Even with access to the latest technological innovations in cinema, Steven Spielberg’s upcoming UFO movie it’s unlikely to top his first, the masterful Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg’s first major big-screen release, Jaws, might have invented the modern blockbuster, but it was his next film that confirmed him as one of the film industry’s foremost talents. His 1977 alien movie flipped the script on cinematic sci-fi traditions, by introducing a level of realism and panoramic scope to the UFO subgenre that was previously unheard-of.

When it comes to ranking Steven Spielberg movies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind typically gets a raw deal. Not only does it have to compete with Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurᴀssic Park, and Schindler’s List, but it isn’t even considered Spielberg’s best UFO movie by most fans and critics alike. Five years after Close Encounters, the director released E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, a box-office smash which quickly became so universally beloved that it eclipsed the impact its forerunner had initially made on the sci-fi genre.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Was Steven Spielberg’s 1st Sci-Fi Masterpiece

It Transformed The Genre & Was The 1st Modern Alien Movie

Now, 48 years after Close Encounters of the Third Kind’s theatrical release and with another Spielberg UFO movie in the works, it’s time to revisit this underappreciated classic. It’s worth bearing in mind that before its release, alien-themed feature films were almost exclusively either superficial horror flicks or campy space operas with niche appeal. Almost 40 years after the broadcast of Orson Welles’ radio version of The War of the Worlds terrorized the American public, nothing on the big screen had come close to the realism in its depiction of an alien invasion.

Yet, budding New Hollywood auteur director Steven Spielberg had something up his sleeve, which he’d been working on since his teenage years. With the unprecedented success of his 1975 classic Jaws, the 30-year-old Spielberg set about shooting the first truly modern alien movie, using a budget almost double that of George Lucas’ Star Wars to render his story as realistic as possible. The result is a staggering achievement in cinematic innovation, mᴀssive in scope but also grounded in the reality of the human experience.

The UFOs in Close Encounters of the Third Kind are wondrous and otherworldly, but kept a certain distance from the heart of the story, ensuring they appear at once both real and magical to the viewer, and not simply crowbarred into scenes for our entertainment. The sheer scale of the movie’s final, climactic scene involving an alien mothership is extraordinary, aiming to convey in modern terms, with a scientific sensibility, the magnitude of humanity’s first real contact with alien beings.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind isn’t just about the aliens, either. It’s an exploration of the feelings experienced by people when they discover there is more to the universe than they knew and believed. It’s about the fear invoked by things beyond our knowledge and comprehension, but also, more importantly, the exhilarating sense of wonder we feel when our world grows larger, whether through indirect learning or direct experience.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Was Inspired By Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

Steven Spielberg Had The Idea For E.T. On The Set Of Close Encounters

As well as being a masterpiece on its own terms, Close Encounters of the Third Kind served as the main inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s own 1982 movie E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. At the 2024 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, Spielberg explained to the festival audience that the idea for E.T. actually came to him when he was on the set of Close Encounters. “We’re shooting this scene and I suddenly thought, wait a second, what if that little creature never went back to the ship?” the director recalled.

That little creature who never went back to the ship then became E.T., the friendly extra-terrestrial who develops a profound personal bond with Elliott Taylor, after the 10-year-old boy takes him into his home. What’s more, Spielberg used Elliott as an avatar for his own feelings of loneliness as a teenager growing up away from his mother and sisters following his parents’ divorce. E.T. was, in fact, the friend and emotional support Spielberg always wished he’d had as a child who continually faced social isolation and bullying.

On the other hand, Roy Neary, the protagonist in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, is a manifestation of the adult Spielberg’s wonder and awe at the idea of aliens making contact with human beings. In some ways, its technical achievements as a visual cinematic experience actually exceed the movie it went on to inspire. Close Encounters and E.T. are both among the best alien movies of all time, and each person’s preference for one over the other ultimately comes down to personal tastes.

Steven Spielberg’s Next Project Is His 1st UFO Movie Since E.T. & Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

This New Movie Scripted By Jurᴀssic Park’s David Koepp Has A Lot To Live Up To

Although Steven Spielberg returned to the alien subgenre for his 2005 big-screen adaptation War of the Worlds, his upcoming movie, which is slated for a 2026 release date, will technically be the first UFO movie he’s made since E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. When talking about Spielberg’s new alien sci-fi film, one of its stars, actor Colman Domingo, has described it as “different” from its forerunners, but still with the unmistakable stamp of its director. Indeed, according to Domingo, “It’s probably more Steven Spielberg than Steven Spielberg.”

Although no one has yet shared the specifics of the movie’s story or characters, we have some idea of what to expect from the filmmaker’s previous UFO masterpieces. Given that Spielberg has reunited with Jurᴀssic Park screenwriter David Koepp for the project, too, we should be prepared for a piece of cinema comparable in scope to the seminal 1993 dinosaur movie.

At its heart, however, Spielberg’s next venture will likely contain the kernel of inspiration which saw him create two alien-themed classics in his early years as a director. Just as Close Encounters of the Third Kind laid the basis for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, both of these landmark achievements in modern sci-fi have already laid the foundations for whatever Steven Spielberg is working on today. It’s to be hoped that his new movie can generate the same wonder and excitement in its audience as Close Encounters and E.T. more than four decades ago.

Source: TCM