Five Stars-A Timeless Classic

Rating: Null/10 (5 April 2002)

The 20th Anniversary re-issue of Steven Spielburg's 1982 masterpiece features never before seen footage(appreciated)and enhanced visual effects(not so appreciated),but ultimately,these additional bells and whistles neither elevate nor denigrate what was already a near-perfect study of friendship and fantasy as filtered through the eyes of a young boy desperately in need of a companion. Spielburg has made a least three or four films that I would rate higher then E.T.,but in terms of a emotional investment,this one is peerless in his canon,invoking laughter,tears and everything else between as we follow little E.T.'s odyssey to return home(a popular kid flick motif also found in,among others,The Wizard of Oz,Lassie Come Home,The Homecoming of Benji,etc.) Years later,the film still has not lost none of its magical glory and in this new version there is very much to savor;the remarkable performance by Henry Thomas as the alien's soulmate Elliott;the equally impressive turns by Robert McNaughton and 6-year old Drew Barrymore as Elliott's siblings;also included in this new version is a very short cameo appearance by Harrison Ford as Elliott's school principal;the majestic sweeps of one of John Williams' best scores(for which he won the Oscar that year in 1982 for Best Musical Score);Dee Wallace's achingly real performance as the kids' vulnerable single mom(To the question of why Dee Wallace never became a bigger star after the huge success of E.T.
and other movies she did after that remains a mystery to this day);Peter
Coyote's chilling portrayal as the government agent out to capture the alien and to separate the bonding between E.T. and Elliott is one of the most scariest parts of the movie;and the isolated sequences that were deleted(the bathtub scene,the classroom frogs,Elliott kisses the girl in the science class,the flying bikes,etc.)that will continue to delight moviegoers to generations to come. A Timeless Classic. ***** 5 stars.
________________________________________________________________ I had the opportunity to see this film again in its entire format. The last time I saw this was back in the summer of 82'(I was 14 years old in high school)and I only saw about half of it(the original version). It was up against some very stiff competition during that time{Tobe Hooper's "Poltergeist" which was produced by Steven Spielburg;Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott's futuristic thriller "Blade Runner",and computer video thriller from Disney called "Tron";Richard Gere in "An Officer and a Gentlemen";and Sean Penn in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High",and one musical "The Best Little W****house in Texas" with Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton,and Friday the 13th-3D},but in this new version I was very pleased that this one was excellent all around and I truly enjoyed every minute of it.