Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Complete Edition

As CE3K is my all-time favorite film ever, to read about Fan Edits and then to find this “complete” version made me as excited as I was back in the 70’s, every time I climbed through the toilet windows at the cinema to watch it over and over again. We didn’t have a VHS, so I had to get into the cinema to watch this truly amazing film.

I’m so happy that I stumbled across Wraith’s masterpiece of an edit, we finally have the definitive version that this film deserves.

Wraith’s edit just brings it all to life again, every scene that was ever released, and also carefully crafted to provide the big screen “film” effect.

Long story short, Wraith has nailed this seamless edit and I want to thank him for making an old man very happy.

To me this film means something, it’s important and Wraith has expanded my enjoyment of it. Thank you Wraith.

A truly great rendition of a masterpiece. This was worth the wait and I can't thank Wraith enough for all the work put into this great film.

Highly Recommended

I just watched Wraith's edit of Close Encounters, This edit is just fantastic, I found that the scenes flowed smoothly and seamlessly so you can't tell where they have been added. If you you show this to someone who has not seen it, they would not know if this film is the official edit or not. Wraith, is a masterful editor, and this is not an edit that has been slapped together, this edit has been put together with love and care and attention to detail. From now on this will be my go to version!

For anybody who wants to live in the world of Close Encounters for a little longer this edit is certainly worth their time. Watching any of the three official versions on their own is a great experience but knowledge of extra material always left a desire in me to see what was being left out, even something as mundane as a few amusing seconds of product placement!

Wraith has solved that problem, the three versions providing three degrees of completeness. Having seen the 137-minute director's cut first and most often, the additional 8 minutes (for version sans mothership interior) feel in no way unwelcome, while not strictly necessary these scenes add to the world-building and give the film a more complete feeling.

Unsurprisingly, there are no noticeable joins where scenes have been spliced together, from now on I consider this my go-to version.

You can tell when you are watching a masterpiece - because when it finishes, you find yourself wishing that it never ended at all. There is always a slight sense of melancholy is knowing that the story is over, and that the joy is over as well. Wraith's efforts at creating an enhanced version of this beloved science fiction classic has undoubtedly resulted in a cinematic triumph that surpasses what Spielberg originally presented to the mass public in 1977, and again in 1980.

To Wraith, I personally consider this fanedit to be a well-deserved feather in your cap, and an outstanding example to the other members of this website of the quality that can be produced by a faneditor who dedicates their time and effort to a worthy project.