Synopsis

After the major box office success of Jaws, Spielberg had initially wanted to do a smaller-scale story about a man obsessed with an alien encounter, but, opting to go with special effects, the project became enormously complicated—cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was fired and rehired twice—but ultimately resulted in another groundbreaking success.

Richard Dreyfuss witnesses a UFO on an abandoned road and, against the wishes of wife Teri Garr, goes searching for answers.

 

Also featuring Francois Truffaut as a French UFO specialist who leads the effort to communicate with the aliens. Nominated for eight Oscars—the only winner? Zsigmond for Best Cinematography! —American Film Institute

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Lance Henriksen, J. Patrick McNamara, Josef Sommer, Carl Weathers