E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
The 20th-Anniversary Abomination, “improved” with cutesy CGI and some judicious sound work. I thought Spielberg had a smidgen more class than George Lucas, but I was wrong. Anyway, I remember bawling my eyes out at this as a 13-year old, but I was surprised at how little of it was actually burned into my skull. For instance, I think I had no idea, back in 1982, that E.T. and Eliott are actually physically connected. Anyway, this 32-year-old thought it was pretty good–clearly better than the junk that passes for children’s entertainment these days. The first half, in particular, is wonderful: funny, richly textured, gorgeously shot. Spielberg’s heightened evocation of childhood is pitched perfectly–sequences such as the “frog” episode or the Halloween set piece (where dozens and dozens of costumed kids swarm around a two block stretch of street) are improbably perfect. So many things feel just right–I’ll never forget the shot of Eliott’s older brother huddled in the fetal position in Eliot’s closet (god I wished I had a closet like that). But the last ten minutes or so are just unforgivibly sappy (“I’ll be right…here…” gak). And really, the whole idea of alien-as-lost-puppy…wait, I have to stop thinking too much about this. B+
