SPHE Press Release: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniv. (DVD,BLU-RAY) (1 Viewer)

[Patrick McCart]

It had a few that were not in any version and clearly from a workprint (like Neary's visit to the power station).

 

[Dave Mack]

Actually, Neary's visit to the power station was in the 77' version. maybe there was a longer bit but that certainly should be in the 1977 version if this new release does indeed have the compete original 77 version included. I have it on an old Beta tape.
Where he walks in. says he knows the amount of line tension, the foreman says, "Great, an expert!" and that the supervisor is stuck in an elevator and they are all going to candle power in 10 minutes or so.


http://imdb.com/title/tt0075860/alternateversions


After Jillian Guiler looks for her son Barry in the woods, the O.V. version shows Roy Neary at the power station where workers are discussing the power failures and his supervisor tells him to go check an area of the city. The Special Edition deletes this scene.

 

[WillG]

The deleted scene on the previous release does have an extension. There, Roy is out in the field and expresses concern about possible dangers other linemen could be in. I believe that bit shows him blowing off his orders to warn the other linemen of the danger.

There are some other bits that I don't believe made any cut. I think these include Roy staring into space on the roof on the house (I think this would have come right before the dinner scene with the mashed potatoes) and a scene at a neighborhood block party. There is also a brief scene showing Roy and Jillian trying to get gas while on route to Devli's Tower where they are approached by a helicopter.

 

[Dave Mack]

Gotcha, I seem to remember adeleted scene now with Roy driving around but the power plant scene IIRC is in the 77 version in it's entirety.

 

[MatthewHA]

I haven't had the time to watch any version yet, and when I do it will be the theatrical version.

I was 6 years old in 1977 and my dad took me to see Star Wars and Close Encounters that year. A few years later he took me to see the Special Edition. I haven't seen the original version since I saw it in the theater, so I am looking forward to sitting down and watching. I do remember the scene of Roy collecting garbage and grappling with a trashman.

 

[JamesTLewis]

nope. that's new. I can live with a little lens flare as long as they use the OPA. (Original Poster Artwork)

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I really like that artwork. It brings back memories of the novelization my dad brought home in 1977, complete with photo insert (remember those?).

 

[CameronMcC]

standard def 3 discer for me... this is one of the few titles so far that really makes me want to support both formats

 

[Travis Brashear]

2001 and CE3K (my first and third favorite films of all time, respectively) seal the deal for me--I would so choose Blu-Ray over HD-DVD now (though I've always leaned that way anyway from the beginning--I mean Blu-Ray has a great deal more storage capacity; why would you choose anything else?) except I'm not yet financially squared away to enter the world of hi-def...here's hoping it's before my present set goes dark...

 

[cafink]

Greater storage capacity is always a good, but the 30GB limit doesn't seem to be a major problem for HD-DVD. So, in spite of its more limited disc space, I'd probably come down on the side of HD-DVD because of its less draconian copy-protection and lack of region-encoding schemes.

I haven't invested in either format yet--I'm still hoping the format war will end sooner rather than later--but I've always wanted to see HD-DVD come out ahead for these reasons. Unfortunately, Blu-ray seems like the much stronger contender at this point.

 

[Travis Brashear]

The safer the studios feel that what a collector buys will just remain with the collector, the more inclined they'll be to keep offering high quality home video product, so we all win in the end. The more piracy enters the game, the more we, as collectors, get the raw end of the deal as the studios scramble to protect their investments. Now we could certainly debate the validity of how studios view the effect of piracy on said investments, but the reality is we have to deal with the current studio mindset as it is, misguided or not. Oh crap, another thread derailment...

 

[Lord Dalek]

So when can we expect to see a review of this? I'm really interested in seeing how it compares with the 1998 transfer.

 

[Travis Brashear]

It can't be worse.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Can't speak for the HTF folks, but my review will be up on Monday...

 

[Lord Dalek]

I disagree, the noise and image instability issue made it far from perfect. By 1998 standards (when the original transfer was made) its not bad, but it has not aged well.

Oh and the audio is horribly muffled.

 

[Travis Brashear]

Exactly, the image instability, as Lord Dalek phrases, is my chief complaint with the 2001 edition. Process shots of night sky, in particular, oscillate most annoyingly.

 

[Dave Mack]

Highdefdigest reviewed the Blu Ray version and said all the deleted scenes were on the disc.


http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1022...ncounters.html

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I just got my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which contained an ad for this release. Thing is, it shows the artwork above only on the Blu-Ray and standard Mothership garbage on the SD release. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

 

[DaveRU]

I just received the SD release and it's the mothership on the cover.
Very nice packaging though, has a fold out poster with all the scene differences between versions on the reverse. Also a nice little photo book with quotes and biographies.

The Theatrical Cut seems grainier than the other two cuts at first glance, but looks pretty good.

 

[Lord Dalek]

How do the effects look? Do they still suffer from gate weave like the previous transfer?