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Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is a film very much of its cinematic moment, combining the gritty realism of entrapment in the everyday with furtive dreams of escape.
Dana Polan's compelling study of the film examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema and the science fiction genre. He argues that Close Encounters is a film that is an allegory of the cinematic experience overall; it both narrates a tale of visual seduction and plays it out viscerally for the spectator who shares the amazement of the protagonist Roy Neary as his mundane reality is transformed into something awe-inspiring.
Providing an in-depth look into the film's production history, including all three different versions, Polan situates Close Encounters within Spielberg's repertoire. He argues that despite the film's popular success, it is in fact a rejection of several entrenched American values, including family, home and marriage. It offers, through its visual fascination, alternative understandings of masculinity and morality, familial responsibility, and what it means to follow the 'American Dream'.
Dana Polan's compelling study of the film examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema and the science fiction genre. He argues that Close Encounters is a film that is an allegory of the cinematic experience overall; it both narrates a tale of visual seduction and plays it out viscerally for the spectator who shares the amazement of the protagonist Roy Neary as his mundane reality is transformed into something awe-inspiring.
Providing an in-depth look into the film's production history, including all three different versions, Polan situates Close Encounters within Spielberg's repertoire. He argues that despite the film's popular success, it is in fact a rejection of several entrenched American values, including family, home and marriage. It offers, through its visual fascination, alternative understandings of masculinity and morality, familial responsibility, and what it means to follow the 'American Dream'.
- GenresFilm
104 pages, Paperback
Published October 3, 2024
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About the author
Dana Polan
25 books3 followersDana Polan is Professor of Cinema Studies at New York University. He is the author of The Sopranos, Julia Child's The French Chef, and Scenes of Instruction: The Beginnings of the U.S. Study of Film.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 22, 2025
I really, really wanted this to be brilliant...but to be honest, I'm not even sure that Dana Polan actually likes the film!
Massive fan of the BFI series, because you never know what you are going to get, but this one seems to suffer from accepting that much has already been written about the film in question and not really having an angle to define this book, despite the early statement that CE3K is a film about cinema - which I don't really 'get'. It's almost half way through the book that any real insight is made, in the interesting history of Paul Schrader's involvement in the early scripting, but by the last few pages I was genuinely wondering what I was reading.
Much has been written about this film, but what the BFI series can offer is a personal response or even a sideways look - unfortunately this is neither.
One for the completists.
Massive fan of the BFI series, because you never know what you are going to get, but this one seems to suffer from accepting that much has already been written about the film in question and not really having an angle to define this book, despite the early statement that CE3K is a film about cinema - which I don't really 'get'. It's almost half way through the book that any real insight is made, in the interesting history of Paul Schrader's involvement in the early scripting, but by the last few pages I was genuinely wondering what I was reading.
Much has been written about this film, but what the BFI series can offer is a personal response or even a sideways look - unfortunately this is neither.
One for the completists.
Displaying 1 of 1 review