Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” examines alien existence, conspiracy beliefs, and human preparedness

Disclosure Day sets the record straight on the existence of alien life, with pristine direction and narrative substance. It’s a story that’s worth telling and experiencing, even though it lacks a striking picture to accompany it.

Steven Spielberg’s new film treats extraterrestrial life as a challenge to faith. It’s not.

Spielberg’s sci-fi blockbuster starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor overestimates the empathy humans feel for any groups we see as ‘other’Steven Spielberg has converted his longstanding fascination with the possible existence of aliens into considerable commercial and critical success and now, 49 years after Close Encounters and 44 after ET, the film-maker has returned to the subject for the sci-fi spectacular Disclosure Day.The film follows cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and weather presenter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) as they become state-secret whistleblowers, working with Hugo (Colman Domingo) to expose nearly eight decades’ worth of evidence that the US government has known about extraterrestrial life. Continue reading...

Disclosure Day Why Steven Spielbergs new scifi film matters in todays world

This tale of aliens on Earth and the coverup of their presence, starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, is a catalogue of the director’s obsessions, and a deeply personal vision.

Spielberg’s Disclosure Day opens strongly at box office as Obsession, Backrooms – and Michael – smash records  The GuardianDisclosure Day: alien conspiracies, car chases and a jaw-dropping climax – discuss with spoilers  The GuardianSpielberg has lost the plot  The TelegraphOK, let's talk about that mad Disclosure Day ending  British GQ‘Disclosure Day’: No one loves aliens more than Steven Spielberg  CNN

Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi blockbuster is a non-stop thrill ride, but did it convince you that we are not alone?• This article contains spoilers for Disclosure DaySix months after a cryptic billboard reading “All Will Be Disclosed” popped up unannounced in Times Square, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day was finally released at global cinemas last week. The film sees the director returning to the sci-fi themes that have fascinated him throughout his career, braiding together multiple character storylines in an adrenaline-fueled – and occasionally dizzying – adventure. Read on for a spoiler-packed breakdown of the film’s themes, layers and Easter eggs, and let us know what you think in the comments. Continue reading...

As I wrote a few weeks back in my initial piece, “Disclosure Day: Steven Spielberg’s genre-defining sci-fi reckoning,” the true heart of this movie isn’t just the presence of extraterrestrial life. It is an intense, deeply emotional exploration of the human psyche when forced to confront an existential reality that shatters our cosmic isolation. Having now experienced the final theatrical cut, I can safely say that my early predictions were spot-on: Spielberg has delivered a masterpiece that flawlessly balances heart-stopping paranoia with a profound, aching plea for human connection. The narrative, penned by long-time collaborator David Koepp, follows computer genius […]...Keep on reading: Trust No One: The Paranoid Brilliance of Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day'

Steven Spielberg grants that his 1977 UFO film Close Encounters was "speculative," writes the Associated Press, but "Disclosure Day, he insists, is the real deal." "It's my first film that will be considered science fiction that I do not consider to be science fiction," Spielberg said in a recent interview. "It's much more reflective of the world as it is evolving and discoveries that are being made as we speak." Spielberg, at 79, is trying to revive and reconsider the alien wonder that's long lingered in his mind, from "E.T." to "War of the Worlds." "Disclosure Day," Spielberg's first summer movie in a decade, is already being hailed as one of his best in years. But this time, Spielberg is testing whether he can conjure some of his trademark movie magic less with imagination than with conviction. "I've been a believer since I made 'Close Encounters' 50 years ago," Spielberg says. "But I would always say: Until I've seen a UAP or a UFO with my own eyes, I'm not going to categorically state that life from out there has come here. But I've changed that," he adds. "I'm now willing to change my mind because of the circumstantial evidence which is overwhelming..." Spielberg, having long followed reports of alleged alien encounters, was inspired by the 2023 House Subcommittee on National Security hearing on UAPs: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Among the witnesses was whistleblower and former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch, who testified that the government concealed a program investigating UAPs. The Pentagon then denied it... Those 2023 testimonies and others so fueled Spielberg that he produced a 50-page treatment on what would become "Disclosure Day." During the writing process with Koepp, he texted him more notes, he says, "than I've ever sent to anyone in my life." "There was a period in there where I believe he re-read the script every single day for a year," Koepp says. "We'd be in different time zones and I would wake up to 30 or 35 texts from his most current reading of the script. When the leader of the project has that level of commitment, it tends to bring along everyone. You up your game." The article calls it "a grand bookend for one of the most cosmically-minded moviemakers of our time." But the man who filmed some of the world's first summer blockbusters also shared his thoughts on the future of movies. "Even though the numbers are still not pre-COVID level numbers for any films being released now, it's more robust than it has been for many years. The audience gives me belief that people still want to congregate in a dark space in the company of strangers to share an experience of a film made by storytellers. And that gives me faith to continue making films." Rolling Stone wrote that "There's a lot to love in Disclosure Day." Though they also offer this pithy summary of its plot. "Remember when Steven Spielberg digitally replaced the guns in the hands of government agents for the 20th anniversary of E.T., then expressed regret about the decision? Imagine that he not only restored the weapons but crafted an entire two-and-a-half-hour feature around that one sequence as a mea culpa. That's Disclosure Day." The filmmaker may be staging a pulpy campaign with this sci-fi throwback, but he sincerely seems to believe the truth is out there — and will set us free... [W]hile the quality of his output can vary wildly when you look at the big picture of his career, there's still a baseline of love — for filmmaking, for storytelling through images, for giving people an experience that pushes emotional buttons and taps adrenal glands — that gives his work a sense of vitality and displays the sensibility of an artist at work... There's also a weird full-circle feel to it, and not just because he's returning to the fertile ground of Close Encounters and his other science fiction spectacles. You can see traces of everything from Duel to Minority Report show up, to the point where this almost doubles as a career retrospective in miniature... Yes, Spielberg does believe that we are not the only game running in the cosmos. But he also believes that our better angels have not left the building, and that movies still have the power to communally blow minds and open hearts. The Associated Press calls it "a grand bookend for one of the most cosmically-minded moviemakers of our time" and "a distant answer to the final notes of Close Encounters." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Disclosure Day might be about aliens, but the movie it resembles most from Steven Spielberg's filmography is a true story, not science fiction.

Disclosure Day director Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg has dismissed online conspiracy theories suggesting that his new film, Disclosure Day, was made to ready people for proof of alien life.The new movie follows a group of whistleblowers eager to expose decades of government cover-ups about extraterrestrial life.Speaking to Metro on the red carpet at the London premiere of his new blockbuster, Spielberg shut down suggestions that the movie was created to prepare audiences for hard evidence that extra-terrestrial life is out there.“Well, I’m not suggesting I know anything!” he remarked when asked about the conspiracies.The Oscar winner added that he didn’t make his movie “to condition people for the possibility of disclosure”, but admitted there are connections between his film and the real-life release of paperwork regarding supposed UFO sightings in the USA.“I made the movie based on what I could simply gather by all the documentaries that have been made on the subject of UFOs, now called UAPs, on people who are reporting this from the intelligence community in Washington DC,” the Close Encounters Of The Third Kind filmmaker added.Although Disclosure Day is about interplanetary life forms, it also follows themes of whistleblowing and government secrets.“There’ve been whistleblowers, Air Force pilots, Navy pilots… There’s been so much disclosure just in the last six years, all the way back from the New York Times article on the front page in 2017, where the tic tac was popular,” he told the Metro, referring to the sighting in 2004 of a 40-foot-long, oval-shaped UFO.beFOSpielberg expanded on what inspired him to make Disclosure Day to Entertainment Weekly, as well as his own conspiracy theories about extraterrestrial life. “I really don’t believe that governments can keep secrets,” he said. “But big tech companies can. “And there are contracting companies that I believe hold all the knowledge and have the archives, not governments.”The director was directly inspired by the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s 2023 hearings on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) sightings.“We took a lot of language out of those hearings and put them in dialogue. The people who were speaking under oath were really credible,” he told the outlet.While Steven rejected the notion that he was preparing audiences for an invasion, screenwriter David Koepp has said that his research creating Disclosure Day had changed his mind about the government hiding evidence of life beyond Earth.“I know for a fact now, from everything I’ve read and the research I did and the people I talked to, that the government’s been lying for 79 years about things that have happened,” he told Metro, adding that he now believes the government are “concealing” and “suppressing” things.Disclosure Day is released in cinemas today.MORE FILM NEWS:Steven Spielberg's Attempts To Direct A James Bond Film Didn't Quite Go To PlanCritics Hail Steven Spielberg's 'Gripping' Disclosure Day As His Best Film In Years9 Roles You'd Probably Forgotten That Emily Blunt Played Before Disclosure Day

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? "Today? Why, it's Disclosure Day!" 👽 Do you believe? Now in theaters worldwide is Disclosure Day, the highly anticipated sci-fi movie from master filmmaker Steven Spielberg. With a script by his regular collaborator David Koepp & a story direct from Spielberg's mind that he crafted during the UFO/UAP craze a few years ago, comes a grand adventure about getting the truth out. Disclosure Day follows Josh O'Connor as Dr. Daniel Kellner, a whistleblower ready to reveal the truth about aliens to the world; and Emily Blunt as Margaret, a TV woman with a special connection to the aliens. What will happen next? Will they get the truth out or will the government stop them? Reviews for Spielberg's Disclosure Day are all over the place – good & bad. Ranging from it's his best movie in 20 years and a grand sci-fi masterpiece, to one of his worst movies ever made that is a complete disappointment. Or is it somewhere inbetween? Is it entertaining even if the ending doesn't pay off? Go watch it in theaters and then chime in below. Do you agree with the positive or negative reviews of this one? Does it live up to the hype? Once you've seen it, leave a comment below with your thoughts on alien […]

Despite some rumors, Disclosure Day is not a secret sequel to Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters. But it does have a surprising connection to that film.

The new movie Disclosure Day is all about a big, alien secret. But SETI researchers behind the updated post-detection protocol say they aren’t in the business of secrets.

For Steven Spielberg, his new sci-fi movie Disclosure Day isn't just entertainment, it's rooted in truth

Join Steven Spielberg on an exhilarating journey through the cosmos with his latest sci-fi thriller, 'Disclosure Day.' Drawing from his childhood love for stargazing and extraterrestrial tales, this film features the remarkable Emily Blunt and Colin Firth in a gripping story about a meteorologist turned whistleblower who discovers undeniable proof of alien existence.

Steven Spielberg made his return to alien cinema with Disclosure Day. Here's the ending of his compelling new sci-fi film, explained.

With his new film Disclosure Day, filmmaker Steven Spielberg is returning to the subject that helped make him one of the most successful directors in the world: extraterrestrials (or ETs).  But his movie also focuses on a second topic that has long preoccupied Spielberg and other sci-fi directors: faith. It’s a story about believing in […]

In the half century that has elapsed since the release of Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Disclosure Day,” which opens today, perception surrounding so-called UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) in both Hollywood and the broader public has shifted seismically.

Returning to them in “Disclosure Day”, the great director raises the stakes

With Steven Spielberg’s new extraterrestrial film Disclosure Day just out, it’s the ideal time to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind – perhaps the perfect UFO film, says film columnist Bethan Ackerley

With 'Disclosure Day,' the director returns to a longtime preoccupation. Two Times staffers explore his ongoing fascination with extraterrestrials.

Steven Spielberg has said 'we are not alone' as he admits to believing in aliens, despite not believing they were real when he made Close Encounters of the Third Kind

ET director Steven Spielberg dives back into the extra terrestrial with his latest film while asking 'How do you astonish an audience when anything is possible, and nothing is real?

As Steven Spielberg releases a new film on extraterrestrials, here's a brief history of modern alien conspiracies and why scientists are now taking UFO reports seriously.

As the filmmaker releases a new film on extraterrestrials, here's a brief history of modern alien conspiracies and why scientists are now taking UFO reports seriously.

In "Disclosure Day," Steven Spielberg examines the mental, emotional, and even religious fitness of people to welcome the existence of aliens.

Master of science fiction Steven Spielberg returns to the world of extraterrestrials with “Disclosure Day,” his fourth film centered on alien encounters. Nearly five decades after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) and more than 20 years after “War of the Worlds” (2005), the veteran filmmaker attempts to combine the sense of wonder that defined his earlier works with the tension of a modern political thriller. The story expands on themes explored in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) and “War of the Worlds.” Unlike those films, however, “Disclosure Day” focuses less on the aliens themselves and more on humanity’s response to them. At the center of the story is Wardex, a secretive military organization that has hidden evidence of extraterrestrial life for decades while conducting controversial experiments on alien visitors. The plot begins when Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) decides to leak classified information about the coverup. A cybersecurity expert working inside Wardex, he risks everything to expose the

With a new Spielberg alien movie coming out, everybody’s nervously wondering: Is this thing “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” or “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”?

Scene for scene, the movie is a vigorous and diverting ride. Yet coming after the mountains of real UAP footage we’ve seen, "Disclosure Day" never gives you the contact high of awe that "Close Encounters" did. It’s closer to "Alien Autopsy" with better lighting, or perhaps a Special Edition of "The X-Files."

'Disclosure Day' finds the great director once again staging close encounters with interstellar visitors — and crafting a conspiracy thriller that doubles as a career retrospective

The director of 'Close Encounters' and 'ET', an original story, 'X-Files'-style conspiracy theories… 'Disclosure Day' is a welcome escape from the mega-franchises.

As a child, Steven Spielberg stared at a meteor shower and began his love affair with the sky. The director of the 1977 classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" returns with "Disclosure Day," which imagines closely-held secrets surrounding alien visitations.

In this web exclusive, director Steven Spielberg talks with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about his latest film, "Disclosure Day," and the science fiction influences on his work. He also discusses his beliefs about alien civilizations, given his depictions of extra-terrestrial life in some of his most popular movies.

As a child, Steven Spielberg stared at a meteor shower on a wondrous starry night and began his love affair with the sky. The director of the classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" has returned to the sci-fi genre with "Disclosure Day," which imagines closely-held secrets surrounding alien visitations. He talks with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about UAP/UFO phenomena, the paranormal, and his own beliefs regarding intelligent life beyond Earth.

In this web exclusive, Steven Spielberg, director of the new film "Disclosure Day," walks Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz through a scene from his 1977 UFO classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," discussing Richard Dreyfuss' performance, the widescreen aspect ratio, and John Williams' music.