"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a 1977 American science fiction drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrician whose life changes dramatically after a close encounter with a UFO. Roy becomes obsessed with a mysterious shape implanted in his mind, which he tries to replicate with various materials. This obsession leads him to Devil's Tower in Wyoming, where the government is preparing for an alien landing. The film follows the efforts of Roy, a single mother named Jillian whose son was abducted by aliens, and a team of scientists trying to communicate with the extraterrestrials using light and sound. The story culminates in a peaceful first contact with an enormous alien mothership that returns abductees and takes selected humans aboard for travel. The film is noted for its human-centered perspective on alien contact, focusing on communication and curiosity rather than conflict. It was critically acclaimed, a box office success, and has become a classic in the sci-fi genre. The title refers to the ufologist J. Allen Hynek's scale, where the third kind designates encounters with alien beings.
