Review of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) by Zach H — 19 Aug 2014

Though E.T. isn't quite my #1 favorite film of all time - but it is #3 - it is my favorite film from childhood. I loved the movie then as now, and even at 35 years old now, I still tear up watching the last 20 minutes of it or so. The critical movie fan in me sees it as a flawless, magical film that should have had - and probably did to a certain extant - tons of awards thrown it's way....and Steven Speilberg's finest film by far. But the boy in me then and now find comfort, companionship, wonder, beauty and more in its story and particularly its characters. I have always seen a lot of myself in Elliott, although I was never visited by and befriended an alien, nor do I have a younger sister. Additionally, Elliott was old enough to remember when his parents divorced, which seems to have happened not long before the events in the film; he's old enough to remember his parents together, which I'm not, as my parents divorced when I was 3 or 4 years old - actually, around the time E.T. came out in theaters. But still, the imaginative kid who spends a lot of time by himself or within himself can be found in Elliott and in me growing up. This is the biggest reason why the movie affected me big time as a kid all the way to today, among other reasons (let's see, E.T. can do "magical" things, which is obviously appealing to a child; the beautiful cinematography and John Williams' gorgeous, uplifting score, and the fact that it's a well-written, well-directed, well-acted masterpiece of a film).

Casablanca and Vertigo (my #2 and #1 favorite films, respectively) are perfect, phenomenal classics were made a long time ago, long before I came around. For me, E.T. stands as the greatest movie made since I was born.