As far as impact, legacy, and transformative effects go, no movie of any genre released in 1977 was more important than ‘Star Wars,’ later renamed as ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.‘ What had been considered a folly eventually became that year’s highest-grossing release, winning six Academy Awards for its innovative technical innovations and garnering an additional four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Despite that, Quentin Tarantino doesn’t even think it was the best sci-fi movie of the year. While the rest of the planet succumbed to the force, young Tarantino found himself completely captivated by a different cosmic phenomenon.
Moving Beyond A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Quentin Tarantino was 14 years old when George Lucas introduced the audience to the galaxy far, far away. At this point, Tarantino claimed himself as a cinephile already, so he wasn’t impressed nearly as much as the rest of the film-watching teen generation.
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“Of course, I liked Star Wars,” he once said. “What’s not to like? But I remember, and this is not a ‘but’ in a negative way, but in a good way. The movie completely carried me along, and I was just rocking and rolling with these characters.”
“When the lights came on, I felt like a million dollars. And I looked around and had this moment of recognition, thinking, ‘Wow! What a time at the movies!'” he added. Given that this is Tarantino, you’d think that he would favor something obscure and off the beaten track.
Also, 1977 saw such sci-fi delights as ‘The Incredible Melting Man,’ ‘Demon Seed,’ ‘The Crater Lake Monster,’ and ‘The Mighty Peking Man.’ But the ‘Pulp Fiction’ auteur’s favourite was another blockbuster intergalactic film, which ‘Star Wars’ somewhat eclipsed.
Quentin Tarantino’s Choice And The $40 Million Wager
Instead of George Lucas’ saga, Quentin Tarantino preferred a science fiction drama written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, and François Truffaut. “At the end of the day, I’m more of a Close Encounters [of the Third Kind] guy,” he said.
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“Just the bigger idea, and Spielberg setting out to make an epic for regular people, not just cinephiles.” What was so special about the movie? “Few films had the kind of climax that Close Encounters had. It blew audiences away,” Tarantino explained.
Interestingly, Lucas was so sure that Spielberg’s movie would beat his interstellar epic battle at the box office that he actually bet 2.5% of its earnings. The filmmaker held to his promise when it didn’t happen, and the wager reportedly gave Spielberg $40 million.
‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ earned more than $300 million, received two Oscars among nine nominations, and was a huge success. While the movie couldn’t compete with ‘Star Wars’ in terms of shaking the film business to its foundation, it emerged as one of Spielberg’s classics and earned the praise of someone like Tarantino.
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