Page 1 of Close Encounters question.....

i got the R4 version and first of all i must say im well impressed. its a top package (although the plastic box is a bit icky!), with a great documentary lasting for 1hr 45mins and menus which havent impressed me this much since T2: ultimate editon!!! anyway what did baffle me a bit was why the version of the film wasnt the special extended version?! can anyone enlighten me to as why it wasnt??? it wouldve been cool if theyd have had two versions of the film or a version which couldve branched the deleted stuff into it.

oh well cant moan too much.....

This item was edited on Friday, 15th June 2001, 12:02

The version of the film was not the special extended edition because Speilberg did not like the extended version. He felt that too much is given away.

An example is the alien ship scene at the end.

Speilberg is a funny guy when it comes to DVD`s. I think he`s just plain lazy and it`s nothing to do with "commentaries ruining the movie magic" etc.
What a load of rubbish. His films are among the top most rated/watched in the world and the amount or effort he puts into promoting the things for special editions etc is just poor. Promoting a newer version or putting a commentary onto a DVD of the film does give him more money after all. It`s just plain laziness.

Yes but he retained certain bits he liked from the `Special Edition` - so I suppose that makes it a directors cut. See the documentary for evidence of this.

What I can`t understand is that the box says there are 14 deleted scenes, but there are only twelve entries in the menu. Is it because some of the entries cover two scenes do you think?

Hi,

Mr Speilberg is actually named Spielberg.

As Norman stated, this is more likely a Director`s Cut. He kept what he liked and cleaned what he didn`t. It`s all on the documentary.

I felt the transfer was not that good on some night scenes. In order to preserve "detail" some scenes are too clear, increasing grains and loosing depth. Just like when the one-hour lab prints your underexposed pictures. You notice this when Richard dreyfuss and the woman are climbing the Devil`s Tower escaping from helicopters and getting close to the UFO landing site. Or when the UFOs first appear on the road for a lot of people.

Also, the film showed age. It looked more dated than Jaws or 1941. Not that this is a problem. Just looked somewhat old. But it`ll always be a must have on any collection.

Anyone felt the same?

I think Spielberg`s (and Dreamworks) movies already have great extras. Saving Private Ryan for example - you can`t fault it. So what if it doesn`t have a commentary?

If a movie has a commentary, I will certainly enjoy it. But to complain about the already great extras is just greedy. Sometimes the extras do indeed ruin the "magic". How many times have you watched a deleted scence and said "yep, that was sh*te, can see why the cut that out".

I watched the "time warp" extra on Rocky Horror Picture Show and it really does suck the fun out of the process when you see how things really work.

The version presented on the DVD is the Collectors Edition.
It is a spliced edtion of both the original and special editions.
It loses the inside space ship ending because I was supposed to remain a mystery.
Special Edition scenes include, Roy breaks down in the shower
The ship in the desert scene, driving to mooncroft, alternate roy intro.
Retained (re-inserted from original)
Roy goes outside and breaks plants chicken wire etc and throws them inside, press conference at the air force base (after Barry is abducted)
Deleted--
New ending, demostration by Lacombe of the sign language shortened to remove audience cheering at the end.
The UFO scanning the McDonalds sign on the road.
I think there are a few other minor differences, check out the IMDB alternate versions for more information.
Hope that helps

SPR-Great movie, terrific picture quality, astounding sound and it`s long.
It is however depressingly light on the extras, especially the DTS version.
When I buy a DVD the film is always 99% of why I buy, but can you imagine how informative a directors commentary and "making of.." would have been?
Missed opportunity.

What version did you watch?
The DVD contained a 1hr 45 min documentary on disc 2.
Plus deleted scenes.
however the original documentary (if it can be called that) and the original trailers weren`t as high quality I must say.