Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Complete Edition

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.

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

wow, an excellent addition to a real classic. I really enjoyed the work done here!

I have to confess that all of the edits were flawless to me and I only felt that one or two scenes were new (but wasn't entirely sure). I didn't notice their insertion and they didn't take away from the experience. It was practically an official release. This speaks to the editor's skill as well as the completeness of the material, and I can only assume the scenes were removed for runtime or pacing (although I never thought the movie dragged). This will be the version of the movie I go back to for repeat viewings.

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.