Within Devils Tower
One of the most important but often overlooked parts of Close Encounters of the Third Kind is not the arrival of the UFOs but the government's effort to keep everyone away from them. Around Devils Tower, officials create a false emergency: a reported train derailment that has supposedly released a deadly nerve gas.
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
One of the most important but often overlooked parts of Close Encounters of the Third Kind is not the arrival of the UFOs but the government’s effort to keep everyone away from them. Around Devils Tower, officials create a false emergency: a reported train derailment that has supposedly released a deadly nerve gas. The story justifies evacuating local residents, sealing roads and turning a public landscape into a controlled military zone. In narrative terms, the operation clears space for first contact. In thematic terms, it transforms Devils Tower from a national monument into a contested territory where secrecy, authority and ordinary citizens collide. The evacuation explains how contact can occur in public while remaining hidden, and it gives Spielberg a way to explore distrust of official narratives in the post-Watergate era. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDnerve gas. When the footage depicts a mass evacuation near Devil's Tower, Roy is elated to recognize the flat-topped mountain of his imag… [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind
The Staged Disaster Report
The cover story emerges after scientists decode signals pointing to Devils Tower as the destination for an anticipated extraterrestrial encounter. Rather than publicly announcing what they have discovered, authorities fabricate a chemical disaster. News broadcasts report that a train carrying toxic nerve gas has crashed near the Tower, creating a dangerous contamination zone and requiring immediate evacuation. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDnerve gas. When the footage depicts a mass evacuation near Devil's Tower, Roy is elated to recognize the flat-topped mountain of his imag…
This deception serves several purposes at once.
- It creates a plausible reason for clearing a large rural area quickly.
- It discourages curiosity by attaching the threat of invisible contamination to the landscape.
- It allows military and scientific personnel to occupy the region without explaining their true mission.
- It transforms access to Devils Tower from a public right into a privilege controlled by the state. [TV Tropes]tvtropes.orgClose Encounters of the Third Kind (Film)Gas Leak Cover-Up: The government claiming a rail accident occurred with a train carrying nerve…
The false report is also a crucial plot device. Roy Neary finally identifies the mountain shape that has haunted him when television coverage of the evacuation shows Devils Tower on screen. The government’s attempt to conceal the location inadvertently reveals it to the very people being drawn there. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDnerve gas. When the footage depicts a mass evacuation near Devil's Tower, Roy is elated to recognize the flat-topped mountain of his imag…
This irony is central to Spielberg’s design. Secrecy does not stop the witnesses; it helps them find the destination.
Roadblocks, Masks and Detention
The nerve-gas story becomes convincing because it is supported by visible state power. The film does not rely on a press release alone. Authorities construct an entire physical apparatus around the claim.
Roadblocks appear on approach routes. Military personnel enforce exclusion zones. Protective masks and contamination procedures give the emergency a tangible reality. Citizens are expected not merely to believe the warning but to perform belief through compliance. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose (2022 filmClose (2022 film)It follows two teenage boys whose close friendship is thrown into disarray when their schoolmates notice their intima…
When Roy, Jillian Guiler and other vision-driven travellers attempt to reach Devils Tower, they encounter this machinery of control directly. They are intercepted and questioned. The authorities treat them not as informed participants but as people who must be removed from the area. The distinction is significant. The government’s goal is not public safety in any ordinary sense; it is information management. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind
The gas masks become particularly symbolic. They visualise a threat that cannot be independently verified. Unlike a fire, flood or visible disaster, nerve gas is dangerous precisely because it cannot easily be seen. The audience therefore watches characters navigate a crisis whose reality depends entirely on trust in official statements. Roy’s decision to reject the story and continue towards the Tower marks a transition from passive acceptance to active scepticism. [Reddit]reddit.comWhat is the point of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRDWhat is the point of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD…August 29, 2024 — He simply guesses that there was no nerve agent leak and ta…
Why the Cover Story Matters
The evacuation is more than a logistical convenience. It reveals how the film imagines the relationship between extraordinary knowledge and political authority.
Earlier UFO films often focused on invasion, military defence or direct conflict. Close Encounters instead imagines a government that already knows more than the public and responds by restricting access to information. The question becomes not whether aliens are hostile, but whether institutions can be trusted to manage unprecedented events openly. [Turner Classic Movies]tcm.comOpen source on tcm.com.
The timing matters. Released in 1977, the film arrived after years of public distrust generated by Watergate and other controversies involving official secrecy. Critics and historians have frequently noted that the film channels this atmosphere of suspicion. The Devils Tower operation embodies that mood without turning the government into outright villains. Officials are attempting to manage an extraordinary situation, yet they do so through deception, surveillance and exclusion. [Podcasting Them Softly]podcastingthemsoftly.comclose encounters of the third kind a review by j d lafranceYou get a real sense of place and how imposing a structure it is…
The resulting tension is more complex than a simple conspiracy narrative. The authorities genuinely know something important, but their methods undermine their credibility.
Secrecy as Part of the Geography
Within the broader geography of contact, the evacuation changes what Devils Tower means. The monument is no longer simply a destination. It becomes a layered space organised by competing forms of access.
For the government, the Tower is a secure operational zone. For scientists such as Claude Lacombe, it is a site of communication. For Roy and Jillian, it is the endpoint of a personal summons. The evacuation forces these different groups into conflict because only one of them officially controls the landscape. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose (2022 filmClose (2022 film)It follows two teenage boys whose close friendship is thrown into disarray when their schoolmates notice their intima…
The exclusion zone therefore reshapes geography itself. Roads are closed. Boundaries appear where none previously existed. A national landmark becomes temporarily inaccessible except to authorised personnel. The physical terrain remains the same, but the political meaning of the terrain changes dramatically. Access becomes the central issue. [Filmsite]filmsite.orgClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)Plans to Evacuate the Entire Top-Secret Area Around Devils Tower, WY. meanwhile, at the…
This is why the nerve-gas evacuation is so important to the film’s vision of first contact. The encounter does not occur in an untouched wilderness or in a purely scientific setting. It occurs in a place that has been administratively sealed, militarily managed and narratively disguised. Before humans and extraterrestrials can meet, Spielberg suggests, governments will attempt to control the terms under which that meeting becomes visible.
The cover story around Devils Tower is therefore not a side plot. It is the mechanism that turns geography into governance, making the path to contact a struggle over who gets to know, who gets to enter and who has the authority to define reality itself. [Turner Classic Movies]tcm.comSource details in endnotes.
Amazon book picks
Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Tower Nerve Gas Evac Aa 087 E. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
The UFO Experience
Hynek created the close-encounter framework that inspired Spielberg's film title and served as an adviser on the movie.
Passport to Magonia
One of the most influential books on UFO culture and the mystery-oriented approach echoed in Spielberg's work.
eBay marketplace picks
Marketplace Samples
Example marketplace items related to this page. Use the search link to explore similar finds on eBay.
Endnotes
-
Source: catalog.afi.com
Title: 67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
Link: https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67160-CLOSE-ENCOUNTERS-OF-THE-THIRD-KINDSource snippet
nerve gas. When the footage depicts a mass evacuation near Devil's Tower, Roy is elated to recognize the flat-topped mountain of his imag...
-
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind -
Source: filmsite.org
Link: https://www.filmsite.org/closeencounters.htmlSource snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)Plans to Evacuate the Entire Top-Secret Area Around Devils Tower, WY. meanwhile, at the...
-
Source: reddit.com
Title: What is the point of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/1f3nrfm/what_is_the_point_of_close_encounters_of_the/Source snippet
What is the point of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD...August 29, 2024 — He simply guesses that there was no nerve agent leak and ta...
Published: August 29, 2024
-
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Close (2022 film)
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_%282022_film%29Source snippet
Close (2022 film)It follows two teenage boys whose close friendship is thrown into disarray when their schoolmates notice their intima...
-
Source: reddit.com
Title: This is to show that the film is science-fiction.Read more
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/shittymoviedetails/comments/1144tkn/in_close_encounters_of_the_third_kind_1977_the_us/Source snippet
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the US...The US government fakes a train derailment/chemical spill to force evacuation of...
-
Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/GenerationJones/comments/1gba8th/close_encounters_of_the_third_kind/Source snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: r/GenerationJonesAnd on the night we camped there and watched the movie, at the moment the UFOs star...
-
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...
-
Source: tcm.com
Link: https://www.tcm.com/articles/18629/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind -
Source: imdb.com
Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075860/plotsummary/Source snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - PlotThe US Government determine where the visitors plan to land and create an elaborate cover...
-
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...
-
Source: podcastingthemsoftly.com
Title: close encounters of the third kind a review by j d lafrance
Link: https://podcastingthemsoftly.com/2016/06/28/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-a-review-by-j-d-lafrance/Source snippet
You get a real sense of place and how imposing a structure it is...
-
Source: dictionary.cambridge.org
Link: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/closeSource snippet
English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary5 days ago — to change from being open to not being open, or to cause something to do this: close...
-
Source: lidocinemas.com.au
Link: https://www.lidocinemas.com.au/movies/closeSource snippet
Now Showing Coming 675 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, VIC 3122 (03) 8658. Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingl...
-
Source: movie-locations.com
Link: https://movie-locations.com/movies/c/Close-Encounters-Of-The-Third-Kind.phpSource snippet
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind | 1977The big evacuation scene filmed at Bay Minette over the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers, 30 miles north...
-
Source: en.wikiquote.org
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Link: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_KindSource snippet
counters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 film about a man who, in common with numerous people, witnessed...
Additional References
-
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/12117541695/posts/10162062340046696/Source snippet
Analysis of devil's tower scene in movieYou can bet then, if that's on the wall, and that's the way the scene went down, it was intention...
-
Source: merriam-webster.com
Link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/closeSource snippet
CLOSE Synonyms: 566 Similar and Opposite WordsSynonyms for CLOSE: crowded, tight, packed, dense, thick, compact, jammed, serried; Antonym...
-
Source: raisingchildren.net.au
Link: https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/movie-reviews/closeSource snippet
CloseClose is a beautiful, tender and sad Belgian film about the intensity of teenage friendship and the enormous void that can be left b...
-
Source: medium.com
Link: https://medium.com/sci-fi-movie-reviews/review-3-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-a39c85179e1eSource snippet
Review #3: Close Encounters of the Third KindAgainst the evacuation movement, Roy is guided to Devil's Tower by a force he can't identify...
-
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3164534807204454/posts/4245908202400437/Source snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind film locationClose Encounters of the Third Kind - Then & Now. Then: 1977 Now: August 19, 2025 Devil's...
Published: August 19, 2025
-
Source: intermountainhistories.org
Link: https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/226Source snippet
He decides to travel to Devils Tower with fellow UFO witness Jillian Guiler, whose son had been...Read more...
-
Source: deviantart.com
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 ReReview 1184710543
Link: https://www.deviantart.com/jacob-the-fox-critic/art/Close-Encounters-of-the-Third-Kind-1977-ReReview-1184710543Source snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) ReReviewEn route, Roy experiences a close encounter with a UFO, and when it flies over his truc...
-
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 — The government has chased everyone away with a cover story that a train wreck has released toxic nerve gas. Those who have...
-
Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uNJqDZtaCMSource snippet
2 Heading For Devil's Tower | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Creature Features...
-
Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r14AxxN1cLcSource snippet
you might not know about the 1977 classic - including where that...
Topic Tree