Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by	Steven Spielberg
Produced by	Julia Phillips Michael Phillips
Starring	Richard Dreyfuss Teri Garr Melinda Dillon François Truffaut
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Edited by	Michael Kahn
Music by	John Williams
Production company	EMI Films
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	November 16, 1977
Running time	135 minutes (Theatrical Version) 132 minutes (Special Edition) 137 minutes (Director's Cut)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$19.4 million
Box office	$306.1 million

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is an 1977 American science fiction movie written and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey and François Truffaut. The movie tells the story about Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with an undentified flying object (UFO).

Made on a production budget of $19.4 million, Close Encounters was released in a limited number of cities on November 16, 1977 and November 23, 1977 before expanding into wide release the following month. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $300 million worldwide. The movie received numerous awards and nominations at the 50th Academy Awards, 32nd British Academy Film Awards, the 35th Golden Globe Awards and the 5th Saturn Awards and has been widely acclaimed at the American Film Institute.

In 2007, the Library of Congress selected Close Encounters of the Third Kind into the United States National Film Registry.