Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Air Traffic Control scene HD

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  • Опубліковано 18 лис 2024

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  • @jackbauer4186
    @jackbauer4186 3 роки тому +1058

    The lighting, blocking, sound, sound mixing, editing, acting, and writing in this scene are basically as good as it ever gets. It's simply one of the most well directed scenes of all time. It's stunning.

    • @olivierdelyon8196
      @olivierdelyon8196 3 роки тому +25

      They're barely acting.... 😎 👍

    • @halon7476
      @halon7476 3 роки тому +38

      @@olivierdelyon8196 I believe they are real air traffic controllers that's why

    • @6680thSOG
      @6680thSOG 2 роки тому +25

      @@halon7476 yes. They were.

    • @StephenDedalus74
      @StephenDedalus74 2 роки тому +49

      I agree !!!! And the fact that there is NOT ONE SINGLE NOTE OF MUSIC in it is pure genius

    • @noahdb100
      @noahdb100 2 роки тому +20

      A masterclass in production.

  • @Maoulduin
    @Maoulduin 3 роки тому +279

    literally a radar scope, radio dialogue and the facial expressions of controllers.
    Yet it's one hell of a scene.

    • @GopherBaroque61
      @GopherBaroque61 3 роки тому +7

      Considering that those were real ATCs, it worked really well.

    • @richardstevens8839
      @richardstevens8839 2 місяці тому +2

      Speilberg directed, Michael Khan edited and Vilmos Zsigmond photographed it. Zsigmond was responsible some other very visually rich movies. Heavens Gate, The Deer Hunter, Blow Out, Deliverance, notice how he shoots almost everything from 25-45 degree angles giving the image a lot of perception depth.

  • @xairak
    @xairak 3 роки тому +588

    My father was a heavy transport pilot in the Navy during WWII, and a commercial airline captain into the early 80s. He was not a man prone to exaggeration or emotional extreme, but I watched him watch this scene when this movie was in the theater, and he was on the edge of his seat. He later said it was the most accurately portrayed aviation related scene he’d ever seen in film.

    • @john172867
      @john172867 3 роки тому +14

      Cool story. 😎

    • @6680thSOG
      @6680thSOG 2 роки тому +11

      Wow...I'll bet he saw something. That's awesome.

    • @BigDuke6ixx
      @BigDuke6ixx Рік тому +2

      Yeah, well, in civil aviation no one says 'over', or 'out' come to that, and they didn't in the 70s either. .

    • @lufasumafalu5069
      @lufasumafalu5069 Рік тому +1

      lol stop making up story

    • @xairak
      @xairak Рік тому +3

      lol speeky engrish

  • @androidfarmer8863
    @androidfarmer8863 2 роки тому +103

    The authenticity and plausibility of this scene is gripping.

  • @Nhamp2000
    @Nhamp2000 4 роки тому +445

    I love the long pause of the pilots when they're first asked to report. You can picture them in the cockpit looking at each other contemplating their careers.

    • @robynperdieu3434
      @robynperdieu3434 3 роки тому +12

      I love your icon. :)

    • @Nhamp2000
      @Nhamp2000 3 роки тому +10

      @@robynperdieu3434 Thanks. I was out there last year and took the pic. Then I got notified that COVID was closing everything down and had to drive all the way back to Chicago.

    • @robynperdieu3434
      @robynperdieu3434 3 роки тому +2

      @@Nhamp2000 Awesome. Did anything surreal happen while you were there? I have been many times and something happens every time. :)

    • @Nhamp2000
      @Nhamp2000 3 роки тому +9

      @@robynperdieu3434 Nothing surreal, other than how unbelievably quiet it was. I was lucky enough to be able to walk the path all the way around. It was beautiful, and since it was winter, not too many people. Also, the day before, I pretty much had The Badlands to myself, lol.

    • @shauntbarry
      @shauntbarry 2 роки тому +6

      Yeah I was thinking the same thing.. Pair of them are like "Wtf?" "Do we want to ruin our careers?"

  • @solardisk3
    @solardisk3 5 років тому +545

    Two or three conversations at once. No music. THIS is filmmaking. GOD bless you Steven Spielberg.

    • @Reese2279
      @Reese2279 5 років тому +2

      that's why I love Quentin Tarrantino so much. DO you realize Vincent Vega went to the toilet 3 times. Once is Jack Rabbit slims, once in Butch's apartment and once at the Diner.

    • @Reese2279
      @Reese2279 5 років тому

      That is why I love Tarratino films. Do you realize in Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega went to the toilet 3 times, once in Butch's apartment, once in the diner and once at Jack Rabbit Slims. You won't see Dominique Toretta taking a shit.

    • @mohanicus
      @mohanicus 5 років тому +8

      spielberg at some point always has that type of dialogue in his films... 3 or 4 different conversations at once... fantastic filmmaking

    • @dmcinnis23
      @dmcinnis23 3 роки тому +1

      No. Music. 100%

    • @ChristopherHillman
      @ChristopherHillman 2 роки тому

      @@mohanicus Yeah y'know SurprisingLY the OnLY Other time I remember seeing that is in the Original black&white "The ThinG"

  • @lexie5973
    @lexie5973 2 роки тому +329

    I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best scenes in movie history.

    • @lpb3731
      @lpb3731 2 роки тому +3

      How so ? I honestly don’t get it. And why do the pilots not want to report a ufo ? Sorry English second language

    • @lexie5973
      @lexie5973 2 роки тому +20

      @@lpb3731 It's the tension of the scene and sets the tone for the film. They were real Air traffic controllers too. The pilots probably didn't want to file a UFO report due to any ridicule or disbelief from the authorities that they could have faced.

    • @pdxeddie1111
      @pdxeddie1111 Рік тому +1

      @@lexie5973 reporting a UFO was like saying you saw a pink elephant no professional wanted that on their record

    • @chasecreamer727
      @chasecreamer727 Рік тому +4

      @@lexie5973Wouldn’t be surprising to me if these incidents happen often. Hopefully the recent UFO hearing at Capitol Hill will pave the way/provide the necessary and right reporting system for commercial and military pilots to report UFOs and remove any scrutiny or stigma.

    • @lewisner
      @lewisner Рік тому +6

      There's a scene in NORAD in the episode "Condition Red" of the 1960s TV series The Invaders which is similar to this. I'm sure young Spielberg was inspired by it 😅

  • @johnnycats5157
    @johnnycats5157 6 років тому +555

    for my money, this is hands down the best 3 and a half minutes of movie ever created.

    • @Muckylittleme
      @Muckylittleme 5 років тому +34

      Gave me goose bumps the first time I watched it. The script, acting and understated nature of it just gave it real authenticity.

    • @knaziringram4589
      @knaziringram4589 5 років тому +15

      Johnny Cats you would be hard pressed to find 3 1/2 minutes any better.

    • @Bulgeofpersuasion
      @Bulgeofpersuasion 5 років тому +11

      I was about to post the same.

    • @johnnycats5157
      @johnnycats5157 5 років тому +34

      @@Muckylittleme Spielberg originally had actors for this, but then found actual air traffic controllers worked better. Those guys are the real thing. Amazing.

    • @Muckylittleme
      @Muckylittleme 5 років тому +8

      @@johnnycats5157 Yeah? Well it really worked and all the opening scenes set the mood of wonder and trepidation perfectly.
      I can't watch the majority modern mainstream movies, just the odd unexpected gem.

  • @roquefortfiles
    @roquefortfiles 6 років тому +331

    This scene plays like a radio play. Allowing the audiences own imagination to create the images. The overwhelming feeling during this scene is "MY GOD!! WHAT are they seeing?" It completely hooks you for the rest of the film. After this scene Steven OWNED me.

    • @smaze1782
      @smaze1782 5 років тому +14

      Agreed. No need to show shots of the planes, cockpits or external aircraft shots. Everything is left to the viewer's imagination.

    • @Neildo430ci
      @Neildo430ci 5 років тому +3

      Well, that's good writing. Some of the John Grisham novels can make you feel that.

    • @pucksprattle
      @pucksprattle Рік тому +2

      This entire scene is brilliant, but the moment of Spielberg genius that always gets me is when we hear the whoosh of the UFO passing the plane. Shivers.

    • @jeshkam
      @jeshkam 5 місяців тому

      Despite being an old time radio shows' fan, I never thought of that this way, wow! Brilliant!

    • @roquefortfiles
      @roquefortfiles 5 місяців тому +1

      @@jeshkam Well you get to "hear" the UFO's as they fly by the plane. The pilot says "Ultra bright and exhibiting non ballistic motion".. Your brain goes.."omg they're hovering" I love this scene.

  • @john172867
    @john172867 3 роки тому +182

    No dramatic music. No CGI. Actors are 100% believable.

    • @musicmanfelipe
      @musicmanfelipe Рік тому +15

      They weren’t actors, they were real ATCs.

    • @thudthud5423
      @thudthud5423 Місяць тому +2

      @@musicmanfelipe And they did a good job acting.

    • @Andrew-13579
      @Andrew-13579 Місяць тому

      The movie has excellent music, John Williams’ music, and in the right places.

    • @jameshardy6277
      @jameshardy6277 Місяць тому +3

      Makes you realise just how poor todays movies are.

    • @SteffieBee1973
      @SteffieBee1973 День тому

      These wern't actors, they used ATCs in this simulator and just reacted to the simulated incidents on the radars....pure speilberg genius

  • @GreasyFilms-qc1xo
    @GreasyFilms-qc1xo 3 роки тому +58

    The boss's hand on the air traffic controller makes the gravity of the situation just that more palpable

    • @mackenshaw8169
      @mackenshaw8169 Місяць тому

      What director John Ford used to call "grace notes".

  • @AMPATL
    @AMPATL 5 років тому +296

    Classic Spielberg, people talking over each other throughout this film.
    In my humble opinion, a work of genius.

    • @cameronalexander359
      @cameronalexander359 5 років тому +10

      I found it annoying, but adds greatly to the realism.

    • @ericfletcher8454
      @ericfletcher8454 5 років тому +5

      hardest thing to do for actors. fantastic scene

    • @jgrab1
      @jgrab1 4 роки тому

      @@ericfletcher8454 How do you know?

    • @jgrab1
      @jgrab1 4 роки тому +3

      @GaryGuevara Really? You've seen EVERY movie ever made before Spielberg?
      Um, try Robert Altman, Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks, Joseph von Sternberg, Ernst Lubitsch...

    • @ericfletcher8454
      @ericfletcher8454 4 роки тому +1

      John Grabowski because I shoot TV and films for a living and have shot overlapping dialog scenes

  • @brandonhill2183
    @brandonhill2183 6 років тому +468

    What makes this brilliant is the attention to detail, both technical and behavioral. They would never portray a scene like this today. It would be dumbed down and full of crappy cgi instead of it being a theater of the mind type scene.

    • @cryptidian3530
      @cryptidian3530 6 років тому +36

      That's because the people have been dumbed down to now mostly responding only to overloaded visual and sound effects in movies instead of compelling stories and simple tension scenes.

    • @bboy-kv6pd
      @bboy-kv6pd 6 років тому +7

      Exactly...!...spielberg is a master at it

    • @smaze1782
      @smaze1782 6 років тому +7

      Brandon Hill so true Brandon. This is my favorite scene in the whole movie. The atc guys are so authentic.

    • @deloreanman14
      @deloreanman14 6 років тому +22

      @@smaze1782 Per the IMDB trivia page, these were real air traffic controllers brought in for the film. The way they speak and know the language so naturally really lends to the realism of this scene.

    • @lawdawg715
      @lawdawg715 6 років тому +4

      @@deloreanman14 Especially Morgan Freeman an fantastic air traffic controller from way back......

  • @granpajames
    @granpajames 4 роки тому +315

    FYI: "Spielberg wanted the air traffic controllers’ dialogue to sound as authentic as possible, so he cast real air traffic controllers ⁠- David Anderson, Richard L. Hawkins, Craig Shreeve, and Bill Thurman from Los Angeles ARTCC in Palmdale ⁠- to play them."

    • @WarThunder-zt4xw
      @WarThunder-zt4xw 3 роки тому +33

      Ah that explains how professional they sound, they're the real deal.

    • @janetlawrence9749
      @janetlawrence9749 6 місяців тому +17

      I thought that was a young Morgan Freeman doing a cameo appearance?

    • @ForeverBennett
      @ForeverBennett 2 місяці тому +8

      Great move. They were fantastic.

    • @bettyleeist
      @bettyleeist 2 місяці тому +5

      Yeah,I saw this movie 🍿 in 1977,when I was in High School.🏫 I thought it was;a pretty,good,movie for that time.😊

    • @Tom-ok2rh
      @Tom-ok2rh Місяць тому +3

      @@janetlawrence9749pretty sure that’s him too..unmistakable voice

  • @sammysouth8372
    @sammysouth8372 Рік тому +16

    since I discovered youtube and this clip I’ve watched it atleast once a week. must be over ten years

  • @Vejur9000
    @Vejur9000 3 роки тому +146

    To this day, this one scene gives me goosebumps and makes me tear up. Brilliant, dramatic, and spectacular....
    With no special effects.... just dialogue and editing.

    • @legionnumerous
      @legionnumerous 2 роки тому +3

      Same here

    • @timdrhookmccracken
      @timdrhookmccracken 2 роки тому +3

      just dialogue and editing...no soundtrack, but SOUND

    • @MVR326
      @MVR326 2 роки тому +2

      Well, not to mention, the absence of music is stark and chilling, and also the fact that we only hear descriptions as to what those crew members are seeing, is so eerie, dramatic and makes for a brilliant scene.

    • @tylerbarwick215
      @tylerbarwick215 2 роки тому +4

      @@MVR326That's the magic of Spielberg. He leaves it to your imagination to create the scene in your mind. Plus, sometimes not seeing what's going on makes it all the scarier.

    • @netizenchihu7641
      @netizenchihu7641 Рік тому

      Spielberg stuck a stick in little girl who played in Poltergeist causing her to have infection and die.

  • @Kfinnerty127
    @Kfinnerty127 2 роки тому +129

    This scene is beyond directing… it’s pure art in every sense of the word. The fact that they threw in an actual airline (TW517), adds to it. To this day I still get goosebumps. Utter brilliance.

    • @ahirschfeld1974
      @ahirschfeld1974 Рік тому +5

      Don’t forget another actual airline in the scene Allegheny that later became USAir probably not long after this film was made.

    • @MVR326
      @MVR326 Рік тому +2

      Not to mention, the fact that we don't see what the crews are seeing, we only hear their descriptions makes it even more stark and chilling, and the lack of music is powerful, except for the scene opens we hear a menacing and ominous chord as though to establish the mood. . I used to work for TWA by the way ;)

    • @BigDuke6ixx
      @BigDuke6ixx Рік тому

      Shame they screwed up the comms. No one says 'over'. It destroys the suspension of disbelief.

    • @lufasumafalu5069
      @lufasumafalu5069 Рік тому

      you need to go out IRL this just a movie

    • @BigDuke6ixx
      @BigDuke6ixx Рік тому

      twunt@@lufasumafalu5069

  • @chadcatlett8007
    @chadcatlett8007 Місяць тому +114

    “Traffic is quite luminous and is exhibiting some non-ballistic motion”. The fear in the controllers eyes. They know what that means. The best of Spielberg.

    • @GaryCameron
      @GaryCameron Місяць тому +6

      The conflict warning would make any controller crap their pants

    • @CrandMackerel
      @CrandMackerel Місяць тому +3

      I'm pretty sure he said, "...some anomalistic motion".

    • @Andrew-13579
      @Andrew-13579 Місяць тому +5

      Sounds like “non-ballistic motion”. Never heard of anomalistic. The word would be anomalous. But what is non-ballistic? Ballistic motion is that which is pulled by gravity alone and experiencing zero-g; like a thrown object. I think “non-ballistic motion” would be a vehicle experiencing g forces. An airplane in level flight is non-ballistic…it’s at 1 G. I don’t think a pilot would describe an unidentified aircraft as “non-ballistic”. That’s a term for physicists, maybe. A little technobabble in the movie. It sounded pretty good, though. A pilot would say “That thing’s pulling some hard G’s,” or something similar.
      This movie scared me quite a lot, at first, when I saw it as a kid. It was COOL! 😬😄

    • @Durzel
      @Durzel Місяць тому +10

      @@CrandMackerel”non ballistic” is likely, the pilot means that the UFO is moving in a way that is contrary to gravity etc, unlike their planes.

    • @deanladue5367
      @deanladue5367 19 днів тому +1

      Yep, a regular jet or aircraft has built in features to prevent "non ballistic" motion while in flight. As that type of motion can damage an aircraft airframe. But to see a craft coming straight at them exhibiting non ballistic motion at very high speeds had to have been a mind blowing sight to the pilots of Air East 31.

  • @ppmnox
    @ppmnox 3 роки тому +87

    movies used to be so magical, and this is the prime example of that

  • @hchattaway
    @hchattaway Рік тому +32

    This scene always gives me chills.. especially after the controller said "continue to send at your discretion, over"... things are getting serious! Also, how all of the other controllers are getting pulled into the action that is unfolding is perfect. Really jacks up the tension.
    Nothing exploding, no chases.. just great dialog and perfect pacing.

    • @mapesdhs597
      @mapesdhs597 Рік тому +4

      Indeed. I can't think of any modern director who could come anywhere close, they don't know how, not helped by studios that think CGI which looks like a unicorn has vomited a rainbow is compulsory in order for any film to be a commercial success. I've been acquiring older movies on DVD/BR when I can, before they disappear enirely for whatever reason, so many movies from the 80s and earlier in the same category (managed to bag a bunch on Laserdisc aswell).
      Close Encounters focuses on that which matters the most, ie. telling a good story. It's not just the director of course, also the writing, director of photography, musical score, etc., though in the latter aspect the team was smart enough to realise this scene needed no music at all. I also like the more realistic overlapping dialogue, something rarely done in most movies. Even the simple camera angle choice of allowing us to see the controllers' faces reflected off the screen while we can also see the radar markers is genius, something which of course wouldn't work with a modern flat panel display.

    • @cursivejay
      @cursivejay 10 місяців тому +8

      "Continue descent"

  • @a1superfantastic
    @a1superfantastic 4 роки тому +46

    I keep forgetting how brilliant this scene is. A masterwork of suspense with no score, use of non-actors, static shots and not a single special effect. Pound for pound maybe the best 3.5 minutes Spielberg ever directed.

    • @WereMike
      @WereMike 2 роки тому

      I completely agree. The direction for the voice actors for the pilot's is superb. The weary inflection of their voices when asked if they want to report is such a powerful touch. Those voices communicated so clearly to me that they were scared, couldn't process what they had encountered, and they were not going to officially report and damage their careers.

  • @robertc5200
    @robertc5200 4 роки тому +66

    I watch this movie at least once a year, and I love this scene. This comment section tells me I’m not alone. I really enjoy reading what other fans have posted about this clip!

  • @jalpafett
    @jalpafett 3 роки тому +41

    The reaction of the other controllers when the collision alert sounds, is something you are born with, not taught in film school. That is what makes Speilberg a master.

  • @DirtyLilHobo
    @DirtyLilHobo Місяць тому +59

    This scene actually happened to me some months after the movie was out. I was an Air Traffic Controller at ABQ ARTCC and was working high-altitude West of El Paso with a Westbound at FL350 headed for LAX that had just checked on freq. The pilot said there was a bright object changing colors headed right for his windshield. I had no other traffic other that two Eastbounds at FL330 but they were to the West about 150 miles. I told the pilot “deviation right or left of course approved as necessary.” They turned right 45 degrees. The Pilot said the object was still on an intercept with their aircraft. A few minutes later the pilot said the object suddenly disappeared. “Rodger, turn left heading 270 degrees direct TNP when able.” One of the Eastbounds had been switched to my freq and apparently heard some of the conversation and had asked the Westbound if they were having a Close Encounter.. No reply…

    • @johnfrancis1925
      @johnfrancis1925 Місяць тому +1

      It was swamp gas

    • @IcECreAm-sv2qv
      @IcECreAm-sv2qv Місяць тому

      actually swamp ass

    • @matthewcaughey8898
      @matthewcaughey8898 28 днів тому

      Most pilots aren’t going to talk about it cause it might be the end of their career if they do.

    • @dennissvitak5475
      @dennissvitak5475 26 днів тому +3

      In the Air Force, I was a meteorologist, working in the control tower. One of my good friends was at Wurtsmith AFB in Michigan, and saw ... something ... moving and changing directions and speeds impossibly fast. He confirmed this with that area's ARTCC. All hell broke loose, and he was convinced that what he saw didn't happen. As he still wanted to be a controller, he agreed. Fully five years later, as he told me this story, he said he will never see another UFO, even if one lands on his driveway.

    • @Canetdui
      @Canetdui 22 дні тому

      Wow

  • @trentonmartin787
    @trentonmartin787 5 років тому +43

    No ATC scene is this well done anymore. Absolutely awesome.

    • @roquefortfiles
      @roquefortfiles 3 роки тому +5

      They're real controllers. They understand how to deliver the jargon.

    • @moemanncann895
      @moemanncann895 17 днів тому

      Yes, maybe Diehard with Fred Thompson, Pushing Tin was a bit over the top

  • @simonchadd2201
    @simonchadd2201 4 роки тому +49

    All the upcoming 'Mother Ship' footage, the five notes, the red whoosh, climbing the tower, and this is STILL the best scene in the film. Nothing is shown, things are implied only, and it's as tense as a cable about to snap. Tremendous.

    • @andywilliams8540
      @andywilliams8540 2 роки тому +1

      The scene at the dinner table when his eldest son starts sobbing is great too. I love the whole Mexico dust storm opening too. I’ll be honest, this movie probably has one the most astonishingly well directed first 15 mins ever made.

    • @msh6865
      @msh6865 Місяць тому

      @@andywilliams8540 not unlike the first 30 minutes of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Moments of absolute masterclass filmmaking. I wish he'd get back to this type thing.

  • @ajt2348
    @ajt2348 11 місяців тому +11

    The inter connecting conversations in this scene are magnificent. You always hear the relevant dialogue louder than the other but still hear what the other party is saying. It's so realistic. The sound editing , mixing and superb acting, and pacing. This film is a masterpiece.

  • @DJdefcon4
    @DJdefcon4 7 років тому +106

    possibly the best scene ever - sense of foreboding with the music at start - so many layers to this short piece of film - rather striking 10/10

    • @knaziringram4589
      @knaziringram4589 6 років тому +4

      DJdefcon4 totally agree. Luv this scene! Very intense, keeps the peddle to the metal. Beautiful direction and Actor David Anderson is all over it, focused, intense, smooth, calm and humane all at the same time brings what I can only imagine is a realistic situation in the Traffic Control Room.

    • @radar0412
      @radar0412 6 років тому +3

      Ed Well, it was the 70's. In the 70's I had a few incidents like that myself.

    • @ernesthill2681
      @ernesthill2681 4 роки тому +1

      "....rather striking" lol, nice coda

    • @carlfalk7251
      @carlfalk7251 2 роки тому

      Foreboding.

  • @GeorgeSemel
    @GeorgeSemel 2 роки тому +7

    I was a really young Commerical Pilot in 1977 and this maybe one one the best scenes ever filmed double so for aviation,

  • @snapmalloy5556
    @snapmalloy5556 Рік тому +16

    Truly a brilliant, magical scene.
    And hearing things like L1011 makes me all nostalgic

  • @Lugh444
    @Lugh444 4 роки тому +176

    My mother was a pilot and she says this is exactly what happens, pilots never report.

    • @gmar7836
      @gmar7836 3 роки тому

      Woww

    • @drep-hr8er
      @drep-hr8er 3 роки тому

      your mother?

    • @gmar7836
      @gmar7836 3 роки тому +7

      @@drep-hr8er Yes that’s what he said. Women can be pilots too. There just aren’t many of them

    • @drep-hr8er
      @drep-hr8er 3 роки тому +3

      @@gmar7836 thank god for that

    • @gmar7836
      @gmar7836 3 роки тому +8

      @@drep-hr8er A little jealous aren’t we? I bet you wish you were one but you couldn’t be one or pass the test. Yes there are women pilots. Even in the Air Force, fighter jet pilots. So suck it

  • @dave90046
    @dave90046 Рік тому +15

    This single scene has always resonated with me over the decades as one of the most natural, realistic performances in film.

    • @DavidLombardo
      @DavidLombardo 2 місяці тому

      Yes, they were real controllers (at ZLA I believe). This is so well done. Not over acted, this is very much natural and how it would go. Former ARTCC here

  • @rblauson
    @rblauson 3 роки тому +39

    Most accurate / realistic ATC to pilot interchange produced for a movie I’ve ever seen. Even to this day.

    • @nigelsookram882
      @nigelsookram882 3 роки тому +1

      Sully was great too

    • @johnnycats5157
      @johnnycats5157 2 роки тому +6

      Spielberg actually hired real ATC people for this scene. None of these people are actors. Brilliant move.

    • @rblauson
      @rblauson 2 роки тому +4

      @@johnnycats5157 that’s actually really cool and I never knew that. I just guessed he had a capable liaison on the set.
      They did a hell of a job without being actors.

  • @MorrisseysMonkey
    @MorrisseysMonkey 6 років тому +151

    It's like the pilots say "No" as they know they will be sacked for reporting

    • @Jourell1
      @Jourell1 5 років тому +20

      maybe not sacked directly, but the fact that they reported a UFO, even in the general sense of an unidentified flying object, would hang over them for the rest of their career even the rest of their lives. Even if the incident was later found to have an earthly explanation, it would have an impact on their career advancement

    • @SilverSpoon_
      @SilverSpoon_ 5 років тому +3

      that's the thing, an UFO is an UFO, you report it, could be anyone, anything. This happens IRL. and as long people will say " i don't know what I saw" there will be forever that huge alien thing.
      " Yes I report an UFO. sned in some jets to control or intercept whatever is this shit."

    • @stonewars3224
      @stonewars3224 4 роки тому +7

      Good observation. I always wondered why they wouldn't say anything. This makes total sense. You see something remarkable like this, and officials think you are full of shit...

    • @murrayp4
      @murrayp4 4 роки тому +12

      Exactly- one of the pilots says- "we don't want to report one of those either" Neither pilot wants to even mention the phrase UFO - The pilots know they'll be ridiculed if they make a report- maybe even grounded.

    • @halon7476
      @halon7476 4 роки тому +8

      Back then, if you reported something strange, you would be considered crazy

  • @oldschooljack3479
    @oldschooljack3479 2 роки тому +36

    The tension in this scene is palpable. As a child I knew something terrifying and intense was occurring without understanding all the jargon.
    I would be interested to know how often this actually occurs and is never reported by the parties involved.

    • @christrek1027
      @christrek1027 2 роки тому +1

      Thank God for the jargon! It wouldn't work otherwise.

    • @carlfalk7251
      @carlfalk7251 Рік тому +1

      Probably many.

  • @jonathanlocke6404
    @jonathanlocke6404 4 роки тому +28

    Great scene...I don't think most filmgoers are thinking about the audio mix, but the use of overlapping dialogue here, where you can follow several conversations at once, is brilliant...

  • @markslima1557
    @markslima1557 Рік тому +8

    Peak Spielberg tension building. The way controllers start to approach the desk one-by-one as tension builds, and then the dialogue all stepping on each other, feels so real! Without any special effects, in your mind you have a crystal view of the strangeness of the pilots encounter. More like this please!

  • @raygamino6687
    @raygamino6687 4 роки тому +17

    The acting and the intensity is great! It’s like your not watching a movie but in a control tower watching this unfold in real life. A beautiful piece of cinema.

    • @ahirschfeld1974
      @ahirschfeld1974 Рік тому

      It’s actually in an Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) which is different from a control tower that you see at airports. ARTCC’s are responsible for large sectors of airspace unlike an airport control tower that controls the airspace in a small radius around the airport.

  • @ivorbiggun710
    @ivorbiggun710 4 роки тому +18

    A terrific scene. The whole build-up of the tension in this film is cinematic brilliance.

  • @anthonyjaswinski5732
    @anthonyjaswinski5732 6 років тому +53

    Text book example of creating suspense and tension in the mundane by letting people and dialogue be real. Entire scene is a mini 3 act movie

  • @pokes404
    @pokes404 2 роки тому +21

    This is brilliant filmmaking. They easily could have cut to the POV of the pilots at any point, but the decision to keep everything isolated in the ATC Tower (and let the audience's imagination fill in the blanks) makes this so much scarier and more memorable.

    • @e.l.norton
      @e.l.norton Місяць тому

      It's like delaying showing the shark in JAWS. Implying is more effective than showing.

  • @henrydecastrogenao9389
    @henrydecastrogenao9389 5 років тому +29

    Spielberg is a master, creates tension and suspense just looking at those screens and actors faces.

  • @Zerosho
    @Zerosho Місяць тому +19

    My favorite scene in the movie. I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind when it was in theaters. I was 16 years old. It was so well-directed and so realistic. Before it came out, I had a map in my bedroom with pins for every UFO encounter that had occurred as well as pins for the disappearances that had occurred around the world. I was an original nerd. I used to whistle the 5 note tune in high school after seeing the movie. Movies like CE3K will never come again. Directors like Spielberg will never come again. The dumbing down of our minds in America will soon eradicate all we knew from that time.

  • @IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony
    @IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony Місяць тому +5

    This is frankly one of my favorite scenes from any movie ever. Outstanding. Superb.

  • @NotJanine777
    @NotJanine777 2 роки тому +9

    In my opinion, this is one of the finest movie scenes ever filmed. I think this, along with earth coordinates being discovered in the glass lorry, are the best in the movie.

    • @PlayerFalcon4
      @PlayerFalcon4 Рік тому

      "earth coordinates being discovered in the glass lorry" I dont understand that reference can u explain?

    • @NotJanine777
      @NotJanine777 Рік тому

      @@PlayerFalcon4- it’s when the French translator realises the message being received from the aliens is actually coordinates on earth and not a place on in space. They fetch a globe from an office and find out it’s in Wyoming.

  • @GA-1st
    @GA-1st 4 роки тому +19

    David Anderson plays the main air traffic controller. His film debut...

  • @dhakaboy1
    @dhakaboy1 2 роки тому +19

    As an airline employee, I have jump seated on many DC-10s, 747, L-1011s and A310s, and have listened to the ATC 'chat'. I have also seen a few 'anomalies' which I have never reported, but can only imagine what these pilots are seeing in disbelief !

    • @ernesthill4017
      @ernesthill4017 Рік тому +2

      DC-10? L1011? You must have been flying in the 70s.
      I also noticed they mentioned airlines, TWA and Pan AM, which no longer exist 🤔

    • @dhakaboy1
      @dhakaboy1 Рік тому +4

      @@ernesthill4017 Actually DC-10, A310 and L-1011s flew well into the 1990s and early 2000.

    • @ernesthill4017
      @ernesthill4017 Рік тому +3

      @@dhakaboy1 thanks, you know your aircraft ✈️

  • @custer2449
    @custer2449 6 місяців тому +4

    Only an expert movie maker could make this scene so riveting and entertaining. Bravo. It is my favorite scene from "Close Encounters". NoSx. No car chase. No swearing. Not one frame was wasted. The close-ups and pan outs were done with skill and perfection. The talking over each other was astoundingly perfect. The joining of each of these men around the main controller was perfect.

  • @Joe3pops
    @Joe3pops 2 роки тому +6

    One of the most realistic scenes of this fine movie. This ATC is highly convincing.
    His troubleshoot lines of text appear to be very good. Excellent actually.

  • @zerostozeros
    @zerostozeros Рік тому +5

    In light of the recent congressional hearings, this scene takes on heightened reality. Hats off to Mr. Spielberg.

  • @grease_monkey6078
    @grease_monkey6078 3 роки тому +9

    This is what you call acting, no dramatic camera movements, sound cues or close ups of the face. this is genius how they make everything so realistic. All round great opening to a movie. I also heard that the chatter is spot on to what you would normaly hear in ATC

    • @MrSupercar55
      @MrSupercar55 3 роки тому

      Maybe 74 Gear can do a video on what’s accurate here.

  • @stephenzisky102
    @stephenzisky102 7 років тому +40

    1 of my favorite scenes

  • @chrispyp2331
    @chrispyp2331 5 років тому +36

    Fantastic scene to a great film. Still the best UFO movie to date.

    • @terminal-velocity111
      @terminal-velocity111 4 роки тому +1

      I agree, this a forgotten movie. So good whatever the decade!

  • @Nhamp2000
    @Nhamp2000 2 роки тому +13

    You can picture the pilots in the cockpit just looking at each other after being asked if they want to report, and realizing what would happen to their careers if they did.

  • @hockeyplayer9667
    @hockeyplayer9667 3 роки тому +10

    My favorite part of this scene is how serious everyone got when they were asked if they wanted to report officially

    • @Nhamp2000
      @Nhamp2000 3 роки тому +3

      Yeah. You can almost see the pilots in their cockpits looking at each other, knowing what would happen to their careers if they did. Different era.

  • @90sbabiesraiseyourhands47
    @90sbabiesraiseyourhands47 6 років тому +40

    One of the best movies ever made. Top 10!! 🙌🏽

  • @jessemossberg8108
    @jessemossberg8108 2 роки тому +10

    There’s a nice bit on The Bearded Trio site that discusses this scene, one of the most tight/taut/perfect in all of film, IMO.
    Turns out it was the very first scene shot, before CE3K was greenlighted; filmed in the last three days of 1975 because Columbia needed some stuff “in the can” from calendar year ‘75 in order to qualify for tax-shelter monies.
    David Anderson is the name of the principal air traffic controller “Harry,” tho’ Morgan Freeman is many folks’ (entirely reasonable) guess.
    Truly a fantastic scene, in every respect.

  • @ericfletcher8454
    @ericfletcher8454 5 років тому +14

    only 24 cuts in the 3:26 scene. Freaking brilliant, all of it is in your head. One of the all time best written and photographed scenes in all of cinema

  • @jeffdawson2786
    @jeffdawson2786 3 роки тому +3

    SUPERB ‘textbook’ on how to shoot a scene, how to do everything.

  • @Daniel-yy5tx
    @Daniel-yy5tx 2 роки тому +6

    Phenomenal writing, acting, directing, and editing. It also teaches me to have a lot of respect for air traffic controllers and pilots, who have to keep track of complex and unexpected situations in three dimensions while keeping a clear line of communication operating at all times.

  • @lawrencejohnson3259
    @lawrencejohnson3259 5 років тому +21

    Excellent scene! Still gives me goosebumps... too cool!

  • @petermueller7407
    @petermueller7407 Рік тому +5

    Spielberg is a genius. Worth an Academy Award for directing for that scene only. Has was far far ahead of his time.

  • @babaofett2165
    @babaofett2165 3 роки тому +3

    An absolutely BRILLIANT scene! No quick cuts, a lot of crosstalk which is probably how it really is in a traffic control center. This film pulled you in from the moment the first burst of light hit the screen.

  • @shady7969
    @shady7969 4 роки тому +6

    ..Steven was using real airtraffic crew for this gem scene!

  • @halon7476
    @halon7476 6 років тому +10

    You cannot get any more realistic than this!

  • @MrShobar
    @MrShobar 4 роки тому +26

    Filmed at Los Angeles ARTCC ("Los Angeles Center") in Palmdale, Calif. The principal controller here was actually an FAA controller at this facility.

  • @doktor_ghul
    @doktor_ghul 2 роки тому +10

    I'm honestly surprised that, in all the years since 1977, no one writing a script for DOCTOR WHO has ever tried to recreate this scene as a cold open for an episode with the Doctor interrupting the pilots at the end, and saying that he's ever so sorry to have bothered them, but he really needed to talk to a passenger, and it was the most efficient way to get to the passenger.

  • @quietside3734
    @quietside3734 4 роки тому +7

    A brilliant scene in a wonderful film. This small scene alone feels so real and believable. Bravo, and thank you for uploading.

  • @connecticutgunbench2231
    @connecticutgunbench2231 11 місяців тому +2

    Absolutely one of best scenes ever filmed. It’s gripping, as the pilots talk to traffic control you can visualize what is happening in the air that is only shown on a radar screen.

  • @mohanicus
    @mohanicus 6 років тому +49

    i have this scene from the script framed on my wall at home... one of my favorite steven spielberg scenes....this and the uss Indianapolis scene from jaws...
    "can you say aircraft type"??
    "ah negative center.. no distinct outline... ahh... tell you the truth the target is rather brilliant..some of the brightest anti collision lights i think ive even seen.. luminating white to red"... fantastic scene left upto your imagination.

    • @deanladue3151
      @deanladue3151 3 роки тому +1

      When the pilot reported that the anti-collison lights were "luminating white to red", that was the tipoff that this was no ordinary aircraft. Or not even an airplane at all.

    • @mohanicus
      @mohanicus 2 місяці тому

      And the "non ballistic motion"...meaning it was zig zagging and not flying 8n a straight line​@@deanladue3151

  • @shauntbarry
    @shauntbarry 2 роки тому +15

    I wonder how many times this has happened all over the world for so many years? I want to believe!!

  • @DarkMoonDroid
    @DarkMoonDroid 6 років тому +15

    All of these encounter scenes are directly lifted from real stories given by real people. There is just so much material like this that has surfaced from who-knows-where to choose from that it was hard to leave so much of it behind. It's just a h/t to everyone who lived it.
    🎩🖖

  • @fredfungalspore
    @fredfungalspore 5 років тому +10

    When I saw this scene as a kid I thought it was actual footage the way it was portrayed left an indelible message that we are not alone as the whole movie portrays

    • @SilverSpoon_
      @SilverSpoon_ 5 років тому +1

      yeah the actors play is quite good.

  • @rayalex7794
    @rayalex7794 5 років тому +8

    The way the controller is telling the pilots what to do and the pilots to do it. This scene is gold! Awesome acting. Feels like this isn’t a movie, we are watching real life shit going on. Spielberg Rules!!

    • @lks_d_u_b_83
      @lks_d_u_b_83 5 років тому

      Fuck yeah! I totally totally agree. Best scene in history ever.

  • @griveramx
    @griveramx Рік тому +2

    Love this scene! As a commercial pilot it's always interesting to think about the possibility of something like that happening to me.

  • @CarnorJast1138
    @CarnorJast1138 Рік тому +4

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a masterpiece. The single greatest Extra-Terrestrial Encounter ever put to film. This scene especially, is one of those moments that will always be one of the best ever done in film history. As fantastic as all of the rest of this wonderful movie is, this scene stands out as simply brilliant. CE3K is for me, Steven Spielberg's best movie he ever made, period.

  • @worldofhunter1636
    @worldofhunter1636 16 днів тому +1

    Probably the most realistic scene in the whole movie. The conversations overlapped at one point, the callouts, the atc people talking to the pilots. Theres so much going on in this scene that is just so good that I can't explain it.

    • @Kwid90
      @Kwid90 14 днів тому

      Yes, a lot noise until he asks if he wants to report a UFO. Then crickets. That's the best part of the scene.

  • @ivyvines6708
    @ivyvines6708 6 років тому +29

    I just loved this Spielberg was brilliant. "Area 31 do you wish to report of any kind, over?" I wouldn't know what kind of report to file center." I don't blame him. No one needs to lose their job.

    • @ChrisCarpenter-d5e
      @ChrisCarpenter-d5e 5 років тому +1

      Well that answered my question. 🤓

    • @JeffreyGroves
      @JeffreyGroves 5 років тому +6

      AirEast 31.

    • @robynperdieu3434
      @robynperdieu3434 3 роки тому

      The plane is Aries 31, as in the goat. They are trying to say it's aliens, but they mean demons.

    • @BirdieRumia
      @BirdieRumia 3 роки тому +3

      @@robynperdieu3434 wrong, air east was an airline at the time.

    • @ahirschfeld1974
      @ahirschfeld1974 Рік тому

      @@BirdieRumia Air East was an airline but not at the time of the filming of this movie. It was a small commuter operation in based in Pennsylvania from 1967-1974. They were shut down by the FAA for numerous safety violations.

  • @CuzKatieSaysSo
    @CuzKatieSaysSo 18 днів тому

    I LOVE this scene so much! The fact that the gentleman was a real air traffic controller made his part so incredibly believable. Bravo to him and Casting!

  • @christrek1027
    @christrek1027 2 роки тому +6

    This scene is so real! I was 11 in 77 when this came out and this scene knocked my socks off. What a hook.
    Always thought that was Morgan Freeman, sounds just like him.

    • @allen480
      @allen480 2 роки тому +1

      I thought so too.

    • @anthonyjaswinski5732
      @anthonyjaswinski5732 2 роки тому +1

      I always return to it. An entire film in one scene. Haunting.

  • @paultruesdale7680
    @paultruesdale7680 Рік тому +1

    I’ve seen this tens of times and I’m always captivated.

  • @randyjoe8253
    @randyjoe8253 5 років тому +10

    Am I the only person who was fascinated by this movie when I first saw it on the big screen at age 12, so much so that I saw it multiple times on the big screen? It was so realistic that I became a believer in life elsewhere, at least for a while.

    • @tiltsf
      @tiltsf 5 років тому

      I was 8, and similarly influenced...because of all the sci-fi/super effects of current films, kids now (and future generations) will never quite understand the tremendous effect of the spaceships silently and brilliantly twisting around the highway curves...we lost our breath and our minds were sent into a new dimension...

    • @philosopher0076
      @philosopher0076 4 роки тому

      Randy Joe. Look at USS Nimitz navy commander David Fravor's pilots story of the " Tic Tac UFO " encounter.... Look on UA-cam. Then you'll be a believer......again.

    • @markdoldon8852
      @markdoldon8852 Місяць тому

      I can to this day remember walking out of our local cinema (i was 17, out with some buddies for a birthday dinner,) and hearing almost nothing outside but excited kids chattering and those 5 musical notes....

  • @PhilMoskowitz
    @PhilMoskowitz Рік тому +1

    I love the way the other controllers, sensing something wrong, slowly gather around and crosstalk.

  • @charlessmith5177
    @charlessmith5177 Місяць тому +4

    Sounds strange, but this is my favorite scene from Close Encounters. It is so real, it makes you feel like you’re in the ATC center experiencing exactly what’s going on.

  • @kelzagoodman
    @kelzagoodman Рік тому +1

    brilliant scene - the camera flow with each line of dialog

  • @thebernice6062
    @thebernice6062 2 роки тому +7

    This is Spielberg's genius, he's not showing us anything, but he's scaring the crap out of us with atmosphere and fantastic performances. A lot like Jaws before we see the shark.

    • @ernesthill4017
      @ernesthill4017 Рік тому

      Hitchcock understood this too. He stated as a director "you must make the audience suffer suspense as long as possible "
      With today's films, I feel exactly that way, but in an entirely different sense of the word 'suffer'

    • @ernesthill4017
      @ernesthill4017 11 місяців тому

      Alfred Hitchcock used a similar technique to mess with the viewer's mind.
      Ever the clever wit, he said when creating suspense, "you must make the audience suffer"
      Today's audiences suffer, but in a different way, I think 🤔
      It's a pity so few movies are worth watching these days

  • @SubRosaUSA
    @SubRosaUSA Місяць тому +1

    This scene lasts less than 4:00min yet showcases everything about Spielberg within that time. His sense of pacing, camera angles, lighting, blocking, dialogue and editing. Even his signature double reflection shot appears here. Masterful. This is and the "The Indianapolis Story" from 'Jaws' are Spielberg in a nutshell.
    And THIS is the opening scene. Incredible.

  • @andevil777
    @andevil777 2 роки тому +3

    I was all of five years old when my folks took the family to see this cinematic gem. Needless to say it sparked (along w/a certain space opera) a life long love of the bizarre, the weird, the unknown, and the unexplained. I still believe in the fantastical and the importance of imagination, and I thank Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Lucas et al for helping to shape and give voice to a child's dreams. P.s.- keep watching the skies!

  • @Canetdui
    @Canetdui 22 дні тому +1

    In an iconic film making career with too too many cinematic highlights that my meager words can describe. This scene is still breath taking 45 years later.

  • @TheMiniatureRobot
    @TheMiniatureRobot 3 роки тому +3

    I was 3 years old when I saw this for the first time. It's crazy to revisit it now and understand everything they're talking about

    • @frednorris828
      @frednorris828 3 роки тому

      I think I was about ten and have been fascinated since seeing this movie.

  • @jle4433
    @jle4433 3 роки тому +2

    This is my favorite scene in any movie I've ever watched.

  • @ChrisCarpenter-d5e
    @ChrisCarpenter-d5e 5 років тому +3

    Our dad took us to see this in 1979. Ive been fascinated by it to this day.

  • @antduude
    @antduude Місяць тому +1

    I was at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood the day after the film came out. It was a sold-out show. When this scene came on, the audience was riveted. I didn't even realize it at the time but I, and probably half the audience, were holding our breaths. When the Air East pilot said, "That was really close," there was such an exhalation of people holding their breaths and nervous laughter, I've never forgotten that moment.

  • @mymidnightconfessions1457
    @mymidnightconfessions1457 2 роки тому +3

    Black guy witnessing an earth changing event yet he's staying totally professional and in charge. This is the best understanded moment of a monumental film.

  • @paulhunt4690
    @paulhunt4690 2 місяці тому +1

    The scene with the reflection of their faces in the glass, awesome!

  • @earlgray7003
    @earlgray7003 3 роки тому +16

    L1011, TWA, Allegheny (Airlines). They're all long gone now.

    • @austinrick
      @austinrick 5 місяців тому +1

      L1011 will forever remind me of The Ghost of Flight 401.

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 4 місяці тому +2

      Same goes for airlines like Braniff, Eastern, Western, Continental and Pan Am too.

  • @scottward7813
    @scottward7813 2 місяці тому +1

    Love how the older man has his hand on the controller's shoulder. True comradery and professionalism.

  • @josephangel7360
    @josephangel7360 6 років тому +5

    A perfect blend of realism and mystery.

  • @bobbertknokno4090
    @bobbertknokno4090 Місяць тому +1

    I recall being impressed with this while at the cinema. They all began talking and over talking so realistically and the principal trafic controler was unshaken by it. So realistic to reality.

  • @karenamy2117
    @karenamy2117 7 місяців тому +3

    “I wouldn’t know what kind of report to file, Center.”❤😂❤