When the Voyager Co. announced their release of 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind' several years ago, there was much enthusiasm among collectors. After all, we would finally get a letterboxed transfer of this Panavision film and, if Voyager's PR was to be believed, would get to choose which version of the film to watch, the theatrical cut or the Special Edition. When the disc was finally released, enthusiasm was quickly dampened by reality. Simply put, Voyager's idea to program a player to play certain chapters in a particular order didn't work. On top of this, they chose to make the theatrical cut the 'default' version, requiring viewers to use this cumbersome programming scheme to get the Special Edition, the version of the film most fans (and Spielberg) prefer. Good idea, poor execution.
So, once again fans of Spielberg's epic of alien visitation have reason to get excited, this time with Columbia/Tristar's announcement to release the Special Edition in a new letterboxed transfer and at a more affordable price...right? Well, sort of. Columbia's reissue has a more accurate aspect ratio (though still a bit off) at 2.25:1 and colors are more vivid than the Criterion disc. Unfortunately, in all other technical aspects, the Criterion disc is superior. While colors are more vivid on this new disc, they also tend toward oversaturation and smearing and there is some very apparent chroma noise. This grain and oversaturation combine to reduce both clarity and detail when compared to the Voyager transfer. Contrast also suffers. The Criterion disc is a bit darker but is also much cleaner with good shadow detail. The Columbia transfer appears to have been 'pushed' in some scenes, perhaps in an attempt to lighten them. The result is, instead, graininess and loss of detail and somewhat flatter appearance. It should also be noted that the element used by Columbia appears to be in noticably poorer condition than the one Voyager used (however, this conclusion could be the result of a poorer transfer).
The audio on the new disc is at least as good as the Criterion disc, and certainly better than the video. Solid bass and clear mids and highs provide good spaciousness as well as impact. No problems here.
The Special Edition runs 132 minutes and this disc is more than adequately chapter encoded with 50 markers. Side three is in CAV. No trailer or other extras are included. List price $39.95.
Which version of this film is 'better' will always be a subject for debate amongst this film's legion of fans, though in this fan's opinion neither version alone is as good as a combination of the two. Most of what Spielberg excised from the theatrical cut works just as well left in and most of the additional material added for the Special Edition (with the possible exception of the 'inside the mothership' sequence) certainly is of
interest.A final note. While this latest disc version of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS is not without flaws, it is not a 'bad' disc either. Most scenes look quite good, in fact. However, having another very good disc to compare this one to serves only to make these flaws seem larger. It is this reviewer's opinion that THE definitive laser edition of this film has yet to be released. Better luck next time.
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