It might have been 20 minutes longer than the Pal version, but it didn't feel like it...

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2017)

..and although it had some trademark Spielberg-schmaltz, it was wholly justified in it's case, which yes, means that it was pretty much an unqualified success, and is a film I'll probably enjoy re-watching, every bit as much as I enjoyed watching.
That editing, and tightly-scripted screenplay, is the key though, because it being a Spielberg film we know it will be technically superb, even while we steel ourselves against the schmaltz. He quickly establishes the kind of Dad that The Cruiser is, before getting down to the scary business, and never really letting up, even in the temporary sanctuary that Tim Robbins' flawed would-be saviour provides.
The scary elements are superb, of course: highlights for me are when the aliens loom large, as the crowd look for refuge on the ferry; the scenes of bodies being spat out, and the view from within, of the blood- spattered landscape. Of course, Spielberg's close-ups are mostly focused on Dakota Fanning, who's hugely impressive throughout; a particular highlight for me were her observations of and reaction to the dead bodies floating downriver; The Cruiser's scooping her up, then, is surely an homage, of sorts, to the classic 'Frankenstein' scene.
I loved the colour palette, too, particularly those scenes in the vicinity of the ferry, and of that blood-spattered countryside: it's almost a quarter of a century since I last saw the 1950's version, which I know would pale into insignificance if I were to compare and contrast, but from memory I think Spielberg's colour palette was being faithful, at least in those scenes.
I hadn't recognised Gene Barry in that closing scene, although I would also remember him from a childhood favourite, 'Bat Masterson', and to a lesser extent, from 'Burke's Law'. That was a nice touch, as was the inclusion of co-star, Ann Robinson. The closing scene was stunning- looking, beautifully-lit, the icing on a wholly-satisfying and enduring cake.
In one of the DVD extras it was mentioned that it was a part of a trilogy, began with 'Close Encounters', and continued with 'ET': the former, I'd always thought too long and too saccharine; the latter, while charming, I'd considered just a particularly technically- proficient Disney film. This one nails it, nails everything, and is in a different league for me.
I'd probably rank it higher if it had been more ambitious, rather than the personal film it clearly is. I might still rank it higher, because it's movie-making perfection.