E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Movie Info

Happy (and drunk) E.T. is both terrifying and adorable…

An alien botanist comes to Earth to collect samples. When humans interrupt the mission, he is left alone on the planet.  Finding a boy named Elliot (Henry Thomas), the alien makes an instant bond. Now Elliot, his brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton), and his sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) must hide E.T. from their mother (Dee Wallace) and find a way to get E.T. home before the research team led by “Keys” (Peter Coyote) finds him first.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (also just referred to as E.T.) is a science-fiction family adventure film.  Well received upon its release, the film became one of the biggest money making films of all time.  The film won Academy Awards for Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score with nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.  It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1994.

You can’t see me…

I want to dislike E.T. and simply write it off as schmaltzy sentimentality, but I find each time I watch it, I can’t do it. The reason being is that the movie has something real honest about it. It isn’t easy and has the ability to appeal to kids while having more going on that the kids don’t understand. I saw E.T. in the theater as a child and understood it, but missed some of the subtext about Elliot’s father, the symbiotic relationship between Elliot, and E.T., and Peter Coyote’s need and desire to find E.T. also and Jesus parallels with E.T.’s sacrifice. It all makes for a rather complex story that isn’t just flowery.

E.T. was originally supposed to be a darker film with a family besieged in their home by alien invaders (back when it was Night Skies). The movie was softened up and turned to the relationship between Elliot and E.T. (Spielberg explored the flipside the same year with Poltergeist which he “produced”). The movie is just one of the better family films out there because it isn’t afraid to be dark…really dark at moments (I can remember being terrified when E.T. was white and crusty and dying in the river and a theater full of kids crying when it appeared E.T. had died).

Ok…childhood is ruined by the dead E.T. with raccoons crawling on him.

The cast is also perfect. Henry Thomas is likeable as Elliot and Robert MacNaughton feels like a real big brother. Dee Wallace is great as their frustrated mother (Shelley Long was allegedly offered the part first but had to drop out due to Night Shift) and the movie helped make Drew Barrymore a star (despite that the instant fame also helped ruin her). Cut from the film were cameos by Harrison Ford as Elliot’s principal and a role by Corey Feldman (who got a spot in Gremlins as result).

Spielberg really connects with what makes him great. He is able to get in line with a kid’s mentality while telling a story with real issues. It is similar to the effect of To Kill a Mockingbird, and Spielberg possible directs kids best in this film. The movie is all shot from a kid’s perspective at a lower level camera and combines with a believable creature creation that should be terrifying but instead comes off as endearing.  The result is fantastic and images like Elliot and E.T. in front of the moon combined with John Williams’ classic soundtrack are now part of American modern mythos.

What if E.T. just grabbed Elliot at this point and pulled him onto his ship as he screamed for help…

As I say, I want to dislike E.T., but I can’t. Movies like Schindler’s List or The Color Purple might show Spielberg’s skill, but movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, and E.T. shows how he directs with finesse that is unrivaled. When the movie was released in 2002, Spielberg took out the guns and replaced them with walkie talkies, but has since turned them back to guns the new Blu-Ray version (it is extreme to pull guns on kids on bikes, but it also would not shock me). If you haven’t seen E.T. in years stop in and revisit a classic.