Research any topic before you write.

Find related topics. | Discover entities. | See connections. | Build a topical map.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. The film depicts the interconnected stories of Roy Neary (Dreyfuss), an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana whose life changes…

Themes, Legacy, Music & Science

Use the mouse wheel or two fingers (on touchscreens) to zoom in and out of the map.

Research this topic

Explore the main themes, entities and connections around Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Start with the topic map, then use the sections below for research and deeper semantic analysis.

Explore this topic

Start with a few of the strongest sections from the source topic. These are research directions, not a list of keywords you must use.

Key facts & relationships

High-confidence facts extracted from structured source data. Use them as anchors for further research.

Box office
$306.9 million
Budget
$19.4 million
Cinematography
Vilmos Zsigmond
Country
United States
Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures

Topics to explore

Browse the full topic structure. Each item opens a new analysis centered on that subject.

Overview

Plot

Cast

Production

Music

Themes

Release and reception

Legacy

Bibliography

Advanced semantic analysis

Deeper signals for content research, entity SEO and topical coverage. The plain-language headings explain what each technical view is useful for.

Map overview Semantic statistics

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Nodes299
Edges298
Triples93
Avg. degree1.99
Density0.006689
Components1

How this topic connects Entity context

See the strongest relationship patterns around the current topic before diving into the raw triples.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Top relations

related to Further reading · 34
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → Almería, An Actor's Diary, Applause Theatre, Balaban, Bob, Cinema Books, Close Encounters, Delacorte Press, Encuentros, España, González Hevia, Grupo Editorial Círculo Rojo, HarperCollins Publishers Inc, ISBN, Klastorin, La, Leoncio, Leslie, Me, Michael
related to External links · 19
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → AFI Catalog, America's Film Legacy, Black, Close Encounters, Daniel Eagan, Encounters, Feature FilmsClose Encounters, Filmsite, IMDbClose Encounters, ISBN, Landmark Movies, Matt Zoller Seitz, MetacriticClose Encounters, National Film Registry, National Film RegistryClose Encounters, Rotten TomatoesClose Encounters, TCM Movie Database, The Authoritative Guide, Third Kind
related to Reissues and home media · 19
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → Anyway, August, Close Encounters, Columbia, Columbia Pictures, Earth, Gobi Desert, He, In, On, Roger Ebert, Special Edition, Spielberg, SS Cotopaxi, The Special Edition, They, Third Kind, This, Why
Starring · 4
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr
Produced by · 2
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Production companies · 2
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → Columbia Pictures, EMI Films
Box office · 1
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → $306.9 million
Budget · 1
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → $19.4 million
Cinematography · 1
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → Vilmos Zsigmond
Country · 1
Close Encounters of the Third Kind → United States

Important terminology Word statistics

Use these terms to understand the vocabulary surrounding the topic, not as a checklist for keyword stuffing.

Important terminology

film spielberg close encounters mothership edition third roy time kind release 1977 released ufos also special one columbia million version

Entity relationships Subject–Predicate–Object triples

SubjectPredicateObjectConfidenceSrc
Close Encounters of the Third KindBox office$306.9 million1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindBudget$19.4 million1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindCinematographyVilmos Zsigmond1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindCountryUnited States1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindDirected bySteven Spielberg1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindDistributed byColumbia Pictures1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindEdited byMichael Kahn1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindLanguageEnglish1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindMusic byJohn Williams1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindProduced byJulia Phillips1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindProduced byMichael Phillips1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindProduction companiesColumbia Pictures1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindProduction companiesEMI Films1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindRelease dateNovember 16, 1977 (1977-11-16)1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindRunning time135 minutes (Theatrical version) 132 minutes (Special Edition) 137 minutes (Director's Cut)1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindStarringRichard Dreyfuss1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindStarringTeri Garr1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindStarringMelinda Dillon1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindStarringFrançois Truffaut1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third KindWritten bySteven Spielberg1.00infobox
Close Encounters of the Third Kindis a1977 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg0.90text

Related concept clusters Concept neighborhoods

These clusters group vocabulary that occurs around closely connected concepts in the source material.

    Connections between topic areas Semantic bridges

    Bridges can reveal useful research angles that are easy to miss in a flat list of related terms.

    Min side: 3
    For writers, content strategists, SEOs, marketers and creators — from quick topic research to advanced semantic analysis.