Close Encounters of the Third Kind...Which version is better?

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Doesn't it seem odd, though, that in order to get something as basic as extra time in the editing bay and including the brief Cotapaxi scene, the trade off was an extremely expensive sequence requiring extensive f/x work and extensive sound and scoring...I don't know, fellas. I'm just not sure I buy the story.

That isn't odd at all. Columbia wanted to re-release the film. Spielberg wanted more time to fix what he considered to be a rushed edit.

Being able to highlight that you can finally see inside the ship -- something that many people felt was needed -- was the hook for the re-release, to get asses in the seats:
http://www.rt1automile.com/paperpost..._100811_XL.jpg

Going inside the ship was the primary thing highlighted in posters and trailers for the SE.