E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) is probably one of the most moving science fiction films in history. After Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg had proved he knew what buttons to push to make not just children, but adults too, cry.

The film centres on Elliot, a lonely 10-year old going through his parents’ divorce. One day he finds a strange alien creature rooting for food in his garden shed – this turns out to be E.T., an alien botanist who was left behind when his exploration party fled the planet after being disturbed by humans. E.T. and Elliot form an indestructible friendship and a real physical bond.

Elliot and his siblings, specifically his little sister Gertie (played by Drew Barrymore), protect this sweet and vulnerable extra-terrestrial, and teach him to communicate. With their help, he builds a machine to communicate with his lost companions, giving rise to the phrase that swept the world and spawned famous ad campaigns: “E.T. phone home”.

The film touches on everyone’s deep-seated desire to find an unconditional friendship that can rescue us from loneliness or sadness. Spielberg himself said he was a lonely child who wished for such a friend.

The film contains some remarkable performances, with the child actors often improvising and footage from secretly recorded rehearsals being used to capture sponteneity and amazement. The special effects from Industrial Light and Magic also played an enormous part in the film’s success, injecting the often cold subject of aliens with real heart and emotion.