Even Steven Spielberg Thinks This Classic of His Is “Pretty Perfect”

The big picture

• As one of the most beloved filmmakers of all time, Steven Spielberg has several iconic films under his belt.
• The director and filmmaker has admitted that there are only a few of his films that he can re-watch “over and over again”.
• ET the alien
  it's a beloved classic that the director considers “pretty perfect.”

Steven Spielberg he is rightly regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. But, like many great artists, he is very humble and can be one of his harshest critics. During an appearance a The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Spielberg noted that, like many filmmakers, “I don't watch my movies much after I make them,” but said he occasionally watches some of his works with his children. He explained that while watching his films he often becomes critical, saying, “Sometimes I see things I intended to do that I didn't do, and sometimes I see things that would have been a better idea than what I'm seeing. these years later.” However, he clarified that there are “about five or six” of his films that he doesn't mind watching over and over again. Although I wouldn't name the others, he confirmed it ET the alien is on the list, saying that “It's one of the few movies I've ever made that I can actually look back on over and over again,” and that he feels, “for the most part, ET is a pretty perfect movie.” Looking back at the 1982 adventure film, it's hard to disagree. E.T combines the best of Spielberg's cinematic skills with a deeply personal story, resulting in a timeless classic.

E.T begins with a group of aliens descending into a California forest to collect plants that they use for an unknown purpose. One of the group gets distracted by seeing city lights in the distance, and when US government agents arrive, intent on capturing the aliens, his companions are forced to flee without him. Meanwhile, local 10-year-old Elliott Taylor (Henry Thomas) struggles to cope with his parents' recent separation, causing clashes with his older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and overworked mother Mary (Dee Wallace). After a family argument, Elliott goes outside where he encounters the alien hiding in a nearby cornfield, with him and the alien equally scared of each other. After later determining that the alien is not dangerous, Elliott lures it into the house, where he, Michael, and his younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) begin to care for him in secret, calling him “ET” and deciding to help him contact his people, so he can return home.

“ET” perfectly captures the child's perspective

Despite the science fiction plot, one of the best things E.T is his realistic approach to portray Elliott's coming-of-age story. Elliott is one of the most nuanced and balanced child characters in cinema, thanks to strong writing and a convincing performance by Thomas. Despite his distress over his father's departure, he is not as melodramatically defiant or abrasive with his family, as there was only one major incident where he upset Mary when referring to her father's new girlfriend . This keeps him more likeable and likable than the grumpier child and teenage characters, and allows the viewer to root for both him and Mary, without pitting them against each other.

Michael and Gertie are equally well written and acted. The former clashes with Elliott and makes fun of Elliott as the brothers do in the early parts of the film, but upon discovering ET, he promises to help Elliott and ET without hesitation, and is also shown comforting Elliott about his family problems during quiet dialogue scenes. It's clear that the couple love each other deeply, even if they hesitate to say it out loud; this separates Michael from the one-dimensional, antagonistic brothers in other coming-of-age films. The film strikes an excellent balance between making Gertie an individualistic and personable character, with Drew Barrymore's handling of her sassy lines to Elliott resulting in hilarious deliveries, while realistically portraying the immaturity of a such a small child Although she is as committed to helping ET as the boys, she immediately forgets or intentionally breaks her promise to keep it a secret to Mary and tries to show her the alien on the first day the boys have to leave her to go to school

The film's presentation of small-town life is equally compelling, while extracting strong humor from some of the oddities of this lifestyle that people take for granted. Details like Elliott heating a thermometer with a lamp because Mary thinks he has a fever and lets him stay home from school (something Spielberg himself did as a kid), and Michael only knowing how to drive in reverse after reversing Mary's car. of the driveway make the world of the film feel alive and the characters like real people, despite the fantastical premise. Elliott's iconic use of Reese's Pieces to lure ET into the house adds to this effect. Famously, the production originally intended to use M&M's, but when Mars refused due to doubts about the film's commercial prospects, Hershey gave permission for the new Reese's product to be used. Ultimately, this further individualizes Elliott by suggesting that Reese's lesser-known pieces may be a particular favorite of his or someone else in the family.

In addition to making him a balanced character, the film also closely aligns the viewer with Elliott's perspective, even with his visuals. In an archived interview about the film with The American Society of Cinematographers, Spielberg explained how many of the film's shots were mounted with cameras mounted so that “the lens is usually about four feet, eight inches in the air,” near Thomas. height, so that the viewer saw things similarly to how Elliott did, instead of looking down on him either from the point of view of adults or a more objective camera, as might be the case in a more conventional film. Spielberg explains that he further cemented this low perspective by often composing shots in which Elliott and/or the camera looked at his brother and at the ceiling, as children often do. It also describes the decision to avoid showing the faces of most adults other than Mary until the end of the film, when government agents quarantine the Taylor household, recreating the intimidating effect that the adults can have on young children and increasing the suspense before the revelation. that the alien-obsessed agent is known as Keys (Peter Coyote) is not malevolent. This meticulous work pays off handsomely, immersing the viewer in the children's worldview without infantilizing them or diminishing their optimism and sense of wonder that is key to the story. With the minute and minute brilliance with which E.T is designed, it's not hard to see why Spielberg has high praise for the classic.

“ET” is a little personal for Steven Spielberg

E.T is one of Spielberg's most comprehensive explorations of the theme of fractured families, which recurs frequently in his work. It has often been noted how many of Spielberg's films are influenced by and reflect his complicated feelings about his parents' divorce. While accepting the Best Director award at the 80th Golden Globe Awards for his 2022 film The Fabelmanswhich features a more lightly fictionalized depiction of his youth, Spielberg noted that “I've told this story in bits and pieces throughout my career” and called E.T as one of his previous films that “has a lot to do with this story”, emphasizing the director's personal connection to the film. But while The Fabelmans naturally presents a more accurate representation of his childhood, given his lack of aliens, E.T it's an equally, if not more, powerful statement about growth and family conflict. The ending beautifully captures the changing difficulties of childhood, as despite managing to help ET and grow closer to Mary and her siblings in the process, Elliott now has to deal with saying goodbye to the former. Also, there is no indication that her parents reconciled.

But thanks to his experiences with ET, the viewer now trusts that Elliott has the strength to deal with all the other difficulties that are sure to come his way. This suggests that the story of the film can also be seen as a metaphor for Spielberg's relationship with the art of cinema. Sammy Fabelman (Spielberg's fictional version played by Gabriel LaBelle in the 2022 film) uses cinema as an outlet to deal with his feelings about family issues. Elliott's relationship with ET serves the same purpose. E.T it is full of references to the popular culture of its time, especially to Spielberg's friend by George Lucas War of the galaxies franchise, with Elliott shown as a regular guy who loves these kinds of adventure movies (of which, of course, Spielberg is known as one of the masters) and similar stories. Living through one of these stories helps Elliott heal and grow, and while as far as we know, young viewers won't have exactly the same kind of experience as him, they may have similar ones to Sammy's and Spielberg. This is why many of Spielberg's films, E.T chief among them, they play inspirational roles for young filmmakers and film students, of which I count myself as one of the many.

There are many more aspects E.T that make it the perfect film that it is, from the brilliantly executed visual effects and John Williams' epic score, to the cheeky bit at the end where Harvey, the Taylors' dog, almost runs into the ship ET spaceship as it takes off, triggering a sequel, before returning to Elliott's side so the film can end more definitively. But its greatest achievements lie in how it immerses the viewer in a story that is both fantastical at its best and extremely relatable as it explores themes of family and cinema.which, in Spielberg's work, are almost always intertwined.

ET the alien is currently available to rent and buy on Prime Video in the US

WATCH IN PRIME VIDEO