E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writer:

Melissa Mathison (written by)

Release Date:

11 June 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3 million light years from home.

Plot:

A group of Earth children help a stranded alien botanist return home.

Plot Keywords:

Cult Favorite | Loneliness | Acronym In Title | Scientist | Child's Point Of View

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 38 wins & 27 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Oct. 16	2:00 PM	HBO
Sun. Oct. 19	3:00 PM	HBO

Cast

Henry Thomas	...	Elliott
Dee Wallace	...	Mary
Robert MacNaughton	...	Michael (as Robert Macnaughton)
Drew Barrymore	...	Gertie
Peter Coyote	...	Keys
K.C. Martel	...	Greg
Sean Frye	...	Steve
C. Thomas Howell	...	Tyler (as Tom Howell)
David M. O'Dell	...	Schoolboy (as David O'Dell)
Richard Swingler	...	Science Teacher
Frank Toth	...	Policeman
Robert Barton	...	Ultrasound Man
Michael Darrell	...	Van Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Berkson	...	Medic
Susan Cameron	...	Medic
David Carlberg	...	Medic
Erika Eleniak	...	Pretty Young Girl
Will Fowler Jr.	...	Medic
Barbara Hartnett	...	Medic
Milt Kogan	...	Medic
Alexander Lampone	...	Medic
Diane Lampone	...	Medic
Rhoda Makoff	...	Medic
Robert Murphy	...	Medic
Richard Pesavento	...	Medic
Tom Sherry	...	Medic
Mary Stein	...	Medic
Mitchell Suskin	...	Medic

Also Known As:

A Boy's Life (USA) (working title)
E.T. (USA) (short title)
E.T. and Me (USA) (working title)
E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary (USA) (longer version)
Night Skies (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and mild thematic elements. (2002 edited version)

Runtime:

115 min | USA:120 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES (re-release) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby Digital EX (re-release) | Dolby (35 mm prints) (original release) | SDDS (re-release)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) (video rating) (1996) (2002) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:G (British Columbia) (2002) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2002) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Alberta) (2002) | Iceland:LH | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Mexico:A | South Korea:All | West Germany:6 (f) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Australia:PG (20th anniversary edition) | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Finland:K-7 (20th anniversary special edition) | France:U | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:AL | Norway:12 | Norway:7 (20th anniversary special edition) | Peru:14 | Philippines:G | Singapore:G (20th anniversary edition) | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Sweden:11 | Sweden:7 (2001) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) (20th anniversary edition) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) (20th anniversary edition) | Switzerland:8 (canton of the Grisons) (20th anniversary edition) | UK:U | USA:PG (certificate #26717) (original rating) | USA:PG (certificate #38656) (20th anniversary edition)

Filming Locations:

7121 Lonzo Street, Tujunga, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

E.T. riding in the basket on Elliot's bicycle flying in front of the moon has become the trademark image of Amblin Entertainment.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When "Keys" goes inside the Clean room created for ET and Elliot, he and others wear a "Clean Suit" , but the tubes coming out of the helmet go nowhere, not even a filter, meaning they are breathing contaminated air and that the suit is useless.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Steve: [reading dice] Five.
Michael: Oh, great.
Steve: So you got an arrow right in your chest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Young Ones: Time (#2.4)" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Papa Oom Mow Mow

Still Blows Me Away to this Day

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.

There are a few movies that actually changed the course of my life. THE GODFATHER PART I and II, TOMMY, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and ERASERHEAD all pushed me in the direction of becoming a filmmaker, but it was E.T., at that impressionable age, that made me want to create. Man, if I could some day make something that extraordinary, I would be complete.

What I think makes E.T. so powerful for me know, 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.

If you can find it check out the now out of print DVD. Just DON'T watch the "restored" version, unless you want the movie to be ruined. Those technical rapists known as CGI artists have mauled the movie with completely unnecessary special effects and completely destroyed the illusion that E.T. is alive, ironically, by trying to make him look more realistic. They fail miserably.

Apparently, Spielberg and company thought E.T. looked better with a phony cartoon face and exaggerated facial expressions. The scene at the beginning when E.T. flees in terror from the UFO investigators is also ruined. In the original version, E.T. glides along the ground in an eerily otherworldy manner, and it looked great. Now, he actually runs as though he's leaping over little hurtles, and it looks absurd.

Oh, well. They can do what they want. I feel that some things are sacred. STAR WARS, for example. But E.T. was perfect...PERFECT... the way it was. Why can't people leave well enough alone?

Regardless, I love E.T. I love Spielberg for making it. So much so, that I even forgive him for ruining it.