I had to cut this one up quite a bit for copyright reasons so if you'd like to see the UNCUT and AD FREE version, click here: www.patreon.com/rowanjcoleman
Ooh, AI nust be the next one! I know AI got panned,..but I loved it. For most of the movie he is searching for a Fairy tale character....in the end, he is the Fairytale....even the world in the end has fairytale rules and limitations that usually are part of one. Very underrated movie
I remember watching E.T. for the 1st time in late summer of 1982. It was a full house 4-500+ (mid week afternoon mind you) & at the ending there was not a dry eye in the house. As the credits began to roll EVERYONE stood up and applauded for what seemed like forever (but was actually about 5mins). I looked back & around & was so filled w/emotion I could barely breathe.
Just wanted to say that the work of John Williams is going to be hard to top. I mean, there are other soundtrack composers that I love dearly, but I would be hard pressed to come up with any others that would come close to his utterly prolific and consistently master class level body of work. Just, bravo. Bravo, sir. 😎☮️
This freaking movie! You got to the bit about the bikes, nostalgic memories came flooding back, and suddenly I'm tearing up over a movie REVIEW. Guess it's time to watch ET again....
I was seven when it came out in theaters. The film was first marketed mysteriously. Just the poster with the night background and the letters "E.T." Siskel & Ebert enthusiastically said to go see this film. I asked my mom to take me with a friend. I still had no idea what it was going to be about. Watched it at least three times after that in the theater. Decades later, I got my then six-year-old daughter to watch it with me. At the end, she broke out sobbing. The look of surprise she had that she was sobbing for the first time from a work of art. Wow!
Spielberg, at his best, captured the "ordinary people in WTF situations-what would you do?" better than anybody else. THAT'S why his movies have resonated-IMO. The effects are just bonus
Even as a kid, when I saw both Close Encounters and E.T. in theaters, I saw them as two versions of the same story. For me, both represented encountering and striving to understand the unknown. Adolescence is like that. It is an encounter with the unknown Adulthood.
No matter how many times I've seen it, the ending of this movie makes me ugly sob EVERY. TIME. That shot of a changed Elliott staring upward as his alien friend retreats back into the stars, possibly never to return, absolutely fucking wrecks me. Henry Thomas is an absolutely incredible actor and should have gotten an Oscar for this movie imo.
One of those movies that hits me emotionally as an adult as much as it did when I saw it as a kid. My parents always tell me this story whenever ET comes up about going to a drive-in theater when I was a little kid in the 80's and how I was hiding in the backseat of the car during the beginning of the movie due to be scared but by the end of the movie I was just about sitting on the dashboard with how enthralled and invested I was.
Easily up there with some of the most important films I've ever seen. While Star Wars might have had me enthralled for my early childhood. It was E.T that blew my mind and gave me a life long love of Sci-Fi that tries to imagine what could be real rather than a galaxy far far away. This was also the only movie I ever saw in the cinema with my whole family. It never happened again so really stands out as an important memory.
We have plenty of ironic, cynical, violent, and dark films. Movies like E.T. is a reminder that sentimental stories can also be great. We need more writers and directors who are brave enough to tell those stories--Guillermo del Toro and the team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are in that category.
I agree. Far too many films now are drowning in misery and extreme pessimism. We could really use more uplifting and idealistic films/shows during these times.
16:20 all the kids who grew up in the 80's felt that one... about half of us grew up in a reality where our dads bailed on their obligations as fathers.
Not to take anything away from this wonderful film, but the summer of '82 was also incredibly hot, blisteringy so, and going to an air-conditioned mall theater to watch E.T. was exactly the move for me and my friends. Buy a ticket for one movie, like Poltergeist or TRON or The Thing and watch E.T. Everyone watched E.T. and ate Reese's Pieces. We'd make a day of it. I saw the movie so much, i never watched it after it stopped playing on TV. 16 weeks at #1, but that thing was in theaters going into the fall. What a fun memory!!
I love how, as a young adult, this movie moved me, both being disturbed through my science fiction eyes and fulfilled through my hopeful human empathy. Great reaction and a much appreciated spotlight on a move often too deep for some to be comfortable exploring!
Awesome review and contemplation on the importance of ET as a film. It is one of those films that is easy to forget how impactful it really is. When you rewatch it the power and impact is reawakened in your heart. Its a rare film that works on multiple levels for kids and adults. Thank you for a great video and all the work you do making these kinds of reviews/retrospectives.
Spielberg is one truly great Directors of our time. Sooo many of the truly timeless classics have been made by him. Close encounter. E.T. Jurassic park. Indiana Jones and so soo many more.. Added to those the scores of John Williams and you have timeless classics that still to this day gives awe and delight when watched (Though I do advice against Jurassic park in 4k the Dino's looks SOOO horrible in that as the upscaling went off the mark on them)
Its a testiment to the film that no matters how many times I've watched E.T over the years, even now in my 40's, the ending still brings a tear to my eye
Gremlins I could see getting remade, I think by it's nature as a horror/comedy it isn't as emotionally resonant as ET. But it's a miracle ET hasn't been touched.
Gremlins had a sequel, so that's not entirely true. That said, i would love to see a Gremlins 3, if Joe Dante directed it. The story could be about Daniel Clamp from the second film, whose character was inspired as a Trump parody. They could make him President, and the Gremlins get into the White House. Mike Stoklasa from RedLetterMedia described in more detail the same plot, and i agree with him.
@@trekkiejunk not a sequel but modern remake. But I forgot the other big 80s franchise that has remained untouched by the remake machine....Back to the Future
I remember E.T. was one of the first films I saw in a theater. Unfortunately, I freaked out a bit when Elliott first saw the titular alien, and I remember my mother taking me to the theater lobby until I calmed down. At two years old, I might have been a little young. 🤷♂️
Even watching this video this movie and its soundtrack still get me till this day . Thank you so much for bringing back my childhood. I actually first saw this before it came out at the cinema on an illegal bootleg at a customs and excise family Christmas party lol . My gran was a customs officer and a load of tapes had been confiscated. And et was one of them. Amazing the memories this movie brings back to me I must of been about 5 or 6 and its one of my oldest memories . Thank you we lost my gran last year . And this brings back such happy movies .
In the novelized version of the film, E.T. was described as a 10 million year-old scientist, mainly a kind of botanist, if I recall correctly, which accounted for his insatiable curiosity and fascination of humanity and all the weird things and artefacts that go with our culture.
Fantastic video essay. One of my favorite recent experiences was watching this with the score performed live. One of the greatest concert experiences I’ve ever had.
The way that Spielberg handles overlooking dialogue and create believable families is marvelous. It really bothers me that he rarely gets his due for how brilliant he is.
@@ChrisRobb77 he got so much grief in the 80s and 90s. He wasn't considered a "proper" filmmaker. Even today you watch a program on the best movies or best filmmakers he is often overlooked. Nice to see that's changing.
@@coinopanimatorkind of bizzare that you would suggest that the most critically acclaimed director in the entire history of hollywood, is somehow overlooked..
I was about the same age as Elliot when I saw this, on a pirated VHS, watched on a likely sub-20" screen CRT with a bunch of other people who'd gathered to watch it together, all cramped in whoever's living room it was at the time and it still managed to wow us all. I somehow missed out on the Star Wars hype but this movie is the one of my childhood definitely. The John Williams music crescendo at the end - hair raising...
This movie is the first sci-fi film I ever saw, and the first time a movie made me cry. It holds a special place in my heart even now, nearly thirty years later.
Early Spielberg mothers, esp single or separated moms, would be so interesting to analyze. He really nails the kitchen sink drama/chaos of families as 2nd wave feminism hit American women. Genuinely amazing he's so empathetic & his mom actors were all fantastic. Dee's underrated.
ET holds such nostalgia for me - when I was a young 80s kid, an Uncle gifted me a VHS copy of ET. I think it costed him more than a new house cost at the time. I watched that more often than even Transformers, or GI Joe. Related idea: can we build housing from old VHS tapes? Modern interpretation: how can an interstellar alien species somehow not have cell phones? ET worked so hard trying to phone home. Really great video. ET made me cry then too :)
I’m sure it’s probably not in your plans, but I would love it if you talked about Jurassic Park since it is a sci fi movie, if a less spacey one. Either way excellent video! I actually saw E.T. for the first time the day before this video dropped, and in a theater too! Crazy timing! Excellent work as always!
UFO-TAROT: nr 17. The Stars. Strength of imagination can often help in understanding what actually happen around us. Do not be afraid of what your heart is suggesting.
E.T. was one of the handful of movies we had on VHS when I was a kid in the 80s/90s, so I saw it many times growing up. I was always really scared by the keys jingling to the point if I saw anyone with keys clipped to their pants like that I’d get scared.
Three unrelated thoughts on that: 1. I saw the movie at about 10 when it came to cinema first and I still remember my horror and sadness when I saw E.T.'s dead body; I don't remember, but I assume I cried. Despite the positive outcome and fond memories of it, I never wanted to watch the movie again. 2. As well as the movie, I remember the extensive franchise rumble back then; E.T. was just everywhere! 3. It's riddiculous to see the supposedly child bikers from behind and thus the (almost) double in size stuntmen.
Thanks for this really great retrospective! I'm so happy to learn this film had such a profound effect on you. I have also kept my inner child alive through my adult years (and wonder if seeing E.T. three or four times when it first came out has helped). I am still curious and in awe at what future possibilities might come to pass... even as I know there's an "adult world" out there (sadly, built on hate and fear) that seeks to wipe out all hope of a better future and replace it with a future of continuing danger and division. Here's to hoping those forces do not succeed. Maybe more of us should be riding bicycles!
E.T. was actually the first movie I saw as a kid, in the theater. I’ll have to revisit it soon. It didn’t get enough replay compared to the dozens of other 80s movies I’ve watched over and over throughout the years.
I remember walking into the theater to see E.T. and it being packed. My girlfriend had saved me the last seat in the house. It was a fantastic experience. I did leave the theater wondering just how incompetent the crew of the spaceship was to leave one of their own behind on an alien planet. Poor E.T. had to "call home" to get off of Earth. I would have been pissed off at my colleagues for doing that to me.
It's the most Spielbergian Spielberg film. Not one I've watched as much as some of his others, but every time I have it's floored me. Nearly 40 years old and the ending still cuts some onions near my eyeballs
I liked the Close Encounters review. I agree with what you said. I had no parental limits to what I could watch with my brothers at the time, and it was kinda of a middle ground between the first two Aliens & Gremlins. E.T. was sweeter and since I was most of theses days riding skate boards (McFly style boards) or BMX's riding behind bumpers to gain lift at the time, I thought at 5 or 6 that it was corny but on still on point. (I lived in coastal cities all my life with nearly 80 meters differences to see my best friends, so x2. Catching a ride was the best option, lol.)
When I watched E.T. some years ago, I realized that the pretty blonde girl in the school classroom was Erika Eleniak, Shauni McClain from Baywatch! I guess that's the third entry in the "Stars When They Were Kids in Spielberg Movies" category. 😀👍
The part where he says get the bikes always made my heart sink as a kid. I never had a bike so I knew I would never be able to go with rest of the kids and take flight alongside them. I grew up in a slum surrounded by vermin.
The ending of ET might be my favourite film ending of all time. It's just incredible. Also might be Williams' best work as well, and considering his catalogue of classics, that's saying something.
I remember that i watched it in the 80's as a kid and hating it with a passion and never watched it again since that one time. Maybe its time to try it now after all those years to see what i think of it now as a adult.
Steven Spielberg 's E.T. Is a great movie. About young boy be friends a alien. He calls E.T. Growing up Spielberg had a imaginary friend. Help with the divorce of his mom and dad. Close encounters of the third kind and E.T. Show that aliens don't have to be evil.
ET was not about holding onto fantasy. It was about heartfully incorporating new facts and realities which present themselves. That includes new beings whose existence implies a broadened reality.
I'll never understand why music can uplift a movie that much. It's just carefully placed noise at the end of the day. But it can shatter you and transport you for some unfathomable reasons.
(25:20) And unless things somehow radically change, that 16 weeks at #1 record will more than likely not be beat again. At least not in our lifetimes. I miss those days. 😕
I very much think that whether or not you find ET "ugly" is how old you were when you first saw the film. I see all these TH-cam reactors who are adults, and never saw the movie until now. Almost every single one finds ET gross. But if you saw it at 4-9 years old, you typically don't. As adults, it is much easier for us to be tribal, and "othering" what is not like us, even if unconsciously. But children are more accepting of everyone, even when different.
"You see," it said. "It's really very simple." It waited a slightly dramatic beat, it's pulsating robes of gelatibnous filament waving, softly, as they might have deep beneath the sea. "I am a prince of an empire which has ceased to exist. I came here many aeons ago. I like the flavor of the deep waters here." It paused to let me absorb that. "Now as we have established, fences make good neighbors, yes?" I nodded mutely. "And all places have their feng shui?" I agreed. "How might I know the feng shui of a place?" Silence. "Through close and careful observation of the natives," it said, coaxing me gently along. "Because-" I stuttered, grasping at the answer it had already seen fit to laboriously explain to me. "Because they develop according to real world conditions," it said. "The feng shui may be known, or intuited, by close observation of their unconscious behaviors." "Because consciousness is self-reflexive," I heard myself mumbling, but it rudely interrupted: "And it ruins the experiment, yes. Do you know what the rules are, here, on planet Earth?" I shook my head, slowly. "They are whatever is convenient," it said. "For whoever is in charge." It stood, the bony carapace glinting the color of moon-dust. "Now I am in charge," it concluded, at length. "And this is what is convenient for me." It winked at me, once, a translucent membrane sliding with exaggerated slowness over the spherical black eye. THE END
It's funny, ET is one of those movies I know I've seen but have never had an inclination to re-watch. But between Lindsay Ellis's video and now this one, I think I may have to look it up (if only to watch with my own kids).
Spot on about close encounters I love your work and you’re right. ET is everything close encounters, of the third kind was trying to do much better way not at all close encounters. It’s not a bad movie Richard Dreyfuss’s family of a train wreck we never see what happens to them at the end but we know by the end of ET that Elliott‘s family is grown closer together. They still have problems but obviously better off than they wanted the beginning of film. We don’t close encounters then the whole point of the abductions years what are you trying to say are they good aliens or bad aliens but ET leaves no You know who he is what his motives are pure heart and spirit love and thought about what they did a sequel of both movies together in one film, imagining what if the aliens from close encounters are the enemies of ET species comes to visit Elliott and the counter captures him and tortures him and Elliott and family have to save him rescue him from the bad guys It’s a basic but I’m not a filmmaker. I have ideas, but I’m not good. I thought about by the way I don’t know if you know but the guy who played Elliott did a TV commercial for a cable company in Britain where they did a spot for Christmas returns to Elliott and sees his family and has some fun with his family and returns to his planet, I thought On TH-cam what it was and I’m so glad Steven Spielberg permission for that to meet Elliott grown up with his own kids and tried to explain video games ET yeah, cause you’re so good. You totally believe that Elliott‘s kids at least I did get a chance to see it should just look up ET and Christmas commercial you’ll probably find it thanks for the fun until next time
I had to cut this one up quite a bit for copyright reasons so if you'd like to see the UNCUT and AD FREE version, click here: www.patreon.com/rowanjcoleman
Ooh, AI nust be the next one! I know AI got panned,..but I loved it. For most of the movie he is searching for a Fairy tale character....in the end, he is the Fairytale....even the world in the end has fairytale rules and limitations that usually are part of one. Very underrated movie
I remember watching E.T. for the 1st time in late summer of 1982. It was a full house 4-500+ (mid week afternoon mind you) & at the ending there was not a dry eye in the house. As the credits began to roll EVERYONE stood up and applauded for what seemed like forever (but was actually about 5mins). I looked back & around & was so filled w/emotion I could barely breathe.
Just wanted to say that the work of John Williams is going to be hard to top. I mean, there are other soundtrack composers that I love dearly, but I would be hard pressed to come up with any others that would come close to his utterly prolific and consistently master class level body of work. Just, bravo. Bravo, sir. 😎☮️
I’m glad Henry Thomas has had a renaissance in the last few years, dude is wicked talented
This freaking movie! You got to the bit about the bikes, nostalgic memories came flooding back, and suddenly I'm tearing up over a movie REVIEW. Guess it's time to watch ET again....
I was seven when it came out in theaters. The film was first marketed mysteriously. Just the poster with the night background and the letters "E.T." Siskel & Ebert enthusiastically said to go see this film. I asked my mom to take me with a friend. I still had no idea what it was going to be about. Watched it at least three times after that in the theater.
Decades later, I got my then six-year-old daughter to watch it with me. At the end, she broke out sobbing. The look of surprise she had that she was sobbing for the first time from a work of art. Wow!
Spielberg, at his best, captured the "ordinary people in WTF situations-what would you do?" better than anybody else. THAT'S why his movies have resonated-IMO. The effects are just bonus
Even as a kid, when I saw both Close Encounters and E.T. in theaters, I saw them as two versions of the same story. For me, both represented encountering and striving to understand the unknown. Adolescence is like that. It is an encounter with the unknown Adulthood.
'Hook...was PANned..." I see what you did there. Nice work as always. My spouse and I enjoy your Retrospectives immensely. Keep them up!
Me: Nothing can beat the magic of Close Enc...
E.T.: Hold my reese's pieces.
It's astounding you don't have more followers. You're one of my favourite creators. Keep them coming!
No matter how many times I've seen it, the ending of this movie makes me ugly sob EVERY. TIME. That shot of a changed Elliott staring upward as his alien friend retreats back into the stars, possibly never to return, absolutely fucking wrecks me. Henry Thomas is an absolutely incredible actor and should have gotten an Oscar for this movie imo.
One of those movies that hits me emotionally as an adult as much as it did when I saw it as a kid.
My parents always tell me this story whenever ET comes up about going to a drive-in theater when I was a little kid in the 80's and how I was hiding in the backseat of the car during the beginning of the movie due to be scared but by the end of the movie I was just about sitting on the dashboard with how enthralled and invested I was.
Easily up there with some of the most important films I've ever seen. While Star Wars might have had me enthralled for my early childhood. It was E.T that blew my mind and gave me a life long love of Sci-Fi that tries to imagine what could be real rather than a galaxy far far away. This was also the only movie I ever saw in the cinema with my whole family. It never happened again so really stands out as an important memory.
Rowan, love all your videos, but this one was just fantastic. Thanks for sharing your personal experience and insight.
We have plenty of ironic, cynical, violent, and dark films. Movies like E.T. is a reminder that sentimental stories can also be great. We need more writers and directors who are brave enough to tell those stories--Guillermo del Toro and the team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are in that category.
I agree. Far too many films now are drowning in misery and extreme pessimism. We could really use more uplifting and idealistic films/shows during these times.
@@escapistenjoyer-xd1li now more than ever….
16:20 all the kids who grew up in the 80's felt that one... about half of us grew up in a reality where our dads bailed on their obligations as fathers.
It made us grow up.
Not to take anything away from this wonderful film, but the summer of '82 was also incredibly hot, blisteringy so, and going to an air-conditioned mall theater to watch E.T. was exactly the move for me and my friends. Buy a ticket for one movie, like Poltergeist or TRON or The Thing and watch E.T. Everyone watched E.T. and ate Reese's Pieces. We'd make a day of it. I saw the movie so much, i never watched it after it stopped playing on TV. 16 weeks at #1, but that thing was in theaters going into the fall.
What a fun memory!!
I love how, as a young adult, this movie moved me, both being disturbed through my science fiction eyes and fulfilled through my hopeful human empathy. Great reaction and a much appreciated spotlight on a move often too deep for some to be comfortable exploring!
Awesome review and contemplation on the importance of ET as a film. It is one of those films that is easy to forget how impactful it really is. When you rewatch it the power and impact is reawakened in your heart. Its a rare film that works on multiple levels for kids and adults. Thank you for a great video and all the work you do making these kinds of reviews/retrospectives.
Spielberg is one truly great Directors of our time. Sooo many of the truly timeless classics have been made by him. Close encounter. E.T. Jurassic park. Indiana Jones and so soo many more.. Added to those the scores of John Williams and you have timeless classics that still to this day gives awe and delight when watched (Though I do advice against Jurassic park in 4k the Dino's looks SOOO horrible in that as the upscaling went off the mark on them)
Your summary is on point. Keep dreaming everyone! Thanks RJC, there is still good left in this world.
Great video. Really like your personal connections to the media you discuss.
Oh and that Homage to George Pal when ET puts his hand on Elliot's shoulder.
Hmmm. I don't think I've ever made that connection. Interesting.
Its a testiment to the film that no matters how many times I've watched E.T over the years, even now in my 40's, the ending still brings a tear to my eye
E.T. and Gremlins the last two 80s hit films that have not been remade. I hope it stays that way
Gremlins I could see getting remade, I think by it's nature as a horror/comedy it isn't as emotionally resonant as ET. But it's a miracle ET hasn't been touched.
Gremlins had a sequel, so that's not entirely true. That said, i would love to see a Gremlins 3, if Joe Dante directed it. The story could be about Daniel Clamp from the second film, whose character was inspired as a Trump parody. They could make him President, and the Gremlins get into the White House. Mike Stoklasa from RedLetterMedia described in more detail the same plot, and i agree with him.
@@trekkiejunk not a sequel but modern remake. But I forgot the other big 80s franchise that has remained untouched by the remake machine....Back to the Future
Gremlins got an animated prequel/reboot last year. Sigh.
Back To The Future. Not YET anyway..
This encapsulates the wonderment and infinite possibilities of childhood.
I still feel that way to this day.
Life can also be stranger than fiction.
Thanks for the upload! Greetings from Nicaragua!
Thanks for another great retrospective. You do amazing work. Keep it up!
I remember E.T. was one of the first films I saw in a theater. Unfortunately, I freaked out a bit when Elliott first saw the titular alien, and I remember my mother taking me to the theater lobby until I calmed down. At two years old, I might have been a little young. 🤷♂️
Even watching this video this movie and its soundtrack still get me till this day . Thank you so much for bringing back my childhood. I actually first saw this before it came out at the cinema on an illegal bootleg at a customs and excise family Christmas party lol . My gran was a customs officer and a load of tapes had been confiscated. And et was one of them. Amazing the memories this movie brings back to me I must of been about 5 or 6 and its one of my oldest memories . Thank you we lost my gran last year . And this brings back such happy movies .
In the novelized version of the film, E.T. was described as a 10 million year-old scientist, mainly a kind of botanist, if I recall correctly, which accounted for his insatiable curiosity and fascination of humanity and all the weird things and artefacts that go with our culture.
Well said till the very end of the video. Keep up the great work and stay young at heart, forever.
Fantastic video essay.
One of my favorite recent experiences was watching this with the score performed live. One of the greatest concert experiences I’ve ever had.
Oh, I am excited for your take on _A.I._ I've always felt that it was a sorely undervalued film.
The way that Spielberg handles overlooking dialogue and create believable families is marvelous. It really bothers me that he rarely gets his due for how brilliant he is.
He’s one of the most celebrated directors of all time. I don’t think he’s an overlooked gem.
@@ChrisRobb77 he got so much grief in the 80s and 90s. He wasn't considered a "proper" filmmaker. Even today you watch a program on the best movies or best filmmakers he is often overlooked. Nice to see that's changing.
@@coinopanimatorkind of bizzare that you would suggest that the most critically acclaimed director in the entire history of hollywood, is somehow overlooked..
@@coinopanimator Did you perhaps stumble in from a separate dimension?
Are you a clown?
I was about the same age as Elliot when I saw this, on a pirated VHS, watched on a likely sub-20" screen CRT with a bunch of other people who'd gathered to watch it together, all cramped in whoever's living room it was at the time and it still managed to wow us all. I somehow missed out on the Star Wars hype but this movie is the one of my childhood definitely. The John Williams music crescendo at the end - hair raising...
A wonderful film, and the first I saw more than once in the theatre. Thanks for this, time for a rewatch of this classic.
Loved this one as a kid. Rewatched recently for the first time in 30ish years with my young sons and appreciated it on a whole different level.
This movie is the first sci-fi film I ever saw, and the first time a movie made me cry. It holds a special place in my heart even now, nearly thirty years later.
ET is simply a masterpiece in visual storytelling.... My children were as captivated by it in 2023 as i was a kid in the 80's..
This is one of your best videos yet Rowan. Well done!
"And Hook, while a box office success, was panned." The delivery of that line leads me to believe it was a most sincere 'no pun intended'. 😄
What a lovely essay! Thank you! 😊
Early Spielberg mothers, esp single or separated moms, would be so interesting to analyze. He really nails the kitchen sink drama/chaos of families as 2nd wave feminism hit American women. Genuinely amazing he's so empathetic & his mom actors were all fantastic. Dee's underrated.
was that possibly a teaser for an A.I. retrospective at the end there?! looking forward to it if so!
Yes it was :)
"Swear never to work with child actors again". Jurassic Park with two child actors comes two years later lol
ET holds such nostalgia for me - when I was a young 80s kid, an Uncle gifted me a VHS copy of ET. I think it costed him more than a new house cost at the time. I watched that more often than even Transformers, or GI Joe.
Related idea: can we build housing from old VHS tapes?
Modern interpretation: how can an interstellar alien species somehow not have cell phones? ET worked so hard trying to phone home.
Really great video. ET made me cry then too :)
I’m sure it’s probably not in your plans, but I would love it if you talked about Jurassic Park since it is a sci fi movie, if a less spacey one. Either way excellent video! I actually saw E.T. for the first time the day before this video dropped, and in a theater too! Crazy timing! Excellent work as always!
Seeing this the the theaters, there was not a dry eye as we walked out.
This was a kids life in the 80's.
I'm glad to have been a kid when Spielberg was at his peak.
One of the keystone films of my childhood (I was 12 when it came out). Love your take and review, as always.
Would love to see your take on Flight of the Navigator!
UFO-TAROT: nr 17. The Stars. Strength of imagination can often help in understanding what actually happen around us. Do not be afraid of what your heart is suggesting.
E.T. was one of the handful of movies we had on VHS when I was a kid in the 80s/90s, so I saw it many times growing up. I was always really scared by the keys jingling to the point if I saw anyone with keys clipped to their pants like that I’d get scared.
Three unrelated thoughts on that:
1. I saw the movie at about 10 when it came to cinema first and I still remember my horror and sadness when I saw E.T.'s dead body; I don't remember, but I assume I cried. Despite the positive outcome and fond memories of it, I never wanted to watch the movie again.
2. As well as the movie, I remember the extensive franchise rumble back then; E.T. was just everywhere!
3. It's riddiculous to see the supposedly child bikers from behind and thus the (almost) double in size stuntmen.
Thanks for this really great retrospective! I'm so happy to learn this film had such a profound effect on you. I have also kept my inner child alive through my adult years (and wonder if seeing E.T. three or four times when it first came out has helped). I am still curious and in awe at what future possibilities might come to pass... even as I know there's an "adult world" out there (sadly, built on hate and fear) that seeks to wipe out all hope of a better future and replace it with a future of continuing danger and division. Here's to hoping those forces do not succeed. Maybe more of us should be riding bicycles!
What a great retrospec - thank you
E.T. was actually the first movie I saw as a kid, in the theater. I’ll have to revisit it soon. It didn’t get enough replay compared to the dozens of other 80s movies I’ve watched over and over throughout the years.
I remember walking into the theater to see E.T. and it being packed. My girlfriend had saved me the last seat in the house. It was a fantastic experience. I did leave the theater wondering just how incompetent the crew of the spaceship was to leave one of their own behind on an alien planet. Poor E.T. had to "call home" to get off of Earth. I would have been pissed off at my colleagues for doing that to me.
Very nicely describe has usual. One question I would have love to explore was why there has never been a sequel? Thanks for the retrospective ❤🎉😊
Very nice retrospective. I love this film. Thank you.
It's the most Spielbergian Spielberg film. Not one I've watched as much as some of his others, but every time I have it's floored me. Nearly 40 years old and the ending still cuts some onions near my eyeballs
I liked the Close Encounters review. I agree with what you said. I had no parental limits to what I could watch with my brothers at the time, and it was kinda of a middle ground between the first two Aliens & Gremlins. E.T. was sweeter and since I was most of theses days riding skate boards (McFly style boards) or BMX's riding behind bumpers to gain lift at the time, I thought at 5 or 6 that it was corny but on still on point. (I lived in coastal cities all my life with nearly 80 meters differences to see my best friends, so x2. Catching a ride was the best option, lol.)
When I watched E.T. some years ago, I realized that the pretty blonde girl in the school classroom was Erika Eleniak, Shauni McClain from Baywatch! I guess that's the third entry in the "Stars When They Were Kids in Spielberg Movies" category. 😀👍
What's funnier is that the version played is AD&D, which at the time was about to get slapped by the satanic panic.
The part where he says get the bikes always made my heart sink as a kid. I never had a bike so I knew I would never be able to go with rest of the kids and take flight alongside them. I grew up in a slum surrounded by vermin.
Like how he used the original film(?) where the agents had shotguns instead of walkie talkies.
Kinda surprised he didn't have a few words on Spielberg going George Lucas on ET.
Enjoyable overview, Rowan.
Wonderful. A movie that needs no sequel, and no reboot. Ever.
Yeah, by the end I’m always balling too. 😭😭😭
There are two films of Spielberg’s that I’m glad never got sequels: Close Encounters and E.T. Perfect on their own.
I'd say *ET is* the sequel to *Close Encounters.*
@@oliverbrownlow5615 except that it’s not a sequel to Close Encounters. Spiritual sequel, maybe.
For me, it is the best science fiction movie. Very touching.❤❤❤
E. T. is a masterpiece.
The ending of ET might be my favourite film ending of all time. It's just incredible. Also might be Williams' best work as well, and considering his catalogue of classics, that's saying something.
Why are they Pedalling when they are flying? That never made sense to me, not even as a child.
I remember that i watched it in the 80's as a kid and hating it with a passion and never watched it again since that one time.
Maybe its time to try it now after all those years to see what i think of it now as a adult.
Steven Spielberg 's E.T. Is a great movie. About young boy be friends a alien. He calls E.T. Growing up Spielberg had a imaginary friend. Help with the divorce of his mom and dad. Close encounters of the third kind and E.T. Show that aliens don't have to be evil.
ET was not about holding onto fantasy. It was about heartfully incorporating new facts and realities which present themselves. That includes new beings whose existence implies a broadened reality.
I like the line you used
I got bigger toys
Hook was panned. I saw what you did there.
i would love to see a video on flight of the navagetor one of my childhood favrates
I'll never understand why music can uplift a movie that much. It's just carefully placed noise at the end of the day. But it can shatter you and transport you for some unfathomable reasons.
P-51...CADILLAC OF THE SKIES!
Good one, Row.
"Hook was 'Panned' 😏"
(25:20) And unless things somehow radically change, that 16 weeks at #1 record will more than likely not be beat again. At least not in our lifetimes. I miss those days. 😕
PS: thank you for these retrospectives. Love your work, sir. 😎☮️
Enjoyed this
Amazing
I very much think that whether or not you find ET "ugly" is how old you were when you first saw the film. I see all these TH-cam reactors who are adults, and never saw the movie until now. Almost every single one finds ET gross. But if you saw it at 4-9 years old, you typically don't. As adults, it is much easier for us to be tribal, and "othering" what is not like us, even if unconsciously. But children are more accepting of everyone, even when different.
I have one…and only one plushie from when I was growing up. And it’s ET.
I remember seeing ET 3 times in the theatre as a young kid. AI on the other hand only once as that ending was trying too hard to rip my heart out.
Mac and Me is the superior film. Prove me wrong.
"You see," it said. "It's really very simple."
It waited a slightly dramatic beat, it's pulsating robes of gelatibnous filament waving, softly, as they might have deep beneath the sea.
"I am a prince of an empire which has ceased to exist. I came here many aeons ago. I like the flavor of the deep waters here."
It paused to let me absorb that.
"Now as we have established, fences make good neighbors, yes?"
I nodded mutely.
"And all places have their feng shui?"
I agreed.
"How might I know the feng shui of a place?"
Silence.
"Through close and careful observation of the natives," it said, coaxing me gently along.
"Because-" I stuttered, grasping at the answer it had already seen fit to laboriously explain to me.
"Because they develop according to real world conditions," it said. "The feng shui may be known, or intuited, by close observation of their unconscious behaviors."
"Because consciousness is self-reflexive," I heard myself mumbling, but it rudely interrupted: "And it ruins the experiment, yes. Do you know what the rules are, here, on planet Earth?"
I shook my head, slowly.
"They are whatever is convenient," it said. "For whoever is in charge."
It stood, the bony carapace glinting the color of moon-dust.
"Now I am in charge," it concluded, at length. "And this is what is convenient for me."
It winked at me, once, a translucent membrane sliding with exaggerated slowness over the spherical black eye.
THE END
It's funny, ET is one of those movies I know I've seen but have never had an inclination to re-watch. But between Lindsay Ellis's video and now this one, I think I may have to look it up (if only to watch with my own kids).
Spot on about close encounters I love your work and you’re right. ET is everything close encounters, of the third kind was trying to do much better way not at all close encounters. It’s not a bad movie Richard Dreyfuss’s family of a train wreck we never see what happens to them at the end but we know by the end of ET that Elliott‘s family is grown closer together. They still have problems but obviously better off than they wanted the beginning of film. We don’t close encounters then the whole point of the abductions years what are you trying to say are they good aliens or bad aliens but ET leaves no You know who he is what his motives are pure heart and spirit love and thought about what they did a sequel of both movies together in one film, imagining what if the aliens from close encounters are the enemies of ET species comes to visit Elliott and the counter captures him and tortures him and Elliott and family have to save him rescue him from the bad guys It’s a basic but I’m not a filmmaker. I have ideas, but I’m not good. I thought about by the way I don’t know if you know but the guy who played Elliott did a TV commercial for a cable company in Britain where they did a spot for Christmas returns to Elliott and sees his family and has some fun with his family and returns to his planet, I thought On TH-cam what it was and I’m so glad Steven Spielberg permission for that to meet Elliott grown up with his own kids and tried to explain video games ET yeah, cause you’re so good. You totally believe that Elliott‘s kids at least I did get a chance to see it should just look up ET and Christmas commercial you’ll probably find it thanks for the fun until next time
I remember watching this at the theatre as a kid. My main memory (and takeaway) was “they are playing d&d!”
(I was and still am a D&D nerd 😅).
"Hook was Panned"
I see what you did there.
I always thought the Halloween scene where E.T sees Yoda and says "Home" funny.
They also play a quick snippet from Yoda's Theme, which of course was also composed by John Williams.
@@Trigormike Does that make E.T, Star Wars canon?
@@JoeyArmstrong2800 Didn't a couple of ET's species appear in one of the prequels? In the senate, I believe?
42 YEARS AGO TODAY ET PREMIERED IN THEATERS
What happened inside the mothership when it flipped the way it did? No aliens were killed in the proces?