Steven Spielberg followed up the blockbusting mega-success of JAWS with a contrasting tale of science-fiction enlightenment and the question of whether there is alternate life in the universe.
The discovery of a long-forgotten squadron of planes in the Sonora Desert, Mexico and a near miss between a UFO and a couple of planes in Indiana are the catalyst for this absorbing tale, the story of a power repairman, Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) who, whilst investigating a power outage encounters a UFO at a traffic junction.
Whilst in pursuit, he almost runs down a child, Barry Guiler (Cary Guffey) and meets the mother, Jillian (Melinda Dillon) where they encounter more of the UFOs. Returning to his family, he has difficulty convincing his wife Ronnie (Teri Garr) about what happens – and then has visions of weird shapes looking like a mountain in all manner of objects, mashed potatoes, pillows and shaving cream.
Neary’s obsession with the UFOs and this vision begin to impact on his marriage and sanity – and tries to find an answer.
A real achievement of true cinematic wonder, Spielberg enthrals us with the possibility that there is a broader spectrum of universal awareness, leading to a spectacular climax of visual effects mastery, coupled with another great score by John Williams.