Close Encounters of the Third Kind (2001)

Image credit: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Courtesy Columbia Tristar Home Video

ALIEN 'ENCOUNTERS' One of the little green men Dreyfuss gets ''Close'' to

''Close Encounters'' of the first kind: the original version of Steven Spielberg's sci-fi blockbuster about an Indiana power company employee (Richard Dreyfuss) who becomes obsessed with UFOs. ''Close Encounters'' of the second kind: The ''Special Edition,'' released in 1980, added several sequences, including an ending that took Dreyfuss inside the aliens' spacecraft. ''Close Encounters'' of the third kind: This Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Collector's Edition incorporates elements of both cuts but wisely lops off the underwhelming ''Special'' conclusion (it's one of 11 deleted scenes on the set's second disc, which also features a 101 minute 1997 making of documentary).

The only feature to date for which Spielberg has taken sole writing credit, ''Close Encounters'' is one of his most personal works; he was inspired by a real life childhood incident in which his father woke him in the middle of the night to see a meteor shower. The film's then novel idea -- that aliens might be friendly -- prefigured ''E.T.,'' but its unsentimental tone is more in line with earlier Spielberg efforts like ''Duel'' and ''Jaws.'' Nearly 25 years later, the movie's visual effects may look a bit primitive, but the story's primal appeal endures.