THRILL SCALE 1-10
2.5
HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?
Yes, a number of times as a kid, and I believe once as an adult, but even that one time was over ten years ago
BEST SEQUENCE
The first time E.T. makes Elliott's bike fly. It's a truly iconic piece of movie magic, especially the shot of them flying past the full moon. It's no wonder that it was used as the logo for Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment company
BEST LINE
"E.T. phone home" (obviously)
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE
99%
ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS
"Playing as both an exciting sci-fi adventure and a remarkable portrait of childhood, Steven Spielberg's touching tale of a homesick alien remains a piece of movie magic for young and old."
IMDB SYNOPSIS
"A troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet."
DIRECTOR
Steven Spielberg
MAIN CAST
Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote
THOUGHTS
- When I first decided to review the American Film Institute's list of the 100 most thrilling movies ever made, looking through the list there were a few movies that gave me pause, and E.T. was certainly one of them. Just from my memories of watching E.T. in the past, "thrilling" definitely wasn't an adjective that I would have used. I went into this with a pretty open mind, hoping there might be some exciting stuff that I had forgotten, or that the emotional impact of the movie would thrill in a different way. However, while it's a perfectly nice little movie, thrilling it ain't (but for the record, the actual scariest/most thrilling part is probably when all the people in space suits enter the house)
- I do wonder if it might have had a bigger effect on me if I was watching it for the first time. A few parts I didn't even really remember, like the moment when E.T. seemingly dies, but I knew how the movie ended so there wasn't much suspense to be found there. The shot of the flowers rejuvenating was a really nice touch and hit me right in the feels
- I've developed a reputation as a bit of a curmudgeon while writing these reviews, mostly because a lot of the child actors in these movies have bugged the hell out of me. Fortunately Steven Spielberg is known as a great director of children, and that is absolutely the case here. The main trio of child actors are all great, including teensy little Drew Barrymore as Gertie and Robert MacNaughton as the older brother Michael, and Henry Thomas is fantastic as Elliott, anchoring the whole movie and playing a kid who we immediately care about and relate to. It's also good to see Henry Thomas still popping up in movies and shows, especially his work with Mike Flanagan in things like The Haunting of Hill House and Gerald's Game. And by the way, the runner-up for best line of the movie is when Elliott calls his brother "penis breath," especially because of Dee Wallace's genuine and hilarious reaction to it as their mother
- Also, if you haven't seen Henry Thomas's audition for this movie, you definitely should
- A movie like E.T. really demonstrates how important John Williams' music is for Spielberg's movies. It's hard to imagine E.T. without the music, and the score influences your emotions in all the right ways. We'll be talking about the Spielberg/Williams connection several more times considering Williams scored all but five of Spielberg's movies (and retroactively, yes, his work on Saving Private Ryan was also excellent)
- Especially watching it 40 years later, I do find it fascinating to think about how absolutely enormous this movie was, and this may even be shocking to some of you. Upon its release, E.T. set the record for the highest-grossing film of all time, a record that Steven Spielberg achieved with three different movies - aside from E.T., also Jaws in 1976 and Jurassic Park in 1993, both of which we'll be talking about eventually, and E.T. held the record for the whole decade until Jurassic Park was released. As well, E.T. won the title of highest-grossing movie after making more money than another movie we'll be talking about eventually, Star Wars, which is additionally interesting because Star Wars and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, are referenced several times in E.T. itself, including a kid in a Yoda costume and Elliott showing E.T. his Star Wars action figures
- Finally, I typically enjoy snacks and a drink or two while watching these movies, and it's always nice when I can have something on theme. Much like how I made myself a dry gin martini while watching all the James Bond movies, while watching E.T. I assembled a meal fit for an alien: Reese's Pieces and Coors Banquet (known as Coors Original in Canada)
Up next: I mentioned that there were some movies that gave me pause when I saw that they were considered thrilling, and this is the case for the next movie even more so than E.T. Again, a very important movie, but thrilling? We shall see. It's The Wizard of Oz from 1939
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