# Close encounters of the western kind

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-of-the-western-kind/283755>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 8, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-of-the-western-kind/283755 "2005-01-08T17:05:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MapRef41N93W](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MapRef41N93W](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MapRef41N93W)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-of-the-western-kind/283755/1 "2005-01-08T17:05:02Z")

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Does anybody have any idea what is floating around behind John Wayne’s head in this scene from RIO GRANDE? Is it a UFO, a moth, a scratch in the film or a reflection?

You can watch the clip at [Rense.com](http://Rense.com). They posted it but didn’t even try to explain what it might be.

[http://www.rense.com/general61/rio.htm](http://www.rense.com/general61/rio.htm)

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-of-the-western-kind/283755/2 "2005-01-08T17:39:49Z")

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FFft! :rolleyes:

It’s an _indoor_ scene.

You know? _Shot on an indoor set?_

Probably a reflection off something.

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**Author:** ![MapRef41N93W](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MapRef41N93W](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MapRef41N93W)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-of-the-western-kind/283755/3 "2005-01-08T18:05:40Z")

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Go pfft yourself.

Have you seen the movie? It’s been a while since I’ve seen it but that was an outdoor shot with a day-for-night filter on the camera. Compare those mountains to the ones in the horse race scene (daytime) and the nighttime indian attack. Both of those are definitely outdoors.

[IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) says the movie was shot in Utah and lists the shooting locations. Doesn’t mean there wasn’t a soundstage in Moab in 1950 but most ones listed are outdoors.

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**Author:** ![MapRef41N93W](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MapRef41N93W](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MapRef41N93W)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-of-the-western-kind/283755/4 "2005-01-08T18:09:39Z")

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Oh yeah. If you watch closely, you can see the reflection (or whatever it is) move behind the bushes.

I think it’s something related to the film-to-DVD transfer. Has this sort of thing happened in other movie transfers? Does anybody have a video to do a comparison?