Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Little more than a generic sci-fi episode, constructed and designed with the enthusiasm and scope of something better suited for television.

While other Spielberg films get recognisable attention (and rightly so), Close Encounters should be ranked amongst his greatest and underrated masterpieces.

"This is important. This means something," is everyman's declaration, a reassuring cry to the cosmos that your life matters, you matter. But it's also the artist's creed...

Despite these flaws, it's a gripping film that touches a nerve because who's to say it couldn't all actually happen tomorrow.

The person or persons responsible for the landing of the craft -- it is considerably more than a flying saucer -- on the Earth, the slow descent upon us of a city of gold, has made one of the most stunning shots in the history of movies.