BBBB.5
(out of 5)
Critics and audiences alike wondered how Steven Spielberg would follow the phenomenal success of Jaws, and he did it with this milestone science-fiction film. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a power line worker who has an apparent encounter with a UFO late one night while repairing a fallen cable, and it prompts him to seek out a large space in the Mojave desert where something unknown to him is supposed to happen. Couple that with planes missing for thirty years suddenly reappearing there, plus a cosmic movement of people looking to the stars for a message, and you have a very weird day that’s about to get even weirder. Unlike the science-fiction films of the fifties and sixties, which showed aliens as hostile creatures looking to take over the world, Spielberg’s are friendly and intelligent, looking to make contact in order to improve the universe and not destroy it. The special effects are terrific (and considering it came out the same year as Star Wars, it was a great year for science-fiction), and Spielberg’s screenplay is thought-provoking and heartfelt.
Columbia Pictures Corporation, EMI Films, Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips Productions
USA, 1977
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by Steven Spielberg
Cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond
Produced by Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Music by John Williams
Production Design by Joe Alves
Costume Design by James Linn
Film Editing by Michael Kahn
Academy Awards
Best Cinematography (Vilmos Zsigmond)
Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing) (Frank E. Warner)
Nominations
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Melinda Dillon as “Jillian Guiler”)
Best Art Direction (art direction: Joe Alves, Dan Lomino; set decoration: Phil Abramson)
Best Directing (Steven Spielberg)
Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn)
Best Music (Original Score) (John Williams)
Best Sound (Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall, Gene S. Cantamessa)
Best Visual Effects (Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, Matthew Yuricich, Gregory Jein, Richard Yuricich)
Golden Globe Award Nominations
Best Motion Picture-Drama
Best Director (Steven Spielberg)
Best Screenplay (Steven Spielberg)
Best Original Score-Motion Picture (John Williams)
