Within Close Encounters
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Devil’s Tower is more than a dramatic backdrop. It is the place where Steven Spielberg brings together two of the film’s defining UFO themes: government secrecy and the possibility of peaceful first contact.
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Introduction
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Devil’s Tower is more than a dramatic backdrop. It is the place where Steven Spielberg brings together two of the film’s defining UFO themes: government secrecy and the possibility of peaceful first contact. The towering Wyoming landmark becomes a hidden stage where military planners, scientists and alien visitors converge, while ordinary witnesses are pushed away through a carefully constructed deception. Rather than portraying a simple conspiracy, Spielberg presents a more complicated situation in which authorities conceal the truth to manage an unprecedented event. The result is one of the most influential depictions of a secret UFO landing site in modern cinema. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindDevils Tower near Moorcroft, Wyoming…. François Truffaut as Claude Lacombe, a French government scientist in charge of UFO-related act…
Why Devil’s Tower Became the Hidden UFO Stage
The choice of Devil’s Tower gave the film a real-world location that felt both ancient and otherworldly. Rising abruptly from the Wyoming landscape, the formation is visually distinctive enough that it becomes the image implanted in the minds of contactees such as Roy Neary and Jillian Guiler. As the story unfolds, the mysterious numerical signals received by scientists are decoded as coordinates pointing directly to the monument. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
Spielberg’s use of a genuine American landmark helps blur the line between fantasy and plausibility. The audience is not being directed toward a fictional military base or a secret island. Instead, the climactic meeting point is a place that actually exists, lending credibility to the idea that extraordinary events might be hidden within familiar geography. The film’s popularity permanently linked Devil’s Tower with UFO culture, increasing public interest in the monument long after the film’s release. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindDevils Tower near Moorcroft, Wyoming…. François Truffaut as Claude Lacombe, a French government scientist in charge of UFO-related act…
The location also functions symbolically. Critics and commentators have often noted that the tower resembles a destination of pilgrimage. Throughout the film, witnesses are drawn toward it without fully understanding why, transforming the site from a geological landmark into a focal point of revelation and contact. [Turner Classic Movies]tcm.comTurner Classic MoviesPop Culture 101 - Close Encounters of the Third KindIn this respect, Devil's Tower has been compared to Mount Sinai…
How the Fake Emergency Clears the Landing Zone
One of the film’s most memorable examples of official secrecy is the evacuation of the Devil’s Tower area. After scientists determine that the aliens intend to arrive there, the United States military creates a false public emergency. News reports claim that a train accident has released a dangerous toxic nerve gas, making the region unsafe for civilians. Residents are evacuated, roads are closed and access is tightly controlled. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
The cover story serves several functions at once:
- It removes large numbers of people from the area without revealing the real reason.
- It creates a believable explanation for military activity and roadblocks.
- It allows scientists to construct a landing site and communication facilities away from public scrutiny.
- It reinforces the film’s recurring idea that official institutions know more than they publicly admit. [EJumpcut Importantly]ejumpcut.orgclose Encontersaliens' message and then to overcome the attempts of authorities to prevent them from getting to Devil's Tower for the alien landing. The…, the deception is presented as a practical operation rather than an act of malice. The authorities are preparing for a historic event whose consequences are unknown. From their perspective, secrecy is a way to maintain order and prevent panic. Yet the same strategy also prevents ordinary citizens from participating in what may be the most significant moment in human history. That tension lies at the heart of the Devil’s Tower storyline. [EJumpcut]ejumpcut.orgclose Encontersaliens' message and then to overcome the attempts of authorities to prevent them from getting to Devil's Tower for the alien landing. The…
Why the Authorities Are Deceptive but Not Simple Villains
Many UFO stories frame governments as antagonists whose primary goal is suppressing the truth. Spielberg adopts a more nuanced approach. The military does hide information and manipulate the public, but the film does not depict the scientists and officials at Devil’s Tower as evil conspirators. Instead, they are shown working intensely to understand the visitors and establish communication. [EJumpcut]ejumpcut.orgclose Encontersaliens' message and then to overcome the attempts of authorities to prevent them from getting to Devil's Tower for the alien landing. The…
Claude Lacombe, the French scientist leading much of the investigation, embodies this distinction. He is not trying to destroy evidence or silence witnesses. He is attempting to decode messages, prepare for contact and manage an event beyond ordinary political experience. The secrecy exists alongside genuine curiosity and scientific openness. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
This balance reflects a broader feature of Spielberg’s UFO storytelling. Institutions are imperfect and often paternalistic, but they are not necessarily hostile to the unknown. The conflict emerges because authorities and witnesses are pursuing the same mystery from different directions. Scientists seek controlled access; contactees seek personal answers. Devil’s Tower becomes the place where those two paths collide. [EJumpcut]ejumpcut.orgclose Encontersaliens' message and then to overcome the attempts of authorities to prevent them from getting to Devil's Tower for the alien landing. The…
How the Climb Turns Witnesses into Rebels
The cover-up creates a practical obstacle, but it also transforms Roy and Jillian into rebels. By the time they reach Wyoming, they know that the official explanation is false. Their determination to reach Devil’s Tower becomes an act of resistance against institutional control. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
What makes this rebellion unusual is that it is not motivated by politics or ideology. Roy and Jillian are driven by personal experience. The visions implanted by the visitors convince them that something profoundly important awaits at the tower. They cannot explain their certainty, yet they are willing to risk arrest and danger to follow it. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
The climb toward the landing site therefore serves two narrative purposes:
- It physically overcomes the government barrier surrounding the event.
- It proves that firsthand experience matters as much as official expertise.
When Roy and Jillian finally reach the restricted zone, they become representatives of the ordinary witnesses who have been excluded from the process. Their presence ensures that first contact is not exclusively a military or scientific achievement. It remains connected to the individuals whose lives were transformed by the phenomenon from the beginning. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower [Facebook]facebook.comaliens) evade the military to witness the meeting firsthand.Read more…
The Landing Site as Spielberg’s Model of UFO Secrecy
The Devil’s Tower sequence established a template that would influence countless later UFO stories. A remote location, a government cover story, restricted access, scientists working behind security barriers and determined civilians trying to reach the truth became recurring elements across film and television. [EJumpcut]ejumpcut.orgclose Encontersaliens' message and then to overcome the attempts of authorities to prevent them from getting to Devil's Tower for the alien landing. The…
What distinguishes Spielberg’s version is that secrecy is not the final message. The barriers exist, but they eventually give way to communication. The landing site is hidden only long enough to prepare for contact. Once the enormous mothership arrives, the story shifts away from concealment and toward encounter. The secret base at Devil’s Tower is therefore not a symbol of permanent suppression. It is a transitional space between fear of the unknown and direct engagement with it. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
Within Spielberg’s broader UFO vision, that distinction matters. Devil’s Tower is the place where official secrecy reaches its peak, yet it is also where secrecy finally becomes impossible because humanity and the visitors meet face to face. [Wikipedia]WikipediaDevils TowerDevils Tower
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Endnotes
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_KindSource snippet
[Devils Tower]({{ 'devils-tower/' | relative_url }}) near Moorcroft, Wyoming.... François Truffaut as Claude Lacombe, a French government scientist in charge of UFO-related act...
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Source: ejumpcut.org
Title: close Enconters
Link: https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC18folder/closeEnconters.htmlSource snippet
aliens' message and then to overcome the attempts of authorities to prevent them from getting to Devil's Tower for the alien landing. The...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Devils Tower
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Tower -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/12117541695/posts/10160132795111696/Source snippet
aliens) evade the military to witness the meeting firsthand.Read more...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/12117541695/posts/10162078489836696/Source snippet
It appears to come up from behind and below Devils Tower, not down from the sky.Read more...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3164534807204454/posts/3775837486074180/Source snippet
"Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" 1977 Devils Tower..."Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" 1977 Devils Tower 2020 Location: National...
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Source: film-te.fandom.com
Link: https://film-te.fandom.com/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_KindSource snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Film & Television WikiThe UFO, joining a group of three other UFOs, is pursued by Neary and three po...
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Source: movie-locations.com
Title: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Link: https://movie-locations.com/movies/c/Close-Encounters-Of-The-Third-Kind.phpSource snippet
1977Discover the film locations for Steven Spielberg's 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with Richard Dreyfuss and Francois Truffa...
Additional References
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Source: intermountainhistories.org
Link: https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/226Source snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Devils Tower...Devils Tower, located in Crook County, Wyoming, was the first natural formation i...
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Source: tvtropes.org
Link: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKindSource snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Film)Gas Leak Cover-Up: The government claiming a rail accident occurred with a train carrying nerve...
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Source: cowboystatedaily.com
Link: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2022/05/19/sen-ogden-driskill-recalls-filming-of-close-encounters-on-his-familys-ranch-at-devils-tower/Source snippet
Ogden Driskill Recalls Filming of “Close Encounters...19 May 2022 — When Steven Spielberg chose Devils Tower to be the location to film...
Published: May 2022
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1iccnu5/close_encounter_of_the_third_kind_where_were_the/Source snippet
Close Encounter of the Third Kind, where were...The filming locations for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) include: Devils Towe...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/1f3nrfm/what_is_the_point_of_close_encounters_of_the/Source snippet
based on. It's all about conspiracies. And then there's the...Read more...
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Source: instagram.com
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhqnh4j410/Source snippet
shes with aliens in director Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters...
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Source: themerica.org
Title: close encounters of the themed kind
Link: https://www.themerica.org/blog/2018/01/14/close-encounters-of-the-themed-kindSource snippet
14 Jan 2018 — Devils Tower, northeastern Wyoming. All over the world, people are drawn to locations used in favorite movies. I've been on...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ87qegE3fISource snippet
Hiding The Truth From The Public | CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) Movie CLIP 4K...
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Source: tcm.com
Link: https://www.tcm.com/articles/467315/pop-culture-101-close-encounters-of-the-third-kindSource snippet
Turner Classic MoviesPop Culture 101 - Close Encounters of the Third KindIn this respect, Devil's Tower has been compared to Mount Sinai...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTTUg4fVaIkSource snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The giant ship...
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