The Rewatchables
‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey
Tue, 20 May 2025
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey are compelled by some indescribable force to rewatch Steven Spielberg’s 1977 spectacle ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ Podcast Manager: Craig Horlbeck Video Producers: Ronak Nair and Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the significance of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'?
He's got this great knack, though, don't you think, of knowing when to capitalize on his previous success? You know, like if you look at going from Jaws to this, this is a real like blank check kind of a movie. Like, you know, you've written your ticket.
or launching DreamWorks when he does, or doing Jurassic Park and Schindler's List in the same year, or knowing when to flip back to blockbusters after making an awards film. He just has this fascinating sense of career navigation that I think eludes a lot of his peers because they're so driven by their artistic inspiration. And he is art and commerce. He makes movies for people.
He doesn't make movies for himself, even though the movies are often about himself.
Yeah, there's a Dreyfus quote that's on one of the posters for Close Encounters. I think it might have even been a press release announcing its production or something like that. With the quote, can I snort that out?
did he go on the record with that one?
hard straight surface there was a quote about how Steven Spielberg is basically able to balance the big picture and be able to be like I can tell this huge story for as many people as possible to enjoy but also is like super concerned with the detail of every shot and you can feel that in this movie you can feel that in all of his films but especially his best ones where
it's the like thing that's all the way in the back of the frame that on the fifth time you watch it you're like he did not fucking do that did he that's in there but when you're just watching it just to watch it at a drive-in it still works you know it's you don't have to have like um a key to understand this movie it can just play as this guy has an experience chases it all the way across the country gets in a fucking spaceship it's pretty cool or you can watch it and be like did Vilma Zygmunt do that like
That's crazy.
Yeah. Well, Jaws, this movie, E.T., three movies that have now been all out for at least 40 years. Jaws will be 50 years this year. And you can still watch it. Like, producer Craig will probably have a kid at some point, I'm guessing, in the next 10 years. And 10 years from now, we'll be able to watch all three of those movies with that kid, and they'll probably hold up.
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Chapter 2: How did the movie impact the perception of UFOs?
Chapter 3: What are the key themes in 'Close Encounters'?
How do you go from higher than four? I didn't realize that went through the Spanner's announcer's table in this new match.
Do you think this is Spielberg's greatest achievement?
I still think it's Jaws. degree of difficulty of Jaws is 99.9 out of 100 I still don't understand how they made that movie There's a lot of... He's in the ocean for like... How many months when we did that? He's in the ocean for six months.
You're absolutely right. I think that there are better movies that he's made. I think visually this is as virtuistic as it gets. There are things in this movie, and I know a lot of that could be Zygmunt, and it could be the different people working in special effects. The totality of the visual achievement for me is the best he gets.
Because of my age, there's something about Jurassic Park and Schindler's List and then soon Saving Private Ryan, where it felt like he was kind of coming back for his middle age to be like, just so you know, I am the greatest of all time. That those three movies in three completely different ways are, they stand alongside this and Jaws to me.
Well, it's a different question, right? Degree of difficulty, it's got to be Jaws still. Just how fucking crazy that movie was. This feels like the most majestic movie he made.
E.T.
is probably the most relatable. E.T. was a phenomenon. Raiders is maybe the most fun. Raiders is the most fun, and then Schindler's List is the most meaningful. Jurassic is like he learns all the lessons from his earlier movies and just throws into that. And then Saving Private Ryan is probably the best.
pure filmmaking like that the battle scene the first 20 minutes is probably the peak of his career right Dobbins and I were just saying this on the pod though I genuinely think 50 years from now people will also look at West Side Story and Fableman's as part of this like top 10 15 yes him kind of in his final stage understanding how to make a movie better than anybody and still pouring himself into it so I don't know you know who also liked this movie our girl Pauline Kael
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Chapter 5: What makes the cinematography in 'Close Encounters' stand out?
Are there any haters out there on this movie? I'm going to get to that. Okay.
Well, can I point something out about Ebert and Siskel? Because I went back and re-watched their segment about it. And they both did something that we do all the time. that I think is really interesting, and I think it's important to clock commentary about movies, even movies that are considered all-time great in real time. They both are like, this movie kind of drags a little bit.
The second act is a little soft in the middle, and it's not that great, which is something you would say about just kind of any movie that you see on an ongoing basis.
Like the Roy baking the mashed potato mountain kind of period.
Yeah, I think the lead up to going to Devil's Tower. Yeah. And I don't know that that's like I'm not saying that's right or wrong. But now when we talk about a movie like this is so sacred and so important. And you're asking, is it literally his greatest achievement? Arguably the greatest American filmmaker since John Ford, whatever. Now we like genuflect at it.
But even in the time when it came out, critics have this desire to be like, nothing's perfect. Like, just so you know, even though you stole our breath. you could have like tightened this up a little bit which I find very funny for a movie that is so meaningful to so many people that endures 50 years later that That's not even really found in Ebert's review.
In his written piece, he doesn't say like, oh, it kind of sags a little bit in the middle. But on TV, he found himself reverting to this comment that you can make about any kind of movie.
We just did it on Star Wars where we're like, there's a lot of droids in the first 30 minutes of this movie. I'll say this. I kind of agree with him about Close Encounters where it's like, oh, okay, that 15 to 20 minutes of Roy losing it is slow enough
But there are, even in those sequences, moments visually where you're like with Roy on the phone with Ronnie and the fucking tower is on the TV and the tower is on his table and you're like, turn, turn, turn. And you realize like the way he has blocked it, the way he's framed it is literally taking over your brain because you're like, he just has to look at the TV.
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Chapter 6: How does the film explore the concept of childhood and wonder?
CR's like, I still believe in the long two and no UFOs.
Yeah. I hate the infield ship.
I love Apple Jacks and fucking UFOs too nice.
I think starters should throw 130 pitches. And no sex before marriage. 15 round heavyweight fights. Yeah, and whole milk.
Okay, so you're just like, it's out there, they're out there. Area 51, they were constantly flying around. Yeah. Okay. I think so.
Okay. I don't think that's controversial anymore.
I definitely think there is life in other galaxies. I'm not unconvinced that they've been to our galaxy. I believe they probably have. That's just something I believe and can't prove. This planet, I don't believe it.
We haven't confirmed anything for our planet that something has come to this.
Bill is ready to confirm.
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