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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:17
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.6/10
Consensus: A piece of movie magic that touches hearts both young and old.
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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Reviews for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
More than the work of any other filmmaker, Spielberg's output seems uniquely designed to induce in me this queasy false-memory syndrome.
On inherent merit, the movie would not warrant such a highly publicized re-release, but this is one of those films that transcends what's on the screen.
Though marred by Spielberg's usual carelessness with narrative points, the film alternates sweetness and sarcasm with enough rhetorical sophistication to be fairly irresistible.
This enchanting fable displays Spielberg's masterful craftsmanship as well as his belief in religious mythology.
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.
Viewers returning to it, as well as those discovering it, will find it an enduring children's film -- but one whose impact has diminished with the passage of time.
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.
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.
A masterpiece that deserves to be seen and appreciated on a big screen.
A sublime modern fairy tale, a movie that, if anything, looks subtler, darker, and more intimate now than it did when originally released.
Spielberg left it open for all of us. That's the sign of a great filmmaker: He only explains what he has to explain.
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