'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' by Dana Polan (BFI Film Classics 104-page paperback)

Dana Polan's compelling study of the film examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema and the science fiction genre. 
Providing an in-depth look into the film's production history, including all three different versions, Polan situates Close Encounters within Spielberg's repertoire. He argues that despite the film's popular success, it is in fact a rejection of several entrenched American values, including family, home and marriage. It offers, through its visual fascination, alternative understandings of masculinity and morality, familial responsibility, and what it means to follow the 'American Dream'.