My Favorite Movies: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

It is rather odd to think that one of the most famous and inspiring moments in all of American movies is that of a young boy and an alien flying a bicycle past the face of the moon, while John Williams’ famous score swells on the soundtrack. It is also odd to think that this movie that was made for children can have such a strong emotional impact on adults as well. That is a sign of a truly good family movie, which makes things not quite so odd.

Steven Spielberg had already made a name for himself with big hits like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I think that out of all of his movies E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial has resonated with audiences the most. That is because it is a story that is universally understood. It is simple, but it is not stupid. It doesn’t take anything for granted, but it isn’t above operating on a smaller scale of basic knowledge. Essentially, it has all of the ingredients that make a great family film and it is one of the best available.

Spielberg has been so influential on modern movie watchers because all of his best films were released at the height of the modern age of moviemaking, and they included some of the great cornerstones of the era. It is interesting to look through his filmography and see all the variety that he has displayed in his work. He has made popular horror thrillers, sci-fi and action adventures, and epic war dramas. The most unique film in his repertoire is E.T. 

Besides the fact that it does have a science fiction base, but unlike Close Encounters or War of the Worlds, it is directly geared towards the interests of children (The drunken frog scene springs to mind.). He reportedly used inspiration from his own childhood, when he had an imaginary friend not unlike E.T, which is probably why the movie seems to be coming from somewhere personal. It borrows its content from an innocent place of nostalgia, where the only dangers are those that lurk in those areas of life that kids don’t quite understand.

I keep specifying that E.T. is a family film as if Spielberg had never made any such thing. In reality, the Indiana Jones movies and other PG-rated entries in his canon usually draw whole families just as much as the other fan bases, but E.T. was more specific in its targeting. Now, some parents would certainly object to a few of the fouler words used in the film, but it is a generally kid-approved experience. The good part is that kids love it. The best part is that adults do too.

The film has a lot of shots from the point of view of Elliot, the young main character, and sometimes that of E.T. himself. These are always low to the ground where a child sees the world. A lot of the movie is spent looking up at things, but only in a way you’d notice if you’re looking for it, or if you’ve seen it several times. There are other ways Spielberg shows us a child’s viewpoint. Look at the scene at the school where we never actually see the teacher, or the clever shot of Elliott's reflection on an adult's helmet. At the same time, when the film backs up and has its really grand moments, like the group of boys and their bicycles suddenly taking off into the air, older viewers are given the full scope of the image and we are just as enthralled as the kids.

This film does not feature a bunch of celebrity appearances in its casts to help make a sell, but completely stars a child actor named Henry Thomas. His Elliot was selected after hundreds of auditions for the role. Though he failed to do well with the script given him, he excelled during an improvisation. I have therefore always assumed that a lot of the stuff in the movie with Elliot was improvised. Take the scene where he’s showing E.T. around his bedroom and pointing out all the little knick-knacks laying around and explaining them in a way that would only be logical to a child.

The scenes between Elliott and the alien are never forced or obtuse, but always so natural, like they’ve been hanging around each other for years. The puppet magic that was used to create E.T., by the way, is top notch. Watching the original theatrical version for the first time since seeing the re-release version with new effects, I was surprised by how many of the effects were actually in the original film. They made for a very convincing alien.

Apparently, in order to keep the illusion of it being a real alien as vivid as possible for the children actors, the puppeteers were kept out of sight as much as possible. Maybe that’s why their performances seem so natural. In addition to Thomas, Drew Barrymore famously starred in this film at only eight years old, and succeeds in being not only cute as a button, but a convincing little actor as well. Her scream at the first sight of E.T. and her teary-eyed farewell are justly famous.

Watching E.T. for the first time as an adult that has now faced death first-hand, I was surprised by how truly emotionally involving it was. Notice how the connection between E.T. and Elliot is never explained, but is simply an understood phenomenon that has occurred because they care for each other so much. E.T. does die in this movie, and he is brought back to life to rise up in his spaceship, but only after telling Elliot that he’ll “be right here.” There is a bittersweet joy to these scenes and a triumph, recalling the moments we’ve all experienced of real emotional loss.

You can always watch this movie without adding any more layers. Kids who watch it will simply see the story of a little lost alien who must find his way home. Even running as that simple of an idea, this film is still wholly moving and entertaining. Movies like this that have everything falling so perfectly into place don’t come around every day. Even when they do, they are often forgotten with the decades. It’s been thirty years since E.T. was released and, like all of the greatest movies, we still remember it, we still love it and we still pass it on.