May 17, 2022
'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin hop on their bikes and head to the forest to rewatch Steven Spielberg's iconic 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, and Drew Barrymore.
Cast
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Melissa Mathison
Cinematography by: Allen Daviau
Music by: John Williams
Notes
- Budget: $10.5 million; grossed $793 million worldwide – roughly 80x its budget. Surpassed 'Star Wars' as the highest-grossing film of all time; held the record for 11 years.
- Had 8 different weekends grossing over $10 million; was #1 for 16 weeks. Stayed in theaters for one year. Its 8th Friday made more money than its 1st Friday.
- Sold over 15 million VHS units. Generated over $1 billion in merchandise; 15 million ET dolls sold.
- 9 Oscar nominations. Won Best Original Score, Visual Effects, Sound, and Sound Effects Editing. Lost Best Picture and Best Director to Gandhi.
- Columbia Pictures passed on the film. Universal purchased it for $1 million. Columbia retained 5% of net profits.
- Spielberg conceived the story from an imaginary alien companion after his parents' divorce in 1960. Developed the concept while filming Raiders in Tunisia.
- Called 'A Boy's Life' during production to prevent leaks. Spielberg filmed in chronological order so the kids would actually say goodbye to ET at the end.
- Every shot filmed from a child's eye level.
- ET puppet created by Carlo Rambaldi. Four heads. Two little people and a 12-year-old born without legs wore the costume. Cost ~$1.5 million.
- ET voice: Pat Welsh (heavy smoker, recorded 9.5 hours, paid $380), with contributions from Debra Winger, Spielberg himself, and various animals.
- Mars/M&M's refused product placement – created a competitor in Reese's Pieces, one of the biggest product placement mistakes in movie history.
- The ET Atari video game is considered the worst ever made, blamed for the 1983 video game crash. Millions of cartridges were buried in a New Mexico landfill.
- Drew Barrymore's 'I don't like his feet' was ad-libbed (she was talking about wires coming from the puppet's feet). She originally auditioned for 'Poltergeist'.
- Harrison Ford was supposed to play the principal (voice only, face unseen) – this was cut.
- Spielberg was simultaneously working on 'Poltergeist', released one week after ET.
- Spielberg and Lucas swapped points on each other's films.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“This is not simply a good movie. It is one of those movies that brush away our cautions and win our hearts.”
Ebert gave a passionate four-star review, championing the film's emotional power.
Most re-watchable scene
- Bill: the last 15 minutes is the heart-shatterer.
- Mallory: the 'E.T. phone home' scene combining Halloween, trick-or-treating, and the actual phoning home.
- The bike chase and final flight at sunset. The goodbye sequence: 'Come. Stay. Ouch. I'll be right here.'
- ET alone in the house (getting drunk, watching TV). The school frog scene / Elliott acting drunk in class.
What aged the best?
- John Williams' score – one of the greatest film scores ever. The final chase sequence was edited to match the score.
- The ET puppet – still works 40 years later despite being practical.
- Henry Thomas' performance – Sean: 'The greatest child acting performance in the history of movies.'
- Drew Barrymore's career longevity – child actor who became an A-list celebrity with a 40+ year career.
- The fact that it remained standalone with no sequel – 'They left the legacy of this film intact.'
- Dee Wallace's mom performance.
What aged the worst?
- Watching as a parent changes the perspective – you now sympathize with the adults rather than seeing them as villains.
- Mars/M&M's not allowing their candy in the film.
- Plagiarism allegations – Indian director Satyajit Ray's 1967 script 'The Alien.'
- The ET Atari video game – worst video game ever made.
Casting what-ifs
- Harrison Ford was supposed to play the principal (cut).
- Shelley Long reportedly offered Dee Wallace's role but signed to do 'Night Shift'.
- Ralph Macchio almost cast as one of the other kids.
- Corey Feldman – a script rewrite eliminated his part.
Best "that guy"
- Peter Coyote – later known for voicing Ken Burns documentaries.
- Robert MacNaughton (the older brother) – became a permanent 'that guy.'
Apex Mountain
- Spielberg: has to be ET (or possibly the Schindler's List/'Jurassic Park' double in 1993). 'Jaws', Close Encounters, Raiders, ET is 'the best run of movies anyone's ever had.'
- Every kid actor except Drew Barrymore: this is their apex.
- Product placement: Reese's Pieces – apex mountain for product placement.
- Friendly aliens: yes.
- Speak and Spell: yes.
Picking nits
- Keys telling everyone to 'clear out' so a 10-year-old can say goodbye alone.
- The cornfield in Elliott's backyard – doesn't match the California setting.
- When ET dies, everyone immediately abandons quarantine protocol.
- How does Gertie show up at the end?
- The kids only ordered one pizza for a group of teenage boys.
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- Mallory: Elliott's bike with the basket – the most iconic visual in the movie.
- Bill: the Speak and Spell communicator.
- Chris: the movie poster, or the Elvis Costello poster from Elliott's room.
Who won the movie?
- Spielberg – unanimous.
- Runner-up: Henry Thomas.
- Sean: aliens won this movie – 'the first movie where you're like maybe aliens are cool.'