E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Both a classic movie for kids and a remarkable portrait of childhood, E.T. is a sci-fi adventure that captures that strange moment in youth when the world is a place of mysterious possibilities (some wonderful, some awful), and the universe seems somehow separate from the one inhabited by grown-ups. Henry Thomas plays Elliott, a young boy living with his single mother (Dee Wallace), his older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton), and his younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore). Elliott often seems lonely and out of sorts, lost in his own world. One day, while looking for something in the back yard, he senses something mysterious in the woods watching him. And he’s right: an alien spacecraft on a scientific mission mistakenly left behind an aging botanist who isn’t sure how to get home. Eventually Elliott puts his fears aside and makes contact with the “little squashy guy,” perhaps the least threatening alien invader ever to hit a movie screen. As Elliott tries to keep the alien under wraps and help him figure out a way to get home, he discovers that the creature can communicate with him telepathically. Soon they begin to learn from each other, and Elliott becomes braver and less threatened by life. E.T. rigs up a communication device from junk he finds around the house, but no one knows if he’ll be rescued before a group of government scientists gets hold of him. In 2002, Steven Spielberg re-released E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in a revised edition, with several deleted scenes restored and digitally refurbished special effects
While director Steven Spielberg has sometimes termed his blockbuster hit E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial a loose sequel to his similarly themed Close Encounters of the Third Kind, that notion only underscores the breadth of John Williams’ talents as a composer and tempts the listener to consider this score a sort of second, more nakedly emotional movement to his Close Encounters music. As in his epic Star Wars work, the musical touchstone is early 20th-century Russian romanticism, a link that becomes even clearer with the restoration of three fragile, largely atmospheric cues (“Main Titles”, “Meeting E.T.” and “E.T.’s New Home”). While Williams has often suffered odd accusations of emotional manipulation–which is, after all, precisely the job of a film composer–his E.T. music is still some of his most compelling, recalling Herrmann’s delicate, pastoral touch on The Magnificent Ambersons in its first half, then steadily ratcheting up the tension as the score’s insistent brass motif intrudes ever more ominously. Two decades later, the 15-minute sweep of “Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye” remains one of Williams most powerful and memorable film music achievements. This edition also features an illustrated booklet with a new interview with the composer.–Jerry McCulley