Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition | Jacquie Kubin saw, Classic | ENTERTAINMENT

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition

November/01/07 10:20 PM Filed in: Jacquie Kubin saw | Classic
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Rated PG, $32.95 to $49.95). Steven Spielberg's feel good homage to E.T. gets nearly royal treatment in the Blu-ray format as the Academy Award winning effort explores three interconnecting plots of individuals who have made contact with extraterrestrials.


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The goods: Viewers get three versions of the movie: the 1977 theatrical version, the 1980 Special Edition and 1998 Collector's Edition.

The bads: The box may state 1080p and the colormay look marvelous but the film grain is “strong with this one” (with apologies to Darth Vader).

The mandatory extras: Three documentaries grabbed from the various editions of the film.

Above and beyond: Within the package, viewers will find a mini movie poster that flips over to show a map of the changes in the various versions of the movie.

Fuel the disc revolution: What is really pretty cool is that the three film versions are “assembled” while you watch, to create your preferred version. This means that there are not really “three” movies on each disk, but one basic film that, depending on which version you wish to view, seamlessly imports new or changed scenes.

Because this happens very much behind the scene, and actually most viewers will not even be aware of it, I would have preferred something a little more interactive (a pop up box of version differences did not cut it) since I have to believe most humans on the planet will stick with the 1998 definitive director's cut.

— Jacquie Kubin