Close Encounters of the Third Kind in Concert

Overview

Before there was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Minority Report, there was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. With the writer/director riding high off of Jaws, Steven Spielberg's 1977 science-fiction flick again showed his skills with genre filmmaking — and, the movie swiftly became one of the all-time sci-fi greats in the process.

If you've seen a movie about aliens and unidentified flying objects in the past four decades, odds are it owes Spielberg's classic a debt of gratitude. The eight-time Oscar nominee tells the tale of an ordinary lineman (Richard Dreyfuss) who becomes obsessed with UFOs after his own close encounter. He's drawn to others with similar tales, and to a place called Devil's Tower in Wyoming to find answers.

It's smart, sharp, intriguing and immersive sci-fi and its best, and it is coming to Brisbane on March 24 as it never has before. In a world-premiere performance, the film will play with a 85-piece orchestra and 60-voice choir recreating John Williams' Academy Award-winning score. Expect true movie and music magic from Queensland Festival Philharmonic, the Resonance of Birralee choir and conductor Nicholas Buc, with Close Encounters of the Third Kind in Concert part of the 2018 World Science Festival Brisbane.