Regarded as possibly one of Steven Spielberg’s best, E.T is staple in today’s movie culture and has become a movie that everybody needs to see in their lifetime. Released in 1982, this “kids” movie has gone on to Inspire so many people with a lot of them claiming it's a masterpiece of filmmaking. While I myself don’t quite see it as 100% perfect, I do agree that this is a film that rightfully deserves its place in cinema history.
In the suburbs of a California town, a spaceship comes down on earth with some interesting alien creatures to roam the landscapes of this strange planet. When some threatening looking humans start to arrive the scene the aliens retreat accidentally leaving one of them behind. We then see a struggling family with a divorced mother and her two boys and daughter. The youngest boy Elliot, is roaming about the backyard at night when he discovers a strange alien looking creature. Elliot freaks out and tries to tell his family but they don’t believe his story. The next day Elliot tries to lure the alien creature into his house. He finds out that his name is E.T and immediately he and Elliot start to form a strong unbreakable bond. When E.T tells Elliot about wanting to phone home he enlists the help of his older brother Micheal to help him get the parts for E.T to make into a device to contact his kind, but they better hurry as the threatening people from before might be on to them.
What really works in this movie is the strong bonds that most characters have with each other. The family relationship is good for the most part and you get idea of the issues that are plagued with the characters. The main star of entire film though is E.T and Elliot’s relationship and they provide a good balance between awe and wonder, and tragically heartbreaking. Not everything has a 100% solid explanation in the story which makes the rewatch all the more intriguing as different viewpoints both young and old can get something from watching it. If I did have to nitpick I would say the child actors can be kinda wooden from time to time. They are doing their greatest don’t get me wrong and it is because of Spielberg’s great directing, but some part of me wishes they could be a little more intriguing and not so annoying at times but then again thats just me taking.
One of the most impressive things that still holds up years later is the puppetry of E.T as it still feels so lifelike and visually appealing. This is another great example as to why practical effects are so much more convincing than CGI. The design of E.T looks unnatural and unearth like and I mean that in the best way possible. The emotions on the E.T puppet are super expressive and can really hit home on how he feels in certain scenes. The cinematography has some of the most iconic moments in film history. The one scene that comes to mind is the flying bike sequence which is visually stunning and perfectly encapsulated the bond between Elliot and E.T. John Willams provides the music score for the movie. it has moments of charm and just plain epicness that makes this kind of story much more than your average relationship which another creature type of story. The score is not shy to being sad and melodramatic to, and it pulls it off so great that it may make you cry from time to time.
E.T has, and will continue to delight the young and the old. Even though it's an 80’s movie, this movie still has just as much charm and uplifting spirit now as it did in 1982. The heartwarming story, likable characters, beautiful cinematography and puppetry work, and a lovely music score from John Willams has made this Steven Spielberg movie into a classic that will live on for many more decades to come.
(Final Grade: A-)