Three tales of starfaring visitors. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Starship Troopers," "Starman".

• Position: DVDs - Movie Review

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME VIDEOS 137 MINUTES, $27.95

Writer-director Steven Spielberg's blockbuster 1977 movie about unidentified flying objects and alien beings visiting Earth put a benevolent face on concerns about flying saucer "spottings," a far cry from such evil invasion scenarios as Orson Welles' classic "War of the Worlds." Following middle-class Americans like Richard Dreyfuss and Melinda Dillon, whose lives had been turned upside down by these encounters, as they seek answers to their experiences, the picture even puts government officials and scientists in a good light. The aliens, once they land, prove as cuddly as Spielberg's later effort, "E.T.," so that humans can travel back to the extraterrestrials' home planet without trepidation at the end, a conclusion added to this Collector's Edition version when the movie was re-released. Special effects are properly spectacular, and Spielberg earned a best director nomination, though the Academy once again shunned his audience-pleasing efforts and awarded the Oscar to Woody Allen for "Annie Half" Dillon also lost out, as Vanessa Redgrave walked away with the best supporting actress award for "Julia." The DVD has an entire second disc devoted to special features, most prominently a "Making of ..." documentary, a "Watching the Skies" featurette, and 11 deleted scenes.

STARSHIP TROOPERS COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME VIDEOS 130 MINUTES, $27.95

Making no attempt to portray aliens as friendly, this 1997 big-screen version of Robert Heinlein's classic 1959 science-fiction novel, they are loath-somely vicious insects out to destroy our planet. The titular Earth forces, virtually all of them wholesome youngsters, are sent into outer space to take the battle to the bugs' home, and the picture resembles nothing more than a World War II propaganda flick. Director Paul Verhoaven has an absolute...