The sequence after Roy has built the large replica of Devil's Tower in his living room. The fight with the wife on the phone as information is revealed to us. Roy looks out the window at people live their normal life as the opening to "Days of Our Lives" plays in the background. The symbolism of the Budweiser commercial in the background proclaiming "Here comes the King..." Then the reveal of the train accident near Devil's Tower. The realization both Roy and Gillian make. The connection as they trace the screen with their fingers. It is such a well directed and edited sequence. Sorry, typing this on my mobile. Excuse any typos. But I had to respond to this immediately. I grew up with this movie and have studied it.

Thanks for that, bmatusz. Makes me want to watch the movie over again. I remember seeing in a theater when it was released. Such an astonishing experience. I hadn't felt quite that way since when I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey when it was released. I guess now that I think about it, Encounters is kind of Spielberg's 2001, isn't it? Don't know why I never made that connection. If you've studied the movie as much as you have, would be interested to hear your thoughts on that comparison, or other observations you may have about the film. Thanks for taking the time to post!

I never thought to make the comparison between the two films. And I don't know why either. Both films explore the concept that humanity is not alone in the universe and we are being observed. You could also argue that 2001, Close Encounters, and Interstellar all fall into the same category. I agree with you that Close Encounters is Spielberg's 2001 and Interstellar is Nolan's. If you want to include a 90's film into the mix then maybe you could toss in Contact (Zemeckis)? Sorry for the very delayed response on this thread. When I wrote the first response I was on travel for the holidays. I returned to work and got into the grind. It was a recent viewing of Interstellar that made me think of 2001 and Close Encounters which jogged my memory to this thread. @bmatusz

Interesting how some directors have a profound fascination with outer space. We can add J.J. Abrams to the mix, too. The sky limitless, full of possibilities... and stories.