Eventually, Garr takes the kids and abandons the increasingly nutty Dreyfuss, who is compelled to build a large replica of Devils Tower in his living room. Once he learns the real thing is in Wyoming, he is determined to go there, and discover the big secret that the Federal government and François Truffaut is keeping from the American public.
There are at least three versions of the movie: as shown in theaters in 1977, a 1980 special edition, and a 1998 director's cut as released on video. I have only seen the original 1977 film. The 1980 is best known for its footage of the alien spacecraft interior, and the 1998 version cherrypicks footage from both prior editions.
How others will see it. Director Spielberg was on a roll following the massive success of Jaw (1975). Close Enounters of the Third Kind was nearly as well received. It made a mountain of money at the box office, which helped save Columbia from bankruptcy. The movie was also critically praised, and picked up nine Oscar nominations, winning two.
Today, the user ratings at imdb.com are very high and consistent across demographics. Those over 45 award it an 8.0, a bit higher than the 7.7 grade from those aged 18 to 44, likely due to nostalgia. They remember when the film was first released.
How I felt about it. It's a very good movie. We like the first half the best. The growing tension between Dreyfuss and Garr is entertaining. Can this marriage be saved? We doubt it! Also engaging are Dillon's ultimately futile attempts to prevent Guffey's alien abduction. Guffey is a natural actor, and Dreyfuss appears to having a grand time in his second important role in a Spielberg blockbuster.
The depiction of government actions is worthy of comment. The U.S. goes to great lengths to keep the public away from Devils Tower, even to the point of evicting locals under the cover story of a nerve gas leak. While their actions are bad, their intentions are good. They do not want to stir up a public panic, or give crazies the potential to disrupt good relations with the aliens.
The only real criticism we can offer concerns the aliens themselves. Most of them look like interchangeable midgets. Their leader resembles a Nazi concentration camp victim. We suggest free weights and protein milkshakes. Perhaps the film would have been better if the aliens never came out at all, but merely sent out an abducted emissary.