[December 1975: sackings at Chrysler's Stoke Plant Chrysler…]

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December 1975: sackings at Chrysler's Stoke Plant Chrysler stewards ensure no fight against redundancy CHRYS "FR UNITED OM It is impossible to answer the drive towards unemployment in Coventry or anywhere else without a firm programme of opposition as put forward in the Transitional Programme.

Such an opposition demands policies of work-sharing on full pay to fight sackings, of programmes of public works to create new jobs, and demands that the working class should examine the books and secrets of firms which cannot meet their demands.

It is a programme which leads forward first to the nationalisation of the firms under workers' management and on further to an end tc the capitalist anarchy outlined in the pamphlet and its replacement by a planned socialist economy. film studio, the most likely explanation seems that Columbia used some of the vast profits from Jaws to hire a spaceship from outer space, and film it as it landed.

Douglass Trumbull who produced the effects in 2001 has outstripped everything in that space odyssey.

The film was made by Stephen Spielberg, the director of Jaws, and imitates one of the most successful features of that film.

For the first half of Jaws nothing is seen of the monster shark but its dorsal fin and bits of people left at the side of the plate.

In Close Encounters the visitation from outer space is little but flashing lights, electrical blackouts and a six note refrain, until the final majestic appearance of the mother craft.

The impact of this shot is comparable with the first close encounter that Richard Dreyfuss has with the great white in Jaws.

His reaction in Jaws was to stagger back, gasping "We're going to need a bigger boat" , but the spaceship in Close Encounters is enough to demand a bigger planet.

Jaws after all was only the size of a single decked bus; the mother craft dwarfs a mountain.

In any case the spaceship is more playful and friendly than a shark-its musical conversation with the US space agency as it comes into land is more like the intelligent conversation of a dolphin.

The film is given heavy religious connotations. Those "touched' by the visitation are called to its final descent despite every obstacle put in their way.

Their pilgrimage is complete with faise encounters (more similarity with Jaws), much falling by the wayside and a final triumphant vindication of their faith for Richard Dreyfuss and Melinda Dillon, the two stars.

The final revelations include 12 disciples (complete with the US flag on their clothing), cosmic music and a final ascension to rival the original.

But no-one gets crucified by Stephen Spielberg, least of all the US space authorities.

They come in for some mocking as they elaborately seal off the rendezvous area by declaring it to be affected by poison gas, but the film makes it clear that if benign creatures from another planet are going to come and wave at anyone, you can bet they will head straight for the Americar Embassy.

it doesn't seem very likely that socialism is going to descenc from the skies in a flying saucer.

If it does and it has the misfortune to contact NASA, ttr reception committee would be i little less accomodating than tha of the technicians in Closi Encounters.

Close Encounters has a stron story line, powerful actin (including an excellent child per formance) and is magnificentt screened. It can be guaranteed t send its enormous audiences awa happy.

What is more, Columbia kno that they can pull in the millior without having to run the risk ( offending anyone. Even Jaws ha sharper teeth.

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