Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind heads back to theaters

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

On Monday, which happened to be World UFO Day, Sony released a mysterious new teaser for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND which got fans talking about what it could all mean. At the close of the teaser, viewers were prompted to visit a website to receive "updates on UFO sightings." Some believed that it was an unofficial announcement of a sequel or a remake to the Steven Spielberg film, but the truth isn't quite as exciting as that.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND will be celebrating it's 40th anniversary later this year and, according to Variety, the studio is planning to re-release the film theatrically in North American theaters for a week beginning September 1, 2017. The actual anniversary of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND won't officially occur until November 16th, but hey, who's complaining? The chance to witness Steven Spielberg's sci-fi epic play out on the big-screen is something very special indeed, especially as most of us have likely only seen the film at home. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND starred Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary, an electrical lineman from Indiana whose encounter with an unidentified flying object changes his life and sparks an obsessions with UFO's.

Now, I suppose the only question is which of the three versions of CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND will be released to theaters? After Columbia Pictures rushed out the release of the film in 1977 in order to bring in some much-needed cash, Steven Spielberg approached the studio after the success of the film to say that he wanted to make a director's cut. Columbia agreed on the condition that he show the inside of the mothership, which Spielberg later admitted was a mistake. This Special Edition of the film added seven minutes of new footage, but also deleted ten minutes which made it a few minutes shorter than the theatrical release. Then, close to twenty years later, Steven Spielberg again recut the film for a Collector's Edition which made a few further changes and omitted the mothership interior of the Special Edition. Spielberg has stated that this is his "definitive version" of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, so it may very well be that this is the version we see in theaters.

Will you be heading to the theater to experience CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND on the big-screen this September?