Posted By: Dan Geer
Recently, I was in Orlando, Florida exploring the Universal Studios theme park, riding the many movie-themed attractions they have there like Jaws, the Men in Black Alien Attack and Revenge of the Mummy. One of them I went on was the E.T. Adventure, where it simulates the flying bike ride from the movie as well as visiting E.T.’s home planet. While it’s a bit dated now, it was still quite a fun little ride.
It evoked memories of when the film finally hit VHS back in the 80s when I was a kid and how big of a deal that was. Back then, it was the biggest money-making movie of all time and it took six years for it to arrive on home video. I loved E.T. as a kid, and would watch it frequently.
But I really don’t remember watching it during the 90s or even the first decade of the new millennium. I didn’t even go and see the 20th Anniversary re-release back in 2002 either, where they added new CG effects and did some digital re-editing (much to the distaste of many film fans). For whatever reason, I just had no desire. This got me thinking that it might be time for me to re-watch the film after all these years to try and remember what it was about the movie that captivated audiences so much back in 1982, as my memory of the film was quite blurry.
Funny thing, but it just so happened that it arrived in the mail a couple of days ago via Netflix. I had forgotten that I had added it to my queue a few weeks prior to my Florida trip! So, having nothing else better to do today, I popped in the DVD and watched it again.
Aside from a couple of bathroom breaks, I sat through the whole thing simply mesmerized by the experience. It was literally like watching it for the first time as a kid. It is extremely rare that a film can do that to me. Most films I revisit from when I was just a little tot feel dated after a while. But not E.T. The film is definitely one of those rare gems that can be passed down from generation to generation and be enjoyed by people of all ages time and time again.
Sure, there is a certain nostalgic factor to the film for me, but by now I had forgotten most of the movie and I found myself truly engaged once again by the story of these kids meeting an alien from another world. They reminded me of what I was like growing up, imagining situations like this. If I ever found an alien in my shed or in the woods when I was 10 years old, I would have probably acted just like Elliot, showing E.T. my Star Wars toys and other random earthly delights that kids find ever so important. There’s just such a genuine, childlike quality to this film unparalleled by other films of its kind.
The film is incredibly beautiful and absolutely convincing. I think a big part of it has to do with how believable the actors were. The audience didn’t buy into the story simply because of the believability of the puppet (which still holds up fairly well today), but also because of the actors and their interactions with it. To this day, the actors in the film will tell you that they hardly ever thought of E.T. as a puppet. They really started to believe that he was real, which made their performances so authentic. Thus, the audience believed as well.
Of course the rest of the credit belongs to director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams for bringing such a wonderfully-written script to life. It’s meticulously directed, beautifully shot and the soundtrack is absolutely breathtaking. Between Spielberg’s consistently keen intuition for creating a sense of magic and wonder in movies, and John Williams’ incredible talent of being able to bring to life the deepest of childhood emotions through music – it is no wonder at all how this film became such a huge success. It is one of the few films where one does not have to try very hard to think and feel like a kid again in order to enjoy it. The film practically does the work for you.
There are not a whole lot of movies in this specific genre being made today, and it’s truly a shame. Back in the 80s and early 90s, there were tons of movies being made about kids going on adventures together such as The Goonies, Stand By Me, Adventures in Babysitting, Hook, The Sandlot, etc. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is probably the crowning jewel of this long-lost genre of film, and it still shows even today. Kids today are really missing out, and I really hope the “kid adventure flick” makes a comeback soon.
Seriously, if you haven’t seen this film in a long time, just take a couple hours out of your day and watch this film again (by yourself, so that no one around you provides stupid cynical commentary to the experience). Just sit back and let the film take you in. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll become a kid all over again. I mean, come on; isn’t that what we all want?
🙂
