E.T.
-
The
Extra-Terrestrial
With
Henry
Thomas,
Drew
Barrymore,
Dee
Wallace,
Peter
Coyote
Directed
by
Steven
Spielberg
While
kids
of
recent
years
grow
up
with
the
likes
of
Tellytubbies
and
Pokémon,
some
of
us
were
fortunate
enough
to
grow
up
with
the
movies
of
Star
Wars
and
this,
admittedly
one
of
Spielberg's
most
personal
films,
E.T.
-
The
Extra-Terrestrial.
The
basic
but
magical
tale
of
a
boy
who
finds
an
alien
stranded
on
earth
gets
treated
with
so
much
emotional
depth,
humanity,
humour
and
action
that
even
those
who
were
not
fortunate
enough
to
see
this
film
on
its
original
release
will
still
find
it
magical.
The
brilliant
performances
by
the
kids,
especially
Henry
Thomas
and
a
tiny,
sweet
Drew
Barrymore
make
this
film
beyond
moving
and
believable
-
not
to
mention
the
innovative
E.T.
creature
effects
innovations
of
the
time.
For
this
20th
anniversary
release
(2002),
technology
allowed
Spielberg
to
add
and
alter
some
details
he
couldn't
back
then.
While
some
of
us
may
wish
to
remember
the
film
in
its
originally
created
form,
the
alterations
and
additional
footage
does
not
detract
from
the
film's
intrinsic
sense
of
wonder.
For
example,
cops'
&
agents'
firearms
were
digitally
replaced
by
walky-talkies!
This
double
disc
features
some
wonderful
extras.
There
is
the
look
at
how
E.T.
was
created,
a
piece
on
John
Williams'
incredible
soundtrack,
designs,
photography
and
marketing,
the
20th
anniversary
reunion
with
cast
interviews,
trailers,
the
anniversary
premiere
and
even
a
space
exploration
portion
where
E.T.
gives
you
info
on
the
planets
in
our
solar
system.
The
footage
of
Thomas'
audition
is
absolutely
jaw-dropping
and
behind-the-scenes
footage
show
how
emotionally
the
kids
got
involved
with
this
creature
(basically
a
puppet),
who
became
their
friend,
for
real!
In
stead
of
a
directors'
commentary
(which
would've
been
great,
although
the
film
speaks
for
itself),
is
the
addition
of
the
live
orchestral
soundtrack
John
Williams
conducted
at
the
20th
anniversary
premiere
(complete
with
audience
cheers)
-
a
piece
of
logistic,
artistic,
timing
and
rhythmic
brilliance.
Winning
4
of
its
9
nominated
Oscars,
E.T.
is
one
of
those
magical,
timeless
films
that
moves
all
who
allow
it
to
sweep
them
up
in
its
near
flawless
narrative
and
execution.
The
chance
of
another
commercial
film
like
this
seeing
the
light
in
our
digital
age
is
highly
unlikely,
so
take
this
opportunity
to
get
transported
into
a
truly
amazing
cinematic
accomplishment.
6
/
A
-
PB
1
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A
-
B
-
C