Subject: Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

From: Bob Bloom <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 18:25:33 -0000

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982, 2002) 4 stars out of 4. Starring Dee Wallace
Stone, Peter Coyote, Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas and Robert MacNaughton. Music
by John Williams. Written by Melissa Mathison. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Rated PG. 
 Twenty years after its initial release, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial remains
timeless. 

 The years have not dimmed the awe, the spectacle nor the heart from this
wonderful classic. 

 Save for one added scene, and some enhanced special effects that give E.T. more
personality, this masterpiece is the same touching feature that brought tears to
millions of eyes back in 1982. 

 I doubt any warm-blooded individual can watch this film's finale - especially
the moment when E.T. touches young Elliott's forehead and says, "I'll be right
here." - without unashamedly weeping. 

 The decades have not siphoned the emotional potency brewed by Melissa
Mathison's script, Steven Spielberg's direction and John Williams' soaring
musical score. 

 Spielberg had admitted his attachment to E.T., calling it his most personal
film, his catharsis for finally being able to deal with his parents divorce and
the feelings of abandonment caused by the departure of his father. 

 And these elements are very much in evidence in E.T. Elliott, the middle child,
lives with his older brother, Mike, younger sister, Gertie, and their
now-separated mother. Elliott misses his father terribly. 

 The story of E.T. is so well known that repeating any of it is unnecessary. 

 So, let's look at what has been added and technologically updated. The added
scene features E.T. and Elliott in the bathroom with E.T. fooling around with a
tube of toothpaste then relaxing underwater in the bathtub. It doesn't really
add much to the film, except to show more of the bonding between the boy and his
alien. 

 Computer graphics have made E.T. more expressive, especially around the eyes
and mouth. He seems more emotionally in tune with the children around him. 

 Computer magic also was used in the final chase sequence to transform shotguns
the government agents were holding into walkie-talkies. Purists may object, but
I'd rather see grownups carrying communication devices when chasing youngsters
than guns. 

 One of the strangest aspects of looking back on E.T. is watching Drew
Barrymore. She is so cute and precocious, a real charmer, and it is evident even
at such a young age that the camera adores her. 

 And you forget how fine a performance young Henry Thomas gave. He tugs at your
heart as he fights to keep then help his new-found friend. 

 E.T. always will be a treasure. You can re-release it 20 years or 100 years
from now and it will continue to wrap you in a warm, cozy, emotional vise. It's
the epitome of true cinematic art, a movie that touches you on all levels. 

 Welcome home, E.T. 

 Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He
can be reached by e-mail at [email-masked] or at [email-masked]. Other
reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. 
 Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom

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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 296037
X-RT-TitleID: 1006389
X-RT-SourceID: 872
X-RT-AuthorID: 1363
X-RT-RatingText: 4/4