E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Released June 11, 1982

Written by Melissa Mathison

Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB

"A troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape Earth and return to his home world."

It is hard these days to name a classic movies without having Steven Spielberg's name on it. He has been credited for a number of classic films and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is no exception. In fact, if we rewind two weeks, you will remember I talked about Raiders of the Lost Ark which was also directed by Spielberg. But it gets more interesting than that. While Spielberg was on set of Raiders of the Lost Ark, most of the script for E.T. was written. This was possible because the film's writer, Melissa Mathison, was dating (then married and divorced) Harrison Ford, the star of Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

One thing that I find so interesting to watch in this film is E.T. himself. This movie was created back when CGI and animated creatures were few and far between. Back in the 80s, if you had a monster or disformed creature, it normally was a person in a costume. You didn't have the graphics like they did in Avatar or Pirates of the Caribbean movies. So, in order to make E.T. they had a full body puppetry type costume that had a 2'10" tall stuntmen inside. There were some scenes, like the kitchen scene, where they used a 12-year-old boy who was born without legs, which caused him to walk on his hands. There was nothing fake about E.T., there was a real person portraying a fictional character, instead of being made out of graphics. Now-a-days, you would not see people in a costume or puppet outfit unless it was part of their character in the movie. Everything now is computer generated. While there are some positives to CGI, I think sometimes it is nice to see something more real in a movie. It is also nice to marvel in how far we have come over the years in terms of CGI. 

Speaking of that kitchen scene. Let's watch it again because it is hilarious seeing an alien getting drunk.

This scene brings up an important question I have. I am still confused as to why E.T. and Elliot share their emotions and reactions? Why Elliot? I understand that he is the one who found E.T., but I don't remember E.T. doing anything special to Elliot to make this possible. He could have very well done the same thing to Michael or Gertie, but he didn't. I also don't understand why this only happens sometimes. It seems like we mainly see it when he is dying and getting drunk. Why does Elliot not share the feelings of E.T. the rest of the time? 

Let me rewind a bit before I get too far into the movie, well farther. At the beginning of the movie, I wish there could have been more exposition/more character set-up. We see the one scene of Michael picking on Elliot with his friends, but right after that scene Elliot finds E.T. I didn't feel like I had a good dynamic of the family and of Elliot for us to go straight into the story. For example, I wish this scene (minus the parts about E.T.) came before Elliot found E.T. That way I felt more compassion for Elliot and his need to find a friend along with why his family doesn't believe him about E.T. The beginning just felt very rushed getting into the story right away.

Random question. Why, in movies, do people (mostly kids) always try to capture a creature with candy? Elliot uses Skittles (CORRECTION: they are not Skittles, in fact they are Reese's Pieces. Apparently, they were promoted in this movies for $1 million). In the movie Up Russell uses chocolate to get Kevin the bird. I am sure there are many more, but that's what I can come up with for now. But why do they think a foreign piece of food is the best option? I mean obviously they are kids, so candy to them is the best food, but in my head if you have a foreign creature you should give them berries or something that is more universal to multiple regions. I guess this is just one of those movie motifs that have come to be accepted by people.

Speaking of animals and creatures. Let's talk about frog dissections. 

This is something I am surprised is still as common as it is. Over the years, we as a society have become more aware of saving animals and not torturing them. Yet, dissections in school are still relevant and used in school curriculums. I remember, the year I had to do one, our teacher ended up just doing one for everyone to watch. This saved my life because I would not have touched a frog let-alone have to look at it's organs and guts. This is just one of those things that I thought would have decreased its relevance as more and more people are fighting for animals' rights. Maybe frogs are not a priority in the animal world?

Halloween. This is a concept that gets brought up in many movies where there is a foreign presence, because honestly it is a weird holiday. Kids dress up in scary, creepy, pretty, or just plain weird costume in order to beg for candy from strangers. It sounds weird when you explain it, but in our culture it is completely normal. So it is funny hearing and seeing E.T.'s reactions to our weird holiday that he clearly doesn't understand. It is even funnier when we see his reaction to Yoda walking by because E.T. actually does look a little like Yoda. I wonder if these characters were inspired off of each other? Yoda first appeared in 1980, so I guess E.T. could have been modeled after the famous Star Wars character.

Finally, there is no other way to end this blog then to end it with one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history. 

E.T. : "Be good."