractive or too old for the 1997 role.
  • Bruce Willis is considered and rejected as too old for the 1997 role.
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman is proposed for a 2007 version.
  • Chadwick Boseman is proposed for a 2017 version.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

The five-note musical exchange works, but the extended mothership improvisation becomes awkward.

Flex pick · Craig Horlbeck

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:36Read transcript
  • Craig says the initial five-note exchange works but the extended musical improvisation becomes awkward. — Craig Horlbeck
  • He argues that Spielberg and John Williams overextended the sequence once the brass and tuba-like sounds begin. — Craig Horlbeck
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Half-Assed Internet Research

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Research covers Schrader's rejected script, military noncooperation, the alien performers, the $3.3 million effects budget, motion-control advances, and Truffaut's response to the sets.

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:40Read transcript
  • Spielberg is quoted calling Paul Schrader's screenplay one of the most embarrassing scripts submitted to a studio or director.
  • Schrader's version reportedly followed an experiencer who threatened to expose the government after fifteen years of attempted contact.
  • The Air Force and NASA reportedly refused to cooperate, which Spielberg interpreted as encouraging evidence for the film.
  • Julia Phillips criticized Spielberg as a perfectionist before being removed from the production.
  • Fifty girls, each six years old and from Mobile, were cast as aliens after puppetry failed.
  • Douglas Trumbull supervised visual effects that advanced motion-control photography.
  • The visual-effects work is reported to have had a $3.3 million budget.
  • Ralph McQuarrie's contribution to the mothership is noted alongside his Star Wars work.
  • Truffaut reportedly ignored the giant landing-site set but praised the small hotel-room set as familiar to his filmmaking experience.
  • Truffaut's role is defended because communication beyond language is a central theme and his films influenced the filmmakers' generation.
  • The Searchers is cited as a visual influence, including its doorway and horizon compositions.
  • Topps reportedly issued sixty-six trading cards and eleven stickers, excluding Dreyfuss and Truffaut at their request.
  • Jaws, Rocky, Rocky II, and E.T. are cited as other films with card sets.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Apex Mountain

Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rewatchables

Spielberg is rejected before Dreyfuss and post-New-Hollywood UFO movies receive apex status.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:15Read transcript
  • Steven Spielberg is considered and immediately rejected as being at his apex here.
  • Richard Dreyfuss is placed at his apex because he won an Oscar and starred in major films during this run.
  • The film is selected as the apex of UFO movies in the post-New-Hollywood era.
  • UFO-related sunburns are given an apex here.
  • François Truffaut is rejected as being at his apex here.
  • Melinda Dillon is considered near her apex because Close Encounters and Slap Shot arrived the same year.
  • Mashed potatoes and their use as construction material receive an apex nomination.
  • Movie fathers losing control is rejected in favor of The Shining and Goodfellas examples.
  • Muncie, Indiana is proposed as reaching its screen apex here.
  • Teri Garr's apex is deferred to her Tootsie and talk-show era.
  • Bad parenting in a major hit is debated against This Boy's Life and other examples.
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