E.T.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

We all know the details, so I won't bother typing them out; just know that I saw the original version and not “the walkie-talkie” version.

This is a movie that I saw as a kid (as almost everyone else did in America who's around my age) but the last viewing was when I was a kid. So I was happy to finally see it again. Read my glowing take in my Letterboxd review below:

I am in my mid 30's, so it likely should be no surprise that I have seen this movie a few times before in my life. Yet, I have not seen it as an adult so my last viewing was many years ago. I figured it was about time I saw this beloved movie again and thankfully, I can still rate it highly and it's not due to nostalgia.

Everyone knows the story of that interesting-looking alien (which is a tremendous puppet effect and you believe it's real; if this was in modern times and it was a CGI creation, there's a good chance you wouldn't buy the effect) who gets left behind and you see it hang out with three young siblings, so I'll just say that I am glad the performances were effective all around-especially from the kids-as the viewer spends a lot of time around them. It's all charming and so entertaining. As others have said, it embodies the wonderment of childhood.

Another nice aspect is that the characters aren't flat or two dimensional. Even “the government” aren't that bad and the guy only known as Keys (Peter Coyote) has wanted to see an alien for years. Elliott as the lead is a typical 10 year old boy who wishes he could hang out with his older brother Michael and Michael's friends and wishes for pals and is affected by the recent separation of his parents; an alien friend is perfect for him and you really like Elliott. All three siblings are normal kids and thankfully aren't painted as annoying or dumb. They are typical suburbanites in a northern California neighborhood. It's a great script from Melissa Mathison, someone who recently passed away. It also reminds me what a great composer John Williams is, as the score from this film is note-perfect.

I was amused by some of the content in this family film and how you wouldn't see such material in a family film of today. You likely wouldn't see an alien get drunk after drinking a few cans of Coors and you definitely wouldn't hear a 10 year old boy refer to someone else as PENIS BREATH. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to you. Also, I saw this via Amazon Instant Video and it was the original cut and not the “20th Anniversary Edition”, which of course I've never seen as I mentioned at the beginning this was the first time watching this movie as an adult. I do know that 2002 version is the one where “the guns that government agents carry in one scene were replaced by walkie-talkies” and everyone got upset by that change. At least unlike one of Spielberg's contemporaries, the original version of a classic film is still THE cut that can easily be viewed...

Anyway, this is great family entertainment made by an all-time-great director firing on all cylinders and I am sure can still captivate young children (such as the twin nephews I have, who will turn 3 in a month's time) today and I hope that one day they can watch the film and love it.