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Movies / On DVD / E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

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Reviews Counted:88

Fresh:86

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.9/10

Consensus: A piece of movie magic that touches hearts both young and old.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Jun 11, 1982 Wide

Synopsis: The 2002 rerelease of E.T., which marks 20 years since the film's 1982 debut, includes never before seen footage, enhanced visual effects, and a new remastered soundtrack. E.T. THE... The 2002 rerelease of E.T., which marks 20 years since the film's 1982 debut, includes never before seen footage, enhanced visual effects, and a new remastered soundtrack. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL is Steven Spielberg's warmhearted classic delight for both children and adults. It tells the story of an alien creature, E.T., mistakenly left behind on Earth. When a young boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), finds E.T. and hides him in his home, both their worlds are changed forever. E.T. teaches Elliott and his two siblings (Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton), whose parents have recently separated, about caring and love while the children protect E.T. from the malevolent world of grown-ups. Elliott and E.T. become so close that they share emotions; as E.T. becomes ill, so does Elliott. The children end up going on a fabulous adventure trying to help E.T. find a way back to his home planet. The movie was originally going to be based on a story idea by director John Sayles, but after he removed himself from the project, screenwriter Melissa Mathison (Harrison Ford's wife) took over the script and made it her own. John Williams's beautiful soundtrack became forever linked to E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. [More]

Starring: Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace Stone, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote

Starring: Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace Stone, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Melissa Mathison
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Release:

Dec 30, 2008

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Reviews for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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Although conclusively demonstrating Spielberg's preeminence as the popular artist of his time, E.T. finally seems a less impressive film than Close Encounters.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

Spielberg triumphantly succeeds in bringing the magical to the everyday.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/04/08
Channel 4 Film

A masterful evocation of the wonder, the magic and the pressing anxieties of childhood.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine

One of the most popular movies ever made.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/20/02
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Feel free to go sob in your popcorn.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/22/02
E! Online

Twenty years after smashing box-office records, Steven Spielberg's gentle sci-fi fable returns to screens as vital and accomplished as ever.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
03/27/02
BBC

A modern classic.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boxoffice Magazine

Spielberg triumphantly succeeds in bringing the magical to the everyday.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
04/01/02
FilmFour.com

We have yet to recover from his revelation: that there is nothing more real than sitting in your own back yard -- waiting for the unreal to come down, take a handful of candy, and fly you to the moon.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
03/23/02
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker

It's the epitome of true cinematic art, a movie that touches you on all levels.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The new effects might not be to your liking, but the strength of the filmmaking, the power of the story and the wonder of E.T. should be more than enough to warmly remind you of the last time an honest film about childhood innocence was made.

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
03/24/02
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com

A masterwork.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
03/23/02
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

If we approach with sympathy and curiosity, we will be rewarded with same. And our souls, not to mention our bicycles, will soar to the heavens.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
03/24/02
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What’s intact is the film’s powerful yet unmushy message of friendship, unconditional love, helping those in need… geez, what doesn’t this film have that an impressionable kid couldn’t stand to hear?

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/21/02
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Mediasharx | comment Comment
06/02/04
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Mediasharx

Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial showed me for the first time in my life the power of movies.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Collin Souter
Collin Souter
eFilmCritic.com

It works because it touches that (uncritical, non-analytical) childlike part of us that we often need to be reminded is still there.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

For the most part, however, Spielberg and Mathison have their priorities straight.

Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
06/10/02
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online

Though marred by Spielberg's usual carelessness with narrative points, the film alternates sweetness and sarcasm with enough rhetorical sophistication to be fairly irresistible.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/04/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Steven Spielberg's masterful film has lost none of its power to sweep the viewer away in the most 'excellent' late-20th century boy's adventure one could hope for.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
03/22/02
David Hunter
David Hunter
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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