Universal Studios Home Video | September 6, 2005 | DVD
Steven Spielberg struck a chord with audiences of all ages with his 1982 smash-hit, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, a triumphant film that blurred the lines between what is real and what is possible. In the memorable opening sequence, a troop of squat, wrinkly alien botanists arrives on Earth to gather specimens. A group of intruding humans frightens the visitors away, but one poor little guy gets left behind. Elliot (Henry Thomas), an intelligent, imaginative and somewhat lonely 10-year-old, discovers the straggler in his garden shed and one of cinema's most engaging and unlikely friendships begins. The necessity of hiding E.T. from threatening grownups makes for many wonderful comic moments -- witness the ear-splitting scream when Elliot's little sister, Gertie (a cherubic Drew Barrymore), discovers the blue-eyed alien, and the Halloween scene, in which a white sheet is all the disguise E.T. needs to avoid adult notice ... as long as he stays away from flashbulbs! As the kids bond with E.T. and try to figure out to how their friend can "phone home," the shadowy adult enemies begin closing in. The emotional force of this film is astonishing: scenes in which E.T. is captured and subjected to scientific tests that threaten his life are heart-rending and the triumphant shot of the flying bicycles silhouetted against the full moon is so powerful, it has become an icon of moviemaking. The 2002 re-release of the film restored some delightful deleted scenes and made some dubious CGI tweaks to certain scenes -- like transforming the guns in the hands of the government agents to walkie-talkies -- but the essence of the film remains the same: hopeful, touching and absolutely magical.
Related lists: Golden Globe Award, Steven Spielberg
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