ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
E.T. was one of the big phenomena during the eighties. It’s a movie which i remember well, as is was the first movie that made me shed a tear when i was a little boy. Watching the movie again after many years it felt like a warm blanket. I remembered so much of this movie that i was looking forward to each next scene to see if it was just as much fun as i remembered. I decided to watch the original version and not the rereleased 2002 version where various CGI shots were added. E.T. feels more real to me when moving around clumsily compared to a smooth moving computer generated being.
In this movie Spielberg show what magic he is capable of. He does this by using low camera angles, which makes you see the world on the same height E.T. and the kids do. The acting of the children (for example a very young Drew Barrymore playing Elliot’s sister Gertie) are excellent. The movie has a lot of suspense, but also offers a lot of fun moments (for example when E.T. is searching through the fridge or when Gertie plays with E.T. in her room) which make sure the kids watching this movie are not too frightened by it.
This movie is one of the most personal Spielberg has made. In interviews he stated that he had this story on his mind ever since his parents divorced. This subject is also present in the movie.
I hadn’t voted yet on this movie on IMDB since the last time I watched it the IMDB didn’t even exist yet. Now that it is and I have watched it again, it definitely deserves a 10.
Score: 10
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I was about 5 years old when my mother first took me to see E.T. in the theater. It was the first truly memorable movie-going experience of my life. And, actually, it took three attempts to make it complete. The first two times, I was so distraught by the scene where E.T. is found in the ditch, pasty and sickly looking, that I had to be taken out of the theatre. But the film would not leave me alone, and I begged to go back. My mother was a very patient woman!
Not only is so much of the film shot from very low angles, but it also employs a great deal of silhouette. Spielberg’s vision was actually quite romantic and arty.
Wow, three attempts! She was very patient with you indeed. It was the first movie which made me cry and it still manages to play with my emotions. Like you say everything is shot from the height of a child which is probably a big reason why as a kid you felt so connected to it.