Coming Attractions: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: THE SPECIAL EDITION (1980) TV Spot
Here's a neat 30 second TV spot for the controversial (at least, among some Star Kids) 1980 "Special Edition" theatrical cut of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. "Now there is more..."
A big fan of the original theatrical version, I was bummed by the "Special Edition." Let's spoil the mystery and wonder by showing the inside of the mothership! Hey, kids! No need to use your own imagination--we'll imagine it for you.
You'd think Spielberg would've understood less-is-more at that point. "Jaws" worked because the shark had little screen time, leaving a lot to the imagination.
Oh well, the Special Edition was a nice excuse to rake in some more cash. I wonder if that's what inspired George Lucas to fall into his tinker-and-reap cycle.
I was one of those who were dying to SEE what was inside the ship. When I saw the trailer for this my feeling was FINALLY! and of course my imagination ran wild. Movies are not books, obviously, and to utilize them in the same way as books would be a waste of their most powerful attribute (just my opinion). They are meant to show us what we can't see, or might imagine, or can't fully imagine - seeing the ocean is quite different than hearing about it. But sadly, that being said, in this case, the inside of the ship was for me a bland and greyish disappointment. I did enjoy it for what it was, but by the time I saw this, my imagination had already taken me places this movie would never go, gave me glimpses of alien tech and design far beyond the distant, shadowy glimpses shown in the extended scenes. If they had included this in the original movie it probably would have worked for me. It would have been icing on the cake. But still, this is one of my favorites. I've always felt drawn to this story in a strange way. Not unlike the indefinable way the story's characters are drawn to Devil's Tower...very weird.
Going "Inside" the mothership never ruined the mystery for me because the Special Edition was the first version of CE3K I ever saw (on Showtime in 1981). But from a critical standpoint the whole sequence does seem "stuck in" later (like the afterthought it was) and interrupts the flow of the film's ending, which had originally been edited to sync perfectly with John William's magnificent score (one of his best in my opinion).
As a kid, I did want to see the inside of the ship and that's exactly how they marketed this re-release. It drew people in, even for a few extra minutes. In one of the commercials, they zoomed in on Richard Dryfus entering the ship's door and the narrator says "come see what's inside the ship." It was a cash-grab and the studios knew it (Star Wars had already enjoyed profitable re-releases every Summer since '77). This was one of the first examples of a "bonus edition" screened in theaters -- it was almost unheard of at the time. But it scored big initially. You seldom see it on TV now, unless you specifically watch the DVD with it included. What they should have done is cut out some of the "kid aliens" and the scene with the big lanky puppet.
This was the beginning of my disdain for "director's cuts," and expanded/revised/special editions. Like a lot of Star Kids, I was really excited to see what was inside that mothership... and I was ultimately disappointed by it. How could I not have been, since whatever was in my imagination was inevitably far better than whatever the special effects guys could come up with? In addition, the Special Edition chopped out several bits of Richard Dreyfuss' interactions with his family -- things that, at the time, I missed because I remembered them being funny, but now realize were in fact humanizing elements. It was a classic case of replacing character bits with special effects... hardly a unique problem, but the first time I, as a viewer and a fan, became aware of it. There are far worse examples of inane tinkering (the Star Wars Special Editions and their subsequent revisions being the number one offender), but CE3K was my introduction to the whole sad phenomenon.
The voice-over narration sounds a lot like a young Morgan Freeman.
I think it's agreed though that "going inside" the Mothership was a mistake and greatly decreased the mystique of the whole ending. Not to mention the fact that Richard Dreyfuss' hair seemed quite different (longer and more unkempt) once he went inside the Mothership, which made the whole sequence seem like it was from a whole other film.
The voice-over for the Special Edition trailer was actually provided by the late Percy Rodriguez, who played Commodore Stone in the Star Trek TOS episode, Court-Martial. Rodriguez did voice-over narration work for many movie trailers, including Jaws.
I am so sick of hearing people claim that going inside the mothership ruined this film. At the time it was universally hailed as far superior to the original version, and it's only since Spielberg himself started getting precious about the mothership scene that other people have decided they dislike it - purely to make themselves appear savvy. It is absolute utter crap that going inside the mothership ruins any of the mystery of the film. That particular cat was out of the bag as soon as the aliens showed themselves, but the mothership interiors give absolutely nothing away. It just heightens the sense of wonder if anything else.
A big fan of the original theatrical version, I was bummed by the "Special Edition." Let's spoil the mystery and wonder by showing the inside of the mothership! Hey, kids! No need to use your own imagination--we'll imagine it for you.
ReplyDeleteYou'd think Spielberg would've understood less-is-more at that point. "Jaws" worked because the shark had little screen time, leaving a lot to the imagination.
Oh well, the Special Edition was a nice excuse to rake in some more cash. I wonder if that's what inspired George Lucas to fall into his tinker-and-reap cycle.
Frost, he did.
ReplyDeleteIt was the studio that insisted on it.
I was one of those who were dying to SEE what was inside the ship. When I saw the trailer for this my feeling was FINALLY! and of course my imagination ran wild. Movies are not books, obviously, and to utilize them in the same way as books would be a waste of their most powerful attribute (just my opinion). They are meant to show us what we can't see, or might imagine, or can't fully imagine - seeing the ocean is quite different than hearing about it. But sadly, that being said, in this case, the inside of the ship was for me a bland and greyish disappointment. I did enjoy it for what it was, but by the time I saw this, my imagination had already taken me places this movie would never go, gave me glimpses of alien tech and design far beyond the distant, shadowy glimpses shown in the extended scenes. If they had included this in the original movie it probably would have worked for me. It would have been icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteBut still, this is one of my favorites. I've always felt drawn to this story in a strange way. Not unlike the indefinable way the story's characters are drawn to Devil's Tower...very weird.
Going "Inside" the mothership never ruined the mystery for me because the Special Edition was the first version of CE3K I ever saw (on Showtime in 1981). But from a critical standpoint the whole sequence does seem "stuck in" later (like the afterthought it was) and interrupts the flow of the film's ending, which had originally been edited to sync perfectly with John William's magnificent score (one of his best in my opinion).
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I did want to see the inside of the ship and that's exactly how they marketed this re-release. It drew people in, even for a few extra minutes. In one of the commercials, they zoomed in on Richard Dryfus entering the ship's door and the narrator says "come see what's inside the ship." It was a cash-grab and the studios knew it (Star Wars had already enjoyed profitable re-releases every Summer since '77). This was one of the first examples of a "bonus edition" screened in theaters -- it was almost unheard of at the time. But it scored big initially. You seldom see it on TV now, unless you specifically watch the DVD with it included. What they should have done is cut out some of the "kid aliens" and the scene with the big lanky puppet.
ReplyDeleteThis was the beginning of my disdain for "director's cuts," and expanded/revised/special editions. Like a lot of Star Kids, I was really excited to see what was inside that mothership... and I was ultimately disappointed by it. How could I not have been, since whatever was in my imagination was inevitably far better than whatever the special effects guys could come up with? In addition, the Special Edition chopped out several bits of Richard Dreyfuss' interactions with his family -- things that, at the time, I missed because I remembered them being funny, but now realize were in fact humanizing elements. It was a classic case of replacing character bits with special effects... hardly a unique problem, but the first time I, as a viewer and a fan, became aware of it. There are far worse examples of inane tinkering (the Star Wars Special Editions and their subsequent revisions being the number one offender), but CE3K was my introduction to the whole sad phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteThe voice-over narration sounds a lot like a young Morgan Freeman.
ReplyDeleteI think it's agreed though that "going inside" the Mothership was a mistake and greatly decreased the mystique of the whole ending. Not to mention the fact that Richard Dreyfuss' hair seemed quite different (longer and more unkempt) once he went inside the Mothership, which made the whole sequence seem like it was from a whole other film.
The voice-over for the Special Edition trailer was actually provided by the late Percy Rodriguez, who played Commodore Stone in the Star Trek TOS episode, Court-Martial. Rodriguez did voice-over narration work for many movie trailers, including Jaws.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of hearing people claim that going inside the mothership ruined this film. At the time it was universally hailed as far superior to the original version, and it's only since Spielberg himself started getting precious about the mothership scene that other people have decided they dislike it - purely to make themselves appear savvy. It is absolute utter crap that going inside the mothership ruins any of the mystery of the film. That particular cat was out of the bag as soon as the aliens showed themselves, but the mothership interiors give absolutely nothing away. It just heightens the sense of wonder if anything else.
ReplyDelete