2h 17m
Director: Steven Spielberg

Vehicles that went missing decades ago start re-appearing at locations around the world. Roy has a strange UFO encounter and feels compelled to go to a particular meeting point at a specific time as do many others.

You might mistake it for a film about aliens but really it's a film about the mystery of the idea of aliens.

I think I ought to mention the cinematography, which being Steven Spielberg is utterly superb. Skim the movie with your player and you'll find loads of perfectly framed shots. Apparently, one of the tricks he likes to employ is to use a fairly wide angle so that there's plenty of extra detail to enjoy in subsequent watches.

It has every alien trope ever in it, which is one of the reasons it's a classic. The sun burnt face from all the energy the UFO puts out, shaking and rattling and interference with electrical systems, music being their chosen method of communication and their appearance as graceful lights in the sky moving in coordinated patterns.

There is something curiously plausible about the plot, the telepathic image of the Devils Tower used to position the alien meeting point - that Roy decides to make a 3D sculpture of the Tower which later helps him in knowledge about the real place which is really the deciding factor in who successfully makes it to the meeting point.

That changes the scene where he is chucking mud and undergrowth through the outside of his kitchen window in his pyjamas a bit doesn't it?

When I first saw this the effects were nowhere near as good, now the ending has a peak inside the mothership, alien silhouettes and a plethora of ships.

It's a must see if you like your sci-fi!



Trailer: