CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: THE SPECIAL EDITION
TITLE: Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition
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YEAR: 1980 re-release / Special Edition
FILM STUDIO: Columbia Pictures / EMI
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
CAST: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut
TAGLINE: “Now There Is More.”
GENRE: Science Fiction / Drama The Library of Congress
POSTER PRINTER: Robert Burton Printers Pty. Ltd.
POSTER DESIGN FEATURES:
Original Australian Daybill for the 1980 Special Edition re-release. The design is deliberately atmospheric rather than character-driven, with a hazy blue image of figures silhouetted against the intense light of the alien encounter. Large promotional copy across the upper section announces Steven Spielberg’s newly filmed material and promises audiences “the ultimate experience of being inside.” The lower half uses a restrained silver-grey field with the distinctive striped Close Encounters of the Third Kind title treatment and full production credits. The photographed poster clearly carries the Robert Burton Printers Pty. Ltd. credit along the lower edge.
COLLECTOR’S NOTES:
This is not the original 1977 release poster, but the Australian poster for Spielberg’s 1980 Special Edition. Columbia financed additional filming after the success of the original, with Spielberg adding new material, including the discovery of the SS Cotopaxi and the controversial sequence showing the inside of the mothership. The Special Edition opened in 1980 and became a distinct theatrical release in its own right. The Library of Congress
For collectors, the wording and imagery make this an especially clear Special Edition-specific campaign piece, rather than a generic reissue. Australian collector references confirm that original Australian posters were produced specifically for the 1980 re-release. Movie Posters Australia
PROVENANCE:
This original Australian cinema poster is being sold directly by the family of its original collector, a projectionist who screened films during their Australian theatrical release. It is supplied with documented provenance and a Certificate of Authenticity confirming its originality and collection history, providing a direct connection between the poster and its working Australian cinema past.