After a gentle alien becomes stranded on Earth, the being is discovered and befriended by a young boy named Elliott. Bringing the extraterrestrial into his suburban California house, Elliott introduces E.T., as the alien is dubbed, to his brother and his little sister, Gertie, and the children decide to keep its existence a secret. Soon, however, E.T. falls ill, resulting in government intervention and a dire situation for both Elliott and the alien.Written by
Jwelch5742
E.T.'s spaceship was designed by conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie (who also designed the mothership for Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"). Described in the screenplay as looking like something from a Dr. Seuss story, McQuarrie gave the ship a distinctly Victorian, Jules Verne-like appearance. See more »
Goofs
When Elliott thinks E.T. is dying, and is talking to him through the window of the box, the towel that is wrapped around Elliott keeps changing position - sometimes it is wrapped tightly around his neck, and other times it reveals a bit of his left side. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Steve:
[reading dice]
Five.
Michael:
Oh, great.
Steve:
So you got an arrow right in your chest.
See more »
Crazy Credits
In the 2002 special edition release, the movie opens with a sillouette of E.T. in basket with Elliot on bike flying in front of the Universal logo. See more »
Alternate Versions
In March 2002 was released a special 20th Anniversary edition (with a digitally remixed soundtrack, additional footage and computer-generated enhancements to existing scenes). It includes the following changes:
a new, CGI-enhanced scene showing E.T. and Elliot taking a bath together. The scene was originally scrapped because Spielberg thought the animatronic effects weren't up to par;
for the "E.T. phone home" dialogue scenes, CGI has been used to make E.T.'s lips movement match the words more closely;
a longer version of the Halloween sequence;
for the first of the film's two flying sequences, the cape of Elliot's Halloween costume is digitally added onto him, so it can flap in the wind as he and E.T. fly on their bicycle through the forest and past the moon. This was done to bring what Spielberg originally envisioned for this scene to fruition, and to make it look accurate to the famous silhouette's appearances on the film's iconic poster and the logo of Spielberg's production company, Amblin Entertainment. The original reason why the cape didn't appear in this scene in the original 1982 cut was never given.
in the original release, the government agents pursuing E.T. and Elliot had weapons in their hands: the new edition digitally replaces them with walkie-talkies;
changes in dialogue: Elliot's mother's prohibition to go trick-or-treating dressed as "a terrorist" has been changed to "a hippie".
Spielberg's powerful and remarkable film about a boy and his unusual befriendment of an extra terrestrial. Possibly his finest film, E.T. captures a piece of childhood, and reminds the rest of us of a time long since past. It excites a story adults often forget, and a powerful remembrance of a childhood friendship during difficult periods of development. Adult criticism of the movie loses its youthful bond, and fails to appreciate growing up in the 80's. This is the pinnacle of Spielberg's childhood movies. Few other films capture as powerful a message of childhood emotion. Other films which attempt to do so dive so deep into childhood memories they lose their connection with adults, and degrade to brief interludes of "dumb" comic relief to keep grown ups from falling asleep. The closest runner up is likely Goonies (a film written by Spielberg). A very personal film for Spielberg; as he explores atypical friendships after the separation of his father; he should be commended for achieving such a remarkable success and for sharing it with the rest of us. I was five when I first saw the movie, and although it frightened me at the time, it still makes me cry. An unparalleled film in its class, it is easy to see why it remains the fourth all time grossing film (adjusted for inflation, third otherwise) seventeen years after its release. Cheers to Spielberg for not ruining the movie by attempting a sequel.
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Spielberg's powerful and remarkable film about a boy and his unusual befriendment of an extra terrestrial. Possibly his finest film, E.T. captures a piece of childhood, and reminds the rest of us of a time long since past. It excites a story adults often forget, and a powerful remembrance of a childhood friendship during difficult periods of development. Adult criticism of the movie loses its youthful bond, and fails to appreciate growing up in the 80's. This is the pinnacle of Spielberg's childhood movies. Few other films capture as powerful a message of childhood emotion. Other films which attempt to do so dive so deep into childhood memories they lose their connection with adults, and degrade to brief interludes of "dumb" comic relief to keep grown ups from falling asleep. The closest runner up is likely Goonies (a film written by Spielberg). A very personal film for Spielberg; as he explores atypical friendships after the separation of his father; he should be commended for achieving such a remarkable success and for sharing it with the rest of us. I was five when I first saw the movie, and although it frightened me at the time, it still makes me cry. An unparalleled film in its class, it is easy to see why it remains the fourth all time grossing film (adjusted for inflation, third otherwise) seventeen years after its release. Cheers to Spielberg for not ruining the movie by attempting a sequel.