last night I had the immense pleasure of seeing the below masterpiece from a beautiful, well maintained #35mm print... and it was a joy.

Previous viewings must have been from very badly colour-balanced #telecines on #VHS or low-grade #DVD with heavilty compressed audio (I remember understanding very little dialogue)

Ronnie (not yet Ron) #Howard is excellent and Richard (always looked 40) #Dreyfuss was sublime.

Well done George, and hats off to your ex-wife again for amazing editing and pacing

Richard Dreyfuss Says Oscars' Diversity Standards 'Make Me Vomit'

“Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man?,” Jaws actor asks

Rolling Stone

Dear Richard Dreyfuss, it’s difficult to accept your flaws and bad behavior, so you just distort, mythologize, and keep on those blinders to the misery your ancestors caused because it’s more comfortable. You don’t have to look at yourself and ask, “how can I personally change things for the better?” But, in the long term, this collective behavior is incredibly destructive.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/richard-dreyfuss-oscars-best-picture-diversity-standards-make-me-vomit-1234731071/

#histodons #BlackMastodon #Dreyfuss #hollywood #News #politics #BlackAndWhite

Richard Dreyfuss Says Oscars' Diversity Standards 'Make Me Vomit'

“Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man?,” Jaws actor asks

Rolling Stone

#science #fiction #ScienceFiction #SciFi #FTW #film #movie #FirstContact #contact #alien #aliens #future #space #SpaceShip #EZ4 #PeaceGas #Garr #Dillon #Truffaut #Dreyfuss #Spielberg

Retro SciFi Film of the Week…

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

When this film came out, its depiction of the aliens seemed very realistic, and it has held up pretty well considering it was released nearly a half-century ago. Most of the special effects (by Douglas Trumbull) still seem real, and the dialogue and narrative still seem plausible. The acting performances and score are world class.

This film marked a change in the depiction of aliens in science fiction. Ever since the broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938, aliens who came to Earth were almost always shown as aggressive and as conquerors or colonizers. This film, released shortly after the Vietnam War had ended, was different.

As with nearly all films of the time, this 1977 film had significant racial bias in the composition of the cast, so you’ll need to keep that in mind as you watch it. I saw only one black character in the film, a flight controller who had just a few lines in one scene. (Nearly all of Spielberg’s films have racial bias, even those produced well into the 21st century.)

In terms of production quality and story, this is one of the best science fiction films ever made and if you haven’t seen it yet, make a point of seeing this one.