I don’t believe I’ve ever formally reviewed this evergreen title before; I graduated college just before E. T. premiered and the few reviews I wrote for local papers came before or after it.  I did mention it on my “Sneak Previews” audition tape, but only as an afterthought, after panning Blade Runner and some other title I cannot now recall.  I did not get the job.  Anyway, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary E. T.: The Extra-Terrestrial has been rereleased in the IMAX format, and I have had the delight to see it in a theater once more (for the fourth time).

Steven Spielberg’s alien fantasy finds a stubby little alien botanist stranded on Earth.  He befriends a young boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas, in a terrific performance) and his siblings (adorable Drew Barrymore, energetic Robert MacNaughton).  The alien builds a device to call for a rescue but falls ill (probably from eating mostly Reese’s Pieces for days).  E. T. and Elliott (note the similar names) fall ill together as the Feds close in and try to keep the alien alive.  The rescue comes just in time, as E. T. and the local teens outwit the police and the Feds to fly to the forest and reunite the flower-gatherer with his own kind.

This fable is made for younger audiences and I responded more powerfully to it when I was younger.  Of course, now I also know exactly what to expect.  That said, after a slow-ish first half this movie really gets going when E. T. revives, and from that moment on it’s a great ride, powered by John Williams’ Oscar-winning score.  I was struck this time by how similar thematically this film is to Spielberg’s previous science-fiction tome, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Here, the Feds try to horn on in the action just as they did in Wyoming, but this time the people closest to the alien experience all the wonder for themselves and are touched forever without having to deal with bureaucrats and medical staff.  The kids have the pure experience that I was hoping Roy and Gillian would share at the end of Close Encounters.

Spielberg’s film marvelously evokes childhood wonder; E. T. learns all about Halloween almost literally through a child’s eyes.  Its conception of a modern, broken American family is spot-on, and it is funnier and cleverer than I remember.  Best of all it cements such a solid connection between Elliott and the creature he befriends that it is impossible not to be emotionally devastated when they are forced by fate to separate.  The human feelings we develop for animals or even objects (Wilson from Cast Away comes to mind) may not be sensible but they are real nonetheless, and Spielberg plays this to the hilt.  Carlo Rambaldi’s artistry in creating E. T. is remarkable; the alien’s limited facial expressions do not inhibit its likability.  Forty years on, this title is still a wonderful movie to witness.  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆.  13 August 2022.