E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. is one of my all time favorite movies. This movie blew me out of my seat as a kid, and still kills me every time I watch it. Only four or five movies have made me cry, much less sob uncontrollably. When I returned from seeing E.T. for the first time, I couldn't talk for the rest of the day. I laid in my bed and cried for about five hours.

The movie still makes tears well up in my eyes and gives me a lump in my throat. I still find it profoundly moving. It's heart-breakingly sad, yet phenomenally uplifting at the same time. I had no idea a movie could be so powerful when I saw this in the movies for the first time when I was eleven.

What I think makes E.T. so powerful for me now is the heart-wrenching way it has of making me long to be a kid again. I refuse to ever completely grow up, and my memories are my own, but man does this movie make me wish I was eleven again, when riding my bike was a pleasure, Matchbox cars were the greatest thing in the world, Halloween was a night of mystery and creepy fun I looked forward to all year, going to the movies was an adventure, and looking up at the stars could be a mind-blowing experience.

E.T. keeps those feeling alive for me. So do a lot of other things, but E.T. is the champ. As much as my cynical adult side may want to slap Steven Spielberg around sometimes, I would happily give him a hug for his timeless gift to the world, E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL.

Continuing my plan to watch every Steven Spielberg movie in order, I come to E.T.

Alongside Field Of Dreams, this is a movie guaranteed to make me cry every single time I watch it. I don't know what it is, but I automatically become 5 years old every time I watch it. It is seriously flawed (My 12-year-old ripped it to shreds) but I can't hate anything about it.

Lots more product placement and Daddy issues

The end of the film was one of the most significant musical experiences for John Willims. After several attempts were made to match the score to the film, Spielberg took the film off the screen and told Williams to conduct the orchestra the way he would at a concert. He did, and Spielberg re-edited the film to match the music, which is unusual since the music is normally edited to match the film. The result was Williams deservedly winning the 1982 Academy Award for Best Original Score.

E.T was the number 1 movie of 1982, as it grossed $359 million at the domestic box office (beating Tootise (2nd) an Officer & A Gentleman (3rd) and Rocky 3 (4th). Giving Spielberg back to back number 1's and his third no 1 movie of the year, making him the most successful (box office wise) of all the people I have done this for.

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL was one of those films that everybody took for granted as a child in the 1980s. Everybody had seen it, everybody loved it, everybody could reference it with the other kids knowing what they were talking about. Finding myself less than impressed than Steven Spielberg's overt sentimentalism, I wondered how I'd find it as an adult...

Well, I needn't have worried, because E.T. still hits the mark. Yes, it's mawkish and rather dated, but I think that's all part of the fun. This is the classic kid's film of the 1980s, in which the adults are portrayed as either out of touch or the enemy; it's the kids who have to band together to fight for justice, and the template works very well here.

Inevitably, the character of E.T. himself is what makes this film. The Carlo Rambaldi special effects still stand the test of time and the voice mannerisms are just right. Henry Thomas has a tough role, acting against an non-human for the most part, but he excels in the part and the frog scene is still excellent. Drew Barrymore is very effective too. E.T. is certainly a film that still manages to tug at the heartstrings with all of the increasing drama and that poignant ending, and I love it just as much as I always did.

I still can't believe this came out in 1982. It looks like it was made a lot later with better technology.. I mean 1982 had some real old lookin stinkers and E.T. was so ahead of it's time, back when Spielberg was in his prime!! I remember seeing this at the theater multiple times and I was born in December of 1977 so I couldn't have been any older than 4! I am watching it with my two girls as I type this. They are ages 10 and 8 and they are absolutely mesmerized lol.. also I'd like to point out the GREAT acting especially by Henry Thomas (Elliot). If you ever get a chance to look on YouTube, look up his original audition for this movie. It'll blow you away.. Anyway, E.T. is a timeless classic not to ever be forgotten. The people rating it a 1 who are saying it was boring need to stick with their "Transformers" movies lol

Whilst visiting Earth an Alien is accidentally left behind and strikes up a friendship with a young boy.

The story centres around E.T. and his relationship with three children in a family where the parents are divorced and the father is not around. Much has been written about how autobiographical the movie is about Spielberg's own childhood and lots of unique little moments along these lines are captured in the most cinematic way possible. In fact some of the strongest scenes involve simple interaction between the family and their friends. These are not idealised Hollywood versions of families, but natural slices of suburban life that always feel real.

E.T.'s arrival and the events that follow help to fill the emptiness in the heart of the youngest son Elliott and they soon form a psychic bond together. Peace, tolerance and communication are explored constantly as we see visuals and hear dialogue connected to these themes throughout the movie.

We see everything from E.T.'s perspective and share his experience as an alien visitor in a strange world. Nothing is explained, because what we see with our own eyes tells us everything we need to know. In fact the visuals are so powerful there was very little I had to explain to my three year old companion as she watched it with me.

Everything builds towards a spectacular climax, which is one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history. Again very little is said as this wonderfully emotional sequence very efficiently breaks our hearts.

I didn't care much for E.T. during the 80s. I think it's because I was conditioned from a very young age by more violent and action orientated movies. Also, my mother was quite enthusiastic about it which back then could scrape the cool off most things. It was not until I was pushing forty with a three year old daughter that my perspective changed forever.

Well done Mr Spielberg, probably your finest moment.