E.T. (1982)

E.T. (1982)

Starring: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote

Plot: One quiet October night, a group of aliens land their spaceship in California to collect samples of plant life.  But when humans arrive to investigate their arrival, the aliens must evacuate.  Unfortunately, they accidentally end up leaving one of their own on Earth without any way going home.  After a couple of days of hiding, he is discovered by a human boy named Elliott, who teaches the alien where he is, what life is like on Earth, and how to speak English.  Now dubbed E.T. by Elliott, the alien and his new friend must find a way to contact his ship before he's discovered by other humans.

Good: If there's one thing that Spielberg does best, it's working with children, and this film is no exception.  Henry Thomas does an amazing job as Elliott, despite his young age.  He really captures the emotions of the scenes he's in, from his happiness when his bicycle is flying to his anguish when E.T. is dying (unintentional rhyme).  The rest of the cast is great as well, including Dee Wallace as Elliott's mom, Robert MacNaughton Elliott's brother, and Peter Coyote as a mysterious man who is after E.T.  John Williams is back, and better than ever with his score.  Its triumphant tone really sets the mood of many of the scenes, including the now iconic scene where E.T. makes the bikes fly.  The production design is also quite good, especially the brief glimpses of the inside of the alien spaceship.  The real star of the movie however, is E.T. himself.  This animatronic puppet is one of the greatest practical effects in movie history, and it was a big mistake when they replace some of its scenes with a CGI model in the 2002 special edition.  When you see his face, you see a living breathing creature, not a puppet.  It looks so real, that the audience ends up as emotionally attached to him as the characters do, which is the film's greatest strength.

Bad: There isn't much to dislike about this movie, though I do have a few nitpicks.  While the animatronics have aged very well, some of the optical effects don't hold up quite as well.  For example, when the spaceship is landing in front of the kids, you can obviously tell that it's a special effect that wasn't done quite as well.  It would've been better if the effects team used the same techniques that Spielberg used in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Another small problem that I have is that E.T.'s 'resurrection' comes out of nowhere, and isn't explained that well.  What this scene needed was a better explanation for how he came back to life, so that the audience isn't as confused.  

Trivia:

• In the original script, M&Ms were used by Elliott to lure E.T., but the Mars company denied the request, so Reese's Pieces were used instead.  Unsurprisingly, Reese's Pieces sales skyrocketed after the film's release.
• This was the highest grossing film ever until Jurassic Park came out.
• The doctors who try to help E.T. were real physicians because Spielberg wanted the scene to be as realistic as possible.
• This was one of Drew Barrymore's earliest films.

Final Verdict: There's a reason that E.T. remains a beloved film for many.  Despite a couple issues, the film is an expertly made masterpiece that will stay in our hearts forever.  It's emotional, well acted, and has absolutely fantastic animatronics.  A must see for anyone who wants to revisit their inner child, regardless if they're a Spielberg fan or not.

Next time, we'll look at Spielberg's first sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and see if it's as good as the original.

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