E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: My Review

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Dir. Steven Spielberg

Starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace Stone, Drew Barrymore & Robert McNaughton

Ranked #24 by AFI in their Top 100 Films

 

“You could be happy here, I could take care of you. I wouldn’t let anybody hurt you. We could grow up together, E.T. “

 

Day 12 brings me in touch with an alien inhabitant, a little boy and the imagination that captured America in 1982.  I’m talking about Steven Spielberg’s seminal film E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, ranked #24 by AFI on their Top 100 films of all time.

Mr. Spielberg already had an amazing resume by the time Universal and MCA agreed to film this amazing film.  Duel, Sugarland Express, Jaws, Close Encounters and Raiders of the Lost Ark came before and this was just another slam dunk blockbuster in a list of many.

The story is about Elliot, a lonely 10 year old boy with a smart ass brother Michael, cute sister Gertie and a mother struggling to keep and raise a family of three together in the midst of a recent divorce.  It’s now that Elliot runs across a stranded alien.  Over time, Elliot and E.T. begin to form a symbiotic relationship with the alien, feeling everything the alien feels.  Soon, Elliot helps E.T. to get back to his home planet before the government intervenes, to study and dissect the alien.  Elliot breaks the alien free from the government and returns E.T. to his own people.

There are so many things that work on this film and almost nothing that fails.  Spielberg is able to create a wonderful world.  A combination of Frankenstein and Old Yeller.  It works as a science fiction film.  It works as the old Universal monster movies.  In the end, once the credits are done rolling, you are searching frantically for a tissue to wipe away the tears that you have shed.

From opening to ending credits, this movie is always about something.  Spielberg is able  to create distinct moments out of amazing plot developments.  These drive the film narrative.  It drives the laugh out loud comedic moments, the scary moments and the thrilling moments.  It creates individual character developments from Elliot’s mother, brother and sister.  Elliot especially is developed extremely well.  It is a natural feel of Henry Thomas as Elliot.  He doesn’t come across as an overly trained actor.  Everything is natural and I will say is one of the best if not greatest child acting roles ever.

What makes it so damn good is that all of this,  the scary, the thrilling, the uplifting and the comedic all falls on the shoulders of the puppet made real in E.T..  From his Little Tramp walk, to the purrs and high pitch squeals, the character seems more alive than most of the CGI creatures that have come after.  The producers hired eye specialist to make sure his eyes seemed alive.  The puppeteers were amazing bringing him to life.

This brings me to Spielberg himself.  I think if you can pull anything from this is that this is an emotional, if not semi-autobiographical film about the director.  A victim of divorce, he was a lonely child growing up.  He paints the suburban life as a dark one and for the most part, it was.  Elliot was Mr. Spielberg.  He was also E.T..  Elliot grew a relationship with E.T. because both of them were alienated.  Elliot from his father and E.T. from his people.

I have always and will always love this film. One day I will share it with my children and they will see the magic that Mr. Spielberg brought to the screen.  I’ve read numerous articles where he’s has said this was one of his most favorite films he’s done.  I can see why.  This is what great American cinema is about.  This is what great cinema is about.

5/5

James