Last March, I went to see the re-release of "E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial" in theatres. Steven Spielberg's sci-fi masterpiece remains as wonderful an experience as when I first saw it on video when I was a kid. Many people, including myself, consider "Schindler's List" to be Spielberg's greatest film. But I think that "E.T." still has to be considered the quintessential Steven Spielberg film, the one by which all Spielberg films must be judged. It marks the creative height of Spielberg's golden (1975-82) period. I consider it to be my favorite Spielberg film.

On a cool September evening, a team of alien botanists land in the forests of a small suburban town. One of them, the ET of the title, wanders off into the woods. His peaceful journey takes a frightening turn when he runs into a bunch of tall, menacing looking two legged creatures with flashlights and guns. Panicking, ET makes a dash towards his spaceship, but in their hurry to escape the advancing humans, ET is left behind. Alone and afraid, ET makes his way into town.

Enter Elliot and his family. Elliot is a lonely ten-year-old boy whose parents have recently separated. His mother is busy both at work and at home, his older brother and his friends alternately ignore him and torment him, and his sister is just barely in grade school. While going outside to collect a pizza, Elliot hears something in the shed. His mother and brother assure him that it's just a cougar, but Elliot knows better. On further exploring, Elliot comes across the creature, leading to an inspired sequence where he and Elliot both cry out in fright as they see each other from the other's perspective.

Elliot manages to lure the creature inside his house and into his room by tempting him with Reese's Pieces. In the original draft, the script called for M&Ms, but M&M declined to go through with the product placement as they feared the advertisements would cost too much, so Reese's Pieces were used instead. M&M must now be kicking themselves. As ET ingratiates himself on ET and his family, he also learns to speak and read. ET also has supernatural abilities, such as telekinesis and the ability to heal wounds. But perhaps most remarkable is ET's ability to heal the mental wounds that this broken family harbors. However, as ET slowly starts to become ill, Elliot realizes that ET must find a way to contact his spaceship so he can be sent home.

Meanwhile, the government has managed to track ET to Elliot's home. After wiretapping their home and monitoring them from the outside, they move in.

"E.T." seems to have many elements of autobiography for Spielberg. Spielberg grew up in a suburban town not unlike where Elliot lives. Spielberg was a lonely Jewish kid growing up in a Gentile neighborhood. Like Elliot, Spielberg's parents separated when he was a kid leaving Spielberg fatherless. It was during those times that Spielberg created an imaginary friend, the basis for the ET character. Melissa Mathison, who had previously written the screenplay for "The Black Stallion", did a brilliant job in transfering Spielberg's ideas into a script. Spielberg, who had several blockbuster hits behind him, took a risk in making a smaller film closer to his heart. But the film paid off handsomely, becoming the biggest moneymaker ever, until another Spielberg hit "Jurassic Park" hit theatres in 1993. Mathison's script draws some interesting parallels between ET and the biblical Christ. Like Christ, ET is a benign figure with supernatural powers who comes down to Earth. Like Christ, he is "crucified" and dies, only to rise again and ascend into heaven. This has lead to some jokes about how Spielberg, a Jewish director, ended up making a Christian parable. Certainly ET looks like a prophet when he wears his white robe. It's references like this that give "E.T." an epic feel, making it more than a simple boy-and-his-pet film. ET and Elliot seem to share a special telepathic bond. Elliot ends up feeling ET's feelings and, when he gets sick, feeling ET's sickness. Has anyone noticed that the first and last letters in Elliot's name are the same as ET's initials?

I always loved the scene where ET and Elliot fly above the woods past the moon on their bicycle. Who doesn't remember that scene? It has become one of the most famous and mystical scenes in movie history. Spielberg has used that picture for his Amblin logo. Another great scene is when ET and Elliot get their interstellar radio working while they stand in the woods with the wind blowing, staring up at the stars.

Spielberg had, of course, made a previous film about aliens in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". But while the focus in "Close Encounters" was on the irresponsible father figure, in E.T. the focus is on the boy whose father has left him. E.T. shows perhaps how much Spielberg had matured since making Close Encounters. In Close Encounters our sympathies are with the father who leaves his family to journey with the aliens to the stars. In E.T. Elliot is given a similar choice, but decides to remain with his family. If Close Encounters was about the breakup of a family, E.T. is about the unity of the family. Elliot even finds a new father figure in the unnamed sympathetic scientist "Keys".

The Collector's Edition DVD presents E.T. in a crisp widescreen format with vibrant colours and sound. John Williams' score has never sounded better. This edition allows us to view E.T. in both the original 1982 version, and the 2002 version. The 2002 version isn't hugely different from the 1982 version, but the special effects have been touched up. The word "terrorist" has been changed to "hippie" in one scene, an unnecessary reaction to 9/11. The guns the two government guys have in one scene have been changed to radios, which while making the film more kid friendly, also blunts some of the suspense. E.T.'s facial expressions have been enhanced by computer animation. A scene with ET in the bath, which was cut from the original, has been added back in. The scene was cut due to the ET costume's poor facial expressions, but added back in after it was touched up by the computer. Unfortunately, it's all too obvious that it IS computer animation. I wish that Spielberg had simply left that scene out and showed in in a separate deleted scnes section. Overall, I'm not sure that E.T. needed touching up, but I'm glad that Spielberg is allowing us to view the original version as well. I wish Spielberg would do the same with "Close Encounters". I liked the Collector's Edition of "Close Encounters", but I wish I could see the original version as well, something I have never done.

There's a nice little "making of" documentary in the DVD where we get to see a little behind the scenes. Making E.T. was apparently a joyful experience for the entire cast and crew. Little Drew Barrymore in particular seems to be enjoying herself, perhaps not surprising considering her home life was somewhat lacking at the time. It's hard to forget how in just a few years Drew would be messed up on drugs, before recovering and re-establishing herself in the film world.

E.T. is a wonderful film, a joyful experience for the entire family.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8