SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Celebrates Steven Spielberg’s


CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND:
30th ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE EDITION

For the Very First Time, All Three Versions To Be Released
On DVD and High Definition Blu-rayTM Multi-Disc Sets November 13th


Culver City, Calif. (July 26, 2007) – Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed classic, will be released on Blu-ray Disc and standard DVD in multi-disc sets as Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30thAnniversary Ultimate Edition on November 13th by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of this motion picture, which Gene Shalit called “one of the most spectacular movies ever made,” the set incorporates all three versions of the film, including the first-ever home video release of the 1977 Original Theatrical edition, as well as the re-edited 1980 theatrical Special Edition and Spielberg’s definitive Director’s Cut (released in 1998 as the Collector’s Edition). Bonus material on the 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition includes a never-before-seen interview with Spielberg created specifically for this release, a retrospective documentary and more. The stunning high definition presentation of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition contains all three cinematic versions on just one 50 GB Blu-ray Disc, with bonus material included on a second disc, and is made possible by new breakthroughs in home entertainment technology. This marks the first classic Spielberg film ever to be released on a pre-recorded high definition disc format. A legendary film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was nominated for eight Academy Awards.* Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws) has the starring role of electrical lineman Roy Neary, as he sets out to investigate a mysterious power outage and experiences a life-changing “close encounter.” The Original Theatrical version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released on screens in 1977 and was never available on home video. Spielberg released a re-edited Special Edition theatrically and on VHS in 1980 wherein he deleted several smaller scenes and added other sequences including scenes of Dreyfuss inside the alien mother ship at the end of the film. In 1998, the Collector’s Edition was released on home video with a limited theatrical run and featured Spielberg’s definitive director’s cut with changes, some small and subtle, as well as a change eliminating the interior mother ship scenes from the end of the Special Edition, thus restoring the original ending. The Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30thAnniversary Ultimate Edition is the first collection to include all three versions of the film.

The Blu-ray release provides for all three versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind to be included on one 50GB disc through a process known as “seamless branching,” made possible with the added interactivity of Blu-ray’s software and the robust processing power of the second generation players. This process identifies the differences between each version of the film and segments the footage accordingly. These segments are then encoded and assembled into three unique playlists, thus allowing footage used in all three films to be included on the Blu-ray disc only once. Based on the viewer’s selection of the Original Version, Special Edition or definitive Director’s Cut, each film will be presented seamlessly in its original form by use of its respective playlist. Both the Blu-ray and the DVD of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30thAnniversary Ultimate Edition are packed with bonus features, including an exclusive interview with Spielberg and a Close Encounters of the Third Kind Retrospective Documentary. Available only with the Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30thAnniversary Ultimate Edition high definition Blu-ray Disc, are additional bonus features including all-new “Storyboard-to-Scene Comparisons,” the original 1977 “Watch The Skies” featurette and an original theatrical preview.

*Best Director, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Effects - Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Music - Original Score, Best Sound, 1978

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30thAnniversary Ultimate Edition will be available November 13, 2007 – nearly 30 years to the day after its original theatrical release – on Blu-ray Disc for $49.95 or DVD for $39.95.

Synopsis: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Electrical lineman Roy Neary (Dreyfuss) is one of several people who experience a close encounter of the first kind, witnessing UFOs flying through the night sky. He is subsequently haunted by a mountain-like image and becomes obsessed with discovering what it represents, much to the dismay of his family. Meanwhile, government agents around the world have close encounters of the second kind, discovering physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitors in the form of lost fighter aircraft from World War II and a stranded military ship that disappeared decades earlier, only to suddenly reappear in the Sonora and Gobi Desert. Roy and the agents then follow the clues they have been given to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind: contact.

Blu-ray Disc Bonus Features Include:
All New Interview with Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters of the Third Kind
All New “Storyboard to Scene Comparisons”
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Retrospective Documentary
The Original 1977 “Watch the Skies” Featurette
Original Theatrical Preview

DVD Bonus Features Include:
All New Interview with Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters of the Third Kind
“Making Of Close Encounters of the Third Kind” Retrospective Documentary

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was written and directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips. It stars Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Teri Garr (Tootsie), Melina Dillon (Absence of Malice) and François Truffaut (Day For Night). Feature run times are approximately 135 minutes for the Original Version, 132 minutes for the Special Edition and 137 minutes for the Collector’s Edition. It is rated PG for intense sci-fi action, mild language and thematic elements.



Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition
DVD Catalog #: 21268
DVD UPC Code: 043396212688
DVD Order Date: 10/11/07
DVD SRP: $39.95
BD Catalog #: 22859
BD UPC Code: 043396228597
BD Order Date: 10/11/07
BD SRP: $49.95

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

I'll add this....

I'm getting a Blu-Ray player in a few weeks compliments of
the Blu-Ray group at EMA.

However.....

If I wasn't in that position, and still not a Blu-Ray owner, THIS
is the title that would have persuaded me to buy Blu-Ray.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Yep, I very much considering taking the plunge on a PS3 while the 60gb price reduced model is still available. Too many great releases coming out for BD that I don't want to have to buy over again when I do go Hi-Def

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Finally, the original 1977 THEATRICAL cut which is the only version I'm interested in. Pity it isn't being released separately from the other two or at least in their separate keepcases so I could sell them off.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm sure you will) but contrary to the press release, wasn't the 1977 original theatrical available previously on a Criterion laser disc?

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

The Criterion LD was essentially the 1977 version, except for some minor alterations, I think: the "shadow flyover" from the SE was inserted in place of the "dot-across-the-sky" shot, Roy's truck going through the tunnel was shortened, a bit of the Days of Our Lives scene was taken out, and the shot of Roy, Jillian, and Larry escaping from the chopper was removed. Not a whole lot, but enough to qualify as changes.

This is great; I've been saying for a long time that they needed to release a DVD with all three versions. Strange that some of the features from the original DVD are only going to be available on the Blu-Ray this time. Oh, well.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Hello Everyone!

If anyone has a question about the transfer used on this upcoming
release, I can provide some clarification.

Sony has made all new HD transfers of all three versions from
restored film elements. The transfer was supervised and talent
approved. This has been in the works for months and a lot of time
was spent to make this a spectacular DVD and BR release.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Good to hear, Ron. Sony's been doing a great job on their more recent BDs and I have no doubt this will be a spectacular release. I hope all studios consider releasing more of these kind of titles sooner than later.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Very exciting. I hope they do the original theaterical cut RIGHT, not with the slight alterations Criterion did at Spielberg's request... including the "globe rolling down the hall" bit that few seem to remember.

This might actually tempt me to get a BluRay player...

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

my god-decisions decisions-shall I pay the mortgage or revel in the splendor of all the new releases twix Aug-December

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Ron, I am NOT starting a BD/HD-DVD debate, but I have already decided to support Blue-Ray when I get a player. However, like you, this would have been the title that pushed me over the edge. In fact, it will make me accelerate my planned purchase of a Blue-Ray player. I will have to have one by the time this set is released.

I cannot wait!!

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Will at least one of these cuts of the film include the ending in the movie where it shows Richard Dreyfuss on the inside of the alien ship and the alteration beginning to take place?

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

That's it - I'm in. Blu-ray it is for me.

Ronald - can you kindly suggest to the Sony folks: please use the orig one-sheet artwork for the package (the road and stars) and not some awful Photoshop atrocity.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

That's the Special Edition (2nd released cut), and that scene was included in the Deleted Scenes on the previous 2-disc set. Not sure what you mean by "alteration," though.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

I mean the scene where he's inside the ship and you can see this sort of energy being emitted by the ship and hitting him, and he's starting to be turned into some sort of human-alien combination. You're saying this scene is included in the movie itself (not as a deleted scene) in the Special Edition cut, which will be included in this new DVD set?

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Yes, the inside the spaceship scene will be in the 1980 Special Edition version of the film. However, there was never anything shown in the film where Roy was actually starting to be turned into an alien.

Personally, I don't subscibe to the Special Edition "Roy was turned into an Alien" theory. And since that scene was filmed and put into the 1980 SE only because Columbia demanded it in exchange for money for Spielberg to do reshoots and re-edit the film, I would have a hard time believeing that was his intention.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Oh dear I see the "Neary is the smiling alien at the end" rumour is still circulating. A few years ago someone came up with the idea that when Neary goes into the mothership the light hits him and he changes into an alien and he comes back out smiles and waves goodbye. It's all too silly IMO. I'm sure someone associated with the film would have said something over the years or had pointed it out on the humungous documentary in the dvd.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

As far as I'm concerned, all the crap that happens inside the ship in the SE version doesn't exist as part of the CE3K "canon". Spiely shot it to allow him to film the other scenes. He didn't wanna do it and clearly doesn't care for it. I think any attempts to factor those scenes into the overall picture are far-fetched and pointless - those scenes shouldn't exist...

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

I didn't mean to say that anything is shown of him being transformed, I just assumed that was the case, what with all the lights on the ship and him breathing heavily as those something very strange was happening to him at that moment.

You mean that isn't him as a human-alien combo at the end? It seemed logical, although kind of creepy. You see the little aliens, then the really tall one, then this middle sized one shows up right at the end. Seemed to make sense it was Dreyfuss, especially after seeing him inside the ship with those lights and such. Did these documentaries ever say it wasn't him? You'd think with that theory floating around they would have commented on it. Certainly on this upcoming new DVD set Spielberg should say once and for all if Dreyfuss was transformed into a human-alien combo or if he was just waiting, still fully human and unaltered, inside the alien ship for it to blast off while this one last alien of medium size said goodbye to the men on the ground outside the ship. I would like to hear a definitive answer on the subject.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Yikes...I saw the Special Edition probably a hundred times growing up, and any "Roy turning into an alien" hypothesis never, EVER occurred to me. The little guy coming out and saying goodbye to Lacombe and his team was always in the movie, and is indeed the heart of its story. When Columbia requested a look inside the ship, Spielberg edited that footage in there in a way that would still leave that smaller moment as the true finale of the film, because as intense as Roy's journey was, the story was really about the peaceful and optimistic nature of both the humans and the visitors.

So, aside from just being creepy, to have that little alien be Ray just doesn't make any sense. Ray gets in the ship, we follow him for a couple of extra minutes, and then the film continues on to its true end outside.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Why would it be logical? When did the movie ever give us the idea the aliens would transform people into their own kind? They had all those folks who'd been with them for decades - THEY stayed human. Why would they mutate Roy but no one else?

I don't see anything logical about it. I DO see lots of fans stretching to find meaning where none exists. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, y'know!

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

We certainly weren't searching for any kind of special meaning to the scene, when we were watching it back then it just seemed like that might be an explanation to what we were seeing.

I guess it was because of the way he acted when he got onboard the ship, he was rather calm when he first entered the ship, then all of sudden when those lights began to move inside the ship he starting like hyperventilating as though something were happening to him. It gave us the impression that some mechanism on the ship might be affecting him somehow. Then, right after that, we see this last lone alien come out to communicate with the men around the ship, and he's quite a bit taller than the short aliens, but much shorter than the really tall one. So it seemed as though that might be Roy, after whatever seemed to be happening to him on the ship had been completed. Obviously there was no way to be sure, but it was the guess we made at that time.

As far as why he would be changed when all those other people who were returned to Earth from the alien ship were just like they had always been when they were taken, I had an idea about that at the time. I was thinking that because of the extreme draw he had to that place where the aliens were going to arrive, which seemed to be particularly intense in his case, and the fact that he of all those people was chosen to go on a trip with the aliens, that perhaps this was considered a special case. Where this human would stay with them for a very long time, maybe even permanently as an emissary of sorts, and as a result this alteration of his physical makeup was deemed a good idea by the aliens. Or something like that. Anyhow, that was the line of reasoning, more or less.

But perhaps it was just the order of events that could give that misleading impression. I suppose at some point Spielberg would have said that was what happened to Roy, if it were true, so I guess it isn't true. He just got on the ship and was waiting for the ship to take off when that last alien came out to say farewell to the men on the ground before they left on their space trip. In any case, it was cool to get to see inside the alien ship a little before Roy left with them. I suppose he was brought back a few years later like the other humans who had been brought back after they had been with the aliens for some time. I wonder what he'd have to say about his journey with the aliens soaring through space when he got back. It would be very interesting to hear his report.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

I have to contact Sony today. I'll suggest to them that everyone
(including myself) prefers the original poster artwork.

I don't expect them to listen, but it never hurts to try.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

My, my, my, VERY tempting indeed! I have the 2 disc set, so I think I'll have to stay satisfied for a little while longer while I continue to wait for one hd format. Knowing my luck by that time the disc will be out of print and selling on ebay for $300.00!

Question: On the sd dvd, is the original cut on a separate disc with the other two versions on a second disc?

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Most likely all three versions on the same disc, because the excellent
feature-length documentary is included on the release.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

The Neary into Alien theory is (no offense) daft. The scene with the alien at the end has always been there, since 1977, way before the SE where Columbia insisted for that bad "inside the ship" scene. Glad it was taken back out.
And of Neary really had been turned into an alien, why would he come out and just do the hand signals...? Wouldn't he have tried to communicate to Lacombe that it was him...?!?!?
That theory is just hella silly...

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

What was funny about the Neary turns into an alien thread we had here a few years ago is the amount of people who suddenly agreed and were like "oh yes it all makes sense now" and "come to think of it that alien does look a bit like Richard Dreyfuss if you look carefully" and my favorite "if you go frame by frame you can actually see the transformation taking place".


Close Encounters is one of my favorite movies, in my top 3 Spielbergs. And I'm so glad the original 1977 theatrical version is coming out on dvd too.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

The new Blade Runner (Dec18) is my tipper, but CE will probably be owned when it comes.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

Felix,

I wanted to get back to you and give you some GREAT news!

I think our suggestion to Sony worked!

I contacted Sony weeks ago and asked them to consider using the
original poster artwork for their packaging.

Was very disappointed by their awful cover that they released
shortly afterwards.

However, Sony has now gone and revised that artwork,
going back to the original poster artwork as we requested -- at
least, this is the case for the Blu-Ray release.

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

It's a step in the right direction, for sure, but was that modern looking lens flare always there?

Re: SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY)

I watched this recently after not seeing it for years.

And I still love the look of the film. They just dont make movies that look like this anymore.