|
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982)
Starring Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, and C. Thomas Howell. Cinematography by Allen Daviau. Edited by Carol Littleton. Produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg. Written by Melissa Mathison. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Under the cover of darkness a small crew of alien scientists visits Earth to study its plant life. Their presence is nearly discovered and in the mad dash back to get back to their ship, one of them is accidentally left behind. The poor little guy finds refuge in a backyard work shed where Elliott, one of the children living in the adjacent house, finds him. After an initial shock, curiosity gets the best of them and they soon become acquainted. Elliott harbors E.T. (the name he has given his new friend) in his closet and teaches him how to speak English. The bond between Elliott and E.T. grows stronger; so strong in fact that when E.T. starts to suffer from a deadly home sickness, Elliott’s health follows suit. The authorities discover the extra terrestrial living in the suburban neighborhood and they quarantine the area, making escape seem impossible.
In the late seventies Steven Spielberg was developing a film titled Night Skies that would portray a different kind of extra terrestrial life form than those featured in his Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The story, written by John Sayles and Ron Cobb, was set on a farm that was being terrorized by small alien creatures. Night Skies’ screenplay had been finalized, story boards had been assembled, and alien effects had been created, but the project was eventually dropped due to budgetary concerns. There was one element of the story, however, that would stick with Spielberg; at the end of Night Skies one alien was left behind by its crew. This idea, along with his childhood fantasies of having a “special friend” that came along to save him from the loneliness and hurt of his broken home, was the basis of the story that he would pitch to screenwriter Melissa Mathison while shooting Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mathison, who was there with her fiancée Harrison Ford, had written The Black Stallion and other children’s stories and seemed a perfect choice to pen such a script. So during the downtime in the hot Tunisian desert Spielberg and Mathison developed the basic plotline of what would eventually become E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. When Spielberg got back to California he immediately showed the script to his friend Sidney Sheinberg, the head of Universal Studios, and the very next day the project was green-lit.
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial ended up not only being the biggest hit of Spielberg’s already enviable career, but ultimately became one of the biggest hits of all time. Audiences around the world flocked to see this film event; so much in fact that it was kept in theaters for over a year on its initial release. The film was later re-released in 1985 and found some success. On E.T. the Extra Terrestrial’s twentieth anniversary, Spielberg had the film entirely remastered with enhanced special effects, a digitized soundtrack, and previously edited footage. This “special edition” was greeted modestly at the box office, but has since found its way on to a fantastic two disc DVD set that is a must for any fan of the film.
Budget: $10,500,000
Total US Gross: $435,110,554
Genre: Science Fiction
Runtime: 115 Minutes
US Release Date: 6/11/82
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (intended ratio)
Awards: Academy Awards: Won for best original score, best sound, best visual effects, and best sound effects. Nominated for best cinematography, best editing, best original screenplay, best director, and best picture. Golden Globes: Won for best original score and best dramatic picture. Nominated for best new star male star of the year, best screenplay, and best director. Directors Guild of America: Nominated for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. Writers Guild of America: Won for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen. Winner of the American Film Institute's top one hundred movies of all time: number twenty five.
Tagline: His Adventure On Earth.
Quote: “E.T. phone home.”
|
