E.T. is just one of those movies that holds up perfectly over time. The story is one that is so simple that you can understand it at any age. There's no age limit on knowing what it's like to have an important friend come into your life. It's very sweet and touching, but not so sickeningly sweet that it's off-putting to audiences over the age of 5. And although it involved a lot of special effects, they aren't so overwhelming that they look horribly dated 20 years later. It is also my favorite movie of all time so when I heard it was being re-released for its 20th anniversary I was very excited. Although I knew there were going to be some tweaks made to the special effects, I was just happy to finally have the chance to see it in a theater since I wasn't even born during its original release.

The idea of directors going back and messing with the special effects has been met with a lot of controversy. As an aspiring film producer, I actually don't have much of an opinion on the matter. I haven't been able to afford much high quality equipment to work with so I completely and entirely understand what directors like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were feeling when they didn't have a lot to work with and I really understand why they would want to go back and fix things later. But I'm also a fan of these movies so it's also hard for me to watch them with lots of modern special effects that just stand out like a sore thumb against all the original technology used. But unlike George Lucas, who seems to be trying to hide as much evidence of the original versions of his movies as he can, Spielberg did it right with this DVD release. Not only did he release the special edition of E.T., but he also included the original 1982 theatrical version so you can watch whichever version you prefer. Personally, I prefer the original version. I have literally seen this move over 1,000 times over the years and although I thought it was interesting to see things like the additional scenes, I just can't adjust to the CGI E.T.

If you're a bigger fan of the movie like I am, I recommend buying the deluxe version of this collection which also includes the movie soundtrack, an extra disc of bonus features, and a hardcover book that includes a transcript of the movie and lots of behind the scenes stories and pictures. You get your money's worth out of it. Even if you get the regular 2-disc set, you still get some interesting bonus features. On the disc with the special edition, there is an option to replace the normal soundtrack with a live recording of the orchestra playing the movie's score at the premiere of the re-release. I found that to be a rather unique feature. There is also an introduction by Steven Spielberg, the original theatrical trailer, and some interesting behind the scenes documentaries. If you spend more for the deluxe edition, the extra bonus disc has even more behind the scenes documentaries, a cast reunion, the special edition trailer, footage from the special edition premiere, and a huge assortment of pictures. The featurette titled "The Creation and Evolution of E.T." has some very interesting footage from scenes that never made it into any version of the movie.

I think any self-respecting movie fan needs to have this movie in their collection. It has proven to stand up perfectly to the test of time so why not get it? And at least Spielberg was respectful enough to the audience to include the original CGI-free version. It's simply a movie you can't go wrong with.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV