This week I will be publishing two Throwback Thursday Reviews of Disney's Tarzan and, of course, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial to coincide with the dual wide release of The Legend of Tarzan and The BFG this weekend. For those confused why I chose to review E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and how that has anything to do with The BFG, both films are directed by Steven Spielberg and focus on the relationship between child and an unworldly being, an alien and a giant. The reasoning behind choosing to review Tarzan is fairly obvious so I won't delve into that. For the next two consecutive Throwback Thursday Reviews, I will be reviewing Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 to tie into the new female lead Ghostbusters. I'm unsure if the tag line "Answer The Call" is a subtitle or not. Following that I will finish off my series of reviews on the J.J. Abrams' directed Star Trek films with my Throwback Thursday Review of Star Trek Into Darkness coinciding with the release of Star Trek Beyond.
'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' Review
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Steven Spielberg, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects. Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score.
Won: Best Visual Effects. Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial tells the simple tale of an alien who's mistakenly left behind on Earth. E.T. then stumbles upon Elliot and his siblings, so the family takes him in. They quickly become very close friend, but E.T. longs to return to his family so they all must find a way to help "E.T. phone home."
Steven Spielberg directs the flick and is able to capture feelings of suspense, awe, humor, and heart along with some some extremely emotional moments that will probably make you shed at least one tear if you're truly human. Spielberg is able to capture a dual sense of wonderment as both the human characters and E.T. are in admiration of one another and the exposure to the other's customs and culture.
E.T. is regarded as a classic by many, and I was quite surprised how well it held up to today's standards. The technology of course is dated, but the messages and themes found in the film are still relevant along with the interesting depiction of government surveillance.
The special effects used hold up remarkably well, as the puppetry that brings life to E.T. is honestly better than some CGI animation I've seen, and the visual effects used when E.T. levitates things or glows also look very authentic. The practical effects used to create E.T. make a creature that's simultaneously repulsive to look at and lovable at the same time. E.T.'s facial expressions are very lifelike thanks to the phenomenal puppet utilized in production.
I'd say Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of all time and that can certainly be evidenced by the cinematic magic he captures in E.T. Spielberg is joined once again by one of the greatest film composers of all time, John Williams, as Williams composes a fantastical score that's equally memorable and imperative to the cinematic experience. I will say that Williams' other works do exceed this score in being more memorable and epic in scale but I don't feel that should diminish the great work he displays with E.T.'s soundtrack. The screenplay written by Melissa Mathison and the narrative is brilliant capturing the meaning of friendship with memorable lines, moments with some ingenious fresh uses of science fiction in regards to E.T. and his psychic abilities.
What makes all these elements click into place however are the performances. Henry Thomas stars as Elliot, the boy who befriends E.T., and brings about childlike innocence, wonder, and heart to captivate our hearts. Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore bring Elliot's siblings Michael and Gertie to the fray, and both are serviceable in the capacity used. Elsewhere, the only notable performance was Dee Wallace as Elliot's mother, who gets some dramatic moments, while the remaining characters are relegated to minuscule roles.
E.T. is a remarkable film and one of Spielberg's best, which is high praise considering how many terrific films he has made. No matter what age you are, it is nearly impossible not to enjoy E.T. since it has something for everyone with excellent direction, a compelling narrative, fantastic effects, great child actor performances, and another incredible score from John Williams.
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