An Alien Seen Through Children: Most-Moving SF Film Ever Created in the Wake of the SF Craze

Rating: 10/10 (9 June 2016)

With the release of George Lucas' original "Star Wars" film in 1977 (later re-titled "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope") and Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounter of the Third Kind", the genre of Science Fiction film was reborn into the mainstream. Previously it had been primarily marketed to adolescent boys as either b-films or cliff-hanger series in matinees from circa 1935 to 1970. For about 5 to 6 years from circa 1977 to 1983, the entertainment industry cranked out tons of Science Fiction based films and television shows, most of which were of marginal quality, such as "Buck Rogers", "Battlestar Gallactica" and "The Black Hole" which were simply trying to mirror the success of Star Wars. A few were superb standout's, such as "Alien", "Blade Runner" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". At the end of this short period when the studios were saturating movie theaters with just about anything with space ships, Steven Spielberg and company produced and released "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial".
Unlike most of Hollywood's Science Fiction offerings from the release of Star Wars in 1977 to its third installment "Return of the Jedi" in 1983, "E.T." didn't rely on space ships and galactic battles. Yes, there's a space ship in a couple of scenes, and even a few technological miracles, but that's not the main point. "E.T." is primarily about how children see the world as opposed to adults. In a strange way, "E.T." probably has more in common with "To Kill a Mockingbird" than "Star Wars", the former being injustice as seen by children in a similar way. The themes of "E.T." are so moving because we see the alien through children who don't quite fear things the way adults do. Not to say that children don't have fears, but sometimes wonder can overcome fear, which is I think at the heart of "E.T." The alien is also very childlike, often exploring and getting into things he shouldn't be. "E.T." is thematically opposite from "Alien" released just two years earlier in which an horrific alien creatures infiltrates and attacks a galactic space ship. So although "Alien", "Close and Encounters of the Third Kind" and the original "Star Wars" films are in more or less the same Science Fiction genre, the similarities end there for the most part.
The story-line is deceptively simple but allows for the development of not only the characters but their relationships. A spaceship has landed on Earth and some beings from another solar system have been exploring our planet in a wooded area not far from a suburban community. For them, our planet is an alien world. One of the explorers was so curious about our planet he wandered far away from the space ship. Government men became aware that something was going on, and when they made their presence known, the ship was forced to leave, causing their companion to be stranded on Earth. Throughout the film are the government men who are investigating what's going on, and they become somewhat adversarial to the alien being and the children. Intensely curious about us and our planet, he wanders into the suburban community and hides in a shed of a house where a single mom and her three children reside. He is discovered by the younger son Elliott (Henry Thomas), the middle child of the three.
One of the most effective sequences is how Elliott and the alien meet and find common ground. Elliott leaves trails of Reese's Pieces which are picked up by the alien. But instead of eating them, the alien places a handful of them on Elliott's lap as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. Some kind of message has passed between them, not of spoken language but based on friendship gestures. Interestingly, the alien is not afraid; the alien has to persuade Elliott that he has nothing to fear. As events unfold, Elliott is vaguely aware that the adults in his life won't understand the alien, and he keeps him a secret. Eventually he introduces him to his siblings, who he has nicknamed "E.T.". In one of the most interesting scenes, E.T. communicates that he needs to contact his race and let them know they can come for him. "E.T. phone home" becomes the line of the film. And he helps them build a kind of intergalactic telephone made of electronic toys. However, the adults finally catch up with Elliott and intervene between him and the alien. In one of the most disturbing scenes of the film, the government men infiltrate Elliott's house, and they are dressed in space suits, as if they are the invaders.
One of the most striking aspects of "E.T." is that nearly every scene is shot from the height of a child, just above the waste of an adult. E.T. is short and he relates to the children but seems much less interested in the adults, as if he has a sense the adults will be too quick to judge who and what he is before he can give them a chance. When the mother finally is shown E.T. she freaks out. This is the essence of E.T. about the wonder of childhood and how children, even if they may be inexperienced, are sometimes more open to new possibilities than adults. The children exhibit love towards E.T. whereas we get the sense the adults are operating more out of fear.