review: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (ULTIMATE EDITION) (Blu-ray)

Sony Pictures  //  Buy from Amazon.com 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. This film is so much more than just another alien sci-fi flick - it truly, unequivocally transcends the genre and becomes a very real, very touching human drama of epic proportions. It's really not so much about little green men coming down from the stars as it is one man's quest for something beyond himself, his life and his world. What's great about this movie is that there are so many different levels to appreciate it on - if all you want is a bad-ass sci-fi flick, you got it. If you want to enjoy some top-notch filmmaking from a (then) up-and-coming filmmaker, got it. If you want to be enveloped in a sweeping, touching, moving story that will connect with you in a variety of ways, here you go. What impressed me most about watching this film today (November 12, 2007) is not just how damn good it looked on Blu-ray, but how well the film itself holds up in this modern age. It may be 30 years old, but it's vastly superior to most flicks that are being churned out today, and sure as hell better than 99% of all sci-fi flicks out there, regardless of when they were made. A truly excellent film, and delivered here in 3 different versions - pick your flavor, you're sure not to be disappointed. Video Given a high definition, 1080p AVC MPEG-4 encoding, the picture quality of this release surpasses any previous version of the film (both theatrical and home video.) While grain and a bit of softness is unavoidable given the age of the film, the overall quality of the picture is remarkable, especially the brightly-lit sequences with the alien ships. Audio 2 choices: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio. Both are unbelievable, delivering an absolutely breathtaking soundscape that rivals the most recent Hollywood blockbusters. Extras 3 versions of the film: original (1977), Special Edition (1980), Director's Cut (1997) 3 documentaries: Watch the Skies (1977), "Making of Close Encounters" (1997), "30 Years of 'Close Encounters'" (2007) deleted scenes "Explorations" storyboard comparisons many (many) photo galleries collectible booklet trailers Closing Thoughts Excellent, entertaining, classic film + loads of extras (not to mention versions of the film itself!) = must-own for any fan of sci-fi, great filmmaking or Blu-ray films!