E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Release Date: June 11, 1982
Runtime: 115 Mins
Nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography
Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects
Read on after the jump...
By Sean Knight
I cannot talk about E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial subjectively. Anyone who knows me knows that it is my favorite film of all time. It is the first movie that I remember seeing as a small child. I come from a military family who moved around quite a bit, so E.T.’s themes of childhood loneliness, friendship, and love hit me in a profound way. I don’t remember everything about that first viewing, but I do remember the images that burned into my consciousness – E.T. and Elliot flying across the moon, strange men in astronaut suits invading a home, a finger with a bright light touching a wound, E.T. in a ghost costume chasing after Yoda, and finally, that big beautiful rainbow after the blast of a spaceship. Even thinking about these moments now, as I write this, I begin to tear up. E.T. showed me, at such a young age, what the possibilities of filmmaking and pure human imagination could be. It is the film that made me fall in love with the movies and with Steven Spielberg. If I had not seen E.T. when I did, I doubt that I would be the person I am today. Yes, movies do have the power to change and shape lives.
What makes E.T. special is that you get the profound feeling of a filmmaker who really knows what it is to be a child. Spielberg floods the film with his own childhood fears, emotions, and daydreams. He treats his child characters with respect and never patronizes or looks down on them. This is the reason why Spielberg is arguably the greatest director of children in the history of cinema. He let’s children act and talk like children. He can relate to them and he makes them the center of the action that propels the narrative. The children in E.T. are the heroes, because they can believe and feel things that adults cannot. Much has been made about how Spielberg shot most of the film from a child’s eye level, which definitely contributes to the feeling of the story coming from their point of view. But, it is not just cinematic camera tricks that give E.T. it’s shape, but real childlike wonder and awe. Spielberg’s greatest gift as a filmmaker has always been the ability to look past the mundane and into the extraordinary. He sees and believes things other filmmakers are unwilling to, or simply cannot explore. His imagination knows no bounds.
The scene in E.T. that captured my imagination as a child, and has stuck with me ever since, is the flying bicycle sequence in the forest. John Williams (in what I believe to be his best score) starts the scene of with a sense of excitement that builds with the strings, and clues us in that we are about to see something magical. Every time I hear this piece of music I start to cry. When that bike takes off from the ground and E.T. and Elliot go soaring into the night sky the tears come harder and faster. The wind blows in Elliot’s hair and he is doing something children only dream of – actually being able to fly. And then there is THE shot… the most famous and beautiful shot in the film – Elliot and E.T. flying backlit against the moon. It’s a perfect image -a boy flying with a being from another world across the moon. It takes my breath away every time. To me, this is where the power and imagination of filmmaking reached its zenith. Not even Spielberg has been able top this scene, and I doubt anyone else ever will.
Henry Thomas gives the best child performance ever captured on film as Elliot. No amount of special effects magic in the world could make E.T. real. Thomas had to do that by fully committing to his love for what is essentially a puppet. E.T. comes to life because the children in the film believe in him, and in return make us believe in him too. There is a wonderful moment late in the film where a human face is finally given to the men that are chasing E.T. Keys (played by Peter Coyote) tells Elliot that he has been searching for E.T. his entire life and he doesn’t want him to die. It could be said that this is the adult Spielberg manifested on screen. Keys is the child who never grew up, constantly searching the skies hoping that one day his dreams would become a reality. It is here that Spielberg allows the adult to become the child, humanizing E.T. even more.
There is so much I haven’t even touched on in E.T. including the massive themes of divorce (it could be argued that E.T. is a film about divorce and the effects that has on a child) and supposed religious imagery. But those are not the themes that touch me when I watch E.T. What touches me is the idea of a lonely little boy who suddenly has a friend from another world, who understands him better than anyone in his life. Elliot and E.T. will always be friends in my mind. I would like to think that perhaps they even see each other again. E.T. is a magical experience because of Spielberg’s willingness to explore the unknown. It is a perfect companion piece to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This piece has been difficult to write because E.T. means so much to me. It represents my childhood and it will always be a part of me. Without it, I simply wouldn’t be me.
By J.J.
“I’ll be right here”
I used to make of Sean when he would talk about his obsession with E.T. I didn’t think he was serious when he said he cries like a bitch when he watches it. I was SO wrong. Not only was I wrong but I, myself, cried like a bitch.
UGH. We watched E.T. and The Color Purple in the same day. I don’t recommend that to anyone. We were both so emotionally drained.
The relationship between Elliot and E.T. will forever be one of my favorite relationships ever put on film. Spielberg has a real gift with getting a great performance out of a kid. The performance he pulled out of Henry Thomas (from our hometown of San Antonio!) is remarkable. I really wish I could have been in the casting room to see what direction he gave him. Sean says he told him that his best friend was gone and that Henry Thomas completely broke down and that’s when Steven gave him the part.
As the movie opens we find ourselves in the first where a tiny creature. He is exploring plant life and taking samples. Again, the creature is presented as a more curious figure rather than a bad thing. The creature stops on the hillside and looks out over a city lit up in the night sky. He seems entranced by the city below him.
Shadowy men are seen in the distance making their way towards the space craft. The little creature emits a red light from his chest signaling that danger is approaching. One thing I noticed is that we only see the men from the waist down. The camera zooms in one a set of keys hooked to a belt loop. Why? What is the significance of that? I was sure all my questions would be answered but I really wanted to know what that symbolized. Spielberg doesn’t zoom in on something unless it has some meaning.
When we meet Elliot he is trying so hard to hang with his older brother and his friends. I loved that. The older boys send him outside to wait for the pizza guy where he has his first encounter with E.T. One of my favorite moments is when Elliot rolls the ball into the shed and E.T. rolls it back to him. I thought it was such a sweet moment because it showed that E.T. meant no harm whatsoever. He was just mimicking what Elliot did. He was trying to play. Poor Elliot freaked. He races inside where of course no one believes that there is something in the shed. When he returns later in the evening he finally comes face to face with E.T. They both shrieked. I giggled. P.S. How cute is E.T.!!
I love that Elliot refuses to give up in believing what he saw. He sets out to find E.T. by leaving a trail of candy as a way to lure E.T. back to him. I think that’s what any curious kid would do. I mean who doesn’t love candy. When he successfully lures E.T. into his room we finally have a full view of E.T. He really is the cutest alien I have ever seen in a movie. Another great moment is when E.T. starts to mimic what Elliot does. I thought this was a great way of introducing the two characters to each other. Both are really intrigued by one another and don’t seem to be scared. I thought it was a really heartfelt and tender moment between two characters. I’ve noticed that Spielberg does a really good job at making quiet moments really powerful.
The bond between the two of them grows stronger as Elliot introduces elements of his “alien” world to E.T. He even introduces his siblings to E.T. I completely forgot that Drew Barrymore was in this movie. She was one cute little kiddo! Her reaction to E.T. was so adorable and so funny and really made me laugh. After they calm her down she becomes just as interested in E.T. as her brothers.
As the movie progresses, Government agents (including the dude with the keys) become aware that E.T. might be at Elliot’s house. I was expecting these agents to be like those in Close Encounters where they mean no harm to the alien creatures but I was wrong. On Halloween they sneak into the house in an effort to find clues as to where E.T. is. They take over the house and quarantine Elliot and E.T. together. UGH. I’m in tears. That whole ending sequence. Just balling. We both were. I can no longer make fun of Sean for crying like a bitch.
I think what makes this movie so special is the character of E.T. I forgot that he was an alien. I seriously did! I saw him as Elliot’s best friend and it pained to me to see anything happen to him. The final line of the movie got me right in the heart.
So far we’ve watched Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., The Color Purple, and Jurassic Park. This one is by far my favorite. This was a cinematic experience that was so special and will stick with me for a long time. It made me believe in the power of film. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg.
No comments:
Post a Comment