E.T. - Der Außerirdische

Continuing my plan to watch every Steven Spielberg movie in order, I come to E.T.

Alongside Field Of Dreams, this is a movie guaranteed to make me cry every single time I watch it. I don't know what it is, but I automatically become 5 years old every time I watch it. It is seriously flawed (My 12-year-old ripped it to shreds) but I can't hate anything about it.

Lots more product placement and Daddy issues

The end of the film was one of the most significant musical experiences for John Willims. After several attempts were made to match the score to the film, Spielberg took the film off the screen and told Williams to conduct the orchestra the way he would at a concert. He did, and Spielberg re-edited the film to match the music, which is unusual since the music is normally edited to match the film. The result was Williams deservedly winning the 1982 Academy Award for Best Original Score.

E.T was the number 1 movie of 1982, as it grossed $359 million at the domestic box office (beating Tootise (2nd) an Officer & A Gentleman (3rd) and Rocky 3 (4th). Giving Spielberg back to back number 1's and his third no 1 movie of the year, making him the most successful (box office wise) of all the people I have done this for.

Spielberg's powerful and remarkable film about a boy and his unusual befriendment of an extra terrestrial. Possibly his finest film, E.T. captures a piece of childhood, and reminds the rest of us of a time long since past. It excites a story adults often forget, and a powerful remembrance of a childhood friendship during difficult periods of development. Adult criticism of the movie loses its youthful bond, and fails to appreciate growing up in the 80's. This is the pinnacle of Spielberg's childhood movies. Few other films capture as powerful a message of childhood emotion. Other films which attempt to do so dive so deep into childhood memories they lose their connection with adults, and degrade to brief interludes of "dumb" comic relief to keep grown ups from falling asleep. The closest runner up is likely Goonies (a film written by Spielberg). A very personal film for Spielberg; as he explores atypical friendships after the separation of his father; he should be commended for achieving such a remarkable success and for sharing it with the rest of us. I was five when I first saw the movie, and although it frightened me at the time, it still makes me cry. An unparalleled film in its class, it is easy to see why it remains the fourth all time grossing film (adjusted for inflation, third otherwise) seventeen years after its release. Cheers to Spielberg for not ruining the movie by attempting a sequel.

Today when I was at my house alone, looking through my DVDs, trying to figure out which movie I should see for entertainment. I saw E.T and I hadn't seen it for nearly 3-4 years ago. I seen the film ever since I was 4 years old, so I wondering if I would still enjoy it when I'm an adult. As I was watching the film, I had this rush of nostalgia running through me, I was remembering the times when I was a kid with my family. The film didn't at all feel to childish to me, I was actually having a lot of fun, like I used to when I was a kid. This film has not aged at all since 30 years ago. This film is a truly timeless film, and will always be remembered. This is one of the best Steven Spielberg films. (And that is no easy task) A Timeless Classic 10/10

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL was one of those films that everybody took for granted as a child in the 1980s. Everybody had seen it, everybody loved it, everybody could reference it with the other kids knowing what they were talking about. Finding myself less than impressed than Steven Spielberg's overt sentimentalism, I wondered how I'd find it as an adult...

Well, I needn't have worried, because E.T. still hits the mark. Yes, it's mawkish and rather dated, but I think that's all part of the fun. This is the classic kid's film of the 1980s, in which the adults are portrayed as either out of touch or the enemy; it's the kids who have to band together to fight for justice, and the template works very well here.

Inevitably, the character of E.T. himself is what makes this film. The Carlo Rambaldi special effects still stand the test of time and the voice mannerisms are just right. Henry Thomas has a tough role, acting against an non-human for the most part, but he excels in the part and the frog scene is still excellent. Drew Barrymore is very effective too. E.T. is certainly a film that still manages to tug at the heartstrings with all of the increasing drama and that poignant ending, and I love it just as much as I always did.

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.

What I think makes E.T. so powerful for me now 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.