Ender_53's Full Review: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
This is one movie where it takes a robot not to cry. It is uplifting, charming, the characters are lovable, and the action scenes are the kid equivalent of a car chase. The bikes scenes are some of the most touching, awe inspiring, and just feel good sequences in movie history. I remember my mom crying her eyes out when she saw this 15 years ago, I was three, she was an ageless woman, but I was fascinated by the rainbow that E.T.'s ship made. I then looked over and saw my mother crying her eyes out, and not understanding what had made her cry. Four years ago I was at a hotel/resort and in the kids room they were showing E.T. on the big TV. Most kids were dismissing it as something they remember liking as a kid, and you know how teenagers are, everything is passé if it is not now, but I digress. I sat down and for two hours I watched this masterpiece and, though not getting all of the cinema effects that would make it popular with the critics as well, was transported away from my life. This was the first time I had ever truly identified with a character on screen. I don't know if it was because my parents had just divorced, or I was struggling with the toughness of junior high, but Elliot, a child of divorce and who was picked on by his friends reminded me of myself. I wanted a friend that could relate to me, a friend that was better than the friends that other people in junior high had, something that was special, and so did Elliot. It was an epiphany, and it was then that I was no longer without some one who understood what I was going through, Spielberg, himself like Elliot, had made a movie for the children of divorces, tough childhoods, and for those people who just needed an escape from reality.
By this time when I was 14, when the rainbow was made, it was the one of the most beautiful moments I had ever seen. I was crying, not only because of the amazing effect of the music, the acting and the effect of the scene, but because, in a sense, E.T. had left me too. I was crying my eyes out, and the people around me seemed to be crying too, I remember looking around and seeing no dry eye in any person over 18 years old.
This is the power of cinema, and few movies do it this well. Spielberg puts us in the world of Elliot. With the use of Elliot's eye level camera and the intimate insight into Elliot's world like his monologue about toys to E.T., we slowly enter this household, and it becomes the viewers' world. We hear the sayings of the siblings, like the "most excellent promise," or the "penis breath" insult at the dinner table. Elliot is one of the most likeable, approachable children ever to be on the silver screen, mostly in part to Henry Thomas, and with Spielberg's intimate eye, we the audience get to peer into this boy's life, and we, like E.T., can feel what he feels. The movie moves into some very dark places before it rockets out of it and like "It's a Wonderful Life" the peaks and valleys make the movie that much more emotionally powerful. The entry of the men in the spacesuits is still one of the most terrifying in a non-horror film, and the death of E.T. is still one of the most emotionally tough scenes to watch in movie history.
Every thing that was magical about this experience has been lost, until Elliot makes the heartwarming speech to a dead E.T. He closes the lid to the freezer, and for a moment all hope is lost. At this point in the movie, adults have destroyed this serene, suburban world of the children, Elliot, Michael and Gertie. Their mother doesn't believe them, the government has killed Elliot's friend, and it has turned into a virtual nightmare.
Then the red light glows, and the audience breathes a sigh of relief. When Elliot sees the flower grow, and the music swells, it's a five-hankie moment. We knew it had to come. We knew it couldn't end with E.T.'s death. Then, it's the children doing it for themselves. The adults haven't helped them, so they have to do it now. And in the most beautiful of ways, the kids beat the adults using only bikes. It's David versus goliath; the kids are beating the government using only tools that require them to work harder. The kids don't have cars, they don't have guns, all they have is love, and they beat the adults. Even if you can't relate to Elliot as a child of divorce, you could relate to being made to feel lesser by adults, whether it was some jerk in a restaurant, a big brother or a teacher, you know how much you wanted to beat them at their own game. So when it comes to the showdown on the street, Elliot, Michael and his friends are surrounded by government officials, they have a gun beating down on them, and then E.T. takes them all off the ground and without hurting anyone, gets out of the situation. It's an amazing moment, kids have beat the government, E.T. shows them what he can really do, and the day is theirs.
E.T.'s goodbye is one of the most amazing ending sequence of any piece of entertainment, from book to theater or music, this one may be the most tearful, beautiful and touching moments of all. The kids all get to say goodbye, each one of them shares a moment with E.T. and after E.T. gets back on his ship, both Mary and keys the government agent now understand what is going on. They are no longer scared of E.T. They don't fear for their safety or want to pull the children away. They understand what the children have gone through, and they understand a little bit of the beauty of it all. The ship takes off, and before it leaves, it gives us the rainbow, a symbol or peace and of friendship, but the first time you see the movie, the only thing the rainbow is a serene beautiful gesture. It takes a robot, or a person trying to find fault, in sense type of non-human machine, not to cry. I have seen football players, 6 foot 6 giants and the most seemingly heartless people cry at this movie. It is the most personal work of art I have ever experienced, and it is the closest thing I have ever had to a friend in movies. This is the best kids movie of all time, and is very close to my favorite movie of all time.
There is no movie I would rather watch in a theater full of people, alone, or with a date than E.T. It is the movie I watch on Christmas, and I hope in the upcoming holidays, you may too. Thanks Mr. Spielberg, you have made the most personable film of all time, and one of the best and most beautiful. This effect this movie gives is the reason people go to the cinema.
Director Steven Spielberg s heartwarming masterpiece is one of the brightest stars in motion picture history. Filled with unparalleled magic and imagi...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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